‘That’s disgusting,’ one of the hags said.
‘Did you see her in the newspaper the other week?’
‘Yes, I saw that, degrading herself like that in front of everyone.’
‘I think she’s on drugs.’
‘Nooo!’
‘Look at her, she’s so thin and everyone knows that Ethan is still dealing. I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s her dealer.’
That ridiculous rumour about him being a drug dealer had been doing the rounds for years. He had never touched drugs in his entire life, he barely even drank. He used to laugh at the rumours that would do the rounds to trash him and his family but now they were tarnishing Izzy too and he didn’t like it.
He stood up to put an end to this. He wouldn’t let them speak about her like this. He didn’t want to cause a scene at Bex’s wedding but there was no way they were getting away with this.
‘She turned down a great job to work with him.’
He sat back down again so he could listen.
‘A scholarship to train to be a solicitor. It had always been her dream to be a solicitor – she got accepted onto some course to become one and the solicitors were going to pay for it but then she turned it down so she could work for him.’
That wasn’t true, was it? She had never mentioned a dream of being a solicitor before. Though there was that job she mentioned a few days after she started working for him.
‘What is his company anyway,’ said the man’s voice he recognised. ‘I’m surprised the police haven’t shut him down. Sexual fetishes, role play, rape fantasies, it’s sick.’
He surreptitiously peered round the corner at the man that was talking. He nearly laughed out loud when he saw it was one of his regular clients. The man had used Ethan’s services at least three times. The worst thing was this man had several bizarre fantasies that were beyond anything that Ethan had ever heard of. Many times Ethan had to put his foot down and refuse to undertake his weird requests, and here he was running Ethan’s company down for offering a perfectly legitimate service.
‘I always thought she was a lovely girl when she was going out with your Alex, but now being associated with Ethan no one is going to touch her. Have you seen her tattoos, she looks ridiculous.’
‘If Ethan was any sort of man, he would end it with her before her reputation is completely in tatters. He must know that everyone is laughing at her behind her back.’
Just then Izzy came over and plonked herself on his lap, wrapping her arms around him and kissing him hard.
Ethan was aware of silence behind him as he pulled her against him.
‘Look at her, she’s all over him,’ muttered one of the ladies.
He pulled away slightly from Izzy but she was in no mood to let him go. She fingered his hair at the back of his neck, slid her tongue sensually into his mouth and all sense and reason went from his mind –it was all he could do not to lift her onto the table and have his way with her here in front of everyone. He felt his hands fist her dress at her hips as he used every last bit of restraint he had to keep this civilised.
Eventually she pulled back slightly. ‘Hey.’ She grinned down at him.
‘Hey, beautiful.’
‘I fucking love you, Ethan Chase, did you know that?’
‘Yes, your drunken declarations are becoming quite common.’
She leaned back to look at him. ‘I’ve told you I love you before?’
‘Yes, on Bex’s hen night.’
‘Oh. But it’s not just a drunken thing. I do love you, I’ve never loved anyone as much as I love you. Never. Not with Alex or anyone. It consumes me how much I feel for you. I want to get married to you and have lots of little Ethan babies. I cannot imagine a future without you in. I do love you. A lot.’
He smiled at her. The thought of little Ethan babies was suddenly a pleasing one. He had always been scared of having children ever since Charlie had miscarried but now the thought of having a baby that was half his, half Izzy’s was something that he found exciting. He wanted that future now and could find no fear in it anymore.
He ran his hand over her flat belly. ‘A little girl called Cora?’
Her face split into a huge grin and her eyes filled with tears. ‘Yes.’
Suddenly the music was turned down.
‘Ladies and Gentleman, Mr and Mrs Matthews will be leaving now. If you wish to say goodbye, please make a line by the door.’
Izzy’s face filled with horror. ‘No, they can’t leave now.’
She scrambled off his lap and ran for the door. He quickly got up and followed, lining up just behind Izzy. He watched Bex and Gabe make their way down the line, hugging and kissing everyone briefly. Bex hardly gave anyone a second glance before she moved onto the next person. Her life here was over and it was clear she was looking forward to her new life in Canada with her husband. But when Bex came to Izzy, her face crumpled and she threw herself into Izzy’s arms, holding her tight as they sobbed against each other. Eventually Gabe gently pulled her away but to Ethan’s surprise, she suddenly leaned forward and grabbed Ethan into a hug as well.
‘Take care of her.’ Bex whispered and when she pulled back to look at him, he nodded his promise. Bex and Gabe went outside, Izzy immediately followed.
They got into their car and with lots of waving, shouting and screaming from everyone, Bex and Gabe drove off. Izzy waved frantically as the car drove down the road, taking her best friend with it.
As the car rounded the corner and disappeared from sight, Ethan turned her around and pulled her into his arms, holding her tight against him.
‘Let’s get a drink then I’ll take you home,’ Ethan said, softly.
‘Oh Ethan it hurts so much that Bex has left – it really, really hurts.’
‘I know honey.’
‘And next weekend I’m going to be leaving you too. It will break me, I don’t know if I can do it.’
‘Of course you can. You will have the most incredible time. And I’ll be right here waiting for you when you come back.’
‘I can’t go. I can’t. I’m going to ring them up tomorrow and cancel my ticket.’
‘You will not,’ Ethan said firmly. ‘This is your dream and I’m not going to let you waste it because of me. You’re going to go scuba diving on the Great Barrier Reef and search for platypuses in the bush. You’re going to hike through lush rainforests to see towering waterfalls. You’re going to drink raspberry beer whilst having a barbeque on the beach. You’re going to see every inch of this beautiful land and you can write and ring me to tell me all about it.’
‘I want that, I do, I really do, I’ve wanted to go for so many years… but now I have you, I just don’t think I can leave you behind.’
Ethan helped her back inside.
‘Urgh I need to go and wash my face, I bet I have big panda eyes from all the crying. I’ll be back in a minute.’
She pulled away from him and he sank into a nearby chair.
He couldn’t let her cancel her trip for him, there was no way he would let her do that. He had stopped Charlie from going to New York and he wouldn’t ruin Izzy’s dream too. He eyed the three people who had been gossiping about him and Izzy earlier. They all glared at him as they continue to talk, no doubt bad mouthing Izzy again.
Was her reputation really in tatters because of her association with him? Had she really turned down this fantastic job to be with him? And now she was thinking of turning down Australia too… was he ruining her life by being with her? Should he end things with her now? That didn’t bear thinking about. But although he could protect her from harm, even protect her from his mum, he couldn’t stop the malicious gossips and rumours from hurting her and dragging her down too. Being with him would mean all the stupid lies that circulated round him and his family would circulate round her too. She had hidden away for four years because of the nasty comments people had said about her scars and they were still bitching about her but now it was because of him. She would be deva
stated if she knew and he couldn’t bear to see her scuttling back into her shell just when she was coming out of it. Should he end things with her? Could he?
‘Ethan! What are you doing here?’ A female voice rang through the air and he looked up. He smiled hugely at the beautiful woman standing next to him and he leapt up and pulled her into his arms.
*
Izzy sat on the stool in the toilets, wiping her eyes. She was going to miss Bex so much. It hurt. Could she really leave Ethan behind for six weeks too or maybe even more? Every day without him would be agony. But could she really turn down this opportunity to go to Australia. She knew that she couldn’t. She probably would never get this chance again. Her head was a swirl of emotion and alcohol. In the cold light of day, when she was sober and not so upset over Bex leaving, she knew she would still be excited over the trip.
She stood up to wash her face, just as the door opened and her ex-boyfriend’s mum walked in. The woman was a meddling, sour faced old fool whose son could never do any wrong in her eyes. Even when he got drunk and set fire to her and then dumped her because her scars were ugly, the sun still shined out of his arse.
‘Claudia, nice to see you again.’ Izzy nodded at her, curtly.
‘I see you’re here with Ethan Chase. Bit rude of you to bring someone like that to Bex’s special day.’
‘Bex invited him actually as she knew how important he is to me. And I won’t hear any of your disgusting lies about him. He’s a wonderful, kind man.’
‘You fell from grace when you dumped my son, everyone knows that. After everything Alex did for you, how he saved your life from the fire…’
‘The fire he started when he was drunk…’
‘How he looked after you after the accident, how he stood by you through all your hospital treatment – and you had the audacity to dump him.’
‘He dumped me because he said my scars were ugly.’
‘And now you’re lying about it too. It’s pathetic really.’
Izzy sighed. ‘Why would I lie about it? I’m with Ethan, someone who is kind, generous, loyal, someone who sees past my scars and loves the person on the inside.’
‘Oh open your eyes honey, a man like Ethan doesn’t fall in love. He doesn’t do relationships. He moves from one woman to the next. He is scum, pure and simple. He’s a drug dealer, a thief. He bullies small businesses into giving him money in return for his “protection”.’
‘That’s bullshit…’ Izzy trailed off as she suddenly remembered the owner of the vintage dress shop giving him a huge wad of cash.
‘He’s still sleeping with Sadie Murphy behind your back. I saw her yesterday and she told me all about it.’
‘I find that very hard to believe since he has been with me every night since we’ve got together. When would he have had the time to sleep with her too?’ Izzy said, confidently, but her defiance was quickly dwindling.
‘Really? So you’ve been with him twenty-four hours a day? You’ve never let him out of your sight?’
All those times he had left the office during the day whilst she was working. Where had he gone? Izzy shook her head. Why was she doubting the man she loved, she was drunk and emotional but he loved her, she was sure of that.
‘And you’re going to Australia next weekend aren’t you? Do you honestly think the man will stay faithful until you come back? How long are you going for, six weeks? Two months? The man is a sexaholic, he’ll be sleeping with someone else before the plane even takes off.’
‘No, it’s not like that, we have something really special.’
‘Is that why he’s out there now, chatting up some blonde tart?’
‘I don’t believe you.’
‘See for yourself.’
Izzy marched out into the bar, determined to prove Claudia wrong, but she faltered in her step when she saw Ethan standing close to a beautiful blonde. The blonde moved slightly and Izzy could see it was Emily, the woman he had dumped her for the last time he had freaked out. He’d said she was a friend, nobody romantically attached to him at all. But the look he was giving her was most disturbing. He adored her, any idiot could see that. She had seen that look many times, but she had thought that look was exclusively for her. Now it seems he bandied it about for any woman that flashed him her tits.
They seemed to finish their conversation and Ethan hugged the woman close to him, kissing her forehead as he had done to her hundreds of times.
Izzy felt sick. Was she really one of many? He always said he didn’t do relationships. Was this how he was with all his women – charming, sweet, romantic before ditching them for someone else?
The woman walked away and Ethan watched her go fondly, then turned round to look for her. When he saw her watching him, the smile fell from his face. He strode towards her.
Her emotions already heightened with Bex’s departure, tears quickly filled her eyes.
‘It’s not what you think.’ He reached out to touch her but she flinched away from him. He froze.
‘Lining up a replacement for when I leave, were you?’
Hurt punched through him so visibly that he took a step back away from her and the pain of her words. But he quickly recovered himself. He took a step back towards her, his face now furious.
‘I expect the rumours, lies and hatred from other people, but I never expected it from you. If you think that little of me, then we can end this now.’
He turned and walked away, leaving Izzy feeling cold and very alone.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Ethan stared down at his uneaten breakfast. He had lain awake all night, thinking about Izzy’s overreaction. Her betrayal hurt. He knew that he didn’t have the best reputation, especially when it came to women, but he thought Izzy saw above all that. She had fallen in love with him, warts and all, but it hadn’t taken long for his shine to wear off and he felt let down by that.
But the thing was, he had overreacted too.
She was drunk and emotional and he should have just taken her into his arms, kissed her and told her the woman was his sister. Half-sister. That in itself was a complicated business and not something he ever wanted the gossipmongers of the town to know about.
But now in the cold light of day, maybe this was for the best. He deliberately ignored the agony in his heart and his gut that was screaming at him to rectify this terrible mistake. He couldn’t let her get dragged down with him and all those horrible rumours. He didn’t want people to be laughing at her or saying shitty things about her behind her back. He had lived with those rumours all his life and although he didn’t like them, he had learned to accept them. He didn’t want that for Izzy. She deserved great things, the best opportunities, and he hated to think of doors being closed in her face because of her association with him. And worse than that was the opportunities she was walking away from to be with him. He wouldn’t allow it. Coupled with his moods, his overbearing overprotectiveness, his fierce determination not to let anything get in the way of work, she was better off without him.
This was absolutely the right decision to make, so why did it feel so wrong he thought he might be sick?
He whistled for Psycho, grabbed his coat and the dog lead and opened the front door only to find Izzy standing on his doorstep. She evidently hadn’t slept either.
He wanted to pull her into his arms and apologise for walking out on her the night before when she needed him most, he wanted to tell her everything about his half-sister, Emily and that there would never be another woman for him because he had fallen head over heels in love with her. But more than that, he wanted to take her back to his bed and make love to her, to kiss away every worry, every doubt she ever had. But he couldn’t.
He closed the door behind him and stepped down from his house.
‘Ethan I’m sorry about last night. Really you just need to ignore anything that comes from my mouth when I’m drunk. I don’t mean any of it.’
‘So I should probably ignore the fact that you told me you loved me
as that’s clearly not the case when you don’t even trust me.’ He moved to walk past her, but she blocked his path.
Psycho sat down between them, watching their interactions like he was watching a tennis match.
‘I was drunk, I had been crying all day, I was an emotional wreck and I’d just had the misfortune of running into my ex-boyfriend’s mum who took great pleasure in telling me what a mess my life was since me and Alex broke up. I let her get to me and I’m sorry.’
Shit, that woman had got to them both.
‘And don’t you even want to know who the woman was, the one that I had lined up as your replacement?’
She shrugged. ‘No, I trust you. I know it didn’t seem like that last night, but I do. I know you haven’t said it yet, but I know you love me. After everything we’ve been through together, I know you feel the same for me as I feel for you.’
‘You have no idea what I’m feeling.’ He side stepped her and started walking down his drive.
‘Wait, are we not going to talk about this?’
‘There’s nothing to talk about.’ He just had to keep walking away from her before he changed his mind. But she ran to catch up with him.
‘So that’s it, we’re over. One little fight, one mistake and you’re prepared to walk away from it all?’
‘It’s for the best.’
‘Best for who?’
He kept on walking, his heart breaking with every step he took away from her.
*
Ethan drove up to work on Monday morning and his heart sank when he saw Izzy’s bike propped up round the side of the office. Why couldn’t she just stay away? He honestly expected her to have called in sick rather than have to face him. Not seeing her was bad enough, seeing her and not being able to touch her or kiss her would be plain torture.
Tied up With Love Page 26