“Is that okay?”
She swallowed thickly, willing herself to relax into his embrace. But every nerve was a live wire, loaded with sensation and ready to snap. This wasn’t just sex. It never had been. And now it was oh so much more. She was in love with Nathan Archer. Maybe she always had been.
But even as she offered Nate what he needed, the warmth of her embrace and her quiet understanding, she knew that it changed nothing. On Monday, he would still be gone.
* * *
Nate had slept better with Ellie in his arms that he had in recent memory. It was a strange sensation, waking up feeling relaxed and refreshed rather than irritable and in strong need of coffee.
With Ellie sprawled across the bed fast asleep, Nate pulled on some fresh jeans and headed to the nearby diner that they’d hit up two nights earlier. He didn’t feel the clawing need for caffeine that he usually did, but he still got a cup of steaming brew and sipped at it, black, pretty sure that he’d need the fortification for the day ahead.
Ellie was sitting up in bed when he returned, paper cups in each hand and a brown bag tucked under his arm. He noted that she’d pulled on one of his T-shirts, and the sight of her in his clothing did funny things to his heart.
“Morning.” He could tell just by looking at her that she was feeling guarded, and though it made his heart sink, he couldn’t blame her.
He’d opened himself up to her last night. He hadn’t known what else to do—he’d needed her. But he also knew that, to a woman as smart as Ellie, a woman who didn’t care about things like his money or the parties he was invited to, he wasn’t exactly a catch.
And didn’t that just figure. He’d finally found a woman he wanted to keep, and he’d scared her off before they even got started.
Ellie’s stare darted around the room before settling back on Nate, as though she felt trapped. He watched as her lips curved into a forced flirty smile.
“Snuggles and coffee?” She reached for the steaming cup that he held out toward her, her smile not quite reaching her eyes. “I must have been very good in a former life.”
He knew what that flirtatious smile meant—she was deflecting, trying to take them back in time two days to when this had just been about sex.
Too bad that he was a million miles beyond that already. And he knew, he just knew that she was right there with him, she just didn’t want to be. Whether it was his screwed up family or his reputation, he didn’t know.
What he did know was that he had to prove to her that he was so much more than what she thought—that they could be good together. And it wasn’t enough to tell her—he had to show her.
He’d already started with sex. Next he’d show her they were compatible outside of the bedroom, too. Though looking at the way her rosy nipples pressed against the stretchy white fabric of his T-shirt, he realized that that particular resolution just might kill him.
“I thought we could both use the caffeine today.” Seating himself cross-legged on the bed across from her, Nate opened the brown bag he carried and offered her a foil-wrapped breakfast sandwich.
“True enough.” She took a long sip of her coffee, making a greedy noise deep in her throat that made him shift, hoping she didn’t notice the fact that his cock was already swelling, just from being around her.
“God, this is good. How did you know that I like it with cream and sugar?”
“That’s how you used to take it.” He watched, riveted, as she ran her tongue over her rosy lips. “I took a gamble that your taste hadn’t changed.”
He grinned, glad he still knew her well.
He’d found something—someone—worth risking everything for. And risking everything was exactly what he planned to do.
“Some things never change,” he said as he unwrapped his own breakfast sandwich, biting into the egg and bacon concoction, even though it tasted like sawdust with his mind otherwise occupied. “And other things change completely.”
Ellie’s spine stiffened as she set her breakfast down on the empty brown wrapper. “Nate—”
In his pocket his cell phone vibrated before starting to ring, a sharp, staccato blast he’d chosen to grab his attention no matter how deeply he was focused on work. He hesitated before answering, wondering if he should ignore it, then decided it would be good to let Ellie have a moment to think about what he’d just said.
“Archer.” Nate turned away from Ellie, looping his legs over the side of the bed, but he kept an eye on her as he did. Her lips were pursed, and she was clearly thinking.
Good. Let her think about things that had changed. Let her think about him.
“Nate.” On the other end of the line, Chase sounded more than a little worse for wear. “Wasn’t sure you’d be up.”
“I’m not the one who drank a dozen bottles of beer last night.” Nate couldn’t help but grin a bit at the groom’s expense—what were friends for, after all?
“Shit!” A screech from behind him had him whirling, his heart in his throat. He found Ellie with coffee all down her front, hissing at the heat.
“Hold on!” he barked into the phone before tossing it onto the bed. With efficient movements he stripped the stained shirt off of Ellie, then probed at the abused skin with gentle fingers.
It was pink, but that would fade shortly—the coffee hadn’t caused a serious burn. Still, he had half a mind to drag her into a cold shower, just in case.
Ellie’s hands waving in the direction of the phone he’d forgotten about deterred him from that. “Is that Chase? Pick it up or he’ll think that something is wrong!”
Rolling his eyes, he gestured toward the bathroom, indicating that she should rinse herself off. Instead she picked up her sandwich and settled herself back on the bed as he again picked up his phone.
“Sorry about that.” Nate watched as Ellie finished her sandwich, then eyed his. He couldn’t hold back the grin when she stole a piece of bacon out of it, smirking at him. “Did you need something, Chase? I’m just about to hop in the shower here.”
“Why are you with Ellie right now?” Chase might have been hung over, but the edge of brotherly protection was plain and clear in his voice—a deadly blade. “Especially if you’re about to hop in the shower?”
Shit. Chase had heard Ellie’s scream. And Nate had shot himself in the foot with the shower comment—he couldn’t claim that he’d just run into Ellie somewhere in town.
More than that, he didn’t want to. He wanted to tell Chase the truth—that he was in love with his little sister, and that he’d do anything to make her happy.
But a certain blonde spitfire would skin him alive if he did. And since he was trying to give her happy thoughts in his direction, it didn’t make much sense to piss her off.
“We both got stuck staying at the motel, remember?” He actually couldn’t remember if he’d told Chase that or not, but it didn’t matter—what mattered was that he didn’t know they were staying in the same room. “Ellie got pretty drunk last night. I thought she might need some coffee before today’s events, so I brought one over.”
“What? No, I didn’t!” Ellie hissed at him as she crumpled her now-empty cup and threw it at him. “What are you talking—oh.”
She clued into the fact that Nate was covering, but still shot him an exasperated look, muttering as she stood and made her way to her duffel bag. Nate found himself more than a little distracted by the fact that she was naked and seemed to have forgotten than all important fact.
“Right.” Chase didn’t sound convinced, but he didn’t press the matter either, and Nate exhaled on a sigh of relief. “Anyway. I just got a call from some trombone player, wanting to confirm details for today? He gave your name.”
“Trombone player. Right,” Nate repeated, though his attention was firmly on Ellie and the way that her breasts swayed as she bent over her bag. “What’s the issue?”
“Dude, what trombone player?” Chase sounded aggrieved. “We don’t have a trombone player.”
�
�Huh?” Nate forced himself to pay attention to his friend. It was Chase’s special day, after all. “Oh, right. Well, shit. I suppose the cat’s out of the bag then.”
“Explain.” Chase’s voice was full of suspicion, and Nate frowned. What did he think, that Nate had hired a herd of strippers to prance down the aisle behind Meredith?
“I heard Meredith say once that Love Actually is her favorite movie.” Nate waited; Chase waited. With a sigh of exasperation, he continued. “Okay, at least let this be a surprise for her, okay?”
“Not getting any younger, Nate,” Chase muttered to someone in the background, and Nate distinctly heard the word aspirin. It put him in a slightly more forgiving frame of mind.
“Well, if it’s Meredith’s favorite movie, I’m assuming she’s made you sit through it a time or two.”
Ellie took that moment to lift up her bag and upend its contents, and Nate had to stifle a groan as the flesh of her ass jiggled with the movement. Needing to focus, he turned away from her completely, facing the door.
“Remember that scene where Keira Knightley and the one dude get married?” he asked.
“Sort of.”
“Work with me, Chase.” Nate ran a hand through his hair. He felt the spikes of it sticking up in the wrong direction and snorted. A far cry from his usual groomed look, but he hadn’t even thought to look in a mirror this morning. “The wedding. Keira Knightley. They’re in the church, and their recessional music starts playing. Then one by one, different musicians stand up in the crowd and start playing along. By the end of the song, there’s almost a freaking orchestra, a choir, and a gospel singer playing the couple out of the church.”
There was silence on the other end of the line, and for the first time in a long time, Nate squirmed with uncertainty.
“I, ah. I thought it would be a nice wedding gift.” He swallowed, wincing to himself. Maybe it wasn’t—maybe it was just lame. “Aaah… surprise.” The silence stretched out, and Nate started to feel like the world’s biggest dumbass. “Look, if you hate it, I’ll cancel it. No big deal.” Man, but what a nightmare that would be. All of the musicians were coming in from Seattle.
Well, he’d get his assistant to do it. It would be her punishment for booking him into this motel in the first place.
“No. No, man. It’s great.” Chase’s voice on the other end of the line sounded suspiciously thick, and it set Nate back on his heels. “Trust you to out-romance me at my own wedding.”
“Uh.” Nate wasn’t sure what to say to that, so he settled for grunting. “Only if you’re sure.”
“Yeah, I’m sure. Meredith is going to love it.” For the first time in the conversation, Nate could hear the smile in his friend’s voice. “I have to say, I’m surprised it’s coming from you. But thank you, man. Thank you so much.”
Nate muttered a goodbye, then just stood for a moment as he contemplated Chase’s final words.
I’m surprised it’s coming from you.
Well, what the fuck was that supposed to mean? Did the entire world think of him as one big, self-centered asshole, a playboy who thought of nothing and nobody but himself?
Remembering that Ellie was in the room, he turned, his stomach clenching. She watched him with a curious gaze, and he felt the muscle around his heart tighten just looking at her.
If everyone thought the same thing about him, then he probably deserved it. But that shit was changing… today.
Chapter Twelve
The phone call from Chase niggled at Ellie the entire drive to the Lodge.
She hadn’t questioned Nate about it after he’d hung up the phone, she’d just continued getting ready, throwing on jeans and a tank top and piling her hair into a messy bun on the top of her head—she’d get hair and makeup done with the other bridesmaids later that afternoon. But she hadn’t been able to stop herself from puzzling over it.
She knew that there was more to Nate than his reputation. A good chunk of her fear for her heart stemmed from the fact that he didn’t seem to know it. But setting up a big, probably expensive, romantic send-off for his childhood best friend and that friend’s new bride?
That wasn’t exactly the action of a man who was clinging to his bachelor status. It didn’t reflect the thoughts of a man who was still determined to eschew marriage at all costs. And she was way over-thinking all of this, probably because of the vulnerability that Nate had shown her last night. Which didn’t mean anything beyond the fact that he’d needed someone and she’d been handy.
With a deep sigh, she thought longingly of the coffee that she’d spilled all over herself. She could really have used that caffeine pumping through her veins right about now.
“Hey.” Chase was waiting in the lobby when Ellie finally pushed through the front doors. He captured the garment bag with her bridesmaid dress just before it fell to the floor—Ellie was also balancing a large shopping bag and her makeup kit.
“Thanks.” She paused to readjust her load before reaching again for the dress, this time planning to throw it over her shoulder.
Chase held it back before she could take it. Having seen her brother after more than a few nights in which he’d had a bit too much to drink, Ellie could tell that he was feeling more than a little under the weather this morning, and when she took in the stern lines on his face she felt her stomach do a slow roll.
The men didn’t have anything planned right now, in comparison to the spa treatments that the ladies were getting. Chase could still be sleeping—and from the looks of it, he needed it. So why was he here, lying in wait for her, brotherly lecture incoming flashing all over his face?
“Do you have time for some coffee?” Chase gestured to the small main dining room where the tinkle of cutlery and water glasses told Ellie that breakfast was currently being served to the majority of the Lodge’s guests.
“Uh…” There was clearly something weighing on her brother’s mind. Normally she would put off her plans to make time for him, but right now she was torn. As Meredith’s bridesmaid, she had a responsibility to attend to the bride today.
And more than that, something told her that she didn’t want to have the conversation that Chase wanted to. At all.
“I actually have to dump this stuff off in the bridal suite, and then meet the rest of the girls at the spa.” Ellie smiled weakly as Chase narrowed his eyes at her. Damn it, did he know? How had he found out? “We’re getting mani-pedis before hair and makeup. There was talk of waxing.”
Chase winced, as she’d known he would. She took the chance to smile apologetically before turning back to the stairs.
“Hang on.” Her brother’s arm closed around her elbow.
Making a face, she turned back to him, this time not bothering to hide her annoyance. “You know that Meredith hates it when people are late,” she reminded him, tugging her elbow free. “I’ve got three minutes to get my butt to that spa.”
“I just wanted to know if you’re still bringing a date tonight.” Chase pinned her with that intense pale blue stare that had always made her squirm as a kid. “You replied yes on the card. Miles, wasn’t it? But I haven’t seen him anywhere. Is he driving in today?”
“Miles. Right.” Two days earlier, the mention of her ex would have made depression and anger swirl through her in a storm of despair. Right this moment, though? She could barely remember what he looked like. “No, actually. Miles and I broke up right before I left Seattle. I’ll be flying solo tonight. Sorry, I forgot to tell you that for your meal counts.”
She held her brother’s gaze, lifting her chin a bit in challenge, even though guilt swamped her, making it hard to breathe.
She’d spent the last two nights pressed skin-to-skin with her brother’s best friend. When she thought of it like that, it seemed so… wrong.
And once again she found herself wanting to spill.
But what was there to tell? That she was indulging in a weekend of kinky sex with a man that her parents had never really approved of, and that tomor
row she’d return to her practice in Seattle alone?
The reminder left a bitter taste in her mouth. Her expression must have shown it, because concern etched itself in fine lines over Chase’s face.
“Just… don’t ever settle, okay, El?” Chase reached for his ring finger, searching for the band that wasn’t there yet. “Don’t ever settle for someone who doesn’t give you everything you deserve.”
Ellie stared at her brother for a long moment, her heart pounding. He knew. He had to know.
But how could she tell him that the one man capable of giving her everything she needed was also the one man who would break her heart tomorrow?
“Someone’s sentimental today.” To lighten the mood, she shifted her bags, then reached out to give Chase a small peck on the cheek. “Don’t you worry about me, bro. I’m Ellie, remember? Everything’s under control.”
With that, she turned and headed up the stairs that would take her to the bridal suite and the spa. Her words echoed in the cavernous hall behind her, and to her ears the tone was mocking.
For the first time in her life, she’d handed the reins of her control over to someone else—to Nate. So why, when that made her so happy, did she feel so completely empty inside?
* * *
“I don’t care where you sit. Just… space yourselves out.” Nate paced in the front lobby of the Lodge, his cell glued to his ear. Harper, one of the other bridesmaids, cast him a curious glance as she slipped by, already dressed in her bridesmaid gown, but Nate turned away, trying to focus on the call with… was this the violinist? One of the musicians he’d hired for today. He’d been fielding calls from them all day, and he felt a definite headache brewing at the base of his skull.
Normally he wouldn’t have had a problem slipping into corporate mode and organizing everything, down to the most minute detail. Today, though? All he could focus on was Ellie.
To her way of thinking, this thing between them was over as soon as they went back to Seattle—which was tomorrow morning. He couldn’t let the best thing in his life walk away. Since he suspected she’d have a few choice protests to being kidnapped, that meant that he had some work to do today.
Never Say Love (Never Say Never #1) Page 12
