by Natalie Ann
“I’m dying to hear this.”
When she was done telling Hailey the reason she was here and how Eli knew her—a shortened version of it though—she said, “I know where my family is located. I’ve found them. They own a law firm in Savanna. I don’t feel right contacting them out of the blue. I’m supposed to be keeping a low profile. But not only that. I don’t know why my father didn’t have any contact with his family. I think I need to know those facts before I go any further. It’s the smart thing to do.”
“You came to the right place. I’ll look into this for you and see what I can find. I’ve got a sorority sister from that area practicing law. I should be able to get some information in the next day or so, then go from there.”
“Thank you,” Bella said. “I really appreciate it. Please let me give you my card for payment. I’m afraid I don’t have a checking account. So it’s cash or a credit card.”
“Let’s hold off and I’ll get you a bill when I dig some more into it. The family rate,” Hailey said, winking at Janet again.
“She was nice,” Bella said when they were back in the car.
“Very. She’s a little bulldog. No one messes with Hailey. If there is something to find out, she will.”
“I don’t know what to say,” she said, her eyes starting to fill.
“Oh dear. Wipe them fast. If Eli finds out you were crying again, he’ll lecture me some more.”
She let out a laugh. “I’m not sure you mind too much if he lectures you. Or even listen to him.”
“I can’t let my boys know that though,” Janet said.
“I don’t suppose you can.”
14
Nothing To Hide
Eli knocked on Bella’s door. He’d gotten the alert on his phone she returned with his mother. They and the driver were carrying several bags. Not just shopping bags, but grocery ones.
He couldn’t let her know he knew she was back, so he waited about thirty minutes, then sent her a text to see if she was available to talk.
She opened the door and held it wide. “Hi,” she said. “I was putting a salad together for dinner. I made some chicken to go with it. Do you want some?”
“It smells good in here,” he said, looking over into the small galley kitchen. Not many used it, he knew, but it was nice to have a few of them in the building. Griffin’s “apartment” did, and was actually next door to Bella’s suite. The staff thought Griffin lived on the end suite, but it was only the place he brought women or kept some clothes in. Things to make it look like he was there when he was really living on the top floor next to Eli.
“Thanks. Salad probably isn’t your thing and I’m sure you’re busy.”
“Not busy enough to see how today went. I could eat. Just more meat than green stuff.”
She grinned at him and he could see that today’s visit with his mother had to have been better. First, there were no tears and second, she seemed almost happy. He had to get over the annoyance that he hadn’t known she was with his mother when she left earlier.
“Why don’t you make it yourself,” she said. “Or don’t you know how?”
“My mother would skin me alive if I asked a woman to make my plate for me. Despite what many think, we didn’t have a houseful of staff growing up.”
They could have. But his mother didn’t work and refused to let someone else raise her kids. Yes, there was a cleaning company that came into the house one to two times a week because his father insisted since she was running herd on three active kids, sometimes shuffling them on and off the island to the home in Boston too.
The time spent commuting to the island and back on the ferry was time she didn’t need to worry about caring for two homes. Not to mention there were times his father stayed in Boston and his office there. The office where most of the staff were, but he had a smaller one on the island too.
Most of their family had homes on the island and the mainland. Even Ethan spent more time in Boston currently. His younger brother did love living on the island and oftentimes grabbed a ride with Egan in the chopper there and back, avoiding the ferry daily.
Eli didn’t even have one home like his siblings. His penthouse was enough. If he needed to be in Boston for anything, he could stay at his parents’ home that sat empty most times.
“My uncle did. My parents did too. In boarding school I had to do a lot on my own.”
“Do you have a house back home?” he asked.
“A condo,” she said as she filled her plate with the spring greens out of the bags. He did the same, then grabbed the tomato to cut while she cubed up a cucumber. That was good enough for him, but there were more veggies on the counter she was reaching for. “Help yourself to the chicken breast,” she said pulling it out of the small oven.
He picked up a fork and stabbed it, then put it on his plate next to the small salad. She laughed at him, but finished with her salad, then sliced the chicken to lay over it neatly.
“That looks like something you might get downstairs in the restaurant,” he said.
“I like to cook but don’t do it much. I probably bought way too much food, but I’m sick of ordering in. I’m sure I’ll be sick of cooking soon too.”
“I understand,” he said. “I’ve got food in my place. I grab lunch or dinner at times, but more often than not I do eat in my home.”
“I can’t see you doing any grocery shopping,” she said, putting different kinds of dressing on the counter.
He reached for the ranch, then handed it back to her while she put some on her own. “I do have a housekeeper that picks things up for me. I believe I told you that. She might even cook a few dishes for me to warm up too, but not often. And speaking of that. She tells me you haven’t given her your clothes to be washed.”
They sat at the little table and started to eat. He looked at her face and noticed it was red, then got up to get two bottles of water from the fridge and handed one to her.
“I’m not wearing dirty clothes,” she said. “I’ve hand washed my underclothes and whatever else I can. The rest are piling up.”
“Why?” he asked.
“I appreciate the offer, but I feel uncomfortable having someone else do my laundry. I’ve been washing my underwear since I was a teen.”
He let out a sigh. He should have figured she’d be this independent. “There is no reason for you to go to the laundromat. Would you feel comfortable doing your laundry in my penthouse?”
“What?”
“I’ve got a washer and dryer there. If you’ve got nothing to do tonight, then I can bring you up there and you can do your laundry and relax. When you are done you can leave. You can’t get up there without me, but you can leave on your own.”
She frowned. “How is that?”
“Because there is a secure elevator that only a keycard, handprint and code that is randomly generated will allow you onto the elevator to go up. It opens right in my penthouse. There is another one that opens into a hall that goes to Griffin’s place up there that no one knows about. And only owners—my father, myself and Griffin can get on that one.”
“Can your mother get to your penthouse?” she asked, grinning as she ate.
“Of course. My brothers also and my housekeeper. That is it. Everyone else has to be given access. Staff downstairs can walk them to it and swipe, but the doors won’t open without me sending the elevator down from my place for them and entering a code for the doors to open there.”
“I want to say that is more secure than my uncle’s but it’s probably not.”
He laughed. “The owner can never be too careful.”
“No. I appreciate the offer, but are you sure you want me in your place without you?”
For once it didn’t bother him. He didn’t have anything out in the open that he worried about. He had nothing to hide. “Do you want to keep washing your underwear in the sink?”
“No,” she said.
Bella hadn’t expected Eli to make that offer but was thri
lled he was. She was getting sick of washing her underwear and bras in the sink and hanging them in the shower. If Eli asked to use her bathroom she’d be extremely mortified with the decor trying to dry.
“Then there is no reason you can’t grab your clothes and bring them up to wash. I’ll even help you carry them up.”
“I’ve got a lot,” she said.
He shook his head. “Then when you’re done, just text me and I’ll help you bring them down. Or you can wait until I’m finished working for the night.”
She looked at the clock and saw it was almost six. “I doubt it’s going to take me six hours to do a few loads of laundry. I’m sure you are working until midnight.”
“Not quite. At least during the week I don’t. On Fridays and Saturdays I do work later. Weekends are always busier. During the week I’m normally back in my place by eight or nine. Depends on what is going on. Sometimes it’s earlier.”
There was no use commenting on the number of hours he put in. She knew what this business was like. He’d want to be on the floor and be seen, especially if there were big winners or high rollers. Whales, as they were often referred to.
“After dinner we can go up if you’re sure,” she said. “If it’s an invasion of your privacy, then I’ll figure something out.”
“Are you going to make me grab you and kiss you to shut up again?” he asked.
She laughed. “Maybe.” He didn’t seem too put out that it’d been a few days since they’d talked. She didn’t expect him to reach out daily and she wasn’t sure what to say to him either.
He lifted one eyebrow at her, finished his dinner and brought his plate to the sink to rinse and put in the dishwasher. She didn’t think she’d need to fill and use it, but didn’t expect him to wash it by hand either.
She finished up and did the same. “You didn’t have to rush because I was done,” he said. “You had a bigger garden on your plate than me.”
“I was full. I always tend to make my salads too big. It’s a bad habit. I want everything on it and then it’s huge. I never finish them.”
“Do you need me to help you get your clothes? Actually, do you want me to go get a laundry basket in my place first to help you carry them up there? Otherwise I’m trying to figure out how you’re going to do this.”
“I’ve got laundry bags,” she said. She’d bought them today on one of her stops with Janet. Janet hadn’t asked why, she probably assumed it was for Bella to put her clothes in for the service at the hotel.
“That works,” he said. “Am I allowed into your room?”
“That’s a funny question from the man that just threatened to kiss me to shut me up.”
He moved closer to her, crowding her space. “And you said you wouldn’t mind if I did it again.”
“I don’t believe I said those words.”
He pulled her into his arms. “More or less in my words,” he clarified before his mouth lowered on hers.
She wrapped her arms around his neck needing to feel this again.
The day spent with Janet and then talking with Hailey had made her vulnerable in a way she hadn’t felt in years. There were so many things in her life she couldn’t control, but this wasn’t one of them.
She opened her mouth under his, his tongue sliding in, her body rubbing against his. Yeah, she wouldn’t mind bringing him into her bedroom and taking off the clothes she had on.
But she wouldn’t say that because she wasn’t quite that bold...even if she was trying to be someone she never was before.
She leaned back after a few minutes. “Since you own this building you can go anywhere you want without needing my permission.”
“A man always needs permission,” he said.
She stepped back. “You’re right. I don’t mean to throw myself at you.”
He laughed. “I’d hardly say you are doing that. But let’s get your clothes and get you set up.”
This went back to Hailey and Janet winking and laughing today about things she could only guess at. And she assumed that Eli was used to having women throw themselves at him and they might be thinking she wasn’t like that.
No reason to be. She could try to be someone she wasn’t as much as she wanted, but she was still going to be that turtle that retreated into its shell when an eagle flew overhead.
Once they were in Eli’s penthouse, she started to laugh. “Why am I not surprised everything is marble?”
“Too cliché?” he asked.
“Yes. I expected better from you.”
“I like the finer things in life. Come on in.”
She moved out of the foyer and to the left where there was a kitchen in black-and-whites. Black marble counters that actually were stunning. “This is beautiful.”
“Not so cliché in here then?”
“No,” she said. “Sorry if I insulted you.”
“You didn’t.” She followed him past the kitchen, her carrying one bag, him the other. Then they went toward his bedroom. He didn’t tell her that. “Right through here. What? No comment on my room?”
“You want me to comment so I won’t,” she said, grinning.
It was just as stunning. He had white marble floors through the whole house, but there were throw rugs in various places. One large navy one under his bed and around it. The walls were gray, the curtains on his windows were white and open, giving a breathtaking view of the ocean.
“Going to be hard to get, aren’t you?” he asked.
They were in a laundry room right before his master bath. She peeked her head in there too. Why not since she was here.
“You got me in your place so I can’t be that hard to get.”
“Point taken,” he said. “So where do we go from here?”
“You’ve got to go work.” She put her clothes in the washing machine, added the detergent and then followed him back to the living room.
“I do. Here is the remote if you want to watch TV.”
“I didn’t bring my computer with me, so I might as well kill the time doing that.” There wasn’t much more she could research on her family at this point. Hailey would get back to her soon and they’d go from there.
“Text me when you’re done or I should be back by eight or so.”
“Have fun working, Eli,” she said.
He laughed at her. Like he knew she was teasing. Maybe flirting more. Did he think she wanted him to stay? She really did, but wouldn’t ask. She wasn’t there yet. Soon maybe.
15
Family History Lesson
“This is beautiful,” Bella said when they got out of his car and walked to the isolated beach. “Is it your land?”
“It’s land that is in our family,” Eli said. “We haven’t decided what to do with it yet. There are a lot of hotels on the island and though it’s a great tourist destination in the summer, the winter doesn’t always fill up.”
“I bet you do,” she said when they stopped on the sand and put the picnic basket down.
A sunset picnic away from everyone had been his idea yesterday when he’d gotten back to his penthouse and Bella was folding her laundry. He hadn’t expected her to still be there when he was finished with work.
He didn’t rush or linger, just went about his night like normal. When he was ready to call it a night she was still there and he wondered if she was purposely waiting for him. But then he’d seen those two bags were actually a lot more clothes than it seemed and she’d probably done at least three loads of laundry in that time.
They carried it all back to her room, he’d given her one more kiss goodnight, and on a whim suggested a date tonight. They had time, might as well make the most of it. As much as he’d had plenty of women in his room for the night, he was an old romantic at heart and if he could show that side of him to anyone, it had to be Bella. She deserved it.
“I offer something more unique than the rest. Though the rooms don’t always fill up, the casino and the shows bring in a lot of people for the day. Or I should say la
st minute rooms for the night. My cousin Hunter’s place is normally filled year round also. Again, he offers something others don’t and he’s at the south end of the island.”
“What does he offer?”
Bella took the blanket and opened it up, then spread it out. “Guess we might get a little family history lesson tonight. Just a brief one,” he said, grinning. The last thing he wanted to do was talk about his family all night. Especially when she knew so little about hers and it upset her last time.
Besides, they’d be here for weeks if he gave a complete lesson.
“I know some of the history,” she said. “The Bond Retreat is Hunter’s?”
“His branch of the family, yes. Hunter is running it now with his father, Charlie, semi-retired. That is Edward’s side of the family and The Retreat was the first hotel on the island. It’s grown with each generation. It’s also the biggest and most posh, you could say. They cater toward destination weddings and high-end amenities and guests.”
“Do you mix it up to get his guests here and yours there?” she asked.
He grinned at her thinking. “Of course. My other cousins, Emily and Penelope Rauch own Atlantic Rise Hotel not far from me. A different clientele. More family vacationers. They offer a variety of rooms and suites at lower end pricing. We do packages with them too. The family works well together.”
“So are they the same branch as you and Hunter?” she asked. “There are five branches, I did read that.”
“I’m from James’s branch, not Edward’s. Our two branches have the most wealth, you could say, and we’ll leave it at that. Every branch has their own, but those two brothers started building their empires younger than the rest and it carried on throughout the generations.”
“There were two daughters and another brother, right?”
He started to pull the food out and a bottle of champagne with glasses. “Let’s have a drink and enjoy the view while I summarize this fast. Malcolm Bond was an English captain. He had dealings with Rummer Shipping. When Victoria Rummer found herself a widow with a daughter to raise and an empire to run, she knew men wouldn’t listen to her or want to do business with a woman.”
