Eliza reached out her hand numbly. On top of everything else, of course Bailey was supermodel beautiful. And she was dating Nate.
She wanted to throw up.
Pasting on a smile she didn’t feel, Eliza shook Superwoman’s hand, which happened to be as soft as a baby’s butt. “So nice to meet you.”
Perhaps sensing Eliza’s awkwardness, Becca jumped in with, “Eliza used to date Neil.”
“Really?” That information appeared to puzzle Superwoman. “I would’ve pegged you as going for Nate.”
That was an odd statement from a woman that was dating said man. For a split second she thought Neil might’ve told Nate about the night at Whisper Lake and Nate had told Bailey. But the observation wasn’t made with any cattiness, actually quite the opposite. It sounded truly sincere.
“It was a long time ago. In high school,” Eliza clarified.
“Oh, that makes more sense.” Bailey concluded. “Oh speaking of Nate…”
She pulled out her phone and started typing.
Oh dear lord. Was she texting him to come down here? Eliza didn’t know if she could handle two Nate sightings in one day, much less watch him with Superwoman.
Bailey returned her phone to her pocket. “Sorry, I wasn’t trying to be rude but I totally forgot to let him know that I’m not working the night of the fundraiser so it’s a date.”
“Fundraiser?” Eliza heard herself say.
Becca filled her in. “You remember, the spring fundraiser the Country Club holds every year? It’s this Friday.”
“Oh right.” She’d grown up in Harper’s Crossing but only attended the event three times, all when she was dating Neil. Her parents had never had the disposable income for the ridiculously high plate prices.
“What’s the theme?” Each year they chose a theme. The first year she’d attended had been “Under the Sea.” The entire place had been lighted with different blues to create the feeling of being in water and the entire ceiling was covered in twinkle lights. There were large aquariums displayed. The second year the theme had been “The Roaring Twenties,” she’d worn a flapper costume and the ballroom had been transformed into a speakeasy. The last year she’d gone had been “Around the World,” there’d been dishes from every culture you could name and all of the women and men wore traditional dress from their ancestors’ homeland. Since she was Irish she’d worn an Irish Dancing dress.
“This year it’s a Masquerade Ball.” Becca wagged her eyebrows up and down. “It’s very Fifty Shades of Grey.”
“Are you going?” Eliza knew that local businesses were expected to buy tables and Brian had recently taken over his parents’ auto body shop.
Becca smiled as she confirmed, “I am.”
“What are you wearing?” Bailey asked Becca and the two women started talking about masks and gowns, and Fifty Shades, which Eliza had read. Twice.
Eliza sat back and watched the two women interacting and tried to keep up with the conversation, just in case she needed to jump into the verbal Double Dutch at any point. She was hearing the words they were saying but none of it was actually making it to her brain. That organ was too busy with thoughts of Nate. Of Nate being in the wedding and walking down the aisle with Bailey. Of Nate going to the Masquerade Ball with Bailey. Basically her mind was stuck like a broken record on the Nate and Bailey song.
Yeah, she definitely wanted to throw up.
Chapter 5
Nate’s hands fisted and released as frustration boiled up in him. He couldn’t concentrate to save his life. Literally, if his life depended on him focusing on the code he was staring at he’d be a dead man walking. Or in this case, a dead man sitting. Since leaving Smiles, there hadn’t been a second that he hadn’t been obsessing about Eliza. He’d had questions when he saw her that he thought would be answered as soon as he got his fingers on his keyboard. But sadly, those answers had only led to more questions.
Once he’d gotten back to the office he quickly learned that she was no longer married to Doug Lipton. They’d completed one of the quickest divorces he’d ever known of. The union had been dissolved in eleven days. There was a paper trail that showed Doug bought her out of her share of their practice and their residential property.
Nate’s first thought had been that once she was offered the position here, she’d wanted to come home but he hadn’t wanted to move so they decided to split up. The problem with that theory was that the date stated on the divorce papers was two days before Dr. Lewis went to the hospital. So either she was a psychic or something else had been the catalyst for the end of their marriage and her involvement in the practice that she’d spent years building.
After spending hours trying to dig up what had sparked such life changing decisions he’d given up. He’d tried to find digital proof of infidelity or some kind of betrayal but his normal avenues were fruitless. Neither party had posted on any social media platforms since before the divorce petition was drawn up. If this was a matter of security, he could easily hack into both of their personal emails, work emails, and even security footage from both their home and office and he had the security clearance to do it but this had nothing to do with security and as tempting as it was, he knew he could never cross that ethical line.
So, instead of continuing to bang his head against the proverbial wall, he’d opted to work. Except he couldn’t. The harder he tried to focus, the more he thought about Eliza.
He placed his hands on the edge of the desk and pushed back, the wheels beneath his chair rolled and he stood up and walked to the window that overlooked the Riverwalk. Watching the moonlight dance off the surface of the water normally centered him and made him feel a sense of calm. Not tonight.
Needing to do something, he returned to his computer and pulled up the security cameras that Elite had positioned on the building so they could see the entire block and street and zoomed in on Smiles. The knowledge that that was where Eliza would be spending her days, just yards away from him, seemed as surreal as it did impossible.
From what Martha had said when Nana was grilling her, Eliza had arrived yesterday. She’d been here for a full day and he’d had no idea, and he’d been able to function just fine. Now, not so much.
This morning had been like any other morning. He’d gone through his morning routine of waking at four thirty, going for a run and grabbing a quick shower before heading to The Daily Grind at the end of the block for coffee. He’d been in the office and at his desk by six a.m. and had been so submerged in his work he hadn’t even heard Darla when she’d tried to tell him that his grandma was trying to reach him.
He knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, he’d never again have a morning like he had this morning. Not with her being here, in Harper’s Crossing. Not with her working two doors away. Not with constant reminders of her.
Obviously, he’d never gotten over the only girl that he’d ever loved, but he’d been able to live his life. He’d been able to emotionally put all of his memories of her in a box, shut it and lock it and bury it deep in his subconscious. But her return had resurrected that box and popped that sucker open. Memories, feelings and desires were springing out of it like a Jack in the Box. He was trying to shove them back in, but it was going about as well as trying to plug up holes in a boat made of Swiss cheese.
One look into Eliza’s eyes had altered the trajectory of his life, just like when she’d first walked into Mr. Hawkin’s science class. Seeing Eliza this morning had changed him and he knew that it was going to be a daily, hourly, maybe even minute-by-minute, second-by-second struggle to return to some semblance of normalcy. But he would have to do it. He needed to work. He needed his life to go on. It couldn’t stop just because his heart and hormones were stuck in the past.
He stared at the photo of a happy couple smiling up at each other adoringly displayed in the glass window of the dental office. They looked so happy. Yes, logically he knew that it was an advertisement and the couple in the stock photo were most likely models and
not in a real relationship. But that didn’t stop him from wishing that he could have that.
His phone buzzed on the desk beside him and he saw that he had an incoming message from Bailey. She said that she would be able to make the Masquerade Ball this weekend. He’d totally forgotten about it, or the fact that he’d invited her. As much as he wanted to tell her that he had to work or make any excuse not to go, he knew that it was exactly what he should do. He should see Bailey. It had been months since they’d hooked up. Maybe that would help him with Eliza coming back.
Even as he thought it he knew it wouldn’t work. Nothing could break the spell that Eliza Young had on him. But if he at least attempted to return to his normal life, maybe one day it would lessen. It was his only hope.
Chapter 6
A chime sounded as Eliza stepped out of The Daily Grind coffee shop into the crisp morning air. Farmer, who was wearing his service animal vest trotted out beside her with an extra pep in his step because the owner, who had introduced himself as Trenton, had given him a special treat for being such a good boy. The switch on her flirt detector had been in the off position for so many years that she couldn’t be sure if he’d done it for her benefit as much as Farmer’s but that was the feeling she got. If that was the case, he was barking—pun intended—up the wrong tree.
A smile pulled at the corners of her lips from her own joke as the heat from her paper coffee cup warmed her hands. She wrapped them tighter around it and lifted the beverage to her mouth as she started down the block to Smiles. The rich, java aroma filled her nostrils as she sipped the steaming hot liquid.
She crossed the street and walked past Tempting, Haley’s lingerie store, and made a mental note that she needed to stop by there in the next day or two. Last night at dinner she’d promised her that she would. Shopping for pretty bras and panties would normally be something that she’d be looking forward to, but somehow now it just reminded her that no one would see her in them. But, she knew that wasn’t the right way to look at it.
Eliza had always loved wearing matching bras and panties and pretty undergarments, even garters. That love had nothing to do with Doug or Carson. It came from inside of her. Some women felt their best in comfortable cotton underwear. She felt her best in sexy lace or silk. Even if Farmer would be the only male that would see her in them.
The duo continued down the street past Inspire Yoga, which a number of people were filing into dressed in their leggings and flip-flops. Across the street she saw that there looked to be a doggie daycare and groomer called Bones, Balls & Bellyrubs. Maybe when she stopped over at Tempting she would drop Farmer off to get a bath and his nails trimmed. Unlike other dogs she’d had, Farmer loved the groomer. And the Vet. And any place there were people. He was the calmest, most social dog she’d ever met, which made him perfect for his therapy work.
She was trying to appreciate how cute the Riverwalk was now that it had been gentrified, but she could barely keep her eyes open. Technically, she was awake, at least enough to function. But it was a struggle.
When her alarm went off at five a.m., it felt like she’d just closed her eyes…because she had. The last time that she’d looked at the clock it had been only forty-five minutes earlier. Rising and shining was made even more difficult thanks to the fact that her sheets had morphed into a Chinese finger trap from all the tossing and turning she’d done. Every time she’d freed one limb it was like the others were sucked in tighter. Finally, after several failed attempts and an assist from Farmer, she’d been able to make it out of bed.
One blurry-eyed shower and hair drying session later, she’d dragged herself to the cute coffee shop a block down from Smiles and was now praying to the caffeine gods that they would work their magic and wake her up.
She’d love to try to pin her Zombie-like state on the upheaval in her life of late. The divorce. The move. The new business. But none of that was the reason nothing was in focus. The cause lay solely at the feet of the man that had held a piece (a large piece) of her heart since she was fourteen years old.
Bailey Rossum was everything Becca had said she was and more. The woman wasn’t just supermodel gorgeous, she was charming, funny, insightful, easy going, oh and she literally saved lives.
Last night, at the table beside them, a young girl around three had started choking on a piece of bread and without missing a beat Bailey performed the Heimlich, and also calmed the girl’s frantic aunt. She ordered the girl ice cream and when Bailey sat back in her chair, she picked up right where she’d left off as if none of it had happened. As if saving someone’s life was run of the mill for her…because it was. That hadn’t even been the first life she’d saved that day. She and Becca had briefly talked about the complex and life-threatening condition that ailed the young boy who Bailey had operated on earlier. It seemed the surgery had been a success.
Eliza had left the dinner feeling so many emotions she had no idea how to process them. All night she’d lain in bed staring at her ceiling. She’d been exhausted. She’d wanted to go to sleep so bad she’d cried at one point. The problem was, every time she closed her eyes she’d picture Nate and Bailey at a wedding. Not Becca and Brian’s wedding, though. Every time she closed her eyes, she pictured Nate and Bailey’s wedding. As in the two of them getting married. To each other.
The worst part of the entire thing was, they deserved each other. And not in that catty, sarcastic or ironic way that most people say it. Like when two people that are married have an affair and leave their spouses and people say, “They deserve each other.” Nate and Bailey truly deserved each other in the best possible way. They deserved each other because they were both highly intelligent, driven, kind, funny, creative, charitable and insanely-hot people.
As much as Eliza had wanted not to like Bailey out of purely childish and immature motivation, she couldn’t help but love her. In a platonic hero-worship kind of way. And she loved Nate, in a not-platonic soulmate, love-of-her-life kind of way. And she was actually kind of happy for the two of them.
Sad happy, but still…happy.
Farmer turned the corner to the back entrance of the office and Eliza followed. He sat in front of the door and looked up at her knowing that he’d been a good boy for locating their destination. She patted his head and praised him before unlocking the door.
She hoped that she could get through the stack of paperwork that Dr. Lewis had left for her before the staff arrived. Yesterday had been less productive than she’d wanted.
As the door swung open, Farmer happily strode inside like he owned the place and she smiled, she guessed he did in a way. Before she closed the door behind them she saw it. The alarm. It was blinking.
Frantically, she reached in her purse and dug around for a split second before she realized that she’d left the paper with the security code and the password for the alarm company at home after trying to memorize it last night. She’d meant to grab it on the way out this morning, but true to form, she’d forgotten it. Dr. Lewis had set the timer at ninety seconds, she clearly remembered him telling her that.
She cursed as panic set in. “Shit. Shit. Shit!”
If the alarm company called and she didn’t know the password they would dispatch 911. That would be quite an embarrassing way to reintroduce herself to the town.
“Shit!” she cursed again because she didn’t know what else to do.
“What’s wrong?”
She didn’t need to turn around to know who belonged to that deep voice that had sounded behind her. But that didn’t stop her from doing just that. Butterflies flitted in her stomach as she spun. She thought she was prepared for what she was about to see, but she’d been wrong. The second she laid eyes on him, her breath caught in her throat as she inhaled sharply.
Nate was standing in the doorway wearing a dark gray T-shirt that showcased his broad chest and large biceps, and black slacks that looked like they had been tailor made just for him, and they probably were. The sun was rising behind him and the rays s
urrounded his imposing frame. He looked like a sexier-than-sin dark angel.
“Ellie, are you okay?” he asked as a wrinkle formed in his forehead.
“Oh, no! The alarm.” She turned back and pointed at it. “I forgot the code at home and if I don’t key it in it will alert the alarm company. They’ll call and ask for a safe word, which would be great if that wasn’t on at home, too. If I don’t know it they’ll call the pol—” Before she finished explaining the light stopped flashing. “Shit.”
Her mind was starting to formulate what she would say to the alarm company when Nate’s voice once again filled the silence. “It’s disarmed.”
“What?” she turned back and saw him putting his phone back in his pocket.
“I disarmed the alarm,” he stated calmly.
Eliza’s arms flew up. “How?”
“With my phone.”
“Dr. Lewis gave you the code?” That only surprised her because he’d been so freaked out even to give it to her. He said that it was only written down on one paper and he’d made his employees memorize it.
“I don’t need the code,” his tone indicated that the answer was as obvious as the nose on his face.
Right. Because he was not only a genius but he specialized in cyber security. If the rumors were true, he was the go-to CIA expert. It was hard to think of him as anything but her super-hot lab partner, and the twin brother of her first boyfriend.
“So you hacked into the security system and disarmed the alarm,” she said aloud as she tried to wrap her head around who he was now.
“Yes.”
“With your phone?” That was the part that was still so crazy to her.
He shrugged his left shoulder. “It has a QWERTY keyboard.”
“Right,” she laughed. “Cause that was the unbelievable part. The keyboard. I’m sure you can do anything as long as you have a keyboard.”
All He Desires – Nate & Eliza (Crossroads Book 12) Page 5