Hesitantly taking the bag from my hands, she pulled the handles open and peeked inside. Her brows lowered, but this time, in confusion, not anger. Or at least that was what I hoped. She turned those amazing hazel eyes back to me. “You bought this?”
I shrugged and gave her a small smile in response. Eliza reached into the bag and pulled out the jar of salsa that I’d picked on my own. “I remembered that used to be your favorite. I wasn’t sure…” I trailed off, not wanting to finish that sentence and draw even more attention to the fact that I didn’t know her the way I used to.
“It still is,” she whispered, her eyes trained on the jar before she dropped it back inside and looked up. “And the wine?”
“I guess you could look at it as an apology.”
Her head dropped as she cleared her throat. She refused to meet my gaze again as she spoke quietly. “Well, thanks… I guess.”
“You’re welcome,” I said softly, hoping she’d look at me again and feeling bereft when she simply turned around and went back inside without giving me another glance with those eyes before shutting the door on me.
I carefully made my way down the stairs knowing one thing for absolute certain.
I had my work cut out for me.
8
Eliza
My head had been throbbing for the past two days.
That was why, as I drove up the long, tree-lined driveway that led to my father and Chloe’s house further up in the mountain, I dreaded being summoned to a family dinner. I’d suffered from migraines all my life. Fortunately, they were infrequent, but they were bad enough that I knew the signs that pointed to the throbbing behind my eyes being more than just a standard headache.
And I was pretty certain the current throb in my head was about to get much, much worse before it got better. The tiny, nagging pain started shortly after I closed my apartment door on Ethan the other night, and it had only gotten subtly worse as the days progressed. The only saving grace after that epically disastrous exchange was the fact that Lilly slept like the dead through the whole thing, so I didn’t have to deal with her rapid-fire questions.
The moment my car pulled to a stop in front of the house the front door flew open and my sisters Cate and Abbi came bounding down the front walk, pushing and shoving at each other like getting to me first was some sort of competition. Sure enough, poor Abbi’s hair was several inches shorter than it had been the last time I saw her. Luckily, she was only five, and adorable, so the terrible haircut could be overlooked.
“Hey munchkins!” I kneeled down, ignoring the pain in my head in order to give my sisters a great big hug. “I’ve missed you guys!”
“We missed you too!” Abbi exclaimed before Cate added, “You should come see us more. Daddy says he never should’ve let you move out on your own. Now you never come home.”
“Of course he did.” I grinned, knowing full well my father had put that particular guilt trip in Cate’s head because he knew she couldn’t keep a secret to save her life. That was his passive-aggressive way of letting me know he was not happy with my once a week visits.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Chloe coming out of the house and slowly making her way in our direction. I looked up to give her a smile, only to have it fall when I saw the worry on her face. I’d just opened my mouth to ask what was wrong when Abbi jerked on my hand.
“Guess what! Guess what!”
“What?” I asked, tipping my head down at her.
“Aunt Harlow and Uncle Noah are coming to dinner! And they’re bringing Lucy and Evan! It’s gonna be so fun!”
Suddenly I knew exactly why Chloe had looked so concerned. My head shot up, my wide eyes hitting hers in question. She knew exactly what I was asking and shrugged in response. She had no clue if Ethan was coming with them or not.
Well shit.
My lips pursed in agitation as I frowned. Clearly having lost interest in their big sister, Cate and Abbi took off back inside the house as I made my way to Chloe.
“I’m sorry, sweetheart. Your dad didn’t tell me you were coming over tonight.”
With a deep sigh, I tried my best to paste a smile on my face. It wasn’t her fault after all. “It’s fine. I’m sure he probably won’t be with them anyway.”
Just then, the sound of a vehicle — or more importantly, two vehicles — coming up the drive drew our attention in that direction, and my hope vanished.
“Damn it,” I muttered as Chloe breathed a soft, “Oh hell.”
I wanted to run and hide, but I knew that would only make me look childish. And I didn’t want to give Ethan the satisfaction, so I stood there and held my ground next to my stepmom while the cars came to a stop. I watched on as Harlow climbed from the passenger seat of her car and offered me a hesitant smile. Of course, being Chloe’s best friend, she knew all about my pain over her brother’s abandonment. Lucky for me, she was in my corner.
Harlow stepped in front of us and leaned in to kiss my cheek. “Hey ladies.” Then her eyes came directly to me as her voice lowered, “When he heard where we were going, he insisted. Just walked out of the house before I could say a word.”
“It’s fine,” I assured her, even though it so wasn’t. The loud creak of metal caused my head to snap up just as Ethan climbed down from the old beat up truck he was driving. When his gaze caught mine, he offered a tentative grin. I didn’t return the sentiment. Instead, I closed my eyes and reached up to rub my temples as the dull pain turned into a shooting one.
Chloe’s soft touch on my arm caught my attention. “You okay?”
“Yeah,” I lied. “Just a bit of a headache.
Her brows shot down, forming a deep V over her bright green eyes. She knew I was prone to migraines, but the last thing I needed was for her to worry about me. It would have only added to my stress. “Do you need to take something?”
“I took some Advil just before I headed over here. I’ll be good in a few minutes. Don’t worry.”
She didn’t look convinced, but before she could question me further, I was saved by the rest of Harlow’s family joining us, with the exception of Evan who ran into the house, no doubt to join Cate and Abbi in something destructive. I adored Harlow’s family… well, most of them anyway, so I prayed they would be a decent buffer between me and Ethan. Noah pulled me into his side and pressed a small kiss to my temple before releasing me to move on to Chloe. I could feel Ethan’s eyes burning into my skin as he joined our little huddle, but I refused to look his way. Thirteen-year-old Lucy mumbled, “Hey” in everyone’s direction while keeping her eyes glued to her phone, thumbs moving at lightning speed while texting. So maybe I wasn’t going to have the buffer I’d hoped for.
“Lucy, what’d I tell you about that damn phone,” Noah barked in his ‘Dad’ voice. In response, Lucy’s eyes rolled so far back in her head I worried they’d get stuck that way.
“God, Dad. Chill out. I’m just texting Krista real quick. I’ll put it away in a second.” She went right back to her phone and commenced texting like her tall, built, intimidating-to-everyone-else-on-the-planet-except-her father hadn’t said a word. I had to give it to the girl, she had some balls.
“I swear to Christ,” Noah grumbled while swinging his arm around his wife’s shoulders. “Pre-teen girls are going to be the death of me. I don’t remember you ever being such a massive pain in my ass, Eliza. Maybe you can teach my girl here a few things.”
Lucy, unfazed by her father’s words, simply snorted and turned to head for the house, eyes still on her phone.
“Eliza was always the exception to the rule,” Ethan said in a soft voice, causing my body to go stiff. I wasn’t going to look at him. I wasn’t. But I could hear the reverence in his tone and my stupid eye-balls just wouldn’t listen, tipping in his direction against my will. Those honey-colored eyes of his flashed as soon as mine hit them, shining with sincerity that I just couldn’t handle at that moment.
“What the hell’s everyone standing around the driveway for
?” My father’s booming voice called from the open front door. I used his appearance as my means of escape, pulling away from our small group to go to him.
“Hey, Daddy.” I gave him a genuine smile and stood on my tip-toes to kiss his scowling cheek.
“You don’t come home enough,” he huffed.
With a laugh, I said, “I just saw you yesterday, old man. Plus, you come to the café for lunch almost every day. And I was here for dinner last week!”
“Still not enough,” he grumbled, but he did it, wrapping me in a tight bear hug. There was nothing better than one of my father’s hugs. With the exception of heartbreak, they could pretty much mend anything. “I think you should consider moving back in here.”
At that all too familiar topic, my head fell back on a groan. “Not again, Dad. We’ve talked about this a million times.”
He opened his mouth to argue, but was cut off by Chloe. I could have kissed the woman. “Leave her alone, Derrick. She’s perfectly capable of taking care of herself, and her apartment’s only a few minutes away. You’re being ridiculous.”
Shooting her a murderous glare before turning away, he announced to everyone, “Let’s eat!”
* * *
As if having dinner with Ethan present wasn’t bad enough, he’d taken the seat right across from me so it was damn near impossible to avoid eye contact. And even though, I’d somehow managed I could feel his gaze like a tangible thing along my skin. The few times I accidentally looked up, or my curiosity forced me to, he was staring back at me with an expression on his face that I couldn’t read.
My belly dipped every time I saw his eyes glimmer, making me hate myself for my reaction. I didn’t want to feel anything for him other than disdain. Unfortunately, my body had other ideas. He’d always been attractive. I wasn’t blind growing up, but once my childhood crush waned, the obsession with his appearance had fallen to the back burner. However, grown up Eliza couldn’t help but notice just how fine Ethan had grown up to be.
And damn, was that man fine.
My father’s voice cut through my head, bringing me back to real time. “So, Ethan, how’s the knee feeling?”
I begrudgingly found myself looking in his direction, waiting for his answer. Old Eliza cared about Ethan’s wellbeing more than her own. It appeared that was a particularly hard habit to break.
“It’s fine. Getting better every day.” My chest squeezed uncomfortably, because despite his casual return, I could see the tension tightening the skin around his mouth and eyes. That was something that only I’d been able to read when we were younger, and that still seemed to be the case today.
“He’s been doing PT with Fletch and is down to only one crutch,” Harlow chirped like he was just days away from being fully healed. Ethan’s face grew tighter, telling me just how badly he was handling not being in the game. I knew exactly how much football meant to him and seeing that pain on his face, although masked well, made me sad for him. I didn’t want to care, but I wasn’t a heartless person. I just couldn’t help it.
“That’s good, son,” Dad replied. “We’ve missed watching you on Sunday’s. Next season will be here before you know it.”
The fork in Ethan’s hand looked like it was seconds away from being bent in half thanks to his white-knuckled grip. I wasn’t sure exactly what possessed me to do it, but I found myself speaking up to divert attention. “Noah, how’s the high school team looking this year? Sorry I haven’t been able to make it to any of the games. Things with the café have been crazy.”
The conversation smoothly transitioned from Ethan to Pembrooke High and when my eyes skated past his to return to my plate I couldn’t miss the thankful smile he shot my way. I ignored the look and rubbed my head.
The sharp pains in my temples had returned throughout dinner, shooting daggers through my skull at a faster rate. I needed to get away from that table, and fast. My rioting emotions when it came to Ethan, coupled with the screams of the three spawns of Satan at the other end of the table were a recipe for disaster.
“Hey.” At the sound of Ethan’s insistent voice I had no choice but to look at him. And the concern marring his brow only made the tightness in my chest worse, and added a belly flip for good measure. “You okay?”
“I’m fine,” I answered shortly, picking up my fork and stabbing at a piece of roast on my plate. In spite of the fact my stomach was protesting the thought of food, I was more than willing to shovel the rest of my dinner into my mouth if it meant I could get out of there faster.
“You don’t look fine,” he continued to push. “You’re really pale, kiddo.”
Now it was my fork in danger of being bent in half. “He’s right, baby girl,” my father spoke carefully from beside me at the head of the table. “You’re not looking too good. Is it a migraine?”
I clenched my eyes shut and nodded. I had no choice but to tell the truth. That damned incessant pain in my head wasn’t going to let up. With each passing minute, it was growing closer and closer to becoming unbearable. I pulled in a deep breath and pushed up from my chair, holding on to the edge of the table for balance. “I need to get home before it’s so bad I can’t drive.”
My father shot up and wrapped his arm around my waist, holding me to his side so he could take most of my weight. “Like hell you do. You aren’t driving like this, Eliza. You can stay here tonight.”
“And sleep where?” I asked with a chuckle, immediately wincing when the noise sliced through my head. “Dad, I need dark and quiet. I love all of you more than anything, but you have to admit, that’s not something I can get here.”
He looked like he wanted to argue but didn’t seeing as I was totally right.
“I’ll take her home.”
My eyes went wide at Ethan’s declaration. “Good idea, son,” Dad spoke up. Noah nodded in agreement. Son of a bitch. Neither of them knew about what went down between me and Ethan. Men were so freaking clueless it was painful.
I was just about to protest when Harlow jumped into the fray, bless her heart. “Oh, you don’t have to. I’ll take her home.”
“Wildflower, you’ve had two glasses of wine already,” Noah pointed out, earning himself a killing look from his wife. He looked startled. Poor guy had no clue what he’d just done to earn her wrath.
“Then I’ll take her.” Chloe stood from her chair and began to move my way.
“That doesn’t make sense, sunshine,” Dad argued. “You’d have to go there and come back. If Ethan takes her, he can stay to make sure she’s okay, and Noah and Harlow can just swing by to pick him up on their way home.”
I watched with growing panic as Harlow and Chloe’s faces fell in defeat. My father’s argument was just too solid. Sometimes I really hated his stupid cop brain.
“That settles it,” Ethan spoke, standing from the table and grabbing the one crutch. He reached into the pocket of his jeans — jeans which fit him really well, I’d unfortunately noticed — and pulled out a set of keys, tossing them to my dad. “I’m moving a little slower these days. You mind getting her into my truck, Derrick?”
Dad caught the keys and all but carried me out of the house.
And just like that, thanks to my traitorous head, I was forced to spend alone time with the enemy.
9
Ethan
Seeing Eliza in so much pain twisted my gut into painful knots that only squeezed tighter with every pained moan or whimper that came from her as we made the drive to her apartment. Maneuvering her up the steps was a definite struggle, but I somehow managed to get her up, and find her keys in her purse without jostling her too much. It was once we got inside that things became more difficult.
“What’s going on?” I looked from where I held Eliza close to my side toward the woman standing from the couch. “Holy shit. Ethan?”
“Lilly?” I asked the blonde standing in front of us who looked somewhat familiar. I’d only met her a couple of times back in the day. She was one of Eliza’s closest friends, bu
t she’d lived in Jackson Hole so I didn’t see her all that often.
“What the hell happened?” she asked, rushing to Eliza and cupping her cheeks.
“Migraine,” Eliza answered in a small voice. “Just need one of my pills and sleep. I’ll be okay.” She sounded far from okay, and just hearing that ripped at my heart.
“Oh, babe,” Lilly mumbled. “Okay. I’ll take care of it.” To my surprise, she moved to my girl’s other side and tried pulling her from my arms. “I got her, Ethan. You can go now.”
“What?”
The look she gave me was anything but friendly. “I said you can go. I’ll take care of her.”
Something proprietary coursed through my veins at her sharp words, and I found myself holding tighter to Eliza. She was mine. “Like hell I’m leaving. I’ll take care of her.”
Lilly’s face pinched up in distaste. “She doesn’t need you. You’ve already caused enough damage. Just leave. Let someone who actually cares about her take care of her.”
My eyes widened as anger began to simmer in my blood. “You think I don’t care about her?”
“I think you’ve already proven just how much you care,” she scoffed and pulled at Eliza. “Just let her go. This isn’t going to win you any brownie points.”
I tugged her back against me. “Fuck that,” I growled. “I fucking care, and I’m not going anywhere.” Oh, if she only knew just how much I cared about Eliza.
The two of us were in a standoff so intense that neither of us noticed Eliza’s whimpers. “Jesus!” Lilly snapped. “How selfish can you be? Just leave her alone.” She gave another tug.
“I’m. Not. Leaving,” I ground out.
We instantly stopped struggling when Eliza’s pained voice croaked, “I’m going to be sick.”
“Shit,” Lilly breathed.
Eliza lurched, trying to get away, but I refused to let go. Holding most of her weight, I dropped my crutch and began leading her to the bathroom down the hall. We managed to make it just seconds before she lost the entire contents of her stomach in the toilet.
Welcome to Pembrooke: the complete Pembrooke series Page 26
