Easy Love

by Kristen Proby

  My eyes are getting heavy as I wait for his response. Finally, long minutes later, he replies.

  Goodnight, Eli.

  ***

  When I woke up this morning, there were no more text messages from Eli. I almost thought I’d dreamed them, but when I looked, there they were.

  He likes making me smile.

  And now that I stop to think about it, he does make me smile. Quite often, actually. He has the best smile, and when he laughs, his whole face lights up, showing off a small dimple in his right cheek. His whiskey eyes are intoxicating, and when he pins me in his sexy I-want-you stare, well, he makes my panties melt right off me.

  Yeah, I enjoy making him smile too.

  “Earth to Kate.” I blink rapidly and glance up to find Hilary laughing at me.

  “I’m sorry.”

  “Hon, you were a million miles away.”

  I cringe and glance at my computer, which has been idle so long it went to sleep.

  “Yeah, daydreaming. Sorry.” I smile and gesture for her to sit in the chair across from me. “What can I do for you?”

  “Oh, nothing. I decided to take my lunch break a few minutes early and come see how you’re gettin’ on here.”

  “Is it lunch time already?” I check my watch, and sure enough, the day is half gone. “Wow, time flies. I’m doing well. How are you?”

  “Oh, I’m just fine.” Hilary pats her pretty blonde hair and grins. “I had a date on Friday.”

  “Really? How did that go?”

  “Well, it ended on Sunday afternoon, so I’d say it went well.”

  We both giggle, and suddenly there’s a delivery boy at my doorway. “Miss O’Shaughnessy?”

  “Yes.”

  “I have your lunch order here.”

  I frown, but quickly recover, playing along. I don’t want Hilary to suspect anything.

  “How much do I owe you?”

  “Nothin’, ma’am. Have a nice day.”

  There’s a note stapled to the plain brown paper bag.

  Kate,

  This should hold you over until tonight.

  E.

  I tuck the note in my pocket, my heart suddenly beating fast and doing the happy dance in my head, as Hilary watches with blatant curiosity. I open the bag and practically groan.

  “Shrimp po’ boy and red beans and rice,” I announce. “I can’t eat all of this. Please, tell me you’ll stay and help me.”

  “I’ve never passed up a po’ boy,” Hilary says with a grin, as I split everything in half and we settle in to eat at my desk.

  “So, tell me more about this two-day date.” I take a bite of my sandwich and sigh with happiness. The man does feed me the best food.

  “Well, his name is Louis, which made me think that he’d be a bit of a geek at first. I mean, his name is Louis.”

  I nod as I chew, and chuckle as Hilary gets the dopey I-got-laid look on her face.

  “Where did you meet him?”

  “Online.” She blushes and then shrugs. “Once you reach a certain age, it’s hard to meet people.”

  “You can’t be more than thirty,” I reply, and take a heaping bite of the red beans and rice.

  “I’m thirty-two. No, not old, but I work all the time, and it’s not like I go to school or meet new people all the time. So, I’m doing the online thing. So far, it doesn’t suck.”

  “What does Louis do?”

  “Well, he does this thing with his tongue—”

  “Ew! No, what does he do for a living?” I laugh and throw a plastic-wrapped spork at her, making her giggle.

  “I don’t know. I think he said he works at a Starbucks.”

  I raise an eyebrow. “Not that I’m judging, but you think?”

  “Honey, once he took his shirt off, and I got a look at his chest and abs, he could have told me he hunts whales for a living, and I still would have gotten naked for him.”

  I smirk, but I know exactly what she means. I wonder what Eli looks like under all of his perfectly tailored suits, worn blue jeans and hot T-shirts. He’s muscular, I know that much just based on the little I’ve touched him. I wonder if he has tattoos?

  “Also, Louis has these tattoos,” she continues, as though she can read my mind, “all down his left arm. I spent a good few hours tracing them with my tongue.”

  “Hours?” I ask with a snort.

  “Trust me; it was totally worth it,” she replies with a wink. “He used his tongue in other ways that made me a very happy woman.”

  “Oh, my gosh, stop it with the tongue talk!” I cover my ears with my hands and shake my head. “I beg you!”

  “He was begging all right.”

  I dissolve in a fit of giggles. “I like you.”

  “I like you too.” She sighs and sips half my Coke. “So, who put that look I saw on your face when I walked in here?”

  I shake my head adamantly. “No one.”

  “Bullshit.”

  “Seriously. I’m not currently having sex.”

  “No, you’re currently having lunch with me. But you were thinking about having sex. I know that look.” Hilary narrows her eyes. “Spill it.”

  “Honestly, I’m not seeing anyone, naked or clothed. I am, however, going to go buy some new shoes after work.”

  “New shoes are almost as good as really good sex,” she concedes, and I silently blow out a long breath. “Not quite, but almost.”

  “New shoes are great, but I’m even more addicted to handbags.”

  “Me too!” she exclaims and shimmies in her seat. “Have you seen what’s coming this fall from MK?”

  “No, is it delicious?” I ask, and suck Coke through my straw.

  “To die for,” she confirms with a nod. “And I just picked up a cute little number at the Coach outlet last week.”

  “The outlets are my weakness.” I grin at Hilary. I really do like her. She’s someone I could be friends with. I’m glad she’s decided to befriend me here at work.

  “Now, tell me you like to read, and we’ll be soulmates.”

  “My iPad is full of trashy romance novels.”

  A slow smile spreads across her pretty face. “I’m keeping you.”

  ***

  “You keep feeding me,” I say to Eli as he escorts me, hand in hand, down Royal Street to the pretty little restaurant that he’s taking me to for dinner.

  “You like to eat. I like that in a woman.” I laugh up at him, and then sigh as he leads me across the street, protectively laying his hand on the small of my back.

  “How was your day?” He links his fingers with mine again as we stroll down the street.

  “Long. I found out that I have to leave tomorrow morning for a business trip to New York. I also kept thinking about getting you alone. Do you know what a pain in the ass it is having you in the same building as me all day long and not being able to walk into your office and kiss you whenever I want to?”

  “No, why don’t you tell me.”

  His lips quirk as he glances down at me. “You’re sassy. One of these days I’ll just have my assistant send down for you and you can come to my office.”

  “Just so you can kiss me?”

  “We can start with that, yes.” His voice is suddenly rough, and my knees turn to jelly at the thought of being in Eli’s office with him, and all the things we could do in that office.

  “I don’t think that’s a good idea. People will talk, and we can’t have that.”

  “So professional,” he murmurs, then stops us on the sidewalk and leans in to whisper in my ear. “I can’t wait to see you all flummoxed and writhing and unprofessional beneath me, cher. Trust me, we’re about to get as unprofessional as possible.”

  My breath catches in my throat as he leans back and pins me in his hot stare. He drags his fingertip over the pulse in my throat. “I see that thought turns you on.”

  Heck yes that turns me on! I can only swallow hard and watch as he pulls away and leads me to the restaurant.

&nbs
p; “Café Amelie,” I read aloud. “That’s a pretty name.”

  “And good food.” He turns to the hostess. “Reservation for Boudreaux.”

  “Of course.” She grins and grabs two menus. “Would you prefer courtyard seating?”

  Eli raises an eyebrow at me. It’s cooler this evening, and the courtyard is pretty with lights in the trees above. “The courtyard is beautiful.”

  “The lady wishes to sit in the courtyard,” Eli replies with a soft smile, his eyes never leaving mine.

  This man is potent.

  We’re seated in the corner of the courtyard, giving the table an intimate atmosphere. Soon, a very tall, handsome waiter arrives to take our drink order and to tell us about the specials.

  “I’d enjoy a lemon drop martini, please.” I smile at Eli as he orders his own drink and tells Joe the waiter that we need a few minutes with the menu.

  “You’re not ordering for me?” I ask when Joe leaves.

  “Do you want me to?” Eli asks. “I certainly can.”

  I shrug a shoulder. “It’s not necessary. You just usually enjoy ordering for me.”

  Joe delivers our drinks and takes our order. Eli orders an appetizer of Brussels sprouts sautéed in butter and bacon with dates, and assures me they are to die for.

  “They’re Brussels sprouts.”

  “You’ll like them,” he insists, and takes my hand in his as I drink my lemon drop.

  “This is delicious.” I take another sip. “So, you’re leaving tomorrow?” I try to keep my voice nonchalant, but my stomach is suddenly tight. I don’t want him to leave.

  “Just until Friday afternoon.” He kisses my palm. “I’ll miss you.”

  “You’ll be too busy to miss me.”

  “I’ll miss you,” he insists. “How was your day?” he asks and leans in, giving me all of his attention.

  “It was good, despite not getting a lot of sleep last night. A handsome man sent me lunch.”

  “He did,” he replies with a satisfied grin. “Did you enjoy it?”

  “Yes, I loved it. I also shared it with a co-worker, because it was way too much food for just me.”

  “And this handsome man? Do you like him?”

  “Well, he can be frustrating, but he’s also fun and charming. Yes, I like him.”

  His eyes heat as he watches me talk. His thumb is tracing circles over the back of my hand.

  “Another lemon drop, miss?” Joe asks as he walks by.

  “Yes, please.” Joe nods and leaves. “Thank you for lunch.”

  “You’re welcome. I would have delivered it myself, but—”

  “But people will talk.” I chuckle and shake my head. “It’s okay. It was a nice surprise.”

  “I have to tell you, I’m a bit confused as to why I didn’t know you were recently divorced.” His face sobers with the change of conversation, and I cringe, the subject of my ex being the very last thing I want to talk about.

  “It really isn’t a secret.” He raises a brow. “It’s been several months since the divorce was final, but I haven’t lived with him in more than two years, Eli. It’s not something I talk about freely, certainly not with someone I don’t know well.”

  “Why did the divorce take so long?” he asks and leans back, but doesn’t let go of my hand. I eagerly sip the fresh drink that Joe just set at my elbow.

  “Because Daniel is a selfish, proud, arrogant man who didn’t like having the word divorcee after his name. Well, until he was ready to marry again, anyway.”

  “He’s remarried already?”

  “One week after the divorce was final, yes.” I sigh and then just shrug. “Honestly, I didn’t care. I wasn’t in a position emotionally to be dating anyone, and the important thing was to simply not be living with him anymore. The rest was just gravy.”

  “Did he hurt you?”

  “Oh, he hurt me more than any one person should be allowed to hurt another,” I reply easily, but sip my drink to hide my face behind the glass for just a moment to gather my wits around me.

  “Look at me.”

  I raise my gaze to find Eli’s eyes hot with anger and his jaw ticking, but the hand holding mine is still amazingly tender. This man has amazing control.

  “Did he hit you?”

  “Yes.”

  “Fuck,” he whispers.

  “But that wasn’t the worst part.”

  He cocks his head and raises a brow when I don’t want to answer. My lips are starting to feel numb.

  “These drinks are strong. They make my lips talk.”

  His sexy lips quirk up in a smile. “They make your lips talk?”

  “Yep.”

  “Okay, so keep talking. What was the worst part?”

  I shake my head and finish the second drink, then signal to Joe for another. I can’t tell him the very worst part. Not yet. “He would yell at me. He was a bully. Sometimes it’s better if they just hit you once and then get on with their day.”

  “Bullshit,” he says calmly. “I could teach you some self-defense, you know.”

  “Oh, I took self defense classes.” I wave him off and drink the new lemon drop. “He used to call me a whore.” I giggle, barely noticing that Eli has pulled his hand away and curled it into a fist. “Which is actually pretty funny.”

  “Why in the fucking hell is that funny?”

  “Because, counting him, I’ve only been with…” I count in my fuzzy head. “Two and a half men. Hey, isn’t that a TV show?”

  “How is it possible that you were with half of a man?” he asks with a surprised laugh.

  “Because he never got it in. It didn’t count.” I slap my hand over my mouth and giggle. “These drinks are really delicious. You should have one.”

  “That’s okay, one of us will have to get you up to your front door.”

  “I can walk.” I compose my face and sit up straight. “See? I’m perfectly sober.”

  “Right. So, back to what you were talking about. Why couldn’t he get it in?”

  “Who couldn’t get what in?” I ask with a frown, and then prop my chin in my hand as I watch Eli smile across from me. “Gosh, you’re pretty.”

  “Excuse me?” He laughs and tucks my hair behind my ear. His fingers feel good on my skin.

  “I bet they’d feel good everywhere.”

  “I think I just missed half of that conversation,” he replies. “You’re hilarious when you’ve had too much to drink. I think you’ve had enough.” He takes my drink away, earning a scowl from me.

  “I have not.”

  “What would feel good everywhere?” he asks, distracting me.

  “Your fingers.”

  This makes him pause. He blinks rapidly, and if I’m not mistaken, all three of him blush.

  “You’re blushing after what you said to me on the sidewalk?”

  “I’m certainly not blushing,” he replies. “And, yes, I do believe my fingers would feel good everywhere.”

  “I have no doubt,” I reply, and reach up to push his dark hair off his forehead. “You are pretty.”

  “You already said that.”

  “It’s true.”

  “I think our sprouts are here,” he replies and kisses my hand before leaning away.

  “Well, hello, Joe.” I smile up at the sexy waiter as he sets my food before me.

  “Hello there,” he replies with a grin.

  “You’re handsome,” I inform him. “May I please have another lemon drop?”

  “You’re flirting with the waiter?” Eli asks with a laugh.

  “He brings me delicious drinks,” I reply seriously and turn to Joe. “I would flirt with my date, but he took my drink away. That means no flirts for him.”

  “I would be happy to bring you a water,” Joe replies and sets his hand on my shoulder. “And then another lemon drop after you get some food in you.”

  “You have strong hands, Joe.” Eli growls next to me, but I ignore him. “Are you sure I can’t have just one little teeny tiny
drink now?”

  I bat my eyelashes, but Joe just laughs. Laughs! Maybe my flirter is broken.

  “I’ll be right back with that water.”

  “My flirter is broken.”

  “No, it’s doing just fine,” Eli replies and holds a Brussels sprout up on the end of his fork for me to eat. “Try this.”

  “It’s a bloody Brussels sprout.”

  His eyes flare at the word bloody, and suddenly I’m thinking about his lips against mine telling me to say fuck.

  “Fuck,” I whisper, watching his lips. He swears under his breath, then leans in to whisper in my ear.

  “Eat, Kate. Please. You’re killing me here.”

  “I am?” I smile widely, ridiculously proud of myself.

  “Yes.” He takes my hand in his and guides it under the table to his lap. “See?”

  “Wow,” I whisper, letting my hand roam over the bulge in his pants. “This is impressive.”

  “Thank you.” He laughs and takes a drink of water, and when I squeeze my hand, just a little, he chokes on it. “Kate.”

  “I mean, you won’t have any problem getting this in.”

  “Stop.” He tugs my hand away, kisses my palm, and lays my hand back on the table. “The bartender gave you some strong drinks.”

  He offers me the Brussels sprout again, and I open my mouth, obliging him.

  “It’s good,” I say, surprised.

  “Told you.”

  “You’re good at food.”

  “I’m glad you think so.”

  I eat two more of the delicious vegetables. “I do.”

  “Here’s your water, miss.” Joe smiles down at me with those super blue eyes, and I sigh, just a little.

  “It’s too bad you didn’t give in to my flirting, Joe. You’re almost as delicious as these Brussels sprouts.”

  “Kate.” I glance at Eli, who is pinching the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger.

  “What?”

  “So, liquor makes you come on to men, then? Is it true that tequila makes your clothes fall off?”

  “No, tequila makes me throw up. Vodka makes my clothes fall off.” I grin and sip my water. “You might want to take notes.”

  “No need. I don’t think I’ll ever forget anything about you.”

  “Oh.” I sigh and lick my lips. “You say really great things.”