Chapter 5
Ian
"Earth to Ian. Ian, come on. Why do you keep checking your phone?" Dylan asked. I looked up from my cell phone to my brother. We were in my office, going over some lines of code, and I’d just blanked out reading a text.
“Just checking what Ellie sent me.”
Dylan cocked a brow. “You’re checking private messages during coding time? That’s not like you.”
True. I wasn’t big on rules, but I had a golden one: never check messages, emails, or answer calls during coding time. It just pulled me out of the zone, and it took longer to get the job done.
I usually had no problem keeping to the rule, but over the past few days, I’d broken it more than once. I just couldn’t stop myself.
“I keep hearing Ellie this, Ellie that. I just want to point out that you haven't mentioned once how hot she is. I'm suspicious."
I grinned. "She's fucking hot. Too hot, but off-limits."
Dylan's eyes bulged. "What are you talking about? Nothing is off-limits for you."
"Ellie is," I said. I didn’t believe myself any more than Dylan believed me. But if I kept repeating it often enough, maybe I’d start believing myself.
"Because of Henry?"
"Yes, partly. But also because I don't know how to be anything other than a friend."
Dylan's eyes bulged again. What the hell? What did I say?
"Are you sick or something?”
“Fuck off,” I replied.
“This is the first time you even hinted you would like to be something other than a friend."
"That's not what I said."
"Yeah, it kind of is."
"No, I said I don't know how to be one." Dylan was a good brother, and I loved working with him, but sometimes I wasn’t in the mood to put up with his shit.
"Whatever, Ian. I'm not good at dissecting this crap. Call Isabelle.”
“I will. She always has good ideas.”
"A word of warning: she's going to read stuff into it."
"That’s Isabelle, man," I said. "She'll read into it anyway. I'm not afraid of our sisters the way you are."
"Hey, I'm not afraid either. I just like to keep to myself,” he exclaimed before adding, “Ian, I need your head in the game.”
“I know.” Besides the rollout of Project Z, which took considerably more time than I’d thought, we also had clients to tend to.
We offered comprehensive software solutions for small and midsize companies, and some of those clients were a pain in the ass.
Their continued trust and business made us rich, though, so I wasn’t complaining too much.
“Good. Anyway, whatever you do, get this out of your system; otherwise, I give you one month before you get stir-crazy and decide to throw caution to the wind."
I flipped him the bird. I heard his laughter all the way out in the corridor.
I focused on the code after he left. It was more difficult than usual.
I loved my work at Gallagher Solutions, and I was proud of everything my brother and I had achieved, but sometimes I felt a restlessness I couldn’t shake away or explain.
When we’d first decided to open Gallagher Solutions, many people warned Dylan that doing business with family wasn’t smart.
Especially when said family was me. Apparently liking to play hard and having a sense of humor made me a bad candidate.
But Dylan trusted me, and I wasn’t going to make him regret that.
My usual restlessness wasn’t why I had troubles with the code though.
I leaned back in my chair, laughing at myself. Dylan was wrong. I wasn’t even going to last a month.
Ellie
A week later, I was still feeling his kiss on my lips.
Ian was getting under my skin, and I wasn't sure how to stop it or even if I wanted to.
But I had to. I was only here for a few months, and anyway, this couldn't work out. I shuddered at the mere thought of telling Ian that I was still a virgin. Guys didn’t understand stuff like that, and how would I tell him of all people anyway?
I had no choice. I just had to keep us strictly in the friend zone, but he sure wasn't making it easy for me.
He checked in on me every day, and I was looking forward to every single message.
Typically he texted when my shift was over and I was already home in bed.
But tonight, precisely eight days (yes, I was counting) after our kiss, he hadn’t texted anything yet.
It was eleven o’clock in the evening, and I was lying in bed, staring at my screen before opening the Netflix app on my phone and playing my favorite fantasy show.
I got lost in it, right until Ian texted me, and then not even the sexy hunks on screen could keep my attention. My heart was in my throat.
Ian: Hey! How was your day?
I sat bolt upright in bed.
Ellie: I was watching a show. Now I’m dancing with joy in my bed.
Ian: How does someone dance in bed?
I sucked in a breath, wondering what to reply to that, then I saw that he was still typing, so I decided to wait.
Ian: Never mind. I don’t want to know.
I grinned, but instead of leaving it at that, I started to type back. The angel on my shoulder told me to behave, but the devil on my other shoulder was full of sass.
Ellie: Why? Afraid you can’t handle it?
Ian: Pot, kettle. You’re the one who said you need time to cool off.
Ellie: True
Ian: By the way, how is the cooling-off situation? It’s been eight days.
Was he counting too? Grinning, I face planted in my pillow.
Turning around on my back, I held the phone in front of my face.
Ellie: Still not entirely cooled off.
Ian: Ellie…
I could hear his voice in my mind, that delicious low baritone. Goose bumps formed on my skin. Wow! I was in deep trouble if just imagining how he’d sound saying my name elicited this reaction.
Ellie: I don’t know how to do this.
Ian: What do you mean?
I bit my lip, wondering if I should tell him everything, but I couldn’t exactly text my conundrum.
Hey, I still have my V-card. On a scale from one to ten, how much does that scare you?
I couldn’t do that, but I wanted to be as honest with him as possible.
Ellie: I’m not good with relationships. I’d blame it on my moving around all the time, but I think I’m the problem.
I sent it and expected silence, but he replied almost instantly.
Ian: No, you’re not.
Ellie: How would you know?
Ian: I just do.
I laughed, shimmying against the mattress, yawning.
Ellie: I think I’m going to fall asleep.
Ian: Am I boring you?
Ellie: Not at all. I’m just exhausted from work. Still getting used to the insane pace.
Ian: Sounds like you could use a break. I can help with that.
Oh my God! Why did he have to sound so swoonworthy? I couldn’t help wanting to know more.
Ellie: What do you have in mind?
Ian: What are you doing tomorrow evening?
Ellie: I’m going out with Isabelle and Josie to dinner. I was so surprised when Isabelle texted me.
Ian: I told you they like you. We can make plans for another evening. I’ll tell my sisters not to monopolize all your free time.
Ellie: Why not?
Ian: Because I want you for me.
Wow . I pushed off the blanket from my body as a wave of heat coursed through me.
I typed a few words, then deleted them, then typed another sentence, and was about to delete that too before finally pressing send.
Ellie: Care to elaborate?
Ian: Yes, I will. When I see you. In A LOT of detail. But I’ll let you go to sleep now. Good night.
Ellie: Good night.
I was grinning from ear to ear, clutching a pillow to my chest. I was dying to know what those details entailed, but… I wanted them face-to-face.
The next evening, I met Josie and Isabelle at the Italian restaurant La Bella Vita along the Hudson River.
They were sitting at a table outside. It was getting chilly for that, in my opinion, but restaurants all over New York were very creative.
They had heaters everywhere and also blankets to keep their patrons warm.
It was a habit of mine to memorize the setup of restaurants and notice small details.
All this experience was going to help me when I opened my own place.
"Hey, girls. Thanks for texting me."
"Sure. We wanted to check on you and see how you like your first weeks in New York," Josie said.
"I'll bring you up to date," I promised, sitting down. "But first, let's order, because I'm starving."
"You don’t eat lunch at the restaurant?" Isabelle asked.
"Well, we do have lunch and all sorts of afternoon snacks, but honestly, I've skipped them. It’s incredibly busy in the afternoon." I ordered spaghetti with seafood. The girls each wanted pizza. Josie and I asked for white wine too.
"When I first moved to New York, I was a bit overwhelmed by everything. Luckily I had Josie here to lean on," Isabelle said, lightly patting her sister’s arm.
Josie smiled at her sister. "Well, she adapted quickly. Then she made me aware of a completely different part of the city. I think I could live my whole life in New York, and there would still be things that surprise me."
“True. It’s the most interesting city I’ve lived in.”
“How do you like the job?” Josie asked.
I told them a bit about the restaurant. Our wine came pretty fast, and I took a few sips before the food arrived. The pasta was cooked just how I liked it—not too long so it was mushy, but also not too little that it was hard. Some chefs completely misinterpreted the meaning of al dente .
"The food scene is incredible,” I said through mouthfuls. “You find hidden gems everywhere. For example, there is a panaderia in the building next to mine. It's so cheap that I was afraid even to try it in the beginning, but they are extraordinary. My roommate loves them. Ian liked them too.”
Isabelle and Josie exchanged a glance. Taking another sip of wine, I said, "He helped me set up a curtain rod.
I tried it myself and ruined the wall. Then when I asked him if he knew a handyman, he offered to do it himself.
He came over and was all chivalrous and handsome and took care of everything. "