“You’re different,” he said, “but not in the way you think. I’m not here because I think there’s something wrong with you. It’s the opposite, Leila. There is nothing at all wrong with you. I don’t want to figure out your problem because there isn’t one, but I do want to get to know you.”
Finally, Leila moved. She didn’t face him, but her shoulders softened and her arms, which were wrapped around her body, stopped trying to squeeze herself in two. Eli stood and slowly walked up behind her. He stood close, too close. The heat of her body, her anger and hurt, radiated off her perfect skin. Eli wanted to press his lips against her bare shoulder. He wanted Leila more than he had wanted anything in a very long time. It was almost physically painful not to kiss her.
He leaned forward.
Leila started to turn and Eli took a quick step back. He held his breath when Leila paused halfway through her turn and stared at him. He could see the red in her eyes. If there had been even one tear on her face he wouldn’t have been able to stop himself from brushing it away and giving away everything.
“Why are you really here, Eli?” Leila asked.
Because I’m falling in love with you? Part of him wanted to scream the words. Medical school had been an excellent lesson in patience and keeping his mouth shut. Eli settled for the closest thing to the truth he dared let pass his lips.
“Because you are the most interesting person I’ve met in a long time, Leila. I’ve never met anyone who could see the world as such a dark place, yet have bright yellow walls and more flowers in her apartment than a florist. I have fun talking to you, and being with you. I want …” There were so many things he wanted right then. “I want to be your friend, Leila.”
A bitter taste rose in Eli’s mouth. Never before had he found the word friend so distasteful.
Turning to face him squarely, Leila eyed Eli. “My friend?”
“Is that so strange?”
“Um, kind of.”
“Well it shouldn’t be.”
Leila bit at her bottom lip. “What do you get out of being my friend?”
“A friend in return,” Eli answered. “What more would I want?”
Eli almost kicked himself for saying it. He meant that he wasn’t trying to get anything from her, but one look at Leila’s expression told him that wasn’t how she took it. What more would Eli ever want from her than to be friends? The words almost jumped out of his mouth, a mistake telling her that friendship was the least of what he wished they could share. Eli knew he had no right to intrude on her life like that. She had met Luke, needed time to build her confidence when it came to dating, and deserved the chance to find out how amazing she was for herself. She didn’t need him to screw that up for her.
“You really want to be friends?” Leila asked, shrugging off the pain Eli had inadvertently doled out. She seemed to accept what he had said and put any emotions attached to it on a shelf somewhere in the back of her mind. Eli forced himself to do the same.
“Yeah. I want to be friends. I think the only thing you need in your life is a little more happiness.”
“And you can help me find that?” She looked doubtful. Given what Eli had just put her through, he didn’t blame her.
He smiled as genuinely as he could manage. “If running until you’re ready to puke and eating food you hate doesn’t improve your outlook on life, I don’t know what will.”
“You’re not making a very good case for yourself, you know?”
“You’ll look back and laugh one day.”
Leila crinkled her nose at him. “You’re insane.”
Eli thought she might be on to something there, but he kept his opinion to himself. “I really am sorry, Leila,” he said. “I didn’t mean to upset you.”
“I know.” The corner of her mouth twitched, like she was trying to keep herself from crying again. “I know you wouldn’t try to hurt me, Eli. You’ve done nothing but try to help me since we met, but those books really are private. I don’t like people looking at them.”
“Why not? There great.”
“It’s embarrassing, for one, and I’m not very good at it. And …”
“And what?”
“Oh, never mind. The first two reasons are good enough.”
Eli picked the scrapbook back up, but he didn’t close it. He turned another page. “Leila, not only are you wrong about not being very good, but I have no idea why you would be embarrassed by these.”
“Oh, come on, have you met anyone else in Chicago who makes scrapbooks?” She waited for him to answer, and Eli had to shake his head. “It’s a silly hobby. Only bored woman from tiny towns in the middle of nowhere scrapbook. My roommate in college said it was like kindergarten arts and crafts for adults who never grew out of the cutting and pasting phase.”
“It is not. Look at these,” he said. “You said you weren’t artistic, but you obviously know color and design and clothes! Has Ana seen these?”
“No!” Leila gasped. “And don’t you dare think of telling her about them.”
“Why not?”
Leila looked absolutely horrified at the thought. “Why? Because she’d probably think I was secretly trying to become a designer like her! She’ll think I’m trying to cut into her business or tell her how to do her job better. Don’t even mention these to her, please.”
“Fine,” Eli said, surprised by her eruption.
“You promise?”
“Yeah, sure, I promise. I have no idea why you’re so worked up about this, but I’ll promise if it makes you feel better.”
Sighing in relief, Leila said, “It does.”
She grabbed the scrapbook out of his hands and flipped it shut. The snap of all the pages slapping against each other had an oddly final sound to it. Eli watched her carrying it off to her bedroom. His curiosity about where she was putting it was muted enough to keep him still. He’d already gotten himself into enough trouble with Leila for one day. She was back out quickly, shutting the bedroom door behind her. She stopped, then, looking decidedly unsure of what to do next. Eli supposed it was his responsibility to remedy that. He leaned down and picked up the sequin purse she had thrown at him and held it in his hand.
“You probably have stuff you need to do today,” he said. “I’ve already stolen most of your morning, so I’ll get going before I do anymore harm today.”
Relief flashed across her face, something Eli deserved, but there was some hesitation before she said, “Yeah, I guess. I kind of had fun today … earlier, I mean.”
Yeah, the last few minutes definitely had not been fun for her. Every second of the last fifteen minutes was going to haunt him either until he died, or he finally had Leila in his arms for real.
“So, what time do you want to run tomorrow?” Eli asked causally.
The sickened look that sprang onto Leila’s face made him laugh. “Tomorrow? Are you freaking kidding me?”
“You’re going to be really sore tomorrow if you don’t come running with me again.”
“I’m going to be sore regardless. Why would I want to make my pain worse?”
“If you run tomorrow, it will help loosen up your tight muscles. Eventually your body will get used to it and you’ll feel great about running,” Eli promised.
“I highly doubt that.”
Eli grinned. “Well, you won’t know if you don’t try. Besides, even you have to admit you need to work out, and doing it with a friend makes it more fun. What time?”
Leila’s arms folded across her chest. Actually, it looked more like she was hugging herself fiercely. Maybe she thought she could disappear if she folded in on herself tight enough. Eli wasn’t letting her go anywhere. He waited patiently, and she finally gave in.
“Seven?” she suggested. “I know it’s early, but if you’re really going to drag me out to run all the time it’ll have to be before I go to work. I’m usually too tired to do much of anything after work.”
“Seven
sounds perfect. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Eli turned to leave before he could say or do anything stupid. Leila’s voice stopped him before he got very far.
“Are you really taking my purse home with you?”
“Hey, a deal is a deal.” He smiled when she smirked at him.
Eli was about to leave, but was again stopped. It wasn’t something he heard this time, but something he saw. He hadn’t noticed anything behind Leila before. She captured his attention too completely for him to notice the fireplace behind her while they were arguing. This time he saw the mantle, and the picture frame setting on it. He forgot everything else and walked over to it.
The rectangular frame held three pictures, all of them Leila. Judging by the clothes strewn all over the floor, the row of vanities off to one side, and the clothes racks, Eli guessed this was after Ana’s fashion show. In one picture, Leila sat on some steps looking beat, but satisfied. Another was a full view of her standing up looking like she was ready to throttle someone. The last picture was gorgeous, but when he looked at it, a strange heat started building in his chest. Jealousy.
It wasn’t until he looked at the third photo that he realized Luke must have taken these pictures. Eli knew Leila had met Luke after the show, and that he was a photographer. Neither of those realizations had been the reason for Eli’s sudden desire to punch Luke in the mouth. It was the smile Leila wore in the photo. She looked so happy. It made Eli incredibly jealous that within minutes of meeting Leila, Luke had been able to produce such a happy, baggage-free expression. He stared at the pictures, silently wondering if he had already lost his chance with her.
Chapter 11
Assignment
Eli was a big fat liar. That had become Leila’s mantra about five minute after waking up Monday morning. Now with her work day not even halfway over, she swore at him under her breath every time she was forced to stand up. He’d promised running would work out her sore muscles. He promised her body would get used to the torture. He had been dead wrong. Her legs, her abs, her ankles, they all hurt. The next time she saw him, Leila planned on stomping on his toes really hard—if she could lift her leg high enough to even manage it.
“Hey, Leila,” Ana said as she breezed into Leila’s office. “I just saw the window banners you designed. They look fabulous. I thought the Buxton font was the way to go, but you were absolutely right about the one you designed. Writing out the new line in a font that looks like dozens of little beads looks a million times better. A customer just came in and told me how great she thought it was.”
“Glad you liked it.” Leila’s cell phone started ringing. She patted the papers all over her desk to try and find it with no luck. She finally spotted it over by her fax machine and groaned. “Ana, could you grab that for me?”
Ana crooked and eyebrow at her. “Are your legs broken?”
“No, just on fire.”
“Huh?”
Leila groaned. “Could you just grab my phone? I’ll explain in a minute.”
Ana sauntered over to the fax machine and snatched up the phone. Her face split into a grin. “Luke? If he’s calling that must mean your date with him this weekend went pretty well. That was the other thing I came in here to ask you about.”
Leila blushed and held out her hand for the phone. For a moment, she thought Ana was going to hold onto it until she told her everything. Leila held her ground. Ana finally handed it over reluctantly, but didn’t leave. She clearly wanted the details on Leila’s date. Leila reminded herself that Luke might just be calling about business and answered as professionally as she could manage with her boss’s eager eyes following her every move.
“This is Leila Sparro.”
“Hello there, Miss Leila Sparro. This is Luke Deveron. Is there a reason we’re speaking so formally?”
His humor and casual nature instantly put her at ease. She laughed. “No, I guess not.”
“Well, good. You had me worried for a minute. I thought maybe you’d changed your mind about how much fun you had with me.”
“No, of course not. I’m looking forward to lunch tomorrow.”
Ana perked up, leaning in as if that would make her get details any faster. Leila shooed her back to no avail.
“That’s actually what I was calling about,” Luke said. “Could we do lunch today instead? My departure got pushed up a day because my boss wants me to make a pit stop in New York to cover some speech. Are you too busy for lunch today?”
“Lunch today?” Leila glanced at Ana for approval. Her boss motioned for her to take the date. “No, I can meet you today.”
“Actually, I’m on your side of town. How about I pick you up in about fifteen minutes?”
“That sounds great.”
“Alright. I’ll see you soon.”
The second Leila dropped the phone, Ana demanded to know everything. Knowing she only had fifteen minutes, Leila gave her the short version of her date with Luke Friday night, her run with Eli the next day, and select bits of what she and Eli talked about. She held back on the scrapbook because she knew Ana was still mad at Eli and didn’t want her to think badly about him, but she also worried about what the reason behind Ana’s animosity towards Eli was. She thought it had something to do with her, but wasn’t sure what. So she kept the recounting of her morning spent with Eli to a minimum. She guessed she had made the right choice when Ana’s first comment was about Eli and not Luke, despite her hawkish interest in him a few minutes earlier.
“So Eli actually encouraged you to go out with Luke? What did he say after you told him about your date?”
“Well, he warned me that Luke’s adventurous nature might present some problems for me … since I’m kind of boring, and all.”
“He said you were boring?” Ana asked.
“No, he said I was careful, but it’s pretty much the same thing. When I said I’d have to compromise with Luke, you know try some of the things he likes and say no when I wasn’t confortable, Eli seemed pleased. He said compromise was good.”
Ana folded her arms. “Huh, well that’s good. I’m glad he was able to help you.”
“That’s what friends are for, right?” Leila said it hoping for a reaction, and she got one.
“Friends? Is that what you two are now?”
“Yeah, that’s what Eli said anyway, that he wanted to be my friend. He even invited me to go hang out with him and a couple of his friends this weekend when Luke’s out of town.”
For some reason, that put a sour expression on Ana’s face. Leila was about to ask her what was wrong when Luke knocked on her office door. She waved him in and stood up before remembering her aching legs. She clutched at the desk and forced herself to stand up completely.
“Are you okay?” Luke asked. Ana only snorted and walked out with a quick goodbye to Luke.
Leila loved working for Ana, but lately she had become as much work to figure out as everything else about her job put together. She was almost as confusing as Eli. Leila reached for her purse and winced.
“Really, are you alright?”
“I’m fine. I was recently forced to take up running. My legs are extremely sore, but I’m great otherwise. Better now that you’re here.”
Luke grinned. “How coincidental, I feel exactly the same way about seeing you.”
“Were you forced into running too?” she asked with a smile.
“No, but it has been a hectic day dealing with my travel plans, my boss, some of the writers, and everything else. I would like nothing more than to disappear with you right now,” he said.
“Sounds perfect … as long as I don’t have to walk very much.”
“Would you like me to carry you to my car?” Luke asked. He looked hopeful she would take him up on the offer.
Not that Leila didn’t dream of having her own personal white knight, she just thought it might be a little conspicuous. “Just walk slowly, if you don’t mind.”
Luk
e laughed. “No problem.”
The mad dash Leila usually found herself making in and out of work every day while dealing with her designers and printers was considerably slowed by her aching legs. Halfway out of the building, she almost reconsidered Luke’s offer to carry her. Then the movement actually started to feel good, her muscles loosening a very small amount. They made it to the car and Luke started driving. After a few blocks, the thought occurred to Leila that he hadn’t bothered to ask her where she wanted to go. Finding that slightly annoying, but not enough to complain, she sat back and watched the buildings and pedestrians fly by. When Luke pulled up to a park covered in huge old oak trees Leila looked over at him for an explanation.
“I’m going to spend the next two weeks eating fast food and living in a cracker box hotel room. Being outside and eating normal food is something of a ritual before going on assignment. Do you mind?” he asked.
Leila smiled. “No, of course not.”
“Maybe I should tell you first that I am a lousy cook. All I’ve got are turkey sandwiches and some chips and soda.”
“Sounds perfect,” she said.
Not fooling herself into thinking she was some kind of savant in the kitchen like Conrad seemed to be, Leila’s mom did not skimp on her domestic education. Leila could cook all the basics, and even a few more elegant dishes. She often ate out because of her busy schedule, but Leila always preferred home cooked meals when she had the opportunity.
After grabbing their picnic lunch out of the trunk, Luke came around to help Leila out of the car. She waited patiently only partially because of Eli’s advice. Mainly she just wanted to use him as a crutch. He didn’t seem to mind, keeping his arm around her waist until he found a suitable picnic spot. Leila was grateful for his foresight when he pulled a blanket out of his bag and spread it out. She had just happened to wear a skirt today and didn’t feel like having the prickly grass poke at her legs the entire meal.
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