Never Say Love (Never Say Never #1)

by Carly Phillips

  Then there was the dress he’d caught a glimpse of earlier. It stopped at mid-thigh, showing off shapely legs and cut low enough to make his mouth water. And the color… The golden silk made him think of her naked. Gloriously naked and beneath him.

  “Don’t say it. I already know I am so not the kind of woman to wear this dress.” Setting aside her glasses, Ellie screwed open a contact lens case and, with the ease of an expert, plopped the watery looking discs into her eyes without a mirror. “Meredith gave it to me specifically to wear tonight. I couldn’t say no.”

  Nate was a bit disappointed that she had put in contacts instead of her glasses. He liked the way the tortoiseshell frames set off the cornflower blue of her eyes. But with the glasses off, she had nothing to hide behind. He found himself enjoying that little side benefit as she lifted a hand to adjust the frames that weren’t there, then dropped it to the side and squirmed.

  She was really cute when she squirmed.

  “Hate to break it to you, Ellie.”

  Clenching her fists, Ellie turned and resolutely looked Nate in the eye.

  He wondered why on earth she looked like she was preparing to take a punch to the jaw. “You are absolutely the type of woman to wear this dress.”

  Ellie huffed out a breath, clearly in disbelief.

  “Ellie,” he said more gently. “This dress was made for you.”

  Confusion softened the self-doubt on her face, and then both were gone as she pulled her shell back around herself, as surely as if she’d put on her glasses. “Really? Because today I was dumped via text message specifically because of my lack of sex appeal, so please don’t give me flowery words because you think I want to hear them.”

  Avoiding his eyes, Ellie stuffed a bottle of eye drops, her driver’s license, a wad of cash, and a slender tube of lip gloss into her tiny purse. “I’m not one of your female admirers. I don’t need to hear fake compliments.”

  Nate schooled his mouth into stern lines to hide his irritation, both at her summary of the type of guy he was – never mind that she was right – and that some asshole would hurt her that way. He wanted to wring the guy’s neck for causing her to question her femininity.

  “Do you really want to be with someone who would dump you via text anyway?”

  “No, but that’s not the point.”

  “Then what is?” he asked, confused.

  Sucking in air as if she was downing liquid courage, she placed her hands on her hips and turned to face him. There was a look of determination in her eyes that he didn’t quite understand. “I want to find a one-night stand tonight. Do you… do you think I can?”

  Fuck. Me.

  Nate felt his mouth go dry. One-night stand? His cock jumped to attention again—he wanted to be the one to touch her, to finally lose himself in her and he clenched his fists at the thought of another man’s hands on that flawless skin.

  Hands off, Archer. Bad idea, remember?

  He closed the distance between them, using her question as an excuse to look his fill. Lifting his hand, he ran his knuckles over her cheek—an innocent enough gesture, but he felt the heat flash through him.

  From Ellie’s sharp inhalation, she felt it too. The tension between them was hot, heavy, and urged him to bend his head and dive right in with a kiss hot enough to melt that flimsy dress right off her body.

  But he couldn’t. If she knew what he liked to do to women, she’d run screaming into the night.

  “You look great. Seriously.”

  “Thank you.”

  He knew he was going to regret the next words, but he forced them out anyway. “This is definitely a one-night stand kind of dress. And hey, I’ll even be your wingman.”

  Ellie blinked at his words, glancing away. She smiled, but he couldn’t quite tell if she was truly pleased by his offer.

  “I’ll take you up on that.” Smoothing her hands over her thighs, she walked toward the door, wobbling a bit on her heels.

  So. Freaking. Cute.

  And it was the combination of sex appeal which she clearly didn’t know she possessed, vulnerability, and her genuine adorable allure that got to him most.

  “Let’s stop at the desk quickly on the way out to ask about getting you another room,” she said.

  “Yeah. The room.” Nate cursed under his breath as they exited into the parking lot, not thrilled at the idea of being separated from this unique creature who had all but dropped into his lap.

  Chapter Two

  “I already told you; there’s no mix-up. Eleanor Marshall and Nathan Archer are both booked into room forty-two. The bill split between the parties.” The girl manning the front desk was maybe sixteen; hair dyed inky black, eyes ringed with matching pencil.

  She cast Ellie a smirk, the ring in her lip glinting in the fluorescent light. “What’s the matter, you two have a fight?”

  Her name badge read “Stephanie”, and Ellie didn’t miss the way her eyes took a leisurely trail down Nate’s body. Wow. When she’d been that age, she never would have dreamt of being so forward, especially with someone older. Hell, she still wouldn’t act like that.

  She cast a sidelong glance at Nate at the thought. He had that effect on women. He had that effect on her. But she was relieved to note the narrowing of his eyes, which told her that he didn’t much care for the teen’s scrutiny either.

  Still, he stepped closer to the counter and leaned onto it like he and Little Miss Stephanie were best friends already. “I know this wasn’t your fault. No one is saying that.”

  He winked, and Ellie barely refrained from rolling her eyes as a bright red flush stained the teen’s otherwise ghostly pale cheeks. “But maybe you could just see if there’s another room available. See, this lady and I are both invited to the same wedding, but we don’t know each other. So being stuck in the same room together would kinda suck, you know?”

  Smart man. Flirting with the goth girl to ease her attitude and hopefully get them separate rooms. Which she’d need if she was going to pick up her own man for the night.

  The thought of going on the prowl for someone who wasn’t Nate… well, it left her with a hollow ache in her chest. Which was ridiculous. She hadn’t seen him in years. So what if she still had the hots for him? It was never going to happen.

  “I’m really sorry.” The girl batted—actually batted—her eyelashes up at Nate before tucking a lock of hair coyly behind her hair. She tapped on the keyboard with long nails painted dull gray. “We had computer issues last week, so my guess is that it somehow dumped you two together. But we don’t have any extra rooms. The entire town is full up for some fancy wedding over at the Lodge.”

  “Right.” Nate smiled, but Ellie saw the hint of strain behind the easy gesture, making Ellie wonder if he had a headache.

  She wouldn’t be surprised if he was in pain, his day had obviously been as frustrating as hers. Her fingers itched to massage his temples and ease his stress, and she curled them into fists, suppressing the gesture.

  “Well, can you please let me know if a room opens up?” he asked, sliding a business card with his number across the counter to the girl.

  “Of course.” The sweet smile she sent him was in shocking contrast to her makeup and attire. “Can I get you anything else while you’re out? Extra towels or pillows? Mints?”

  Ellie thought she heard Nate snort beneath his breath.

  “I’d like a bottle of chardonnay in a bucket of ice waiting in the room when I return.” Nate flicked a glance at Ellie, and she felt her heart skip a beat. “Charge it to my card, and add a tip for yourself while you’re at it.”

  “Of course! Any particular kind?” Stephanie bounced up and down like a puppy. “There’s a yummy Naked Grape one that my boyfriend gets for me… I mean… that my mom likes to drink.”

  Nate actually winced and Ellie held back a laugh. He turned over his business card, reached for a pen, then scrawled down a few lines.

  “See if one of these vintages is available. If not,
please look for something in the two to three hundred price range. And if you don’t have any wine glasses available here, please also purchase them.” He slid the card back across the counter.

  Stephanie squeaked at the price, and Ellie very nearly did, too. Two to three hundred dollars for a bottle of wine? She made a great salary as an optometrist, but she considered it a good day if her wine had a screw cap instead of coming from a box. Not that she’d be tasting this expensive Chardonnay, and… wait a second.

  “What exactly am I supposed to do while you use this fancy wine to seduce whatever woman you’ve brought back from the rehearsal dinner?” she asked.

  They stepped out of the tiny office into the blazing light of an Olympic sunset, and Ellie squinted, shielding her eyes. Her sunglasses hadn’t fit in her tiny purse. “For that matter, what if I find someone the way I planned? What do we do?” she asked.

  “We could always have a foursome.” Nate grinned, stuffing his hands into his pockets.

  “You’re joking,” she asked after a long pause, not quite sure whether he was kidding or not. He had always been wild …

  Her pulse thundered in her chest as he pinned her with that sexy stare.

  Finally he shook his head and groaned. “Any man that doesn’t want to have you all to himself is very stupid, Blondie.”

  His gaze worked its way up and down her body, and Ellie tried to hold back a tiny gasp. Just having his eyes on her—it was more exciting than actual sex with Miles had been. In fact, it made her wonder … Miles who?

  She leaned closer, like a magnet being pulled ever closer to its twin.

  “We’ll figure out the room issues later,” he muttered, straightening his body away from hers.

  She blew out a breath, unsure if she was relieved or disappointed he’d chosen distance.

  “Well, that’s me,” he said, pointing across the parking lot to a shiny black Porsche Carrera. “We might as well ride together.”

  A Porsche. Of course that was his. Seeing the sleek ride next to the Ford Focus that had been towed in from the highway just emphasized how different they, and their respective lifestyles, were. No matter that her childhood crush had deepened in the last forty-five minutes.

  “Sounds good.” Shooting him a bright smile, Ellie started to make her way across the parking lot, struggling not to wobble in her high heels. “Now let’s find me a one-night stand.”

  Nate muttered something beside her, and she cocked her head. “Sorry, didn’t catch that?”

  He shook his head, then smiled back, his expression bland.

  “I said I’d buy the first round.”

  * * *

  As Ellie followed Nate into the large dining room at the Ruby Beach Lodge, she tugged at the hem of her dress, unsure if she was more uncomfortable with the dress or the prickly tension between herself and Nate. The ride from the motel had been short, but Ellie couldn’t figure out what was bothering Nate to cause the sudden awkward silence. She’d escaped the car, relieved.

  But even relief at escaping the tight confines of the car wasn’t enough to make her race into a room filled with her too-predictable family. And leave it to Nate to attempt to urge her on ahead of him—a perfect gentleman.

  Ellie took a look around the lavishly decorated room and smiled. Meredith was an event planner, and from the sumptuous decor, it was easy to see that her future sister-in-law was very good at what she did.

  Centerpieces of crystal and pale purple roses, swaths of light that ran from the palest of pinks to deep rose, even the smartly dressed waiters who circulated with trays of wine—Meredith hadn’t missed a single detail.

  “Would you like a drink?” Nate asked, his warm fingers pressed to the bare skin at the small of her back.

  “That would be perfect.” She managed the words as he rubbed his thumb over the small expanse of naked skin, where his hand still lingered. A simple touch shouldn’t make her pulse race, but it had, even though he surely hadn’t meant anything by it.

  With a nod, he headed off toward the bar, and her breath actually caught in her throat as she watched his lean figure move through the crowd, owning the space as he walked. But no sooner had he arrived than two women surrounded him there.

  “Oh for the love of …” Ellie turned away, sliding her tongue across her glossed lips, trying to understand this push and pull between herself and Nate. She shouldn’t care who he talked to. And she hadn’t seen him in years. Yet all of the old feelings had bubbled to the surface the second he’d stepped into their room, making her teenage crush seem small in comparison.

  Before she could think further, a screechy voice called out her name.

  “Eleanor Anne Marshall, it’s been years!” A claw-like hand grabbed Ellie by the shoulder, spinning her around. Teetering on her high heels, she found herself face to face with her worst nightmare—her cousin Holly.

  Holly Adams had made Ellie’s life hell in high school, mocking her for preferring books to guys, and making fun of her J-Lo-esque rear end. And while it might be cliché, harboring resentment for the prom queen, she suspected that most women didn’t get to call said prom queen family. Sadly, Holly hadn’t grown up and consequently the biting comments hadn’t stopped when school did.

  “Holly.” Ellie swallowed a grimace as the saccharine scents of hairspray and perfume hit her nose. “What a… surprise.”

  “Well, it shouldn’t be!” Holly rolled her eyes, and Ellie ground her teeth together in irritation. “Where else would I be this weekend?”

  Where else, indeed? Holly still lived here in Ruby Beach. She’d been a cheerleader, prom queen, and was still reigning over the high school as an administrative assistant in the front office.

  “So that’s an interesting look for you.” Holly made a show of looking up and down Ellie’s dress. Her expression said that this was not a compliment. “Decided to step out of the box a bit, hmm?”

  “It was a gift from Meredith.” Ellie smiled tightly, counting to ten in her head. The scrap of blue lace that her cousin wore was way skimpier than her own dress—actually, it wasn’t really even appropriate for an elegant wedding event. Still, Holly always bared her legs and boobs and whatever else she could get away with. And because she owned it, she made it work.

  “Of course it was.” Holly smiled, the expression not quite reaching her still-assessing gaze. “I should have known you’d never choose something like that.”

  Ellie clung to the confidence she’d felt with Nate’s strong hand on her back and opened her mouth to hopefully come up with some witty reply, but once again, Holly beat her to it.

  “So you still sell glasses for a living? That’s… fun.” Holly dug through her sequined purse as she spoke, as if she was just making conversation and couldn’t care less about the answer.

  “I am an optometrist.” How was the woman managing to insult her when she had never even left the high school she’d once terrorized?

  “I’m sure that’s fascinating. Miss Eleanor Marshall, purveyor of spectacles.” Holly did that eye roll again.

  God, what a bitch, Ellie thought, her temper beginning to snap along her spine. “That’s Dr. Marshall,” she said to her cousin, enunciating the words, wanting nothing more than to slap that simpering smile off of her cousin’s face. But she couldn’t, of course.

  Nice girls didn’t get into fistfights at weddings.

  Chapter Three

  The woman clutching Nate’s elbow would not stop talking.

  He wasn’t listening—he hadn’t wanted to be in this conversation in the first place. But the woman—Sara? Dara? They’d hooked up a few times back in high school, but by the squeal she’d let loose when she’d set eyes on him, he’d have thought they were long-lost, star-crossed lovers.

  He nodded and grunted at appropriate intervals, but his attention was fixed across the room on Ellie, who looked as trapped as he felt, caught in a conversation with her mother and her cousin Holly—And Nate remembered Holly. The woman had pursued him relentl
essly all through senior year. Well, not just him—she would have been happy with Gavin or Lucas, too. They’d all agreed that they’d rather get their dicks caught in a mousetrap than inside that woman.

  As Nate watched, Ellie’s expression turned strained under the attention of her mother and cousin. The brightness that he’d always loved about her drained away, and he couldn’t handle just standing by and watching it.

  “Excuse me.” Abruptly he pushed away from Sara-Dara, but before he took a full step, she grasped his elbow.

  “Wait!” She smiled in what he imagined was supposed to be a seductive manner as he half-turned back, impatience in every muscle. “Do you want to maybe meet up after this? Relive some old times?” She leaned in closer¸ brushing her breast against his arm.

  Man, he should be used to these come-ons by now. For years, he’d even enjoyed them. But he’d grown tired of the game, something he’d been forced to recognize since discovering that Chase was getting married and that he’d be coming face to face with Ellie again.

  “I have other plans.” He shrugged off the woman’s touch, feeling a slight pang of guilt as he heard her noise of dismay.

  His fingers tightened on the drinks that he still held in his hands—a fruity martini for Ellie and a plain old domestic beer for himself. He would have preferred wine, but the selections had made him shudder. His feelings for Chase’s little sister may not have changed, but his taste buds surely had.

  As he approached the small cluster of women, he heard Holly’s voice, unmistakable even after all these years. And a glance told him she was smirking as Mrs. Marshall spoke to her daughter.

  “You’ll let Holly help you with your makeup for the wedding, Eleanor.” The older woman pursed her lips as she studied Ellie, who flushed under her mother’s harsh inspection. “I don’t know how many times I’ve told you. It takes more than decent clothing to look polished. Don’t you wear makeup when you see your clients?”