Chapter 35
Thirty-Five
Eloise
Conor and I come down the next morning and are the last to arrive in the lobby. Kyleigh and Jade are seated in two chairs by the windows and chatting, and they each give me a knowing smile as we walk toward the group holding hands.
“Our boy did good?” Tweetie waggles his eyebrows at me.
I could tell him that Conor’s the best I’ve ever had in more than just a sexual way, but I keep my thoughts to myself.
“Shut the fuck up,” Conor says.
“You missed a great fucking meal, but?—”
“Don’t finish that sentence,” Henry interrupts. He raises his eyebrows at Conor. “My car is ready to go.”
Tweetie pats Conor’s chest. “Leave our boy alone. He was getting laid.”
Conor shakes his head, and I catch him looking at me from the corner of his eye. I squeeze his hand to tell him he doesn’t have to worry about me being put off by Tweetie.
Last night, I could tell he was worried about me judging Tweetie when he was talking about not wanting to end up like him, but who am I to judge anyone? I just hope if Conor’s suspicions are right, and Tweetie is trying to push away his feelings over something that happened in the past, that he can eventually heal.
“I’ll go out to valet.” Conor tugs me toward him and presses his lips to mine. “Be right back.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll take care of her.” Tweetie wraps his arm around my shoulders. “You were the belle of the ball last night.”
“Oh?” I’m not sure how to answer that statement.
“Get away from her, Tweetie. Come over to the girls’ corner.” Kyleigh waves me over.
He releases me. “We have two hours for our girl talk in the car.” He smiles at me.
I chuckle, walking over to Jade and Kyleigh, and sit on the couch across from them.
“So?” Jade asks.
Kyleigh raises her hand. “For the record, he’s my brother.”
Jade and I laugh, and I set my hand on Kyleigh’s knee. “I won’t give any details.”
Details about how her brother rocked my world last night and gave me orgasms I thought were only of the fictional variety.
“Thanks. But you’re together?” Kyleigh gives me a hopeful look. I nod, and they smile wide. “Now we have to plan some girl things.” Kyleigh claps her hands together lightly.
“If only Tweetie could settle down,” Jade says, and we all turn to look at him.
He’s chatting up some woman at the complimentary coffee bar. She’s laughing at whatever he’s saying. I’m not going to mention anything that Conor told me, although I’m sure these two know more of the story than me.
“If we wait for him…” Kyleigh doesn’t finish her sentence and shakes her head because her phone dings, and she pulls it out. She types for a moment then tucks it away, facing me again. “Well, I have some other good news.”
“What?” I lean in a little closer, excited to hear whatever she’s going to say.
“Yeah, what?” Jade asks, sounding like she doesn’t like being kept in the dark.
“I’m working with this client to design her wedding dress, and her soon-to-be husband is taking her on a European honeymoon. She’s super stressed about what to buy for it and doesn’t want to pack too much but also wants to make sure she has enough. Anyway, because she loved the dress I picked out for her body shape…” She flutters her eyelashes.
Jade and I laugh, shaking our heads.
“She asked if I was a stylist too. I told her that I only do wedding dresses, but that I have a friend who does that kind of thing.”
Jade’s forehead crinkles. “Who?”
Kyleigh points her manicured nail at me.
I rear back. “No.”
She nods. “Yes, you.”
I shake my head vehemently. “I don’t have any experience styling anyone.”
“You have your first two clients sitting right here in front of you.” Kyleigh waves her finger between her and Jade.
“She’s right. You know how many compliments I got on the dress you picked out last night?” Jade nods. “And on my Instagram, more and more people keep saying it’s the perfect color and style for me.”
“Me too. Not the Instagram thing because I don’t put Rowan on anything business-related, after…” She glances at Jade, and Jade’s lips press into a thin line. I’m clearly missing something. “But on Rowan’s picture, every person made a comment about the dress.”
“You had so much success when you were doing that blog thing, remember?” Jade asks, taking me back to before Tristan, back when I was so excited to make content.
“That wasn’t anything big.” I shoo her away, unwilling to take the compliment.
“Just give it a try. She’s super sweet. It’s her second marriage. You’ll love her. I promise.” Kyleigh pulls out her phone. “Let me tell her you said yes so I can forward your information?”
I glance at Jade and bite my lip. “I don’t know.”
“Do it, Eloise. There has to be something on that list of yours about a career.”
There is. I wanted to be working in a field I love, not just doing a job. Which was inspired by Jade and her photography at the time.
I suck in a fortifying breath and nod. “Okay, I’ll do this one.”
“Yay!” Kyleigh shouts and sinks back in the chair when everyone glances over.
“Baby, you okay over there?” Rowan asks.
“I could use a coffee refill.” She smiles sweetly, and her thumbs move over the screen on her phone. “Done. Oh, I’m so excited for you.”
“You’re going to do great.” Jade pats my knee.
“We’re ready, let’s go,” Henry calls to us. “And go to the bathroom because we’re not stopping on the way.”
Jade scoffs. “Stop being so bossy.”
“Yeah, Daddy, save it for the bedroom.” Tweetie gets a glare from an elderly lady with a cane walking across the lobby.
We all file out of the hotel, and Conor is waiting at the passenger door with the door wide open for me. “Hey, gorgeous, need a ride?”
I play along. “Depends on where you’re taking me.”
“Stop your weird flirting shit and get in the car.” Tweetie climbs into the back seat.
“I wish we were alone.” Conor wraps his arm around my waist and pulls me into him.
“We will be tonight, in the tent. I’ve never had sex in a tent.” I kiss his jaw. “Will you keep me warm?”
His hand slips down my waist to my ass, grabbing it. “It will be a first for us both. Fuck, I just had you a half hour ago, and I already want you.”
Tweetie’s head pops out between the driver and passenger seat. “There are children in the back seat. Jeez.”
I kiss Conor’s jaw one more time. “The sooner we get there, the sooner we’re in a tent.”
He waits for me to get into the SUV, then shuts the door and rounds the front of the truck.
“Picture time.” Tweetie holds his phone out to me. “Selfie.”
Conor takes Tweetie’s phone, and we squeeze all three of our faces into the frame. Conor hands it back to Tweetie and puts on his seat belt before we pull away.
“Do you mind if I tag you, Eloise?” Tweetie asks.
I think about it for a moment. If he tags me, there’s a chance Tristan or someone in his life will see it and comment, or at the very least, I’ll be the center of gossip. But who cares? I’m living my life without caring what other people think anymore. If the pictures from the bachelor party and the honeymoon are any indication, Tristan has already moved on, so why can’t I?
“Yeah, please don’t show me with two Chicago Falcons,” I joke.
Conor’s hand lands on my knee. “Only one of us matters.”
“That’s rude,” Tweetie says. “Done.”
Conor squeezes my knee, and his hand remains there for almost the entire ride. It’s the best two-hour ride of my life.
We caravan to the camping location, and Henry takes charge of the reservations and getting us our passes, then directs us to our site. We follow him over the hills on the dirt roads until I know I could never find my way out of here.
Henry pulls their SUV into the site and Conor parks behind him. We all file out of the vehicles and stare at the empty space that only has a firepit and a picnic table. I’m not sure what I thought it would look like, but it appears I’m the only one surprised by the lack of amenities.
“I have to go to the bathroom. Anyone else?” Jade asks.
“I’ll go,” I say, and we walk along the road we came in on. “Where is it?”
She points at a small white building at the top of a hill.
“That’s the nearest bathroom? What about showers? Where do I change?”
Jade laughs and swings her arm through mine. “Oh, this is going to be fun.”
She’s laughing, but seriously, I just started dating a guy last night, and he’s going to want to have a lot of sex, but I’m going to have to shower in a little white house with multiple people? This situation is not ideal.