Chapter Three
DREW
What in the caveman hell was wrong with me?
The second Adam mentioned taking Ellie to the B&B and showing her around town, red hot anger flashed through me. I’d barely held back wrapping my arms around Ellie’s waist, tugging her to me, and growling mine.
Ellie was my employee.
She was off limits.
I was her boss.
We worked extremely well together and it wouldn’t be wise to upset that balance. No matter how insanely attractive she was. Or how sweet and kind she’d always been to me. And definitely not when I was finally making my mark on the family business. I didn’t have time for a relationship right now.
My phone rang from where I’d thrown it on the console of the truck.
Glamma.
“My grandmother,” I explained as I tapped the speakerphone wishing I’d brought my earbuds. “Hi—”
“Drew. Thank God. I’ve been calling nonstop since we hung up. Are you okay? What happened to the car in the middle of the road?”
Ellie stiffened beside me. Glamma was loud through the speaker.
“Heads up. You’re on speaker. I’ve got the owner of that car here with me. I’m taking her to the B&B. Ellie, say hi to Glamma.”
“Hi, Glamma? Uh, Mrs. Kingsley,” she stammered.
“Mrs. Kingsley was my mother-in-law. I’m Glamma to everyone in town.” She paused. “I thought you were arriving tomorrow, dear?”
I bet the B&B owner, Martha, Glamma’s BFF, had spilled the beans.
“I was.” Elle groaned. “But I’d wanted to make a good impression by getting here early.” Then she muttered under her breath something like, “So much for that.”
“Well, dear, as the official Welcome Committee Chair, we’re excited to have you in Ruby River! If you need anything, Glamma will take care of it.”
I was pretty sure by tomorrow afternoon Glamma and her crew would have dropped off a large gift basket of everything Ellie might need.
“Thank you so much. That’s very kind of you.” Ellie turned to me with grateful eyes. She strove for excellence at work, and I felt the pain of her botched first impression in my soul.
I rested my hand on her shoulder encouragingly as Glamma prattled on. “It’s no trouble at all,” she insisted. “I’ll call ahead and let Martha know you’re on your way so she can freshen up your room. Drew, did you get a hold of Adam?”
“I did,” I answered—at the same time Ellie said, “He’s in front of us, driving my car on his flatbed.”
“Well, that’s nice of Drew to drive you in. I bet it’s more comfortable there than in the tow truck.” There was a speculative undertone to Glamma’s voice. We both knew Adam’s truck was nicer than this one.
“It’s perfect.” Ellie was clearly lying. This truck was a beater.
Before Glamma could say anything else, I cut in. “We’re only a few minutes away. You might want to give Martha the heads up now.”
She let out a noncommittal hum. One that implied she’d have questions for me later. Questions I didn’t know how to answer. “I look forward to meeting you tomorrow, Ellie. Martha makes the most amazing meals. You’re in for a real treat.”
“Thank you for the warm welcome, Mrs.—”
My grandmother tsked.
“I mean, Glamma.”
“That’s better. You two be careful and I’ll see you soon.”
“Yes, ma’am. Bye, Glamma.”
I ended the call. Ellie glanced over at me, and when our gazes connected, I offered her a tentative smile. “By tomorrow the news of your arrival will already be spreading.”
Her forehead creased. “Why?”
“I take it you’ve never lived in a small town.”
Ellie shook her head.
“There’s often nothing to do but gossip. Having someone come to town, even to visit, is a special occasion. If you’re lucky, you might end up on the front page of our town newspaper.”
She paled. “Front page. Do you think they’ll find out what happened tonight?” Her beautiful blue gaze widened in a silent plea for help.
“Our reporters aren’t that good.” I chuckled. “We can keep your murder theory between us. No one has to know.”
She gave a fake shudder. “That would’ve been my worst nightmare. I do not need to be the center of attention like that.”
“I’ll protect you from the busy-body reporters.” I punched my fist over my heart in a physical show of my promise as a way to lighten the mood.
She giggled and pretended to swoon. “My hero.”
This was the Ellie I knew. The sweet, and lighthearted person that came across in our emails and calls. My heart fluttered with joy. It was so easy to be around her.
“Anytime.” I winked at her, noticing the immediate flush to her cheeks. An image of me brushing my thumbs across those same spots as I cupped her face and brushed my lips across hers came to mind along with wondering how far that flush might travel as I explored every inch of her.
Ellie’s voice broke through the vivid imagery. “I can’t thank you enough for rescuing me tonight. It’s bad enough that my ‘good impression’ was wasted between us.”
“Don’t be so hard on yourself. One thing’s for sure … it’s a day we’ll always remember,” I teased.
She groaned and shook her head. The tiny smile she tried to hide told me she wasn’t upset by my words.
I’d known meeting her would be unforgettable. I just didn’t realize how much.
Or how much of her gorgeous body I’d see.
“Tomorrow’s a new day. A new start.” And a chance for me to get my less than pure thoughts about my assistant under control.
That shy, sexy smile had me reconsidering my choice for about half a second.
Fuck. This was going to be a long week.
The next morning, I was running late after being distracted by thoughts of Ellie and decided to skip my usual coffee run. She knew I often started my workday at 6:00 am and liked to get there before anyone else, so I was half expecting her to be there and didn’t want her to have to wait.
I drove on autopilot along the route I took every day past the town common, the bakery, and the New Age store. It all began to blur as I absentmindedly waved to Iris, the town lawyer’s secretary. She liked to get in a few laps up and down Main Street before she started her day.
Like I suspected, Ellie was waiting at the door to the Kingsley Jewelry office building when I arrived. With coffee, bless her. Her hair, styled back in a sleek ponytail, showed off the curve of her cheek and the straight line of her neck like an offering waiting to be sampled.
She smiled, holding out the tray with two coffees and a white paper bag stamped with the local coffee shop’s logo. “The coffee in front is yours.”
I took it, grateful for both the caffeine and her thoughtfulness.
She stared at me eagerly as I took the first sip.
“This is perfect.” She’d gotten my exact order down to the shot of caramel, cream, and sugar. I liked the shot of sugar to get me going this early.
God, she was perfect.
Ellie is my assistant. I chanted the mantra over and over in my head. And I didn’t have time to date. I couldn’t forget either of those things.
It had been a long time since I was this attracted to someone. If I didn’t count the sort-of crush I had on her before she even arrived. I figured once I met her it would go away. That the reality wouldn’t measure up to the fantasy.
Fuck, I hated when I was wrong.
My eyes trailed down over her ample hips to where her skirt flared out at her knees.
I forced my eyes back up to meet hers. But I’d already taken inventory of the way her shirt and blazer were fitted, but not skin tight, alluding to what was beneath it.
Sweat beaded my brow as I fought to keep my interest from becoming visible.
“You’d mentioned before that you typically stop there in the morning before work so I took a chance I’d get there before you. The owner, Ben, was incredibly helpful.”
She remembered. She remembered a throwaway comment I made weeks ago about my coffee routine.
I tilted my cup toward her trying to play it cool even though my pulse had kicked up. “Thank you. How was the B&B?”
“Perfect. Quaint. Comfortable.” Her fingers wrapped around the coffee cup, and I noticed she wore a delicate silver ring on her right hand. I wondered if it had meaning to her or if she chose it based on the ocean wave design.
“Good. We aim to please here in Ruby River.”
We aim to please here in Ruby River? Fuck, could I be more awkward?
What was this woman doing to me? I’d given presentations to boards of directors and pitched expansion plans to investors, but put me in front of Ellie Remington and apparently I turned into a bumbling mess.
I unlocked the door, punched in the alarm code, and led her through the first floor of one of the smallest converted original mill buildings in Rhode Island. The space opened up before us, and I tried to see it through her eyes instead of my familiar gaze.
Years ago, my grandfather convinced the town council to let him gut the center of the building to create an atrium.
Natural light poured in through the massive skylight three stories up, illuminating the brick and exposed beams. The leaves of the various plants and flora caught the morning sunlight.
The ground floor also housed a coffee shop and scattered seating where employees could grab lunch or decompress.
“This is beautiful,” Ellie gasped, spinning in a slow circle to take it all in.
Her face was tilted up toward the skylight, and the way the morning light caught her features made my breath hitch. And the way she moved through the area, the genuine wonder in her expression hit me in a way I hadn’t expected.
Get it together, Kingsley.
“I don’t come down here enough,” I admitted, tearing my gaze away from her to look at the atrium. “But it really is nice, especially in the winter when it’s too snowy to go outside.”
“I bet.” Her fingertip trailed along a vibrant green leaf.
My throat grew dry as I said the first thing that came to mind. “I’m hoping if we get a break in our schedule we can make our way over to the production building where all the jewelry is made. Stairs or elevator?”
“Stairs. I want to get the full effect.” She took a sip of her coffee, and I was momentarily distracted by the red lipstick stain left behind on the white lid.