by A. M. Kusi
“Hey, guys! Sorry we are late. Avery wasn’t ready to let us leave. Mom got her settled with a movie and some fun snacks though,” the blonde said.
“You must be River. I’m Julia, Maggie’s wife.” Julia extended her hand to shake River’s, and he returned the gesture.
Ella said, “These are my friends, Maggie is also the chef at the inn.”
“Nice to meet you. I enjoyed the delicious breakfast your wife made today. I have to say, those were the best pancakes I’ve ever had.”
“Oh, thank you. Anything to keep the guests happy.” Maggie winked at Ella.
Ella took her cup and drank a few gulps. “We ordered pizza. Should be out soon.”
Lucas walked up to their table. “Hello, again. Nice to see you beautiful ladies, and Stream, er, Lake was it?”
“River,” River corrected. Knowing Lucas was not Ella’s boyfriend didn’t make him like the man any more.
“Lucas, you don’t need to give him a hard time,” Ella said. River felt a swelling sensation in his chest at her standing up for him.
“Sorry. You know I have to check out all the men who think they have a chance with you.” Lucas eyed River, and River met his challenging gaze. River didn’t like the sound of all the men.
“Wow. We ladies outnumber you by one, and there is still too much testosterone at this table.” Maggie joked, obviously trying to lighten the mood. “I got our girl.”
Lucas broke the men’s staring contest and nodded to Maggie before asking, “Drinks?”
The protective exchange between Ella’s friends was a little more extreme than he expected was normal.
“Yes! Mojito please!” Julia said excitedly.
“You know, I think I’ll have one too,” Maggie agreed.
“Make it three.” Ella said, sounding like she was trying to rally herself.
“Three mojitos it is. Another beer…River?” Lucas asked, using the correct name this time.
“Yeah, thanks.”
Lucas left them, and Maggie immediately began peppering River with questions. “Do you have any siblings?”
“Yeah, a younger sister, Harper.”
“Does she live in Boston too?”
“Technically. But she has been doing some traveling since graduating college at Boston University.”
“Oooh, fancy.” Maggie said.
“Ella told us you were doing some consulting up at the resort. Why didn’t you stay there instead of the inn?” Julia asked.
“I may sound like a mama’s boy with this answer, but my mom insisted I sneak in a vacation while I was up here. I needed some time to reset after the last year. Also, I wanted to keep business and pleasure separate.”
Ella seemed thoughtful hearing his reasons.
“Oh? Well, I would suppose that a true mama’s boy wouldn’t say that another woman’s pancakes were the best he’d ever had, assuming he included his mother’s, but…” Maggie smiled.
They all laughed together.
Maggie continued, “Was it a busy year? Just needed to break away and get some fresh Green Mountain air?”
River hesitated for a moment, deciding whether or not to tell the whole story, and if it was appropriate company to do so. “Uh, yeah, kinda. I had a lot of stuff going on in my personal life, too. So, what do you do, Julia?”
A waitress brought their drinks to the table. “Your food should be out soon.”
“I’m an artist. Pottery in particular. I have a shop where I teach classes as well as sell my pieces,” Julia answered with pride.
“That sounds awesome. I’ll have to check it out before I leave. I always wanted to learn pottery.”
“Ella should bring you by next week. Julia will save a spot for you in the class,” Maggie said.
Ella shot a look at her best friend.
“I’m only here until Tuesday, but I’m game if you are,” River said, glancing up at Ella.
Ella’s gaze met his eyes. The depths of those brown windows to her soul made him want to get lost in them.
“I…umm. Maybe. I’m really busy at the inn so we’ll have to see.” She said.
“Fair enough.” He nodded.
Lucas brought their pizza out with the help of the waitress, setting the pies on the table with a stack of plates. The smell of meat and cheese was mouthwatering. The four of them each served themselves a piece on a plate and began eating.
“What about you, Ella? Do you have any siblings?” River asked.
“Not that I know of.” Ella took a long sip of her mojito.
River watched her lips on the straw, distracted only momentarily from the implications of her answer. “Why wouldn’t you know?” he asked, before taking another bite of the delicious flatbread pizza.
Ella deflected his question with another question. “After you’re done here, do you go back to Boston?”
River noted that she didn’t answer his question and decided not to press. “Nah, New York City next, for a week. Then, back home.”
River wondered why she was so hesitant to speak about herself. He was sure it went beyond the reason of their relationship pushing professional boundaries. That, added with her friends’ obvious display of protectiveness, brought him a sudden realization.
River wondered who the asshole was that had hurt her.
The thought of someone mistreating her brought a wave of rage. He took a deep breath and tried to focus on what Maggie was saying. After all, it was just a suspicion. And she was just the owner of the inn he was staying at—not his girlfriend. He moved on to his second piece of pizza.
“Do you travel a lot with your job?” Julia asked.
“Yes,” River answered with his mouth half full.
“Do you like being on the go so much?” Ella asked.
Again with questions no one ever asked him. It was part of the job description; it came with the territory. No one cared if he liked it. It just had to be done. “Not really. I mean, I used to. Now, not so much.”
“Oh,” Ella stated.
River could tell that she was holding something back. “What?”
“Nothing.”
“Tell me,” he pressed.
“It is really none of my business,” Ella dismissed the subject.
“I would like to know.”
Maggie and Julia exchanged glances. “I have to use the bathroom,” Maggie said.
“I’ll come with you,” Julia volunteered as they not-so-subtly left River and Ella alone to finish their conversation.
Ella looked at River pointedly, “You told me before that you were not exactly happy with your job—that it wasn’t what you really wanted to do, just what was expected of you.”
“Yeah?” he pressed.
“Now you’re saying you don’t like traveling. It just seems like you need a change of employment. Like I said, it is none of my business. I know it’s your family ties that has you there. I get that it’s complicated.”
River listened to her words and knew in his heart that she was right. No one ever asked him if he was happy with his life, and his job. Not even the woman who was supposed to be my wife. “No. You’re right, but I don’t feel like I have a choice right now.”
“Everyone has a choice. Every single day we have choices. It doesn’t matter what we have chosen yesterday, or further back in the past. What matters is what we do with today.”
“Wow. That’s deep,” River said, raising his eyebrows before reaching for another piece of pizza and drinking the last of his second beer.
Ella laughed nervously. “Yeah, well. I got it from a fortune cookie, so take it for what it’s worth.”
River laughed, truly joyful for what seemed like the first time in forever. The feeling had been absent from his existence of late. The discovery brought a sobering realization.
River swallowed the bite of pizza and turned his head to look into Ella’s eyes. He wanted to ask her how she had learned the obvious tough lessons in her life. What was it that made her keep him at arm’s length? He could tell she was attracted to him as well, but something held her back.
He lowered his face towards her slightly and she bit her lip. He had a sudden urge to kiss her and taste her. He saw her eyes glanced down at his mouth, and felt a pull towards her. He glanced at the throbbing vein in her neck and saw her heart was racing just as fast as his. Ella’s closeness flooded his body with heat. Her closeness was making it hard to think clearly.
“Sorry. There was a line!” Maggie said, before she and Julia took their seats at the table.
Ella broke her gaze with River and turned to her friends. “I have to get back to the inn. You guys enjoy; take the leftovers home to Avery and give her a kiss for me,” she said, motioning for River to let her out of the booth.
River stood. “Let me get the bill.”
Ella put her hand up in protest. “No. Really. Let me do something in return for your help with the website fiasco earlier.”
She walked to the bar before River could utter another word and settled the tab before bringing a couple of to-go boxes back to the table for them. He had the feeling that Ella wouldn’t take anything for free, and he admired her for it. “Here take some back with you when you’re done. Ladies, it was nice having dinner with you. See you tomorrow, Maggie.”
Maggie nodded.
“Have a good evening, River.” Ella said.
“Wait, I’m done too. I’ll walk back with you,” River offered, making quick work of adding two more slices of the now warm pizza into the box and standing to follow her.
“Night, you two. Make sure she gets home safe in her bed, River,” Maggie added.
Ella shot her friend one more warning look and headed out the pub doors.
“Will do,” River called back as he hurried to follow her.
When they were outside the pub, River spoke first. “They seemed really nice. I can tell they care about you a lot.”
“Yeah. They do. Two of the most loving people I have ever met.”
River had looked away from Ella that evening just enough to notice the way Maggie and Julia gazed adoringly at each other. They had such love and devotion in their eyes
“How long have they been together?”
“Ten years. High school sweethearts.”
“Wow. They look like newlyweds.”
“Yeah. Gives me hope,” Ella agreed.
“Hope?”
“Yeah, you know, that that kind of love still exists in this day and age. That there is someone out there for most people.”
“Most people? So, I take it you don’t believe in soul mates,” River joked, trying to lighten the turn of conversation. He could see her visibly relax and open up to him when he was playful.
“No.”
“I’m shocked.” He feigned surprise.
“Are you telling me you believe in soul mates? In fate?” Ella asked, glancing up at River as they walked side by side. Her hand brushed his, and he felt the electric jolt enter her body from their contact. She crossed her arms over her chest, her body language at odds with their obvious connection.
River persevered, “I didn’t used to. I mean, I don’t know anymore. Do I believe that no matter what you do, you end up with the person you are meant to be with because of fate? No. Do I believe that some things happen that seem totally crazy and then make perfect sense later? Yeah. That’s more my definition of fate.”
“Interesting thought.”
The inn’s lights came into view.
“Is that where the events are held?” River asked, motioning to the backyard with the pergola all lit up.
“Yes. Our first one of the season is coming soon.”
“How do you market your event availability online?”
“Through the website. I have an events page. I also run ads in local papers and bridal magazines.”
“Oh. Have you thought of using SEO to help drive traffic to your website?”
“SEO? Is that like S-E-X appeal for The Orchard Inn?” Ella teased.
River chuckled, but his body stirred with desire as the word sex was spelled from her pretty mouth. Plus the fact that Ella was obviously giving him a hard time. “Sorry, it means Search Engine Optimization. Using keywords in your posts to help you rank better in Google. To get your site noticed and drive traffic to the website.”
“No, it’s fine. I am really new to this. I put it off for too long, and now it will have to wait until we slow down again, or I can pay someone.”
They rounded the corner to the door of the inn and walked in. Standing at the front desk, River hesitated, holding his box of leftovers while Ella walked behind the desk looking through a small stack of notes. She seemed satisfied and came back around to stand in front of him.
“Thank you for your help today. You really were my knight in shining armor.” She smiled sheepishly.
River felt his chest swell with pride and her genuine expression of appreciation. “It was really no problem. Like I said, I enjoy that sort of thing. Thanks for dinner, by the way.”
“My pleasure.”
Ella’s word choice brought a different kind of pleasure to the forefront of his thoughts. Their eyes met as they both lingered in the lobby entryway.
River inhaled as he took a step closer to her. “Ella?” he asked.
River’s tone had changed, and even he could hear the primal need in his voice.
Ella hesitated before a hasty, “Good night, River.”
River exhaled, trying to break the static energy between them. “Night.”
Chapter 6
On Friday morning, Ella tried on two different outfits before choosing a floral-print spaghetti-strap dress. She put on a small black tourmaline pendant necklace that Annie had given her for protection before heading down to perform her daily duties. Ella was thankful he hadn’t mentioned the way she looked the night before. She dressed for her own comfort and what made her feel sexy, whether she looked that way or not to others. It helped with her confidence.
She kept an eye out for River whenever she wasn’t in the kitchen. After the pub, she looked up Parker Consulting Incorporated’s website for his credentials. He really was everything he had told her and more. She might have spent more time than necessary staring at the photo on his bio page.
Ella sat at the large granite island in the kitchen and worked from her computer.
“I think it is going to be a long week for you if you can’t sleep with him around,” Maggie said after several minutes of silence.
“Five days…not that I’m counting,” Ella admitted.
Maggie paused what she was doing to sit on one of the barstools across from Ella. “Spill.”
Ella started from the beginning. She told Maggie about her website issue, and River coming to the rescue, and then about their walk home after dinner. His question about what brought her to Stowe had sent her into a momentary panic. She had felt like he could see right through her to her true reasons for being there. She wasn’t ready to go into the details, and there was no need to with a…sort-of guest/not-quite friend. She wondered what their relationship would be categorized as. What would the whole truth accomplish except feelings of pity? She didn’t want the way he looked at her to change.
When Ella told him about Mac, she was glad River hadn’t apologized again; she wasn’t sure what was the right thing to say when someone you loved passed, but I’m sorry didn’t feel right. What was there to be sorry for? Someone else didn’t kill him. His question had stirred up memories of their last days together. Promise me you won’t let anything get in the way of your own happiness and safety. She saw how Mac’s words seemed contradictory. To have happiness with someone else, she
would have to risk a part of herself, and that certainly did not feel safe. When River shared that there had been stressful events with them at the table, Ella realized that River hadn’t fully divulged completely what it was. She respected that. She wondered if he had skeletons in his closet too. She had a strong desire to find out.
“Ella, if you could just see the stars in your eyes when you look at him or talk about him, you would have no doubts. You trust mine and Julia’s judgement, don’t you? We both could see the sparks flying last night. Why do you think we took so long to go to the bathroom?”
“I can’t lie and say I am not attracted to him.”
“Oh, is attracted your code for wanting to rip his clothes off? Because don’t think I haven’t noticed the way your eyes follow that man when he’s around.” Maggie playfully punched Ella’s shoulder.
Ella blushed; she had been caught. “If you noticed, do you think he has?”
“Well, whenever you’re not gazing star-eyed at him, he seems to be looking in your direction like a lost puppy. Until you both end up awkwardly catching each other’s attention.”
Ella was suddenly aware of just how much her best friend had been picking up. “Shit.”
“Not the word I would use. Maybe you should be glad that he returns your interest and give it a go.”
“Maggie! He is my guest. For all intents and purposes, we only have a business relationship. No professional would mingle personal —especially romantic— relations into the mix,” Ella scolded, raising her voice.
“Oh, Ella, that’s just an excuse and you know it,” Maggie shot back.
Ella felt defensive, and she knew from her years of therapy that it meant she needed to take a break from the conversation and examine why. She took a few deep breaths. She and Maggie didn’t usually argue. It was only when Maggie pushed Ella beyond her comfort zone and called her out on her insecurities that Ella resisted. She knew her best friend only had the best intentions for her.
“I just need some time,” Ella responded, in a much softer tone this time.
