Chapter 15
Bonnie
The next several days passed in bliss. We spent all our time together, not separating even for the two hours we were allowed per day. Elijah made a point of eating the food he’d overordered, and he even cooked for me, rustling up lobster rolls, something he’d apparently loved back in Boston.
One afternoon, his brother called via a video chat, and Elijah introduced me. The lack of surprise on the younger man’s face spoke volumes.
“Oh, sugar, he’s told me all about you. Love at first sight, ain’t that right?”
Elijah’s cheeks flushed red. “Dude, shut the fuck up. Have you spoken to Mom?”
“Nah, she’s away with Aunt Charlotte. They hit the road for Nantucket yesterday. Be back in a week. Hey, show me your girl again. I don’t wanna look at your ugly face when I can see hers.”
I leapt for him and grabbed the phone, fleeing down the hall with it. “Hey, Ethan, do you know he told me your name before he even told me his? I think that little bit of information earns me another secret.”
Ethan cackled. “When he was sixteen, he decided it was time I needed to ride a bike. I was seven. Now, a normal brother might take you to Moakley or an empty parking lot, or even the beach. Not Elijah. No. This idiot straps a helmet, elbow pads, knee pads, and what I swear were Mom’s oven mitts on me, then wheels out a bike big enough for a grown man. ”
I choked on a laugh. “Oven mitts?”
“Oh yeah. Because he was anticipating impact. His words.” Ethan shook his head. “He also taped a pillow to my back using duct tape from his toolbox. I looked like I was being prepared for atmospheric re-entry.”
From somewhere behind me, Elijah groaned. “Ethan. Stop.”
“Not a chance.” Ethan flashed a grin identical to his brother’s. “So then he drags me up the hill outside our place, you know the one, Eli, the one Mom explicitly told you not to mess with, sets me on this monster bike, and says, ‘Don’t worry, I’ll be right behind you.’”
I glanced back at Elijah. He rubbed his face like the memory physically hurt.
Ethan carried on. “He gives me this shove, and I’m screaming the whole way down, rattling along with my pillow armour and oven mitts flapping.
And then, then, he sprints after me, yelling, ‘You’re doing great!
’ while I’m heading straight for this woman coming out of the deli with a cart full of shopping. ”
“Did you crash?” I asked, already knowing the answer.
“Oh, I destroyed that cart. Cans flying everywhere, looked like a pot roast exploded. But Elijah, being Captain Capable, scoops me out of the wreckage, checks all my limbs, then marches right up to the woman so he can apologise.”
I arched a brow at Elijah. “Really?”
He rolled his eyes but nodded.
Ethan grinned bigger. “And the best part? He shows up the next morning at her door, spends his entire weekend working on her car because, and I quote, ‘I should’ve chosen a different incline for early development training.’”
Elijah muttered, “You’re such a dick,” but the twitch of his mouth betrayed him.
Ethan leaned closer to the camera. “So if he’s spoiling you and wrapping you up in cotton balls? Trust me, he’s always been this way. Overprotective. Overconfident. Convinced he can fix every collision he creates. And he’s the guy who stays behind to make good whatever’s gone down.”
My pulse stuttered.
Ethan winked. “And from the way he’s looking at ya, he’s already sprinting down the hill after you, Bonnie.”
Elijah plucked the phone and hung up on his brother, only to call him back from the sofa after extracting a promise for him to behave.
I didn’t need that. I liked Ethan. I liked Elijah better for the story from their childhood.
Our week was only endearing him to me more and more.
Not that it stopped us sparking off each other.
Ethan had joked about him being overprotective, and it wasn’t a lie.
I sliced the side of my hand on a cracked tile in the bathroom, and Elijah nearly lost his mind.
I had to yell at him to stop him from calling the reception to yell at them. Which led to sex, of course.
Everything ended up with us having sex. On the sofa, the floor, the kitchen counter.
I’d never been so well used, and worse, I was getting used to it.
My need for him was insatiable. He liked it outside, too.
I blew him on the rooftop, after Bob from Accounts was gone for the day, and he took me from behind while we gazed out over the city lights.
Enough people had to have heard my cries, because like the first time, I couldn’t hide them.
But the end of the week approached, and with it, a relaxing of the rules. We could spend up to four hours apart, which meant Elijah’s assistant had him down for a number of non-negotiable meetings.
The end of our own rule of not sharing work details came, too. I had the worst sense that somehow, the happy bubble we’d created was about to burst.