Chapter 16
Aria
Chicago is still very much a new city to me, even if I’ve tried to explore it as much as I could the few weeks I’ve been here. I know my route to and from work, where to get my nails done, the grocery store, and the nearest coffee shop. Outside of that, I need my GPS.
So, when Sophia guides me through a part of downtown Chicago I hadn’t ventured through yet, I’m both in shock and in awe of the city.
It’s fucking massive and gorgeous in a way I didn’t expect.
Another thing I didn’t expect is for there to be a building in the center filled to the brim with opulence.
“Do only rich people live here?” I voice to Sophia once we’re in the elevator the security guard guides to.
“Probably. This place is fancy as fuck.”
Fancy as fuck is definitely a way to put it.
“Your boyfriend is a professional hockey player, right? I figured you would live in a place like this.”
Sophia snorts as she shakes her head. “Not even close. Blake just finished up his rookie contract. No way we would be able to afford a place like this. I don’t think we ever will. This is next level shit.”
I nod as if I understand. In my head, all professional athletes are multimillionaires. I know baseball players make bank, so I figured everyone else in other sports did too. Maybe that’s a sign I should learn more about hockey.
Both Sophia and I fall silent as the elevator climbs. When it hits the seventieth floor, we look at each other curiously.
“I don’t think I’ve ever been in an apartment building this high,” I voice, marveling at the expansive space the elevator opens to. It looks like we were brought straight into someone’s home. There’s no hallway, no door, just openness.
“Same.”
We walk off the elevator into what I think is a foyer, spending the next few seconds looking around. From what I can see, this Grayson guy is mega rich beyond measure.
The security guard called him Mr. Lane. Maybe when I get home, I will look him up.
I’m about to call out and ask if someone is home, since it feels awkward just standing here, when I hear footsteps approaching. Given that the guy we’re taking care of just had surgery, I know for a fact it’s not him.
I don’t know who I expected it to be, but the person in front of me is not it.
Dressed in a simple black t-shirt, dark wash jeans, and vans is someone I have thought about more than I want to admit.
Elliot.
It’s been three years since I’ve seen him, three years since I figured I was never going to see him again. Yet, here he is, in Chicago, standing ten feet from me in an apartment worth million upon millions.
What is he doing here?
Does he live here?
Does he work for the Grayson guy Sophia and I are here to take care of?
“Hi. Sorry to just walk in. We are the nurses hired to help with Grayson Lane’s recovery. I hope we are in right place?” Sophia, the normal one out of the two of us, says. I’m too busy trying to figure out why the guy who fucked me like there was no tomorrow in Las Vegas is standing in front of me.
Elliot answers her without taking his eyes off me. “Yes, you are in the right place.”
When he finally looks away from me, he gives Sophia a smile and holds out a hand to her.
“I’m Elliot, Grayson’s older brother.” I hear him say the words, but I think I disassociate. It doesn’t click that he says he’s Grayson’s brother until after the fact.
“I’m Sophia. I know Grayson through the Knights. This is my coworker–” Sophia is about to introduce Elliot to me, but he stops her.
“Aria.”
The way this man says my name, almost as if it were his favorite song, shouldn’t affect me. It shouldn’t make me feel any kind of way. I’ve only met this man once three years ago, for crying out loud. I shouldn’t be wanting him to take me to the nearest room to fuck my brains out.
I shouldn’t, but I am.
Elliot looks me in the eyes and I look into his, still very much dumbfounded.
Sophia’s voice tries to break the tension between us.
“You two know each other?” I can hear the curiosity in her voice. Maybe she thinks we met at a bar here in Chicago. Would she think it’s romantic we met in Vegas, and here we are, reconnecting three years later?
“No.” “Yes.” Both Elliot and I say at the same time.
I narrow my eyes at him while he throws me a smirk.
“We met once,” I say both to Sophia and Elliot. “But I don’t think meeting once three years ago in Vegas means we know each other.”
I should have asked Santos for more information on the guy, at the very least his last name, then when I was doing my internet searches to find him, I would have found out where he lived and his familial ties and could have said no when Sophia told me about this gig.
But I didn’t ask for information. The next time I saw Santos was while I was in a hospital bed after being rescued, and Elliot was the last thing on my mind. He was the last thing on my mind for a long while. It wasn’t until recently that I started thinking about him sporadically.
The smirk on Elliot’s face intensifies when he throws a rebuttal to my comment. “I would say the opposite. We did get biblical, after all.”
My eyes go wide, and I’m sure if I were to look over at Sophia, her eyes would be wide too.
I clear my throat and remember we are here to do a job. “I apologize, Mr.…”
“Lane,” Elliot answers with a smug look, like he is more than happy to share his name.
Lane. Right. That’s the name the security guard mentioned downstairs.
“Right. Mr. Lane. We are here to work, so if you would so kindly point us to where Grayson is, we can get right to it.”
The smug look on the man’s face intensifies.
“You both can call me Elliot. Mr. Lane is my uncle. Outside of that, Grayson is currently knocked out, but I can show you where he is and where you two can keep all your supplies. After that, you’re more than welcome to some tomato soup and grilled cheese. ”
Soup and grilled cheese?
He’s inviting us to dinner?
“Okay?” I let out, not knowing what else to say.
Thankfully, Sophia steps in and gives him a bubbly reaction for the both of us. I’m a little surprise that my mouth isn’t running rampant with a bunch of nonsense right now.
“That would be great, thank you.” I look over at Sophia and find her giving me a strained smile. I bet she feels uncomfortable with all of this. I sure as hell do.
“Yup, it would be amazing,” I voice, sounding disgruntled beyond measure, which just makes Elliot smile even more. This man in enjoying my discomfort.
“Follow me.” He waves a hand and starts walking down the hall. Both Sophia and I follow and give each other a look when he leads us to a set of stairs. I thought two floor apartments were only a thing in movies, but apparently, they are a thing in real life.
In Vegas, Elliot told me he was rich, but I have a feeling, as we walk deeper into this place, that word rich was an understatement. I guess I’m going to be doing some heavy Googling when I get home, now that I have a full name to look up.
Once on the second floor, where there is another elevator and what looks like another living room, Elliot guides us to an open door at the start of another hallway.
The second we step through the door, I recognize the man lying in the bed fully clothed, his right leg propped up, as Grayson. From the way he’s drooling, dude looks like he was given something strong and is going to be knocked out for a few hours.
“Were his doctors and discharge team notified that he was to have private duty nurses?” I ask Elliot.
For the first time since we got here, Elliot actually answers without a flirtatious smile.
“Yes.” He walks over to the wheelchair in the corner and pulls out some paperwork from a backpack.
“Here is his medical history, information on today’s surgery, and discharge paperwork.
They prescribed him medication, but when we left the hospital, it wasn’t ready yet, so a courier will be bringing it in about twenty minutes or so. ”
Elliot hands me the paperwork, and both Sophia and I look it over. Everything seems pretty standard for a knee surgery. There wasn’t a need to hire a nurse to help with recovery, but Grayson must have had his reasons.
After checking Grayson’s vitals for peace of mind, Elliot guides us to a room across the hall. It’s big enough to house a queen size bed, a desk with a computer, and a mini fridge and microwave and still leave room for a lot more furniture.
From what I can tell, this place is big enough to hold my rental at least six times over.
“Feel free to use the amenities in this room and in the house. This room and the one Grayson is staying in have a full bathroom attached to make things easier. I have to travel for a few days this week, so I thought it would be best to also make a bed available if overnight care is necessary. The elevator on this floor goes to both floors as well as the parking garage. If you two can give me a list of supplies you will need plus any food and snacks you’d like, I can send for them. ”
As Elliot goes through everything we have access to, I’m find myself a little dumbfounded still.
I’ve worked a few private nursing opportunities throughout the years, and I can’t remember the last time someone made it this easy.
Elliot not only cares about his brother, he cares that he gets the best recovery possible, and that includes giving me and Sophia everything we need.
“You don’t have to worry about food and snacks for us,” Sophia tells him, saying what I was thinking but couldn’t say. My mind is still reeling from the generosity.
“There’s a man downstairs who will take a wooden spoon to my head otherwise. Might as well also add scrubs to the list, just in case the patient over there pukes or bleeds on you.”
From the corner of my eye, I can see Sophia opening her mouth, no doubt about to argue with Elliot, but I hold up my hand to stop her.
If this dude wants to make sure we are taken care of while we take care of his brother, who are we to stop him? Besides, if we say no, there’s a chance he will just buy whatever he thinks we need.
“We will work on a list of what we might need. It won’t be much, but it is still greatly appreciated.” This time, I send Elliot a smile I actually mean, and he rewards me with a marvelous one of his own.
His smile should not be affecting me right now, or ever again, but there goes my stomach, flipping all over the place with a stupid smile. A beautiful, stupid smile.
“Great. Then I will leave you two to get settled and check on your patient if needed. If the two of you are hungry, you are more than welcome to have some tomato soup if you wish.” With that, Elliot throws another smile in our direction and leaves the room.
As soon as he’s out of sight, and hopefully out of hearing distance, Sophia slaps me on the arm. “You didn’t tell me you dated a Lane when I mentioned taking this job.”
I turn to face my Chicago bestie. “First, we didn’t date. I met the guy on a girls’ trip to Vegas years ago, and I spent like seven hours with him. Secondly, I didn’t know his last name. I didn’t ask for one when I met him.”
Sophia gives me a look full of excitement. “I’m guessing it was memorable.”
Hot.
My face feels hot.
“Why would you say that?” I swear, my voice goes up a few octaves.
Little Miss Blonde Ponytail gives me a smirk. “Because you remembered each other. If it was just any old one-night stand, you would have forgotten about the guy. But you didn’t, because the second you saw him, you went stiff.”
She does have a point. If my night with Elliot was meh, I would have forgotten everything about him. No way would I have remembered how his voice sounded. I would have forgotten how beautiful he was. I wouldn’t have memories of how his body felt pressed against mine.
The night with Elliot was very memorable.
Very, very memorable.
If I was as drunk as Serena had been, I would have probably married the guy.
As I stew, I can see Sophia is waiting for me to respond. I should just walk out and do the job I came here to do, but I like her too much to do that.
So, I concede.
“Okay, fine! It was memorable,” I whisper-yell at her. We may be in the room alone, but for all I know, Elliot is in the hallway, listening to everything.
Sophia beams. “Would you do it again?”
“What? Have another one-night stand with the man?” I ask, and she gives me an enthusiastic nod. I don’t respond right away though.
Would I?
If someone had asked me three years ago, in those months after the trip, before…before everything happened, I would have said yes in a heartbeat.
Sex with Elliot was so damn hot, it still sits at number one on my list of sexual experiences.
I would absolutely love to have a repeat of that night over and over again.
The only thing stopping me is that the Aria from three years ago, the Aria Elliot met and spent a few hours with, no longer exists. She’s not here anymore. In her place is someone who desperately wants to be her again but is scared of bringing her back.
There are qualities of old Aria still around, but the parts of her Elliot was introduced to are buried so deep, they will never see the light of day again.
After what feels like a minute or two, I finally have an answer for Sophia.
“No. I wouldn’t do it again.” It hurts to say the words.
My friend’s face falls a bit. “Why? I saw how you two looked at each other. There was something there.”
Aria of the past would have grabbed her words and used them to work in her favor.
But that version of me won’t be back.
“I just can’t. I’m not a relationship person.” That much is very true. The last relationship I was in haunts me every day. “Besides, I’m helping with his brother’s recovery. We have rules about not fraternizing with patients and their families.”
“That’s a hospital rule. You’re working here on your personal time. You can do,” her eyes brows wiggle, “whatever you want.”
I laugh a little but quickly compose myself.
As much as I want to do whatever I want, I can’t. Not this time. Not like Vegas.
“Sorry, Soph. It’s not going to happen. Besides, a guy like that, who lives like this,” I sweep a hand around the room, “probably has women blowing up his phone.”
She thinks about it for a second, probably thinking of a way to convince me to jump Elliot’s bones, but she gives me a nod. “I will stop pushing.”
“Thank you. What do you say we get to making that list and then checking on our patient?”