Ella absently adjusted the strap of her purse on her shoulder and nodded, silently agreeing. “I always loved your mom. She was always so sweet and kind to me and treated me like a daughter.”
“She loved you, too,” he said, knowing it was the truth. Patricia Coleman had doted on Ella as if she were one of her own.
Ella glanced away and cleared her throat. “Well, that’s that, then. I guess I should go.”
Kyle didn’t want her to leave and said the first thing that came to mind that would possibly persuade her to stay, just a bit longer. “Will you go to dinner with me?”
She tipped her head as her gaze met his again, a tiny, teasing smile curving her lips. “Will it make you reconsider my offer?” she asked hopefully.
He smiled back, enjoying that small lighthearted token she’d just offered. “No, but I can guarantee you’ll eat the best pizza you’ve ever had and you’ll go home with a full, satisfied belly.”
She rolled her eyes. “You’re supposed to be the enemy, Kyle.”
Her tone was still playful, but he hated that she thought of him as an adversary. “I never wanted to be the enemy, Ella,” he said, aching to touch her again. Instead, he shoved his hands into the front pockets of his jeans. “Come on,” he cajoled softly. “It’s rush hour out there. Would you rather spend an extra hour fighting traffic out of the city on a Friday night or eat dinner before the drive home? The pizza place is just a block over and within walking distance.”
She hesitated, pulling on her bottom lip with her teeth, clearly torn between what she should do and what she wanted to do. He’d already felt a tangible shift between them, the anger and animosity she’d carried on her shoulders when she’d walked into his office no longer an issue. He wasn’t stupid enough to believe that there wasn’t still an underlying level of hurt lingering on her end, but for the most part, his apology had gone a long way in smoothing things over, and hopefully had convinced her that the he wasn’t the asshole she probably thought he was.
Still, she was wavering, and he didn’t want to give her the chance to turn him down. “I’d really like to talk and catch up,” he said, opting for a safe, unthreatening approach. “We’re going to be seeing a lot of each other while I’m renovating the building over the next few months, so it would be nice if we could at least be friends.”
The last part of his statement seemed to be the deciding factor for her as she finally conceded. “Okay. I need to call my father’s caretaker to make sure she can stay a few more hours with him.”
“Sure.” He didn’t question the relief that flowed through him, followed by a surge of elation that spoke to just how happy he was to have her all to himself for a couple more hours. “I’ll give you a few minutes to yourself to make your call, and I’ll meet you back in the reception area.”
He walked out and closed the door behind him, then started down the hall just as he heard Ella say, “Hi, Betsy. I was wondering if . . .”
He didn’t stick around to eavesdrop on her conversation. Her voice trailed off the farther away he walked, until he was in the front area of the office, where Daphne was grabbing her purse from one of the drawers in her desk. It was past time for her to leave, and as she glanced up at him, an amused look touched her pretty features.
“What are you smiling about?” she asked curiously. “Not that you don’t smile, but you look like someone just gave you the best gift ever.”
He laughed, not realizing until Daphne had pointed it out that, yes, he was grinning like an idiot. All because he was going to dinner with Ella.
“Maybe someone did give me the best gift ever,” he replied humorously. Because at the moment, he couldn’t imagine a better present than spending more time with the beautiful, sexy woman down the hall. He wasn’t able to recall the last time he’d felt that way about a woman, anxious and excited and filled with anticipation. It was crazy that, after all these years, it was Ella of all people who inspired that sense of enthusiasm.
“Your unexpected visitor?” the receptionist guessed.
He nodded, still grinning.
Daphne looked him up and down, a mischievous glimmer in her gaze. “Exactly what kind of present are we talking about here?” she asked, her insinuation clear.
He chuckled. Daphne had been with the company for over a year. She had a naughty sense of humor, and this certainly wasn’t the first time she’d teased one of the guys. “Get your mind out of the gutter, Daphne. She’s an old friend,” he said, choosing to keep the fact that she was an ex-girlfriend to himself. “It’s been a while since we’ve seen one another.”
“An old friend, huh?” she repeated, evidently not believing him. “Like one of your other women ‘friends’ who’ve come by the office?” She waggled her brows.
Daphne was obviously referring to the other females he casually dated, whom he’d always politely referred to as “friends,” since a hookup or fuck buddy sounded way too crass, even if that’s what they truly were. Dinner at a nice restaurant because it was polite to feed his date, a bit of casual conversation, and no-strings-attached fucking. There was never any pretense or promises that it would ever be anything more than that—and none of those females ever made him want to tie himself to one person.
For years he’d told himself he didn’t have time for a relationship, that work and the company were his priority, but the truth was, he hadn’t really given any one woman a real chance. Either that or he just hadn’t found one who piqued his interest or stimulated him mentally—physically it was a given—for more than just a few nights of mutual pleasure.
He didn’t respond to Daphne’s innuendo. Instead, he glanced at the clock on the wall. It was nearly six. “Shouldn’t you be gone already?”
“I’m leaving right now,” she said as she brushed past where he was standing, then stopped at the glass door to glance over her shoulder at him with a devious smile on her face. “Have a nice evening with your friend.”
He certainly planned to.
Chapter Four
Good God, what was she thinking?
Ella disconnected the call she’d just made to her father’s longtime caretaker, Betsy, closed her eyes, and pressed the cell phone to her forehead. What she really ought to be doing was bashing it against her skull to knock some sense into her addled brain for letting her attraction to her long-ago ex-boyfriend soften her determination to keep things strictly impersonal between them. But no, she’d actually agreed to go to dinner with Kyle Coleman . . . the man who’d broken her heart not once but twice now. The first time when he’d walked out of her life ten years ago and again when he’d bought the Piedmont building right out from under her.
Third time’s a charm, right?
She laughed quietly to herself and shook her head. She really didn’t want to be a glutton for punishment when it came to this man. Kyle had made it clear that he wasn’t selling the building at any cost, so there was absolutely no reason for her to stay in the city, or with him, any longer. Even if she dreaded dealing with the horrendous traffic congestion through Chicago on her commute back home.
If she was smart, she’d tell him she changed her mind and leave. But then she remembered how he’d apologized for what happened in the past and how genuinely contrite he’d been for the accusations he’d made against her sister. And truthfully, Ella knew Gwen wasn’t blameless in the entire scheme of what had transpired, which Ella had learned after the fact. But that one hot summer night had been frightful and terrifying, with her father discovering Gwen in the bathroom, delirious and covered in blood as she miscarried the baby they hadn’t even known she was carrying.
I’m going to kill the son of a bitch who did this to you, Ella had heard her father, Charles, yell just as she came home after spending a few stolen hours with Kyle, the two of them making out down by the creek that ran through the woods. Tell me who the father is, her dad demanded.
Ella had reached the bathroom at this point, and she’d gasped when she glanced inside and saw all
the blood smeared along Gwen’s thighs and her sister wailing in agony on the floor with her father kneeling beside Gwen to help her through the pain that seemed to consume her.
It was Todd Coleman, Gwen finally confessed when she could speak, tears streaming down her cheeks.
Shock at her sister’s confession made Ella go numb. Completely the opposite of Kyle in every way, Todd had always been a punk and a troublemaker bordering on delinquent, and he was also three years older than Kyle. At twenty-one, he had no business messing around with such a young girl—even if her sister was known for being a bad girl who liked whatever attention she could get from a guy.
He’s the father but he didn’t want the baby. He gave me money to get rid of it, but I couldn’t do it.
The rage that had transformed her father’s features was unlike anything Ella had ever seen before. He was usually such an even-tempered man. Charles pushed past Ella on his way out of the bathroom, his face red and his eyes blazing with contempt.
Where are you going? Ella asked before he could leave.
To make that asshole pay for what he’s done, he said bitterly. You stay with your sister. I already called an ambulance to get her to the hospital. Once they take her, I need you to close up the store for me. William has to leave. I’ll meet you at the hospital after to be with Gwen.
Everything that had happened after that had been like living a nightmare. Half an hour later, the ambulance arrived at the house, and once Ella was assured that her sister was in good care with the paramedic and her miscarriage wasn’t life-threatening, she’d driven to the store as her father had requested. All the while she’d worried about her dad going head-to-head with someone as volatile as Todd, and possibly Kyle’s father, who always seemed to be at home and drunk.
Just as she was getting ready to leave the market to head to the hospital to be with her sister, Kyle had arrived, and the grim look on his face and the tense set of his shoulders nearly made her heart stop in her chest.
What happened? she’d blurted out in a panic, and listened as he relayed the story.
Kyle had been home when her father had banged his fist repeatedly on the door, rousing his dad, Frank, from where he’d been passed out on the couch. Kyle had been the one to answer the door, but his father, who’d been pissed off and furious with the noise, stumbled over to confront whomever was making such a racket. According to Kyle, when Ella’s father demanded to talk to Todd, his older brother had no qualms facing off with the man.
Belligerent and antagonistic, Todd repeatedly denied ever touching Gwen. Ella’s father’s fury pushed him over the edge and all hell broke loose. Accusations segued into pushing and shoving between the two men, and when Ella’s father threw a punch that clipped Todd in the jaw, Kyle had stepped in to keep his brother from taking down Ella’s father, and managed to keep the two of them separated. Kyle’s father threatened to call the police to press charges for trespassing and assault, but somehow Kyle had been able to diffuse the situation.
Your brother needs to step up and be a man and take responsibility for what happened to Gwen, Ella had stated angrily to Kyle, livid that Todd could be that much of an asshole that he’d deny any involvement with her sister, even while she was recovering from a miscarriage at the hospital.
Kyle’s body had stiffened, and his voice had turned harsher than she’d ever heard it before. He swears he never touched Gwen.
She’d been upset that he’d defended his brother, when they both knew Todd wasn’t exactly a stand-up kind of guy. Well, my sister said he was the father of her baby, she’d refuted, her tone sharp and firm.
Come on, Ella, Kyle shot back just as heatedly. Let’s be honest here. It’s not like your sister is pure and innocent. I’ve known guys in school that she’s slept with going back at least two years. Unfortunately, your sister has a reputation for being a slut, and there is no telling who the father of her baby might be.
Ella’s reaction had been swift and immediate. She’d slapped him across the face, hard enough that her palm stung from the impact and his head snapped to the side. When Kyle eventually looked back at her, they were both breathing hard, their anger equal in intensity. Her insides felt raw, her emotions in a turmoil. She’d been so furious with him in that moment, so hurt and betrayed by his words and how he could so easily lay the blame all on her sister, that she was shaking with shock and disappointment.
The ringing of her cell phone had jolted her out of their quiet and intense standoff—the first fight they’d ever had, and it couldn’t have been any more devastating. When she answered the call, it was the hospital informing her that her father had walked into the waiting area and asked for Gwen’s room number, then had collapsed—from a stroke. He was in critical condition and was being taken into surgery as they spoke.
Ella could still remember how that second round of shock had seemed to paralyze her. As soon as she’d blurted out what had just happened to her father, Kyle had insisted on accompanying her to the hospital. But knowing that her dad’s stroke had most likely been induced by the heated altercation at Kyle’s place, the last thing Ella had wanted was Kyle, or any of the Colemans, anywhere near her or her family.
Ella, please let me take you to the hospital, Kyle had said, the biting edge to his voice now gone. You shouldn’t be by yourself right now.
The only thing I want right now is for you to get out of my life, she’d said, knowing now that her words had been driven by fear for her father’s life and anger over the entire situation. At seventeen, her entire body and mind had been filled with terror over the possibility of losing her only living parent, and at that moment in time, Kyle and his family were too much a reminder of how they’d affected her dad’s and sister’s well-being.
There had been other things she’d said to Kyle to push him out of her life that day—hurtful things she’d wished she could take back days after the fact. But by then it had been too late. Kyle had left town early, a good month before they’d both been scheduled to leave for college, without saying good-bye. She’d been grief-stricken by his abrupt departure, even if she’d been the one to push him away.
That quickly, that easily, it had been the end of them.
Ella groaned softly as it all played back in her mind. The pain of those memories had certainly dulled with time, but seeing Kyle again, and listening to his sincere apology and the heartfelt things he’d said, made her realize just how much she’d loved Kyle. That a small part of her probably still did. I never should have left despite you wanting me gone. I should have been there for you when you needed someone the most.
Ella believed him, because his regrets were equal to her own. They’d just been too young to figure it out in time. His earlier words had melted away her anger and made her feel lighter than she had in a long time, despite losing out on the Piedmont building. They’d never be able to change the past, but like Kyle had said, it would certainly be nice to at least be friends. And friends had dinner together all the time, right?
The vibration of her phone in her hand alerted Ella of an incoming text. She glanced down to see it was from Claire.
So, how are things going in the city with Kyle? her friend asked.
Typing out everything that had just happened would take her forever, so Ella narrowed it down to the most important facts. Well, he won’t be selling me the building, and I’ll explain the details later. The rush-hour traffic out of the city is horrible, and he invited me to dinner. I’ll be back in a few hours.
Dinner, hmmm? I take it you two no longer hate each other. She added a cheesy grin emoji to the end of her text.
Ella had never hated Kyle. Ever. I think we’ve agreed to a truce, LOL.
A truce is a good place to start. It could lead to all sorts of interesting . . . things.
Ella rolled her eyes at Claire’s sexy insinuation, even though her friend wasn’t there to see it. It’s not like that.
But it could be? her friend persisted.
There was no refuting
her attraction to Kyle in the present, and she could easily appreciate how gorgeous he was, with a hard, solid body she’d no doubt enjoy feeling pressed against hers. Back in high school, being with him had made her feel light and giddy. But now, recalling the way his warm fingers had brushed across her cheek earlier in a simple caress, there was no denying the way her breath had hitched in her throat and her nipples had tightened into stiff peaks.
The instantaneous desire that had curled tight and low in her belly had been unexpected but certainly not unwelcome. And she definitely hadn’t missed the reciprocating flash of heat in his eyes that one touch had elicited from him, too.
So, yes, Ella supposed interesting things could happen, except . . . I have no idea if he has a girlfriend or not, she texted to Claire, and could easily imagine her friend smirking over the fact that Ella had just revealed that she might have thought about Kyle as more than just a business adversary.
If he had a girlfriend, he wouldn’t have asked you to dinner, Claire swiftly responded. And now I’m going to give you some woman-to-woman advice. If Kyle is feeling the same vibe, there is nothing wrong with having a good time, if you know what I mean. You haven’t had sex since Tucker, and let’s face it, you admitted that sex with him was lackluster anyway. Kyle might just be what you need to jump-start your sex life again.
Ella let out a soft laugh and typed back. Are you serious right now? Stupid question. Of course her friend was serious. Hadn’t they just had this lack-of-sex conversation that afternoon before Ella had left for the city?
Absolutely. And knowing you, here’s another piece of advice. Don’t overthink things, Ella. If it feels right, just go with it.
The Book Boyfriend Series Box Set Page 38
