“Thanks, bro,” he said, sparing no time in tearing off the lid and digging into the frozen goodness inside. To my left, Owen let out a heaving sigh.
“Why on earth did you get him that much ice cream? I don’t have enough space to store that in my freezer.”
I shrugged. “Guess Pax will have to eat the whole thing, then.”
“You will not do that,” Owen said, firing a warning glance at Paxton. “You’re thirty-two years old. You don’t need to eat half a gallon of ice cream in one sitting.”
“I don’t need to, but I can. And besides, Eli will help me with it.”
I shook my head and chuckled. “A beer’s fine for me,” I said as I pulled a cold one from the fridge.
Rich and Carla suddenly appeared from the study, the two of them clearly arguing good-naturedly about something or another. Rich’s eyes widened when he saw the ice cream.
“Is that cookie dough?” he asked as he got a spoon from the kitchen. Pax nodded happily, his mouth full.
Rich threw himself on the sofa beside Pax and scooped out an absurdly large spoonful, saying, “Excellent,” before somehow managing to fit the entire thing into his mouth.
“You’re going to regret that, Rich,” Carla laughed. Then she glanced at the cocoa powder I’d brought. She squealed in delight and ran over to hug me.
“Thank you, thank you, thank you!”
“Not a problem,” I said before taking my beer and sitting on the floor, with my back leaning against the sofa.
Pax moved his leg as if to kick me, but I grabbed it with my right hand and fired him a warning glance. “Don’t even think about it.”
He swallowed the bite. “Here we are, together at last, and you’re immediately picking on me.”
“Who was it that bought you that ice cream you’re currently inhaling?”
“Everyone knows you only did that to annoy Owen.”
He had a point. “You’re right, but that’s beside the point.”
Owen and Carla settled on the other sofa by the fireplace. Carla had her hands curled contentedly around a mug of hot chocolate, and her face held an expression of pure bliss.
“And besides,” Pax said, “if there’s anyone you need to be concerned about with their sugar addiction, then it’s definitely Carla. She looks like a crackhead who finally got high after days of withdrawal.”
“Nice one, Pax.” Carla stuck her tongue out at him.
“My living room isn’t big enough for this many people at once,” Owen muttered as we talked over one another in easy, lazy conversation.
“It’ll only get smaller if things between Eli and Emily get serious,” Pax said.
Everyone’s heads immediately turned to me.
“What do you want me to say?” I asked unamused. “I like her, but she’ll be gone soon. Things are casual between the two of us.”
“Sure, because people in a casual relationship hang out with each other every night and spend all day texting and calling, and fixing cars, and delivering them in person,” Owen mused. “Yeah, definitely nothing going on.”
“And you have an overnight date with her tomorrow, don’t you?” Pax asked.
Carla’s eyes widened. “You do? On Valentine’s Day? Oh, Eli, that’s sweet.”
I scowled. “That was unintentional. Besides, Emily will be leaving in a few days, anyway. We’re enjoying each other’s company while we have it. Valentine’s Day has no meaning for us.” The lie tasted bitter on my tongue. Emily meant something, and a romantic sleepover on Valentine’s Day amplified the feelings that were already there.
Owen didn’t look convinced, but he didn’t say anything.
Rich, on the other hand, removed the spoon from his mouth and said, “What is it with you guys and being staunchly against things getting serious with a woman? Owen and Carl kept their relationship secret, for God’s sake.”
“That was as much Carla’s decision as it was mine,” Owen defended, “though your point is still valid. Eli, stop lying to yourself and admit that you’re hot for this woman.”
I rolled my eyes. “As if it’s easy.”
“It literally is,” he tossed back.
Everyone was still staring at me. Eventually, I threw my hands up in the air and sighed.
“Fine. I have feelings for her. A lot of feelings, and she’s leaving, which sucks. Happy now?”
“Aw, Eli.” Carla pouted. “That is the worst luck. At least you get to have a great day with her tomorrow. Ending things on good terms is better than nothing.”
I hated the thought of ending things when everything had just begun. “Yeah, I know. It’s what I’ve been rationalizing the whole time.”
“Why aren’t you planning on giving Emily such an unbelievable date that she has no choice but to stay?” Pax asked, genuinely serious.
“Because that isn’t fair. She has a job she loves in a city she loves. Neither of those are here in Frazier Falls.”
“You make enough to take care of her here,” Pax said.
Eli laughed. “Have you met Emily. She’s the last woman who would want to be beholden to a man.”
“When did you mature?” Owen asked. He locked eyes with me for a moment, a flash of understanding crossing between us. Owen knew I had always been the most mature out of us brothers. He simply hadn’t acknowledged it out loud before.
“Either way,” Pax said, “have you discussed your feelings with her? Do the two of you know where you stand with each other?”
I paused, considering the question. “We haven’t talked about it. But we know.”
He dug in for another bite. “Yeah, right. If you don’t talk about it, you never know for certain.”
It was an interesting stance to take, and I had to admit that I was curious. If I asked Emily point-blank how deeply she felt for me, what would she say? I guess I had one final chance to find out.
Chapter Eighteen
Emily
When Eli called to tell me to pack a bathing suit, I was thoroughly confused. I’d thought about it all night, and now as I waited for him to pick me up, I still had no idea why one was needed. He’d been right. I didn’t know enough about the area to put together a date, which meant I couldn’t work out what his plan was.
He said he wanted to take me out of Frazier Falls if the weather improved. However slow it was changing, the weather had been improving day by day, which meant he was most likely taking me out of town. By now, I’d grown familiar with the area. I vowed that next time I came to visit my mom, I’d put more effort into exploring and getting to know more people. Even I had to admit, if only to myself, that Frazier Falls wasn’t all that bad. In fact, I’d almost bet it would be beautiful in summer; when the trees had leaves and the crocuses peeked out of the ground after the last frost.
The airport was finally open and working on a normal schedule. However, the roads to the airport weren’t in the safest condition, so I was advised not to travel if I could avoid it. Given that I actually had plans today, I didn’t mind that I still couldn’t get to the airport. I had to wonder if Eli hadn’t asked me out on a date with a week’s prior notice, would I have hung around Frazier Falls in case he had wanted to do something with me on Valentine’s Day?
I shook my head in disbelief. This was getting out of hand. Whether it was going to end up being tomorrow or the day after tomorrow or the day after that, I was leaving. I was supposed to be happy, but why did I feel lousy?
The throaty growl of Eli’s truck, pulling up outside my mother’s house, brought me out of my thoughts. With one final inspection of my reflection in the hallway mirror, confirming that my hair was in place, my makeup was flawless, and that my clothes matched, I grabbed my bag, shouted goodbye to my mother, and left.
Eli grinned foolishly as he walked up the sidewalk to greet me.
“You’re not taking your car?” I asked as I slid onto the passenger seat, giving him a quick kiss before putting on my seatbelt.
He shook his head. “Don’t
want to risk it with the roads. You look gorgeous, by the way.”
I blushed slightly. “Thanks. You don’t look too bad yourself.”
That was a massive understatement. Eli’s dark hair, which had grown longer than he probably usually wore it, was slicked back as if he belonged on the set of Mad Men or some other sixties period drama. He wore a soft gray turtleneck with dark jeans and leather shoes. He looked absolutely amazing.
“I wasn’t aware you possessed a sense of style,” I joked. “I thought it was all T-shirts and ripped jeans with you.”
He laughed at the comment as he pulled out of my mother’s driveway and headed down the road, leaving Frazier Falls behind. “I mean, you’re not wrong. I don’t get much of an opportunity to wear nice clothes given that I’m either on a construction site or locked up in the office doing the accounting. That doesn’t mean I don’t have nice clothes or know how to wear them.”
“Guess I’ll have to find excuses for you to wear nice clothes in the future, then.”
We both laughed at my comment for half a second, then became abruptly aware of what I had actually said.
Idiot. Why would I say something that implied I’d be here to see him? I silently chastised myself.
The reality of our situation, and the rapidly approaching expiration date of our relationship hung over our heads, sobering the mood immediately. Eli drove the truck in silence for ten minutes or so, the two of us struggling to find something new to talk about that would destroy the awkwardness hanging between us.
Eventually, I said, “So Owen and Rich are finally back, huh? That must be pretty great.”
“Pretty annoying, that’s what it is.”
“You can’t mean that.”
Eli let out a bark of laughter. “You’re an only child, aren’t you?”
“Yes.”
“You wouldn’t get it, which is fine. Having siblings is the epitome of a love/hate relationship. I’m glad the two of them are back, but at the same time, I could have easily been happy with them staying away for another day, or a week, or a month.”
“That sounds like a bit of an exaggeration.”
“Possibly.” He glanced at me with a smirk on his face. “Of course, I’m happy they’re back, but it does mean I have two extra people grilling me about you every day.”
I twisted in my seat to face him. “Is that so? And, tell me, what have they been saying?”
“Just that I better lock you down while you’re still here.”
That phrasing always made me laugh. My active imagination took me many places from a padlocked cell to Mr. Grey’s red room of pain. “That sounds ominous. You’re not carting me off to your super scary sex dungeon, are you?”
He quirked a brow. “Why? Would you like that?”
“No…” A silly giggle bubbled up. “Probably?”
“Probably with a question mark at the end?”
“I suppose it would depend on the circumstances.” I grinned wickedly.
The rest of the drive to wherever Eli was taking me, passed by like this, the two of us flirting outrageously and not touching upon the matter of what would happen once I left Frazier Falls.
When Eli parked the truck in front of an immaculate, beautiful, old-fashioned hotel, I smiled.
“This place looks lovely.”
“Wait until you see the inside … and the outside.”
“Okay, now I’m definitely intrigued.”
He pulled our bags from the second-row seat and led me to the entrance, holding the door open for me to walk through.
“Such a gentleman.”
“I have been aspiring to hear you say that since we met,” he joked.
When we reached the reception desk, a well-dressed woman smiled warmly at the two of us. She reached and shook Eli’s hand.
“You must be Mr. Cooper,” she said. “I’m Nina, the manager of the Ruxin Hotel and Spa.”
Eli frowned. “How did you know who I was?”
She smiled bashfully. “Normally, especially on Valentine’s Day, the hotel would be fully booked, but with the horrible weather, and the fact Valentine’s Day landed on a Wednesday this year, we’re fairly quiet. You were the last guest that needed to check in.”
“I suppose that works in our favor,” Eli responded.
I glanced at Nina. “Did you say hotel and spa?”
Nina nodded. “I’m assuming this is your first visit?”
Giddiness danced through me. “Yes.”
“They have Japanese-style outdoor baths,” Eli said as he looked at me. “The reason you needed a bathing suit. Better than me throwing you in the creek, right?”
“Oh, barely,” I teased, feeling my insides fire up with excitement at the idea of a heated bath and a spa. “Eli, you certainly know how to plan an excellent date.”
“Don’t get used to it,” he murmured as we were handed our room key. We made our way into the elevator and up to the third floor. The smell of lavender scented the air. “This was the one great idea I’m likely to ever have on the subject.”
It turned out Eli had booked the best room in the hotel. There was a large balcony which overlooked the beautifully landscaped grounds. Steam curled up through the air from the outdoor baths, smelling of eucalyptus and sandalwood. My muscles turned soft at the mere thought of soaking in them.
“If this is the only good date idea you ever have, then that’s okay,” I said, knowing this was likely the only date we would have. I fell onto the enormously large bed. It was beyond comfortable. Potentially the best bed I’d ever fallen onto.
Eli picked up two white, fluffy robes. “Feel like hitting the spa? Or are you hungry? I have the restaurant downstairs booked for dinner later, but we could always—”
“Definitely the spa first,” I cut in. “Lord knows I need it.”
I threw off my clothes and put on my bathing suit so quickly that Eli burst out laughing. “That’s the fastest I’ve ever seen you undress,” he chuckled. “Had I known taking you to a spa was all I needed to get you naked, I’d have suggested it the first time I saw you.”
“Such a comedian.”
Eli had booked the two of us for several treatments, including full-body massages and facials. We whiled away the afternoon being pampered and spoiled before relaxing in the steam rooms and going for a swim in the large outdoor pool. I kept eyeing the outdoor baths, but Eli shook his head.
“Leave that for after dinner.”
“But they’re calling me. Why can’t we use them now?” I rolled out my lip and gave him my best pout.
He shook his head in resignation. “I may have booked one of them for private use at nine, but you had to ruin the surprise with your impatience.”
I hugged him tightly, startling the other couple who was sitting in the sauna with us. “This is definitely the best date I’ve ever been on.” I lifted my lips to give him a quick kiss. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. Thanks for being my date.”
I didn’t have to blush. The woman across from me did enough of it for both of us. Then she gave the man she was with a solid slug to the arm. “See that, Harold? That’s what love looks like.”
After hours spent in the spa, I was tempted to take a nap. I was relaxed, but I shook the sleepiness away in order to get ready for dinner. I slipped on a clingy, dark green dress that I knew Eli would love and looked in the mirror. Who was this woman who looked back at me? I was glowing with happiness, and I had that newfound love look in my eyes. I twisted my hair up, keeping a few errant strands down to frame my face and finished getting ready with red lipstick and dark mascara.
“Wow. Just … wow,” Eli exclaimed when he saw me. He wore the same clothes as before, but considering how good they looked on him, and the fact that they were already dressy, the two of us looked perfectly matched for dinner.
I sauntered over to him and planted a kiss on his lips. “Wait until you see what I’m wearing underneath,” I whispered.
“Are you going
to wear it in the outdoor bath?”
“Hardly. But I’m sure we can fit in a quickie between dinner and soaking.”
“Oh, I like the sound of that.”
Dinner was wonderful. The restaurant was nearly empty, so the service was attentive and impeccable. We enjoyed a five-course tasting menu along with champagne while we listened to the sounds of the massive, crackling fire in the restaurant’s fireplace, and the gentle piano music floating through the air.
The entire time, Eli’s hand stroked the side of my leg beneath the table, wandering up dangerously high when he was sure no one was looking. He grazed his hand over mine whenever I moved, twisting our fingers together while staring at me with hooded eyes. His seductive looks were setting me ablaze.
By the time we stumbled back to our room, tipsy and full and aroused, it was all we could do to unlock the door before he removed my dress, revealing the black, lacy, barely-there lingerie I wore.
“What were you hoping for when you brought this with you to visit your sick mom in Frazier Falls?” he asked as he kissed my neck, his fingers skimming underneath the lace of my panties.
“Hey, a girl can never be too prepared, and clearly, I was right to bring it along.”
“Damn straight.”
The lingerie didn’t stay on for long. Eli seemed to ravish me as he took it off, making sure that no part of my body was left unexplored by his mouth and hands. By the time his lips finally found mine again, I was moaning in desperation.
“Eli, this was supposed to be a quickie.” My words escaped on a moan. “We’re going to miss the outdoor bath you booked.”
He flashed his pearly whites at me. “Trust me. I’m not going to last long with you like this. We’ll make the reservation. Let me have my fun.”
He stuck to his guns and continued to tease me, gently biting at my breasts as his hand moved between my legs. My breath caught, and my heart raced. Eli’s hair felt glorious between my fingers. I dropped my hands and clung to his back.
“For the love of God,” I whimpered. “Please hurry.”
He chuckled. “If that’s what you want, then …”
Shelter Me: A Frazier Falls Novel Page 12
