“Good grief,” he sighed. “Calm down, would you? I was just saying—”
“Don’t say shit about how she looks to me ever again and we’ll be fine. Break that rule, and I break your face.”
“Fuck me, she’s got you whipped.”
“And?” I snapped, not bothering to deny something that was one hundred percent true.
He let out another sigh. “What I’m telling you is that those original pictures were great. The ones from the bar with the caption ‘Trouble Brewing between Prewitt and his Hometown Sweetheart’ are not.”
I pulled in a breath in the effort to calm myself. The only thing Carl was worried about was how this would look in the media, while my concerns were focused on something altogether.
“Look, Carl, it’s not a big deal. It was one situation, that’s it. There isn’t going to be any more bad publicity.”
“I still think we should reach out to your PR people and get ahead—”
“I don’t give a shit about getting ahead of anything. What I need you to do — the only thing I need you to do — is find out who the fuck took those pictures and sold them to the tabloids. That’s it. Job done. This shit will be old news by the end of the week.”
“I hardly think—”
“Only time I pay you to think is during contract negotiations. Find me a name.” With that, I hung up and took the stairs two at a time, screw my knee. I needed to contain the damage as much as humanly possible.
I knew what I said to Carl was true. My relationship status would be overlooked the minute some tween pop princess flashed her vag for all the world to see, or some douchebag singer lost his shit and walked off stage at a packed concert. That wasn’t what worried me. What worried me was how Eliza was going to handle it.
Part of having that wall up around herself was keeping her personal life personal. She was an extremely private person. The only ones who got the real Eliza were those of us in her inner circle. And even then, it was only bits and pieces. Most of the time, I felt like I was the only one that got all of her. Her father and Chloe got her love, that was certain, but she didn’t talk to them about the scars her mom left behind. That was only for me.
“Eliza, open up!” I shouted, knocking on the door a little harder than necessary. “There’s something I need to talk to you about.” To my surprise, the door swung open less than a second later and just seeing Eliza standing there before me in a pair of yoga pants and a thread bare, well-worn hoodie made my heart stutter. “Baby—”
“The internet knows my name.”
My head jerked back and by eyebrows dipped in confusion. “What?”
“The internet knows my name. And they think we’re a couple.”
Well, that explained her bizarre declaration. I held my hands up in a placating gesture, “I know, sweetheart. And I swear to God, I’m already taking care of it. I talked to my agent and told him I wanted the name of the person who’d taken those pictures at The Moose—”
“The Moose?” she cut me off. It was obviously her turn to be confused. “What are you talking about?”
And fuck. “Wait… what are you talking about?”
“I’m talking about the pictures online of us at the football game.”
“Ah. Okay. Well…” I paused, trying to think of a delicate way to inform her that those weren’t the only photos about us online. Before I had a chance to lay it out gently, Lilly was there, clutching the laptop to her chest.
“Holy crap! Look at this.” She spun the screen around for Eliza to see. “Whoever took those pictures at the game must have taken these from the bar the other night too.”
I watched with growing panic as her eyes went wide. She studied the screen for what felt like an eternity before looking back at me. Her lips parted to speak, but I jumped in first, not wanting to risk her slamming the door in my face.
“I’m going to fix it.”
Eliza’s mouth snapped shut. Then opened again. Then closed. Then, “Really?”
“Absolutely,” I answered vehemently. “I’ve already talked to my agent. He’s going to hunt down the name of the person who sold those photos. I’ll get them pulled down. And I know you hate any invasions of your privacy, but I swear this will die down. Trust me, I’ve dealt with shit like this before. Football players are small time.”
She bit her lip, looking hesitant to believe me.
“He’s right. You know how much I love those gossip mags. As soon as a rapper cheats on his more-famous-than-him wife with their housekeeper, which happens like, all the time, people will forget all about this.” Lilly chirped, and I made a mental note to stuff her Christmas stocking with twenty dollar bills.
Eliza’s eyes bounced back and forth between the two of us before she finally released what appeared to be a relieved breath. “All right. If you say you’re going to handle it, I trust you.”
Those last three words hit me right in the fucking chest, stealing the air from my lungs. I didn’t realize until that very moment that I hadn’t been waiting weeks to hear her say she trusted me… I’d been waiting six goddamned years. I knew it wasn’t her full trust that I’d earned, but just that little bit was enough to make me feel invincible.
“Good,” I declared, pushing my way into the apartment past two suddenly bewildered looking ladies. “Now that that’s out of the way and you’re finally answering the door, I’ve decided I’m taking you to dinner.”
“I’m sorry…” Eliza blinked a few times. “What?”
“Dinner. A date. I know you get the concept of a date.” I narrowed my eyes at her. “Seeing as you went on one with the wrong guy not all that long ago.”
“Ethan,” Eliza sighed, reaching up to rub her forehead as Lilly shoved the front door closed with a huge smile on her face.
“What a great idea!”
At her friend’s declaration, Eliza’s head shot up. She glared at Lilly at the same time I smiled… huge, having just discovered I had another person fighting in my corner when it came to winning Eliza.
“No it’s not,” Eliza grumbled, looking from me, back to her roommate. “Have you forgotten about the fact that there’s someone out there following us around and snapping pictures?” I couldn’t help but think she looked fucking adorable when she was throwing attitude.
“Then you guys can stay in,” Lilly replied, causing me to frown because having her along as a third wheel on our date wasn’t the best solution to me. I was just about to mention that when she continued talking. “And the timing couldn’t be more perfect. It just so happened that I planned on spending the night with my parents tonight anyway. What a happy coincidence!” She clapped her hands and smiled in a way that read loud and clear it wasn’t a coincidence at all. And I suspected her parents were going to be in for a surprise when she showed up at their door.
Eliza’s sigh told me she was about to argue so I jumped on Lilly’s train of thought. “I’ll make you dinner,” I announced, surprising both women into speechlessness.
“You cook?” Eliza asked.
“Yep,” I answered with a confidence I most certainly wasn’t feeling. I didn’t know a thing about cooking. If I were being honest, I didn’t know jack shit about cooking, but I couldn’t possibly be any worse than my sister. It was Pembrooke lore that Harlow Murphy was one of the worst cooks to ever walk the planet. I was sure I could figure it out. How hard could it be? “You’re not thrilled with the idea of going out in public just yet, and you spend every day cooking for others. Tonight I’ll cook for you.”
I watched in amazement as the uncertainty on her face shifted just slightly and her expression grew warm and soft. She liked the idea of someone else taking care of her, and I fucking loved that.
“Brilliant!” Lilly clapped. “All right kiddo’s, I’m going to pack a bag and get out of your hair. Don’t burn the house down while I’m gone, say no to drugs, and all the cool kids practice safe sex.” With that, she flounced down the hall into her bedroom, only to reappear about a minu
te later with an overnight bag on her shoulder. She gave a still stunned Eliza a loud, smacking kiss on the cheek and announced, “Love ya!” Then she gave me a menacing double finger point before disappearing out the front door.
“She’s terrifying,” I said once she was gone.
“She can be, but most of the time she’s just really freaking annoying.”
“I don’t know,” I laughed, turning to look at Eliza, “I kind of like her.”
She glared, which only made me want to grab her and kiss her… and much, much more. “You would.”
Closing the space between us, I did one of the many things I’d been dying to do since that morning in her kitchen. I slid my fingers into her thick, soft, dark hair and lowered my face close to hers. Her breathing instantly went erratic at my touch and her cheeks grew flushed.
“Don’t act like that kiss didn’t affect you,” I whispered softly, my lips only centimeters away from hers. “I knew you felt it just as much as I did the minute your body melted into mine.”
“I—” I could tell she was just about to object, but something flashed in the hazel eyes and what came out of her mouth was unexpected. “There’s nothing in the apartment to eat.”
“What?” My head cocked to the side in confusion.
“There’s no food. Lilly and I kind of suck at grocery shopping. There’s nothing to cook, and there’s no more wine left. And I haven’t even had a shower today!”
I couldn’t hold in my laughter at her flustered rush of words. She was grasping at any excuse she could possibly think of. Leaning in, I gave her a quick peck on the lips and stated, “Go take a shower, baby. I’ll head down to Mabel’s and pick some stuff up.”
“But—”
I silenced her with another kiss, this one just a few seconds longer, but it was still long enough to make her eyes a little glassy when I pulled back. “Shower. I’ll take care of it.”
“Okay,” she whispered, sounding somewhat drugged. She turned and started down the hallway, and I waited, watching her insanely sexy ass sway in those yoga pants. The spell was broken when I heard the sound of the bathroom door shutting firmly.
I shook away the dirty thoughts filling my head and tried to get my growing erection under control as I moved in the direction of the front door. I had groceries to buy and a dinner to make.
And somewhere in between those two, I hoped like hell that I’d figure out the art of cooking.
Ethan
IT WASN’T UNTIL I got to Mabel’s Corner Market and began scanning the aisles that I started to feel anxiety knot in my stomach. That hope I’d been holding on to that inspiration would strike when I got there was nowhere to be found.
“Fuck me,” I grunted, running my hands over my face. It was when I’d finally dropped my hands and the items in front of me lit up like a beacon, that inspiration finally struck. “Genius!” I hissed to myself as I grabbed the items and tossed them in the basket. I ran around the rest of the store like a mad man and got everything else I needed to make Eliza dinner.
Just as I started for the register, something out of the corner of my eye caught my attention, stopping me in my tracks. I probably stood there for a good three minutes contemplating if I should toss them in the basket or not, and finally decided better safe than sorry. I didn’t have to tell Eliza I’d purchased the condoms. I wasn’t making assumptions about where the night might lead. But if things went in that direction naturally — Christ, please let them head in that direction — I’d kick my own ass if we had to stop because neither of us had any protection.
I wasn’t even going to consider what I’d do if she just so happened to have condoms of her own. My head would probably explode. Better off to just grab my own box if we went down that road.
“Well hey there, football star,” Mabel crooned, smiling that creepy smile at me.
“Hey there, Mabel.”
“Saw about you and that sweet Eliza on the interweb.” She winked, and good God, that wink made me shiver… not in a good way. “So is it true? Are you officially off the market and cozying up with the Sherriff’s daughter?”
I didn’t hesitate in my answer. “Yep. We’re together.” I just left out the part where Eliza wasn’t totally onboard just yet. I had complete faith that I could get her there. And I was hoping sooner than later, because I was running out of patience.
“So you’re grocery shopping for your new girl? That’s so cute.” She smiled as I slid my basket across the countertop for her to start scanning.
“Thanks,” I grinned, feeling a new boost of confidence, “I’m making her dinner tonight.”
At my admission, Mabel froze in the middle of emptying the basket. “You’re kidding right?” she asked, her weathered skin wrinkling even more as she curled her lip at me.
“What?”
Her gaze bounced from the items she’d emptied from the basket back to me. Her look screamed loud and clear that she thought I was an idiot.
“Grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup are football season staples!” I argued.
“You’re gonna feed a professional cook, a woman who went to culinary school, tomato-flavored paste in a can and white bread with melted, processed cheese.” It wasn’t a question, and if I was reading between the lines correctly, what she actually meant was ‘Have you lost your fucking mind?’. But I didn’t really have much of a choice.
“Look, I’ve never cooked before, but I figured I couldn’t really screw up soup and a hot sandwich. It’s the best I could do on a time crunch, okay?” I didn’t know why I was defending myself to the woman, it’s not like her opinion really mattered in the long run, but as she stared me down — obviously finding me lacking — I just couldn’t help myself.
“Mmhmm.” Her hum was chalk-full of distaste. “Well, let’s just hope you’re better at it than your sister. And I’m fairly certain you won’t be needing these,” she held up the box of condoms. “Not with what you’ve got planned for dinner.”
“Just ring everything up,” I ground out between my clenched teeth, thinking to myself that, never again would I engage Mabel in conversation. It never went well for me.
Eliza
OH GOD.
Ohgodohgodohgod.
What had I gotten myself into? I was standing in my bathroom, wrapped in nothing but a towel as water dripped from my hair onto my shoulders, losing my mind because I’d agreed to a date with Ethan Prewitt.
And what scared me the most was that I was actually excited. The thought of him in my kitchen, making me dinner because he wanted to take care of me had a swarm of butterflies fluttering around in my belly. I felt that guard I kept up around him lowering, and no matter what I did to keep it in place, the damn thing just wouldn’t work.
He said he loved me. Somewhere deep, deep down I believed him. It was just that giving him my full trust again was harder that putting my heart in his hands. Because if I were being honest with myself, he already had my heart. Always had.
That was part of the problem. Ever since my mother abandoned me, giving someone else the power to hurt me that way was something I’d always shied away from. I’d let Ethan in once before and look what had happened. Would allowing him in a second time really be smart?
And what would happen once he went back to Denver.
There were so many questions swirling around in my head, questions I couldn’t figure out the answers to, that I couldn’t think straight.
But despite all the questions, all the doubt, one thing was standing out in my mind the most. I wanted to give this a shot. I wanted to believe him. And most of all, I wanted to see where this would go, if I were strong enough to survive whatever was to happen.
With a frustrated sigh, I swiped the fog off the bathroom mirror and stared at my reflection.
“You can do this,” I whispered to myself. “You’re a strong, independent woman. It’s just a date.” I pulled in a breath and closed my eyes for several seconds. “Just a date with a really, really gorgeous guy tha
t you’ve loved pretty much your whole life that’s hurt you once already.”
Shit, I really sucked at this pep-talk stuff.
I gave myself a whole body shake and looked back in the mirror. “You’ve got this. You’ve got this. You’ve—”
I ended on a small shriek when my cellphone on the bathroom counter began to ring, startling me from my monologue.
“Hello?” I answered without looking at the screen, holding a hand to my chest in an effort to calm my erratic heart.
“You’re in troooooouble.”
I pulled the phone away from my ear and looked to see who the caller was. “Chloe? What are you talking about? Why am I in trouble?”
“Your father is going to flip when he sees those pictures that are floating all around the internet of you and Ethan.”
“Shit,” I hissed out a breath, propping one hand on the counter to hold myself up. “Has he seen them yet?”
“Not yet, seeing as he’s all man and doesn’t peruse trashy magazines online on a regular basis. Is it true?”
“Is what true?”
“You and Ethan,” she shouted through the line. “They’re saying you’re a couple. Is it true? I mean, I saw the pictures. You two look quite cozy.”
“Oh my God, Chloe,” I whisper yelled, not wanting Ethan to overhear in case he’d already made it back from the store. “You were there the night of the football game. You know those pictures were taken out of context.”
“So… it’s not true then?” she asked, sounding somewhat defeated. Damn it, how had this become my life? I actually missed the boring days where I went to work, came home, drank wine, and went to bed.
“No… yes… Ugh! I don’t… I don’t know, okay. I’m a little confused right now.”
She remained silent for several seconds. “Well what does that mean?”
I turned and rested my butt on the counter, using my free hand to massage my forehead. “Things are… a little complicated right now.” I blew out a breath and admitted, “Ethan’s making me dinner tonight. It’s kind of a date.”
Coming Full Circle (the Pembrooke series Book 2) Page 15