Just then, my phone jingles, that ringtone that let’s me know that I’ve got to go home. It’s Catalina. I have responsibilities. I can’t just stay here with Ellie all night, even though I want to.
“You’ve got to go?” She asks softly, in a vulnerable tone that makes me wish I could take her with me. I hold her close and kiss her tenderly because I can’t.
When she pulls away, she gives me a soft smile that does nothing to conceal the disappointment she feels inside. She rolls off of the bed and ambles into the bathroom, shutting the door behind her.
Chapter 22
“Earth to Ellie –“ Snap. Snap. Snap. “Did you hear a word I just said?” My eyes flicker up to Dove’s as she waves her hand in my face. Her expression is more concerned than annoyed by my lack of attention, but there’s an underlying urgency painted on her features.
“Huh?” I say sheepishly. I’ve been so mentally involved in – whatever it is – that I’ve got going on with Matteo that I’ve really been letting my concentration slip at work.
“I just told you that we lost the Hampton Fresh Juices account and you didn’t even bat an eye. Are you okay these days? You’ve been really distracted.”
I ignore the last part of her statement and attack the first head-on. “Well, if we lost Hampton Fresh Juices, just go out and find another advertiser,” I say simply. “We’ve got the traffic numbers. I’m sure you could easily come up with a list of a dozen advertisers who’d be extremely interested in advertising on our blog.”
She sets down her half-empty water bottle on my desk and grunts. “It isn’t that simple, Ellie. The time I’ll spend chasing down new advertisers is time that I could spend working on initiatives to up our traffic or find better writers and photographers.”
My eyes flicker to my smartphone. New message from my mother. More pictures from her on-going Mediterranean cruise with billionaire husband number three. “Look Dove – we lost some business. That’s how it goes. Now, the task at hand is finding new revenue to replace what we lost.” My tone is calm and steady but I seem to be reacting a bit too calmly for her liking.
She eyes me suspiciously. “Are you sure you’re okay, doll? Something’s different about you. You’re dating someone, aren’t you?”
“No.” I am most definitely not dating Matteo. I’m fucking him – no, I fucked him. Past tense – but we’re definitely not dating.
“Look – I know we don’t talk about these sorts of things, but you are so dating someone,” she insists.
I heave a sigh as I shuffle through the papers on my desk. “Dove, can we please get back to business?”
She relents but when I glance her way, I see the disappointment in her eyes. “Fine.”
“So, how many stories did we post on the site for the day?” My eyes return to the screen of my smartphone as I tap out a quick reply to my mother.
“Seven,” she says. “Here’s what we have lined up for this evening.” She hands me a few sheets of paper.
After I’ve read through the proposed articles and I’ve given her the ‘okay’, Dove slinks out of my office, still pouting that I haven’t clued her in as to what’s going on in my private life.
Dove has always wanted to take our interactions a step beyond the employer-employee dynamic. She wants me for a friend. She’s a great girl but I’m not the type of person who engages on that level. I keep to myself. I always have and that’s how it will continue to be.
And even if I was the type of girl to blab about who I’m sleeping with, I still wouldn’t be able to talk to her about what’s going on with Matteo and me. Because I don’t understand it.
It’s just sex. That’s what I’ve been telling myself this whole time. But the more I see him, the more I question whether that’s true.
Am I developing feelings for him? Honestly, I don’t know. I can’t seem to stop thinking about him and every time he tries to get me back in bed, I say ‘yes’ although I know that the right answer would be ‘no’. It could just be because his is the best freakin’ sex I’ve ever had. But if I’m honest with myself, I’ve got to admit that it’s not quite that simple.
I like him.
I think.
This was never supposed to get complicated. Actually, it was never supposed to happen at all. I think back to the first time I met him. How maddeningly arrogant he had been. How condescending and smug. How much I’d loathed him. I was woman enough to acknowledge to myself that he was gorgeous – all tall and wide-shouldered in his expensive-looking business suit. But I also knew that there was no way in hell I would fall for his charm. I couldn’t shake the feeling that he was the type of guy that would fuck me then leave me in a heaping, sobbing pile of heartache.
And then he intervened when Lester was getting touchy-feely at the restaurant. That was the first crack in my armor and I’ve been a bumbling mess ever since.
I can’t fall for him.
It would be disastrous if I did.
Not only because he’s my lawyer. Not only because he’s a player. But also because he has no idea that I’m the woman behind the New York Flame, the gossip blog that has repeated exploited the misfortunes of him and his loved ones for profit.
We have to keep this light. We have to keep this light. We have to keep this light.
I can’t let myself forget that.
Chapter 23
I’m banging on her door again.
Goddammit – I’m a fiend. Addicted. Obsessed.
This time, the door flies open almost immediately. Ellie stands just inside, both hands hooked on the curve of her hips, her weight balanced on one foot. “Why are you here?” she says with a frown.
She’s so fucking cute.
I lean over and kiss the pout right off of her face.
I brush past her, padding towards her kitchenette. “I brought food,” I say hoisting the brown paper bag into the air. “—and wine.” I dangle the dark bottle of expensive red between my fingers.
She sighs and stomps over to where I’ve taken a seat and am making myself comfortable at the kitchen table. She tips the bag in her direction and peeks inside. Her stomach roars when the aroma of roasted lamb and herbed French fries hits her nostrils.
“Mmm mmm,” I say with a smirk as I set a container down in front of me and stretch the other out to her. “Mind getting me a bottle opener?” I say, tipping my chin towards the wine.
She doesn’t move an inch. “What are you doing?” she says, folding her arms tightly across her chest. She’s trembling slightly. I can tell that she’s seething.
“We’re having dinner,” I say with a syrupy grin, trying my best not to be offended by her foul mood.
“I don’t need you to bring me dinner. I need you to leave me alone.” Her lips draw into a tight line.
“Ellie, you don’t mean that. C’mon.” My shoulders slump forward slightly.
“This is becoming complicated, Matteo. The way I feel…it’s becoming complicated.”
I grunt. “I didn’t plan on this. I didn’t expect to feel this way for you.”
She pulls on the loose strands of her hair. “Let’s not do this. Please.” Her eyes are begging me.
“Let’s not do what?”
“Fall in love.”
I push a heavy breath out of my mouth as I lean back in the chair. “Look, Ellie – I don’t know what’s happening. All I know is that I can’t not be around you.”
Her hand raises to her mouth and she chews nervously on a fingernail. “I feel the same way,” she says in a small, unsure voice. She gazes off into the distance. “What about Catalina?”
I scrunch up my eyebrows unable to understand what she’s getting at. “What about Catalina?”
“You’re seeing her, right?”
I toss my head back and a laugh bellows out of my mouth. “I’m not seeing Catalina. Nothing of the sort.” But I hesitate to reveal to her the true nature of my relationship with Catalina.
Ellie pushes forward. “Well, who is she then
? She texts you all the time. And it’s obvious that you both live in the same house.”
She deserves to know. If we’re falling in love with each other, then Ellie deserves to know what she’s getting herself into.
I rap my knuckles against the tabletop. “Catalina is my daughter’s nanny. She’s a hound dog, but she absolutely loves my little girl.”
Pure shock registers in her eyes. “Your daughter?” she chokes out.
“Yes – I have a little girl. Tilly. Not many people know about her.”
She looks absolutely stunned. She grips the edge of the table and slowly sinks into the chair in front of her. “You – you never told me.”
“I know – you and I weren’t serious about each other and I just wanted to protect her. If the tabloids ever found out about her, she could kiss a normal childhood goodbye. I just want her to be safe.”
Ellie gives me a solemn nod. A moment passes before she says. “I understand – you only want to protect her.”
I give her a weak smile. She slides the lid off of the container in front of her and grabs a fry. She seems to be deep in thought.
“Where’s her mother? Your daughter’s mother?”
I pull in a deep breath and my shoulders hike up to my ears. “Amelia – Amelia’s in California. It’s a long story. You really don’t want to hear it.”
One of her perfect eyebrows arches high. “Um – yes, I do.”
I sigh again. “Fine. At least get me a wine opener and a glass.”
I watch as she slides out of her chair and slinks over to the cabinet where she pulls out two porcelain teacups before taking a corkscrew from the drawer. She sets it all down in front of me and returns to her seat.
I decide to start at the beginning. “So, Amelia’s company was being represented by my family’s law firm. She was looking to sign a commercial lease in Los Angeles. It was a pretty straightforward file.”
I open the wine and pour a generous measure into each cup as I speak. Ellie reaches over and takes a cup from me when I stretch it out to her.
“We became involved, sexually, and she got pregnant not long after. That’s when she told me that she was married. She came clean to her husband and he almost killed me, but when the dust settled, Amelia decided to keep the baby. Thank god.”
I take a mouthful of the dark liquid while I sort through my thoughts.
“As part of our custody arrangement, she agreed to move to Florida. That way, it was easier for me to visit my daughter regularly. But then, a few months ago, Amelia decided she wanted to move back to California with her husband. She threatened to take Tilly with her. The only way she’d agree to let Tilly stay on the east coast was if I paid her…a lot. And I did. Because I love my daughter. And I wanted to have her with me. She deserves more than a mother who views her as a burden or an inconvenience. I wanted her to know that she’s loved. I wanted to take care of her. Amelia actually had a big grin on her face when she signed the paperwork to terminate her parental rights. It’s like she thought it was a get-out-of-jail-free card or something. So now, Tilly’s with me. And sometimes it’s rough. She misses her mother, but it’s better this way.”
Ellie is looking at me, her eyes wide. “Oh Matteo – I had no idea.”
I shrug my shoulders. “It is what it is.”
“What kind of mother just abandons her child? What kind of parent does that?” I know she’s thinking about her own father now. The man virtually paid her mother to keep her a secret. I know that Ellie’s wounds run deep and because of that, she relates to my Tilly on some level. That only makes me appreciate this woman even more.
“I try not to think about it. Tilly’s with me now and that’s all that matters,” I say.
Ellie’s eyes are misty. I can tell that what I’ve just revealed to her has hit her hard. But she’s still full of questions. “How old is she?” Her gaze is peeled to my face.
“She’s almost four years old.”
“Can I see a picture of her? She must be so cute. I’d love to meet her.”
I chuckle, reaching out to touch her hand. “Ellie – I really don’t want to talk about my daughter right now.” As much as I love Tilly, I didn’t come here tonight to play proud papa. I came here to escape. Into Ellie. I don’t want this conversation to ruin our night. I didn’t come here to watch her cry…I came to fuck.
I move out of my chair and approach her, drawing my finger along her chin. Her eyes go wide and she shivers softly. I kneel in front of her and place a kiss on her kneecap. The way she looks at me, I can tell that she gets the hint. Finally.
But she wants to play games. “Dinner smells delicious.” She grabs another fry and chews slowly and exaggeratedly.
She’s getting under my skin and she knows it. I hook her leg over my shoulder and kiss the inside of her thigh. Her panties are slick. I can tell. Her desire fragrances the air. I love that she’s so responsive to me.
“It was very thoughtful of you to bring me something to eat. I haven’t eaten all day.” The playful glint in her eye tells me she intends on torturing me with her faux naiveté. Sneaky, little broad.
Now, I have to punish her…
She gasps when I tug harshly at her panties and they rip away from her body.
“The only thing I’m hungry for is your sweet pussy and you know it,” I say impatiently as I throw her other leg over my shoulder and hoist her up in the air. Her legs hook around my neck as I rise to my feet. Her sweet musk surrounds me as I bury my face in her wetness.
“Our dinner’s gonna get cold,” she teases as I press her body into the wall. Her head is inches from the ceiling.
I roll my tongue slowly against her clit. “Forget dinner – I’m about to feast on dessert.”
She groans as I slide my tongue along her glistening seam, lapping at the wetness seeping out of her. Her fingers curl in my hair and she squeals my name. The anticipation in her voice stokes me on. My lips seal around her swollen bud and pull and suck till the muscles at her core are clenching and releasing like crazy.
Knowing that my touch is the cause of her pleasure really caresses my ego and my dick is rock hard.
This is true happiness, I decide with my face buried at her core and her legs roped around my neck.
There’s absolutely nothing else I want in this moment.
Then, her spine arches and her body tenses. Her essences come gushing out onto my tongue as her climax shatters her.
Chapter 24
The space is masculine yet inviting. The walls of the foyer are frosty blue and the dark wooden floors gleam. Through the doorway, I see floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking Central Park. The furniture is upholstered in sturdy, dark fabrics and contemporary art hangs on the walls. Soft lighting illuminates the room.
The whole décor is very…mature. If it weren’t for the pair of tiny, pink rain boots on the doormat and the cartoon characters on the umbrella hanging from the coat rack, I never would have guessed that a child lives here.
Matteo has told me that, before Tilly came to live with him, he rented a simple bachelor pad in SoHo. But once he had a daughter to care for, he upgraded to a more family-friendly abode. He wanted to provide a home for her. That’s honorable.
I jump slightly when I hear him close the door softly behind me. He grins at me and whispers, “She must be sleeping.”
But before I even have the chance to respond, I hear tiny feet pitter-pattering down the hall. “Daddy! Daddy!”
He sweeps the little girl up in a bear hug and kisses the side of her face. “Tilly, where are your socks? The floor is cold.” A cascade of blonde curls tumble around her head.
She ignores her father’s question and eyes me curiously. “Who that?”
I can’t help but laugh at her precocity. Matteo laughs, too, as he sets her down on her feet. “This is my friend, Ellie,” he says, his hand resting on the top of her head.
“Hi Tilly,” I say, stooping so that we’re eye-to-eye. “It’s really nice to meet yo
u.”
She smiles and her blue eyes twinkle. She has Matteo’s dimples. “She pwetty. I want touch her,” Tilly announces bluntly.
She has me laughing again. Matt pushes a sigh. He glances at me. “Do you mind?”
“Of course not,” I say, furrowing my eyebrows at him.
Tilly gives him an excited grin before she steps towards me and takes my face between her hands. “Woooowwww! You so pwetty,” she coos. “You be my friend?”
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