His gaze held mine. “Talk to Reed. This time instead of ‘Why don’t you see your ex-girlfriend?” I’d go with something like, ‘Why don’t I give you a blow job,’” he said mimicking my earlier tone.
I almost laughed because Jase was funny, but I was hurting too much. “He doesn’t want to talk to me. He won’t even take my calls or answer my texts.”
“You’ve called him?” Jase asked, surprised.
“Dozens of times. I even drove to his house, but Amber was there. He probably doesn’t care about anything I have to say.”
“Nah, I don’t believe that.” He shook his head. “Try again. Once he gets a look at you, he’ll care.”
“Jase, I don’t want him to feel sorry for me.”
“Did you feel sorry for him when he came back from Afghanistan with a crushed leg?” he countered, watching me closely.
“It’s not the same thing and you know it,” I said, my voice shaking with emotion.
“Because you’re not in love with him?”
“No, because I don’t want him to think I’m pathetic,” I cried. “Look at me.”
“So this is about your pride,” Jase said quietly.
“I don’t know,” I admitted, knowing I’d hate it if Reed pitied me. “Do you really think there’s a chance I haven’t screwed things up with Reed?”
“Like I said, talk to him.” His eye traveled down at me, noting my clothes and seeming not to miss a single detail. “You’re not going to work, are you?”
“No. I was fired.” I’d surprised him again. “Apparently, my boss doesn’t think it’s professional of me to sleep with the patients.”
His eyes widened and his jaw dropped. I saw the moment he realized that I was talking about Reed. “Does Reed know?”
“He was a willing participant,” I quipped wryly.
Jase laughed. “Eager, I’ll bet. So he knows that the two of you had sex. Does he know you were fired because of it?” he drawled deliberately.
For the first time I considered that question, wondering how Mrs. Brown had found out about my relationship with Reed. “Maybe,” I answered thoughtfully. “Jase, I’ve got to get going. I’m meeting someone.”
He was quiet and gave me a measuring look before he asked, “Where you going? I can give you a ride.”
I told him but declined the ride.
“Take care, Ellie,” he called to me as I left.
I waved. “Thanks.”
Davis was already seated at an outside table when I got to Rachel’s and he’d ordered two large iced coffees, which were sitting on the table invitingly. When he saw me he stood up, his eyes widening at my appearance.
A woman at the next table slid an appreciative look over Davis, and I admitted he looked good in his dark suit. Suddenly, I wished I’d taken the time to fix my hair and put on some make up. I didn’t like anyone feeling sorry for me.
“Where’s Brooke?” I asked glancing around.
“She doesn’t know I’m here.”
I didn’t like the sound of that. “Maybe this isn’t a good idea,” I told him, imagining what Brooke would think if she knew that I’d met with Davis behind her back. She’d be livid. Aunt Lacy would verbally crush me like a bug beneath her dainty shoe.
“Please sit down, Ellie. Just give me five minutes. I’ve been really worried about you.”
My gaze snagged on the coffee with longing, and I sat down, not wanting to be rude. “Thanks, but you don’t need to worry.”
“Brooke thinks you’re upset about us getting married,” he stated, wasting no time getting to the point.
“Davis, I’m happy for you and Brooke. The two of you belong together.”
“Do we?” he asked, leaning forward and propping his elbows on the table. “Because I’m not sure.”
I blinked, startled. “I don’t think I’m the person you should be confiding in. You should talk to Brooke.”
He reached out, covering my hand with his own and looking into my eyes. “I miss you, Ellie.”
I breathed in a heavy whiff of his cologne, and it nearly made me gag. It wasn’t new, he’d worn the same cologne when we’d dated but now it seemed almost suffocating. I tried to focus. “Think about what you’re saying,” I said, enunciating each word clearly and trying to pull my hand from his.
“I have. Brooke is everything I want in a wife. She’s gorgeous, rich and comes from an influential family, but I don’t feel the same way about her as I did with you.”
Sadly, I knew that Davis didn’t realize the unflattering picture he’d painted of his feelings for his fiancé. I hoped that he loved Brooke at least a little. “It’s not the same,” I agreed with him. “We went out on a few dates. You’re marrying Brooke.”
“I don’t know,” he replied, squeezing my hand.
“I know. You’re getting married in two months. I’ve got an invitation for your wedding.” It was actually a ‘save the date’ request, but I wasn’t going to nitpick.
“We should go out again,” he announced, as if he’d just come up with a brilliant idea.
“No. We shouldn’t. You’re to marry my cousin.”
“I shouldn’t have left you for Brooke. I know that now. If you’ll give me another chance, I can prove to you that I don’t care about money and connections as much as I do being with you.”
As far as ‘let’s get back together’ speeches went, Davis’ sucked, and I hoped if he ever had to do this with Brooke he’d toss in something more along the line of ‘I love you and can’t live without you’.
“Davis let go of my hand,” I said firmly.
“Is this about that guy Brooke mentioned?” he asked with undisguised irritation. He didn’t wait for me to answer. “You look like someone has knocked you around. Who is this asshole you’ve been seeing?”
“That would be me.”
I jumped at the sound of the deep, achingly familiar voice, turned, and my heart split open at the sight of him.
Reed stood casually behind me, his arm propped above his head on the brick wall to his left, and his gaze was fastened on Davis’ hand, which covered my own. He stepped from behind me, and I saw that his sensual mouth that was pressed into a firm line and his eyes glittered dangerously.
Davis was eyeing Reed warily.
I met Reed’s hot blue gaze, all of the sudden realizing why he was here. “Jase called you.”
He didn’t say anything. I felt the back of his hand brush my face in a feathery light touch that sent sparks firing my blood. Dragging in a shivery breath, I leaned slightly into his touch.
“You came after me,” Reed said softly. “I never even looked back.” I heard the self-recrimination in his voice.
“It wasn’t your fault,” I assured him.
“Are you sure about that Ellie?” Davis broke in. “You don’t look like you fell. If this guy’s been hitting you, I’ll call the police.”
“No one hit me. Davis, I need a moment alone with Reed,” I told him, standing up.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea.” Davis was giving Reed the stink eye.
“She didn’t ask for your opinion,” Reed replied easily. “She did ask you to let go of her hand.” Though his tone was calm, there was an unmistakable command in his words, and Davis must have heard it because he released my hand immediately, looking afraid of Reed.
I stood up and slipped my purse over my head so that it crisscrossed my body. Then I met Davis’ eyes and saw the confusion in them. Clearly, Davis could not understand why any woman would turn him down. He was handsome, rich and successful, but next to Reed’s virility, Davis was like a sparkler being compared to a firework.
“I’ll see you at the wedding,” I said pointedly to Davis, reminding him that he was getting married. “Bye, Davis.”
“We’ll talk later,” promised Davis, standing with obvious reluctance. “If you need me, give me a call.”
I shook my head not wanting to encourage him. “That won’t be necessary.”
&n
bsp; “Ellie—“ Davis began, but Reed cut him off.
“She doesn’t need you to call the police for her. If I get a little rough, she can call the police as well as you can.” Not picking up on the sarcasm dripping from Reed’s words, Davis looked horrified. The expression on face would have been comical if he hadn’t of been pale and clearly afraid that Reed was dead serious.
“He’s joking,” I told Davis quickly. Laughing, I turned back to Reed but he was refusing to play along. Except for the amusement in his eyes, Reed’s stoic expression gave nothing away and I saw why Davis might see Reed as a threat.
“Goodbye.” Our talk had been a mistake, and I was more than a little relieved that we’d been interrupted.
Reed took my hand and a shiver shimmied down my spine at his touch. Leading me to another table, we sat down and I glanced toward Davis, who was still eyeing Reed as if he was a serial killer.
“You broke up with me for that guy?” Reed asked clearly unimpressed with Davis.
“I didn’t break up with you for anyone,” I said, unable to believe that’s what he thought.
His gaze clashed with mine. “He’s not good enough for you.”
“Davis is marrying Brooke,” I insisted, needing him to understand that nothing was going on between Davis and I. “I thought I was meeting the two of them or I wouldn’t even have come.”
Davis was still glaring at us, and Reed glanced in his direction, shook his head and turned his attention back to me with a look of disbelief. “He left you alone with me even though he thinks I’ve been knocking you around.”
“Davis doesn’t believe in violence. He’s not confrontational.”
“No way in hell is that guy marrying Brooke. He’s looking at you like he wants to get you naked, and he’s glaring at me like he’d like to kick my ass…or maybe hire someone to do it,” he smirked.
Reed’s eyes darkened and he leveled me with a scorching look. “If I thought some guy was hurting you, I’d take care of it first and call the police later. I wouldn’t leave you alone with him.”
From the corner of my eye, I saw Davis looking at Reed and making the, ‘I’m watching you gesture’ with his fingers.
Reed cocked a brow before turning his attention back to me.
“I’m not interested in Davis,” I told him.
“That’s good to know.” His brows drew together as he studied my face, looked down at my wrist, which was still encased in a brace. “Looking at you breaks my heart. Are you in pain?”
His words tore at my heart. “It’s only a few bruises and a sprained wrist. I don’t know why everyone is making a big deal about it.”
“No one wants to see you hurt,” he replied.
“I appreciate that.”
“Jase told me you were fired. I’ll call your boss and explain.”
A cloud of sadness fell over me. “I behaved unprofessionally. Nurses aren’t supposed to have sex with their patients.”
Reed stared at me a moment before replying. “You and I were more to each other than nurse and patient, and we weren’t having sex while you on the job.” He rubbed his jaw and sighed. “Shit, this sounds bad. I’ll tell them it was my fault. You didn’t do anything wrong.”
“It was my fault, Reed,” I replied with resignation.
“No. I won’t accept that you’re being punished for what happened between us,” he insisted, a note of finality in his voice. “I’ll take care of this.”
I knew he meant well but there wasn’t anything he could do. “You didn’t tell them about us,” I breathed in relief. Knowing Reed hadn’t betrayed me soothed the worst of the pain.
He shot me a questioning look, but it quickly turned to understanding and then anger. “You really thought I’d get you fired because you dumped me?”
“I wasn’t sure,” I admitted, feeling guilty for thinking exactly that.
He swore under his breath. “I’m sorry to know you have such a low opinion of me. Now I know why we broke up.”
“Reed, I’ve made some mistakes and I want to fix them.” The words were pulled from deep within my heart.
His expression was shuttered. “What exactly do you want to fix?” he asked, lifting a brow.
“Everything. Us.”
“You think you made a mistake breaking us up?”
Yes! My heart was shouting the word. Glancing up, I saw Amber walking toward us and I went cold all over. “Was it a mistake Reed?” I asked, jealousy rising like a tidal wave inside of me.
His eyes flashed quizzically before following my gaze. “Amber and I are friends. That’s it,” he insisted.
“She wants to be more.”
“No, she doesn’t. Unlike you, she understands our relationship.”
“It’s a coincidence that she happens to be here now?” I asked with disbelief.
“I told her I’d be here. She’s helping me with something,” he replied vaguely, and I got the feeling there was a note of challenge in his words, as if he was daring me to ask what she was helping him with.
Jealousy, hurt, and anger warred within me. I did not know which I felt more. “I’ll be she is,” I whispered, hoping I didn’t reveal my pain to Reed.
“Ellie, I am not dating Amber,” he persisted, and for the second time today he touched me. His hand caught mine, and I absorbed the warmth of his touch.
A few seconds later, Amber joined us looking fabulous as always in a cute dress with denim jacket and boots. Unlike me, her make up was perfection and her hair was a cascade of curls that rained gently down her back.
“Hi Ellie!” exclaimed Amber with an enthusiasm that rang false to my ears. I’m not sure if Reed picked up on it, because he’d stood up when Amber arrived and she wasted no time in folding her arms around him in a hug that lingered longer than necessary.
I couldn’t be sure exactly what she said to him, but it sounded as if she was asking him if he was doing okay. Frowning, I wondered what she was talking about and didn’t like that Amber knew more about what was happening in Reed’s life now than I did.
He moved to grab a chair for Amber, but I stood up quickly, nearly knocking mine over. “She can have my chair. I’m leaving anyway.” Sure Amber, take my chair and the man I love. Okay, so I needed to tone down the drama. I pushed back the bitter thoughts and forced a smile, not wanting show weakness in front of her.
“We’re not finished here,” Reed practically growled.
I couldn’t help but think that he’d been smiling at Amber only seconds before. “Yes, we are.”
“Oh my God! Ellie, what happened to you?” cried Amber obviously getting her first good look at me. Her red lips formed a beautiful circle as she gaped at me like I’d suddenly stripped naked in front of everyone and started dancing on the table.
Her exaggerated concern was obviously faked, and I wondered irritably if I should carry around a sign to save myself the trouble of repeatedly telling the story of how I fell down the stairs.
What I said next could only be explained by a little devil on my shoulder egging me on. Pretending nervousness, I glanced at Reed warily before turning to Amber and saying softly so that only she could hear, “Reed got kind of rough with me while we were having sex. I like it when he spanks me, but the other stuff he’s into is kind of scary.”
Amber paled. I quickly spun around and walked away, not bothering to turn when Reed called out my name. It was the first time since I’d broken up with him that I genuinely laughed, and I did that all the way to my car.
Chapter 21
A week later I dragged myself out of bed and made my way to the kitchen for the strongest cup of coffee I could make and still be able to drink it. Cora and Isabelle were sitting at the kitchen table waiting for me, the coffee already made.
“Hey.” I blinked, surprised. “What are ya’ll doing here?”
“We wanted to talk to you,” Isabelle said, handing me a mug of coffee.
I got a weird feeling. “Oh, okay. This isn’t an intervention, is it?�
�� I asked jokingly. They didn’t laugh.
“I’m not going to ask if you’re okay because I know that shit is getting old, but we’ve noticed a change in you Ellie.”
I took a sip of coffee while I tried to think of how to respond to Cora. “I take it you don’t think the change is good.”
“It’s two o’clock in the afternoon and you’re just getting out of bed. You haven’t shown up all week for your appointments, and the kids have missed you.” Isabelle glanced down at me, taking in my pajama bottoms and oversized sweatshirt. When Aunt Lacy and Isabelle looked at me like that, they were trying to find fault, but Isabelle’s eyes was full of pure sympathy. “Ellie, you don’t look so good.”
“She means you look like hell,” Cora chimed in, looking me in the eye. Isabelle kicked her under the table. “Ouch!”
I smiled, thinking how much I’d missed the two of them lately. “I appreciate the honesty.”
“Maybe it would help to talk to someone,” Isabelle suggested.
“Absolutely, and we’re the ones you should talk to,” Cora agreed.
“I meant a therapist,” Isabelle corrected, rolling her eyes at Cora.
“She doesn’t need a therapist when she has us.”
“There’s nothing wrong with seeing someone that can help you straighten out your problems,” Isabelle defended.
“I didn’t say there was anything wrong with it, but Ellie lost her job and she doesn’t need to waste the cash on someone to talk to when she has friends.”
I took a sip of coffee, my gaze zipping back and forth between Cora and Isabelle.
“Are you saying that only people that don’t have friends need to see a therapist?” Isabelle asked, clearly offended.
“I guess not since you’ve obviously seen one,” Cora remarked dryly.
“Maybe you should see one and find out where your judgmental attitude is coming from,” Isabelle fired at Cora.
I held up my hands and made the ‘time out’ sign. “I thought this was my intervention,” I said, reluctantly drawing the attention back to me so that they’d stop arguing.
“You’re absolutely right,” Cora agreed, soberly. “We can work on Isabelle’s problems once we know that you’re okay.”
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