Elliot: The Williams Brothers

by Jenni M. Rose

  “I should make you leave,” Julia threatened, crossing her arms over her chest.

  “Hold up.” Cole interrupted, eyes still wide, hands out in front of him. “Your father is Bram Hawkins? Hair of the Dog, Bram Hawkins?”

  Julia sighed. “Cole, my dad, Bram. Dad, Cole.” She waved her hand between them as an introduction. They shook hands, Cole beside himself with excitement.

  “You could have given me a little bit of a heads up on this one, Shorty,” Elliot murmured while her father introduced himself to Tucker.

  “I told you my father was a musician,” she said plainly.

  Elliot palmed her backside and gave it a squeeze. “Nice try.”

  Her father came to stand in front of her and Elliot. “Now, you must be Elliot.”

  Elliot held his hand out and the two men shook, staring into each other’s eyes. Searching for what, she didn’t know. When a sufficiently manly time had passed, they let go and stood in a strange standoff. Thank goodness for Kelsey who happened to come in the back door at that moment.

  A wide smile broke out on her father’s face. “Now, there’s my Hellsey!” He used the nickname he’d given Kelsey one day when he accused her of enjoying giving people hell.

  Kelsey squealed and threw herself at him. “Bram!”

  It was a strange thing to watch her father twirl around another woman, like Kelsey was his long-lost daughter instead of her, but that just wasn’t part of Julia’s makeup. She’d never consider letting herself go like, that and she knew that Kelsey and her father had spent quite a bit of time together when she worked and had sent Kelsey to entertain him. They’d formed a friendship.

  “How’s my brassy babe?” Bram joked when he put Kelsey down.

  “This is awesome.” Cole laughed and looked at Julia.

  She narrowed her eyes at her father. “Yeah. Awesome.”

  “Oh, love,” he sighed. “I told you I’d be flying in this week. You told me I was welcome to come see the house.” He looked around. “Frankly, I thought it would be bigger.”

  “I don’t need bigger,” Julia defended.

  “Of course you don’t need it,” he scoffed. “But you can afford it.” She tilted her head in response. “I should never expect you to do what everyone else does.”

  Cole laughed. “Ain’t that the truth.”

  “Show me the house, Jules.” Bram held his hand out but Julia didn’t take it. She turned to look at Elliot, though she wasn’t sure why. She wasn’t asking his permission because she knew she didn’t need it. She wasn’t asking him to come because she knew he didn’t want that either.

  It was strange to look to him for some unknown reason and she didn’t like it. It made her feel off-kilter and needy. Before she figured out how to address her feelings or the look she gave him, she turned on her heel and left the room, assuming her father would follow.

  “We’ll just bring the closet built-ins inside while you’re up there!” Cole yelled after her.

  “Slow down!” Bram made a grab for her at the top of the stairs. “What the hell was that?” he asked when he caught her.

  “You wanted to see the house. I’m showing you,” she told him.

  “Not that. The storming out of the room bit.”

  Julia sighed and looked down at her feet, rubbing a hand across her forehead. God, she was tired. “I don’t know. I just felt like I was standing there…” she paused and took a breath. Her father was looked at her with nothing more than curiosity. “Checking in with him or something,” she finished.

  “What’s wrong with checking in, love?”

  “I don’t check in,” she countered.

  “That’s because you’ve never had anyone to check in with before.”

  “It felt strange. And awkward.”

  “You’ll get used to it.”

  “What if I don’t?” she asked.

  “You will.” He smiled.

  Julia showed him the empty upstairs and let him check out every nook and cranny. He was not surprised in the least by the enormity of the closet, but marveled at the Williams’s handiwork. While he looked around, Julia leaned against the doorjamb and yawned. She was getting too old to stay up all night and work, she thought. Certainly, too old to do it often. She wanted to relax, not work herself to death.

  It made her think of the vacation she’d just come back from. She imagined herself on the beach in front of the water, watching it lap against the shore. The clear blue sky, the clouds rolling by. Elliot next to her, content in their silence, as usual.

  “Stubborn girl,” she heard her father say quietly. “You’re dead on your feet.”

  “I’m fine,” she told him as she stood.

  They went downstairs to the kitchen to find only Kelsey going through some paperwork.

  “Hellsey, you need to make sure Julia gets some rest. She was falling asleep standing up a minute ago.” He pushed Julia into a chair.

  “Aren’t you staying?” Kelsey asked.

  “Oh, no.” He shook his head and hugged her assistant. “I’m only in the city for one night. This afternoon I have to meet with the financial planner about the H-Surf stocks in the city. Then a quick morning show appearance before I fly to Los Angeles.”

  Kelsey pouted. “I didn’t get to see you at all!”

  “Next time,” he promised. “And next time, we won’t let Elliot run off without at least a little intimidation from Julia’s father.”

  “I’m still here. There’s time.” Elliot’s voice came from the doorway.

  Julia took in his stoic face, that serious expression, and had no idea what he was thinking. She had no idea what she was thinking, for that matter. Now that she was back home, she was reminded just how strange she felt when she lived in the real world. Apart. Different. When it had just been the two of them on the beach, things had seemed so much easier. It had been simple to separate herself from that stigma with just Elliot to see her. Now she felt like a fledgling bird taking a nosedive out of the nest again. She wasn’t sure if she had it in her to fly.

  Although, now that Elliot was in the room with her father, Bram seemed at a loss for words. Elliot cut her a look that said absolutely nothing to her. It didn’t say he was mad about her hasty exit before, but it certainly didn’t say he couldn’t wait to see her naked either. His silver eyes were mysterious and they hid whatever he was thinking.

  Holding out the proverbial olive branch, a silent apology for acting foolish, she quirked her mouth into a half smile. She liked to think his expression softened a fraction but she may have been dreaming.

  “Walk me out, Elliot.” Her father used a stern tone she’d never heard from him before.

  Elliot nodded and held his hand out to indicate he’d follow Bram. Julia absently said goodbye to her father and watched as Elliot walked out the door without another look. Ignoring Kelsey, she made her way to the back bedroom, flopped on the bed, and covered her head with a pillow. Without question, she was a total social failure. She’d never get it right.

  13

  Her father was a rock star. An ultra-famous rock star on par with guys like Mick Jagger and Steven Tyler. She could have mentioned that, Elliot thought sourly as he walked behind her father to his car. Then there was the strange snub in the kitchen when she’d left the room with a snooty sniff.

  “Since you’re closer to my age than I thought, it seems strange asking what your intentions with my daughter are,” Julia’s father said to him as they walked. Bram freakin’ Hawkins. Since he didn’t ask a question, Elliot didn’t say anything. “Julia seems to like you, so I’ll say this once.” He turned to face Elliot. “If this is about money, I’d as soon pay you now and save her the heartbreak.”

  Elliot crossed his arms over his chest. “You want to pay me off?” he asked quietly, incredulous.

  “If you’re after her money, then yes.”

  “I don’t care about her money,” Elliot told him honestly.

  “She’s not an easy woman. If you’re go
ing to hurt her, I suggest you quit now.”

  The idea that Elliot needed this guy to tell him that Julia wasn’t an easy woman was laughable. And if someone asked him to explain, on the spot, why he felt so drawn to Julia, he wasn’t sure he’d be able to do it. They were very personal and also very private reasons he supposed. Though she’d grown up rich and he’d started poor, they’d both struggled with loneliness and a feeling of not belonging anywhere. In fact, he knew that Julia still struggled with that. He had been able to overcome that feeling in his teenage years with ungodly amounts of love and support from his adoptive parents and grandmother. Even his brothers had proven that they’d loved him, even when they’d hated him. Julia hadn’t had anyone to solidify that feeling for her. Her mother had abandoned her, her grandparents had ostracized her, and her father had been absent. It wasn’t any wonder that Julia had grown into a bristly and unapproachable woman.

  Elliot didn’t make any comment because no matter how famous he was, it wasn’t any of his business.

  Bram’s face spread into a very familiar smile. “You really like her.”

  Again, Elliot didn’t answer. It’s not like they were in the sixth grade, gossiping about girls in the hallway.

  “Okay, fine. Fine.” Bram held up his hands. “I’ll see you soon.” He walked to his car and went to climb in, but stopped short. “Her grandfather is dying. She knows he’s sick but refuses to call. See if you can get her to come around.”

  As he watched the man drive away, Elliot wondered if Bram knew how much damage her grandparents had done to her. How they ruined her sense of self-worth and stripped her of her well-deserved self-confidence. It made no sense to push Julia back into a position of feeling vulnerable when she’d obviously built herself up to be the person she wanted to be.

  There were moments when they were together that he swore he knew exactly how Julia Hawkins worked. Brilliant, yet guarded. Deeply guarded. He’d worked his way past those walls though, he knew. Yet, some moments, like the look she’d thrown him in the kitchen, made him feel as though he was firmly planted on the outside of those walls, his nose pressed against the hard stone.

  Elliot headed up the front steps and into the house, still admiring the new office space before stalking through to the kitchen, noticing just how outdated that room was compared to the rest of the house. He thought about the plans Julia had for the remodel and realized how much of a service she was doing for the integrity of the property.

  Julia really wasn’t the woman he’d initially thought she was.

  Finding the kitchen empty, he poked his head into that tiny back bedroom and found Julia, curled on her side, her head buried under a pillow. She was wearing a pair of black leggings and long-sleeved T-shirt that said Hokey Pokey Anonymous: A Place to Turn Yourself Around.

  He sat on the side of the bed and she stirred, looking at him with sleepy eyes when he took the pillow off her head.

  “I’m sorry,” she said right away. Elliot shrugged and moved some of her curly hair off her forehead with his fingertips. “I felt awkward. Like I was checking in with you before I left the room. Then I felt angry because I didn’t need to ask permission. Then I felt ashamed because I made you feel bad.”

  Elliot sent her a half smile. “That’s an awful lot of feelings for a span of five seconds.” Julia pressed the side of her face into his hand. “You don’t need permission from me to do anything, Julia.”

  “I know that,” she said, frustration creeping into her voice.

  “I don’t mind the checking in though,” he admitted.

  Her jade eyes watched him carefully. Someday, he thought, she’d trust him. She wouldn’t have to look so closely to know he was telling the truth, she’d just know. He swore he’d get her there someday.

  “It doesn’t feel strange that I—”

  “No,” he interrupted whatever thought she was having. “Nothing about that exchange was strange until you stormed out on it.”

  “Oh,” she said almost to herself. “Your brothers—”

  “Who cares about my brothers?” he interrupted again. “It’s just you and me, baby. That’s all we’re talking about here.”

  “I just thought they’d think—”

  “Who cares what they think?” Elliot leaned down and placed a kiss on those incredibly soft lips of hers. Making sure she was looking into his eyes, he stressed his point to her again. “I don’t care what anyone else thinks, Julia. I care about you. You and me. Forget them and what they might think. You need to look at me or talk to me for any reason? You do it. I’m here for you. If I need you for something, can I come to you?”

  “Of course,” she answered easily, without any hesitation.

  “You and me, baby.”

  She nodded her agreement. “You and me.”

  He bent a little farther and nuzzled her neck, placing kisses on her throat. She fidgeted for a second and then cuddled farther into his face. Just then, the sounds of hammering came from above them.

  “I’ll be right back,” Elliot grunted.

  He stomped up the stairs and found both his brothers working in the master closet which was shaping up to be incredible.

  “You need to leave,” he said frankly.

  The both looked at him like he’d lost his mind. Elliot understood perfectly. He was the one always pushing the schedule, making sure everything was on time. He was the one that worked nights and weekends to keep things going. Now, here he was, halting work on a job in the middle of the week.

  “Seriously?” Tucker asked, goggling at Elliot. Cole was doing much of the same.

  “Seriously,” he confirmed. “Julia’s tired and needs some sleep. I’ll work over the weekend to catch us up.”

  “Homegirl could sleep through a train coming through the house.” Cole laughed. “I can’t imagine we’re keeping her up.”

  Cole was right, Julia was a deep sleeper, but he wasn’t, and he wasn’t leaving, so that meant his brothers needed to get lost. When he said nothing and just crossed his arms waiting, Tucker shrugged and started packing up while Cole followed suit.

  “Fine. You can be the one to tell Julia we’re taking the day off,” Cole groused.

  “I’ll do that,” Elliot agreed.

  When they finally left, Elliot went back into Julia’s makeshift temporary bedroom to find her still awake, curled on her side, facing the door. She watched him come into the room and sit on the bed.

  “Where did your brothers go?”

  “I gave them the day off,” he said as he took his shoes off and stretched out on the bed.

  Julia scooted closer and curled into his side, her leg thrown over his hip, her head on his shoulder with her arm around his waist.

  “I slept like shit last night,” he complained as he settled farther into the bed and closed his eyes.

  “Me too,” Julia agreed.

  “When we wake up,” Elliot informed her around a yawn, “we’re going to talk about you not telling me about your dad.”

  Julia sighed against his chest. “There’s nothing to tell.”

  “Don’t ruin this by lying, Shorty.” He kissed her forehead. “You could have told me anytime, but didn’t. We’ll talk about it later.”

  “Okay.”

  There were still hurdles for them to overcome. She still didn’t trust him with so many aspects of her life. He didn’t think she trusted herself sometimes. Her eating, which he knew signaled some other kind of disorder, needed to be addressed too, but he fell asleep, knowing that conquering these obstacles was exactly what he wanted to do. He wanted her to thrive and flourish, not just materially but emotionally. He wanted to see her laugh openly and lose that guarded expression that haunted her electric eyes. And he wanted her to be able to love him freely and honestly because that’s exactly what he planned to do with her.

  14

  Nearly two weeks passed after the incident with Bram Hawkins showing up at Julia’s house, and she had yet to have that conversation with Elliot. He�
��d said they were going to talk about it, but it just hadn’t happened. They’d woken up that afternoon after a long nap and had both gone back to their respective works. She’d since submitted her program proposal to three different prospective buyers and was waiting to hear if she had any offers. The Williams brothers were nearly done with her closet and the rest of the upstairs remodel.

  She’d thankfully only spent a few nights in that tiny downstairs bedroom before being moved into the guest suite upstairs, which was completely finished. Granted, her clothes were still technically homeless and she was living with much less than she was accustomed to, but it was so much better than it had been. With her office being finished, a bedroom to sleep in, plus what felt like a new beginning in her love life, Julia felt better than she had in years.

  Cole, especially, had helped her come out of her shell, stealing her away, once or twice, from the rest of the group, to take her to a movie. He’d taken her to the pool hall to teach her how to play and she’d been hit on by someone at the bar.

  Cole had merely turned to the man and said, “She’s with Elliot.”

  The man, who was about her age, had taken a long look at her, tipped his beer, and walked away.

  “Hey,” she complained.

  Cole laughed. “Jules, do you know what it took for me to get Elliot to let me take you out tonight? Like I’m going to ruin it by letting someone hit on you.”

  Julia bristled. “You don’t need Elliot’s permission to take me anywhere. You need mine.”

  Cole lifted his eyebrows at her. “Julia, I like being your friend, but the fact is, you have a boyfriend. Boyfriends don’t usually take too kindly to their women having male friends, even if those friends are just their little brothers. So yeah, it took some convincing for Elliot to believe that I was just looking to be your friend and yeah, I kind of needed his permission so I could keep the peace between all of us.”

  She seemed to consider that for a moment before nodding and taking a sip of her water.

  She and Elliot spent most nights together, sometimes at her house and sometimes at his cabin. The weather, now nearing the end of April, had turned warm and they spent a lot of evenings on the porch, watching the stars and enjoying each other’s company. She’d never had nothing to do before. It seemed strange to just spend her days cruising the internet and managing her own affairs. Even Kelsey was getting bored, the lack of work a jarring contrast to the buzz of their former life.