When I step out, I actually take the time to style my freshly washed hair and put on a bit of makeup; I pull on a cute pair of red capris pants and white button-down sleeveless shirt.
I feel almost human again.
My bedroom is a shambles. I never unpacked my suitcases when I came home from New Orleans. I quickly do that, throw some dirty clothes into the laundry, vow to burn the clothes I’ve been marinating in over the past two weeks, then bounce down the stairs to find Rhys in the kitchen, making me a list.
“Thanks, dear.”
“You’re welcome.” He grins and checks his list. “I need some things. Don’t get any junk food. We’ve had enough of that to last the rest of the year.”
“Yes, sir.” I give him a mock salute and take his list. “Since when do you eat parsnips?”
“I’m going to put them in smoothies. They’re good for you.”
“What are they?”
“A vegetable, smart ass.”
“I’m getting extra Oreos, just to even it out. Yuck.”
“No junk!”
“Whatever.”
***
“They didn’t have the milk and cookies flavor of ice cream, so I got chocolate chip cookie dough.” These bags are so dang heavy. I seriously need to go to the gym once in a while. “And you can stop judging me right now, Rhys O’Shaughnessy, because I deserve ice cream.” I pile the bags on the kitchen island, let out a sigh of relief, and look right up into the whiskey-colored eyes of Eli Boudreaux.
“Someone came to see you,” Rhys says.
“And you can show him out,” I reply, and turn to rush out of the room. I can’t feel my feet, and I pray I don’t fall on my ass. “I don’t have anything to say to him.”
I can hear their voices, but can’t understand what they’re saying over the rush in my ears. My skin is hot. I can’t breathe.
Damn it! I was doing so much better today.
I walk straight through my bedroom to the balcony that overlooks my backyard. The sun is warm on my shoulders as I lean on the railing and take a deep breath, fighting tears.
Why is he here?
“You’ll get burned out there in the sun, cher.”
I will not turn around. But, oh, God, the sound of his voice is the most amazing sound I’ve ever heard.
“Look, Kate, I know I should have called you—”
“Why?” I ask without turning around. “Why would you call? The job was done. I came home. There’s nothing to say.”
“There’s a lot to say.”
“You’re right.” I turn now, and will myself to keep myself together until I throw him out on his arse. “There is one thing to say. Fuck you, Eli. All I wanted from you was respect and honesty. To be monogamous until I left. And you couldn’t even do that. So, fuck you. Now, please leave.”
“I didn’t fuck anyone!” he exclaims with frustration. “Declan told me what you saw the morning you left, but she wasn’t with me, Kate. I didn’t go home that night at all. I haven’t been home since I left you that night.”
“Wait. What?” He advances, but I flinch, so he stops abruptly and shoves his hands in his pockets.
“I haven’t been with Cindy, or anyone else, since the minute I met you. I have no idea what she was doing at my townhouse that morning.”
“Why haven’t you been home?” I whisper.
“Because you aren’t there,” he replies, almost reluctantly. “And I miss you.”
“Look, thanks for clearing that up for me, Eli, but you didn’t have to come all this way to tell me that. You could have just sent me an email.”
“I’m in love with you,” he says, his face intense, jaw ticking. He looks nervous. Unsure of himself.
And that kills me, because Eli is the most self-assured person I’ve ever met.
“Excuse me?”
“Fuck it,” he whispers and takes me in his arms, clutching me to him almost desperately. His nose is in my hair, breathing deeply, his hands rubbing up and down my back.
And I’m not hugging him back. Not yet.
“I remembered something,” he murmurs. “Remember when I told you about what my dad said to me when he was dying?”
I nod, and can’t help but take a breath, inhaling Eli’s strong, spicy scent. God, how I’ve missed him. My hands grip onto his arms as he continues.
“All I’ve focused on was the disappointment in his eyes, his voice. The bad things he said that day, and I’ve done everything in my power to make sure that he would be proud of me now.”
He grips my shoulders and pushes me away, looking me in the eye.
“But something Declan said reminded me of what Dad said about what’s important. That the love of one good woman is worth more than all the casual sex put together. That what matters is being in love, having a family.
“Kate, I thought I didn’t deserve you because I work so hard to make Bayou Industries something my dad would be proud of, and I thought that in doing that, you’d always take the backseat to my career. But that’s bullshit. I can have both. My parents did it effortlessly, because they made each other the priority.”
“What are you saying?” I ask breathlessly.
“I’m saying,” he says and swallows hard, “that you mean the world to me. I’ve been looking for you my whole damn life. I’m uninterested in a life without you. Not having you with me over the past few weeks has been a hell I don’t wish on anyone.”
“You hurt me,” I whisper, as tears roll unnoticed down my cheeks. He sweeps them away with his thumbs.
“I hurt both of us,” he replies softly. “I fell into such an easy love with you, I didn’t even realize it was happening, until one day, it was everything.”
“You don’t do love,” I reply.
“I didn’t,” he agrees with a half-smile. “But you made the man who was incapable of love fall in love with you.”
I frown and tilt my head. “You said that to me in the hospital.”
He nods solemnly.
“Eli, I don’t know if I can do marriage and forever with anyone again. I don’t know if I have that in me.”
“Oh, baby.” He kisses my forehead and hugs me to him again. “You do. But we can take this one day at a time. As long as you’re with me, every day, nothing else matters, cher. We don’t have to jump into anything.”
My arms clutch him now, wrapping around him and holding him tight.
“I missed you too,” I whisper into his chest.
“You’re going to burn,” he says and leads me into the bedroom. He lies next to me on my bed, turning us so we’re facing each other, and I can’t help the tears that spring to my eyes. “Don’t cry.”
“I thought you’d—”
“If I’d known you’d thought that, I would have called and told you differently right away. I had no idea. I’m so sorry.”
I shake my head and close my eyes, then lean in and press my lips to his lightly. His hand drifts down my side to my hip, and he lets me take the lead, nibbling his lips, kissing his cheek. I pull my fingertips down his chin as his hand makes its way up my shirt.
“I missed your skin,” he whispers.
“I might have missed your abs,” I reply softly.
He raises a brow. “Might have?” He pushes me onto my back and unfastens the buttons on my shirt, nudges it aside and kisses my chest, over to my already puckered nipple, pulling it into his mouth through my bra.
“Probably.” My hand drifts down his back to his butt. “And this too.”
He chuckles and works his way down my stomach. “I think we should make a list. The first on mine is this sexy as hell piercing.”
“A list of things I love about you?” I ask with a giggle. He raises his head, his eyes wide, and pushes back up to look me in the eye.
“Do you love me, Kate?”
“I love you very much,” I reply sincerely. “All of you.”
His eyes close and he tips his forehead against mine, then sends me that sexy, naughty grin
of his. “Let’s make those lists.”
***
Two Weeks Later…
“I would have hired people to unpack your things,” Eli says, as he wraps his arms around me from behind and kisses my cheek.
“That’s silly,” I reply, and hang the last blouse in the closet. “Besides, the thought of having strangers touch my clothes and underwear is not appealing.”
“Well, when you put it like that,” he agrees with a smile, and turns me to face him. He kisses me softly. “Welcome home, cher.”
“Thank you.” I smile widely, happy to be here in our townhome in the French Quarter. “I love this place.”
“I love you.”
I smile up at him. “I know.”
He swallows and cups my cheek in his hand. “Kate, Rhys told me about the baby you lost, and I’ve been meaning to find the right moment to tell you that I’m so very sorry for your loss.”
I feel tears fill my eyes, but his words are a balm to my heart. “Thank you.”
He kisses me softly, gently, his thumbs making circles on my cheeks, and I can’t help but hope that there will be other babies.
Lots of babies.
“Is the family here?” I ask.
“We are.” Eli’s mama’s voice comes from the bedroom, and when we step out of the closet, she’s smiling widely. “Hello, sweet girl.”
“I’m so glad you all came for dinner.” I hug the petite woman before walking toward the door.
Just before I leave the room, I hear her say, “Your daddy would be so proud of you, Eli.”
I grin and leave them alone, joining the others in the kitchen.
“Are you really living with Uncle Eli now, Miss Kate?” Sam asks excitedly.
“I am.” I smile at the sweet little boy and smooth his unruly hair down, then snatch a fried potato out of a serving tray that the caterers brought.
Eli had this gathering catered. He didn’t want me to have to deal with cooking dinner and unpacking my things.
God, I love that man.
“Are you okay?” Eli asks, as he wraps me in his arms and hugs me tightly, joining us in the kitchen.
“Why wouldn’t she be okay?” Beau asks, as he uncovers the shrimp gumbo. “She doesn’t start work until Monday, so you haven’t had a chance to be a hard ass with her yet.”
“How did your boss take it when you quit?” Van asks.
“He was fine when I explained that I didn’t want to travel around so much, and that Bayou Enterprises offered me a position.”
“I don’t want to think about the positions Eli offers you,” Charly grumbles, earning a glare from her mother.
Eli simply raises an eyebrow at me, a half-smile on his sexy lips.
“I’m great.”
“You’re amazing,” he whispers in my ear. “And all mine.”
I smile up at him, in the middle of the hustle and bustle of his family, laughing and talking, in our home, and know that I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be.
“All yours.”
Epilogue
Three Months Later…
Rhys O’Shaughnessy
“It’s fine,” I insist with a growl, glaring at the doctor. My coach, team physician, even the fucking owner of the team are all here in this meeting. “I can play.”
“No, you can’t,” the doctor insists grimly. “You’ll tear that rotator cuff again in a heartbeat.”
“I’ve done the therapy,” I insist. “I’ve done everything you’ve told me to.”
“Yes, you have. Rhys, you and I both know that this happens to players every day.”
“Not to me.” I lean forward. “Not. To. Me.”
“He’s not saying you’re out for good,” Reggie, my coach reminds me. “You’re just out for the season, and it’s almost over anyway.”
I’m staring at the doctor, who’s looking back at me with tired, sad eyes. He and I both know the truth: the chances of me coming back are slim.
“What do I need to do?” I ask.
“Keep doing what you’re doing. Keep up with the PT, get it worked over by a massage therapist regularly to keep the muscles supple. Exercise.” He spreads his hands wide, as if to say, what else can I say?
“I’ll be back next season,” I promise the room, and I can’t help but wonder who I’m trying so hard to convince, me or them?
“And we’ll be excited to have you back,” Mr. Lyon, the owner, replies. “Get yourself well, Rhys. That’s the most important thing.”
We all leave the boardroom, and I walk briskly to my car, anxious to get out of here. Summer is hanging onto Chicago like a pit bull with a bone. It’s fucking hot.
I take off down the interstate, ready to be back in Denver, wishing Kate would be there to talk to. And, at just the thought of her, I know I need to hear her voice.
“Hello?” Her voice is full of smiles as she answers.
“Hey, kiddo.”
“What’s wrong?”
“I’m out for the season,” I reply, and check my blind spot to switch lanes. “Doc just confirmed it. They made me come all the way to fucking Chicago to tell me that I can’t play.”
“I’m sorry. I thought you already knew that.”
“I was trying to get back in before the postseason.”
“What are you going to do?”
“Keep working on it. Exercise. Get it healthy.”
“Do you have to be in Denver to do that?” she asks.
“No, I suppose not.”
“Then get your butt to New Orleans. I have the perfect place for you to stay.”
THE END
Click here for Asher and Lila's story, EASY WITH YOU, releasing March 24, 2015 from 1001 Dark Nights!
Other Books by Kristen Proby:
The With Me In Seattle Series:
Come Away With Me and on audio
Under the Mistletoe With Me and on audio
Fight With Me and on audio
Play With Me and on audio
Rock With Me and on audio
Safe With Me and on audio
Tied With Me and on audio
Breathe With Me and on audio
Forever With Me and on audio
Easy With You
Love Under the Big Sky Series, available through Pocket Books:
Loving Cara, UK, AU
Seducing Lauren
Falling for Jillian
Baby, It’s Cold Outside
An Anthology with Jennifer Probst, Emma Chase, Kristen Proby, Melody Anne and Kate Meader
Table of Contents
Other Books By Kristen Proby
Dedication
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Epilogue
Other Books by Kristen Proby
Easy Love Page 23