Chapter Ten
LATER THAT NIGHT, Ethan stared out of his bedroom window, yet his mind was still in the ballroom.
What had he been thinking, suggesting they dance?
Having her pressed against him like they were made to measure and perfectly in tune?
He groaned and tunnelled a hand through his hair.
Surely his memory was playing tricks on him, but he knew it wasn’t.
He’d wanted to do something to honour the moment and their decision, especially after the last week since their kiss in the kitchen when he’d slammed the brakes on, knowing he couldn’t cross that line with her ever again.
Luckily then she couldn’t read his mind, see how tempted he’d been to become more than friends.
How many times in the last week had he waged a war with himself over the very same thing?
His shoulders slumped, exhausted from the constant battle because it had become harder, not easier, to rein himself in. To hold her figuratively at arms’ length.
What if he didn’t need to? The thought jackknifed through him.
What if they became short-term friends with benefits, eradicating this itch for her once and for all, because surely she felt the connection between them as well?
An understandable connection, considering the amount of time they’d been spending together, getting to know each other in a highly emotive atmosphere.
His computer beeped and he headed to it, grateful for the distraction. He pushed a button and Luc, then Cam appeared on its screen for their monthly video call.
The tug of affection for his two best friends put an automatic smile on his lips.
Luc wore a black suit jacket, paired with a black shirt and tie, no doubt another in a long line of designer ones he favoured.
His startling green eyes and thick dark hair had gained him many admirers over the years.
The stunning Thames view behind him confirmed the obvious, that not surprisingly, he was still in his office at 9:00 p.m.
Cam, his mussed blond hair looking like he’d just run a distracted hand through it, was overdue for a cut.
But then again, he always had been, except during the school term.
His T-shirt, Ethan would wager, was more than a decade old, and it featured an obscure mathematics joke that few would get.
Black-rimmed glasses magnified intelligent and watchful eyes.
All three men couldn’t have been more different, with more disparate upbringings, yet it hadn’t prevented them from forging an unbreakable bond during their boarding school years and every holiday spent together at WillowGlen.
They understood each other in ways no-one else could, and not only because each one had had a target on their back at school.
Ethan, thanks to his famous parentage, including his mother’s numerous well-publicised affairs and the photos of him crying on the doorstep the day they’d died.
And as a result of selling stories to the tabloids about him, those three seniors at school had been expelled, only adding to Ethan’s reputation and making him an outcast.
Cam had been living in the shadow of an older brother whose exploits were legendary, despite finishing school five years before Cam had started. His brother, an Adonis look-alike, who’d not only been school captain, but also of the rugby, cricket, and swimming teams.
The comparisons to Cam, who couldn’t be termed a natural athlete, although he was a brilliant fencer and chess player, had been never-ending.
Still, he’d refused, point blank, to be captain of either club.
In their final year exams, he’d bombed dramatically in one of his favourite subjects, and Ethan believed he’d thrown the test; otherwise he would have been the Dux.
Not that it would have made any difference to Cam’s parents; they’d never visited their son and had blocked every avenue for him to head to his ancestral home for the holidays.
On the other hand, Luc’s single mother had made an appearance at school, one month before she died.
A visit that had been the stuff of fantasy for a majority of the students and abject horror for her son.
Soon after, Ethan had come across Luc, taking on the school bullies who’d loved making it more graphic in every telling.
A red haze had appeared before Ethan’s eyes, and before he’d known it, he’d thrown his first ever punch.
To his great surprise, so had Cam, who’d been taking the same shortcut as well.
The three of them had bonded after that, although still Ethan had been wary of them, held them at arms’ length.
But over time, he’d learnt to trust them and vice versa—so much so that it had become known, if you took on one of them, you took on all three.
And that hadn’t altered. They had each other’s backs and always would.
Eight years ago, they’d been apoplectic at the release of the folly kiss pictures and Ivy’s hand in them.
In the aftermath, there’d been none of the easy banter in their conversations.
Instead, they’d been ready for action at his command with a range of tactics that had made Ethan glad they were on his side.
And while Ethan had appreciated it, he’d known if he took a metaphorical swing at Ivy, he’d also hit Ruby, and that was something he’d never do. None of them would—they all adored her.
But neither Cam nor Luc had known how much the kiss, and Ivy’s betrayal, had rocked him. How his vow never to be played by anyone ever again had been shattered so spectacularly in one afternoon.
One afternoon.
That’s all it had taken for him to throw every hard-learnt lesson out of the proverbial window. And he’d paid for it. More than he’d ever let on, even to Cam and Luc. Because she’d slipped through his defences in a way that made a mockery of every promise he’d ever made to himself.
Yet now, despite knowing she hadn’t set him up, it was even more imperative he didn’t lower his guard. He was not entrapped by feelings towards her, other than a natural attraction that would wear itself out. What if they did something to speed up that process and stamped it out, once and for all?
‘You okay there, Chief? You’re looking a little green around the gills. It must be the constant rain you’ve been whingeing about,’ Luc drawled.
With a shake of his head, Ethan dragged his focus back to his mates and gave Luc the finger, pretty much how they started every catch-up, although who had the first honour alternated.
All three laughed.
‘Nice to see your ugly head as well,’ Ethan said, linking his fingers behind his head. Trading insults was a pretty standard opener for their monthly calls, and despite their jam-packed schedules, they squeezed one in each month, without fail.
Luc gave the finger.
‘Glad to see you’ve both matured,’ Cam deadpanned.
‘Shush, kids, Dad’s here,’ Luc drawled.
Cam gave the finger.
Laughter filled the call along with the customary ribbing while they got their standard greetings out of the way, followed by an easy fifteen minutes while they caught up with each other.
‘What’s the latest with the plans for WillowGlen? Any progress?’ Cam asked.
‘It’s going to be a retreat.’
‘Like a health retreat, to keep me fit and healthy?’ Cam asked.
‘No, like I need somewhere to keep me safe.’
They both sat a little straighter, all teasing disappearing as the words hit.
‘And Ivy Flame’s thoughts on this?’ Luc’s eyes narrowed, his voice lowered to something lethal.
‘She’s onboard.’
‘Meaning?’
‘We agreed, together, that this was the best way forward.’
‘I have the feeling you’re not telling us everything,’ Luc said.
‘There’s nothing to say.’
‘You’re dealing with Poison Ivy. I’m sure there is,’ Luc said.
‘Don’t call her that,’ Ethan snapped. ‘There’s more to Ivy than you think. Not everything’s what it seems.’ He wasn’t going to divulge the truth behind Ivy and the photos, because that would be breaking her confidence, even as he hated not sharing the details with them.
‘Be careful, Eth.’ Cam scowled.
‘Of what?’
‘Her.’ Luc rolled his eyes.
‘You don’t need to warn me, either of you. I know what I’m doing.’
He said it with a confidence that felt far from real, because Ivy had lodged under his skin and refused to budge. What if there was a way to dislodge that and friends with benefits was an option for them? Not long term, of course, but just once, to eradicate this out-of-control attraction for good?
* * *
The following afternoon Ivy stood beside Ethan and stared at the murky outdoor pool.
She shuddered. ‘I can’t believe you used to swim in it.’
‘Neither can I. It was like this the first time I saw it, too, but I was a kid and Ruby put us boys to good use, no doubt in an endeavour to keep the three of us occupied. We spent hours, supervised by a local contractor who specialised in Victorian swimming pools, which in hindsight must have cost her a bomb. Then we used it every summer holiday for years. Hopefully, she thought it was worth it,’ Ethan said wistfully his hands jammed into his pockets.
‘I bet it was fun.’
‘When the weather was good, we practically had to be dragged out of it, or lured with food.’
She laughed. ‘Then I’d say Ruby probably thought it was worth every cent.’
‘I hope so,’ he said gruffly.
‘Did you swim in LA?’
‘All the time, but the weather there is better.’ He looked up at the laden sky and grimaced. ‘What about you, growing up in Australia?’
‘Same, but only in the ocean. I still have to be enticed to get into a pool, and this is far from enticing.’
His deep laugh rumbled across her skin.
‘That’s one way to describe it.’
‘Is this the shallow end?’ she asked in a bid to remind herself why she was here with Ethan, and it wasn’t to admire his laugh, or the way the breeze ruffled his hair, which he’d kept a little longer than when he first arrived and which suited him far too much for her peace of mind. Especially since their kiss and dance.