by Rachel Lacey
“Okay,” Elle said glumly.
“I’m finished eating, so I’m going to give my parents a quick call before we go,” Megan said, rising from the table. “See you ladies in a few minutes.”
Things got quiet after Megan left. Ruby—as usual—was lost in whatever she was doing on her laptop, and Elle wasn’t in the mood for casual conversation anyway. Going out and having a few drinks while she unloaded her problems sounded slightly more appealing.
Once she’d finished her meal, she put her plate in the dishwasher, thanked Beatrice, and headed for the stairs. Theo was just coming down the hall from the direction of his office, and he paused, glowering at her with a gaze that heated her up in all the right—and wrong—ways because gah, she wanted him so much, and she hated this tension between them. She hated even more that she’d caused it.
“I’ve sent a tray ahead to the guest house for you,” Beatrice told him.
“Thank you, Beatrice.” With another searing look at Elle, he strode through the foyer and out the front door.
Elle hurried upstairs to her room. Tears pricked at the backs of her eyes. She let Remington and Darcy out of their crates, and they followed her into the closet, tails wagging enthusiastically as she rummaged through her clothes. She decided on dark-wash skinny jeans, a flowy aqua top, and ballet flats—on account of her stupid toe. Once she’d changed, she took the dogs for a walk before putting them back in their crates. By that time, Megan and Ruby were sitting together on Megan’s bed, looking at something on her phone.
“Ready?” she asked as she joined them.
“Hell yeah.”
They let James, the castle’s driver, take them into town so that no one needed to worry about staying sober enough to drive home. He let them off outside Bar None, and they headed inside. The bar was pretty busy for a Tuesday night. At least half the bar stools were occupied. A high-tempo country tune played, and the sound of laughter drifted on the air.
Elle liked the place immediately. She headed toward three empty stools at the far end of the bar.
Megan looked around with a wide smile on her face. “This feels like the kind of place where we could go line dancing after a few beers.”
“Line dancing?” Ruby gave her a skeptical look. “We’re in Virginia, not Texas.”
“Well, but country music and all…” Megan shrugged.
Elle smiled in spite of herself. “I’m pretty sure Ruby’s right on this one.”
“Fine, whatever.”
The bartender sauntered over, and they ordered beers.
“Okay, Elle, tell us what happened with Theo this morning,” Megan said.
Elle took a grateful sip of her beer before laying out the highlights for them. “I think I may have broken my toe too,” she concluded ruefully.
“You should get it looked at,” Ruby said, glancing down at Elle’s feet. “So why did you bolt?”
She took another gulp of beer. “The whole night was just really intense. We had great sex…repeatedly. We shared personal stuff. He told me things about his family that I don’t think he’s told anyone before, but then he seemed tense afterward, like maybe he felt like he’d shared too much. And when I woke up this morning, I just kind of panicked. I felt like I was getting in way over my head, and maybe he…wasn’t. I decided to write a note and leave, but then I fell and woke him up, and I just kind of bolted out of the room.”
Ruby flinched. “Yikes.”
“You have feelings for him,” Megan said as she took a sip of her beer.
“Yeah,” Elle agreed, her throat tight. “I do. I’ve never felt this way before. It seems like more than I should be feeling for a guy who’s only around until the end of the summer.”
“Geez, Elle. When you jump in, you go all in, huh?” Megan said.
“I guess.”
“What are you going to do now?” Ruby asked.
“I don’t know. He’s barely even speaking to me. I can’t leave it like that. What do you guys think I should do?”
“You need to talk to him,” Ruby said. “You can’t tell him exactly what you just told us; you’d freak him out if you said you were afraid you were falling for him. Just tell him things felt like they were moving too fast for a summer romance and you needed some space. He should understand, especially since you thought he might be feeling the same way.”
“That sounds reasonable. And doable.” She blew out a breath. “So, assuming we work things out, how do I keep myself from falling for him before the end of the summer?”
“That’s a very good question.” Megan polished off her beer, looking thoughtful.
“The simplest solution is to break up with him,” Ruby said. “Tell him you just don’t have the time or energy for a relationship right now.”
“Effective, but boring,” Megan said. “And then you’d be pining after him all summer, which would be miserable.”
The thought of spending the rest of the summer here at the castle with Theo and not kissing him did indeed sound miserable. The truth was, right now, she wanted him so much she didn’t even care if her heart got broken later on. Watching him from afar today, being on the receiving end of the cold shoulder from the man she’d spent the most romantic—and intimate—night of her life with had been a rude wake-up call. “I don’t want to break up with him.”
“That’s my girl.” Megan slapped her a high five. “Then the best solution is probably to keep things as casual as you can, maybe set some boundaries for yourself. No sharing personal stuff. Just have fun…and sex, of course.”
“I like that plan,” Elle said with a smile. Her chest felt lighter than it had all day. It would probably still hurt to lose him at the end of the summer, but who knew? The spark between them might have burned out by then anyway.
“Excellent,” Megan said. “So we’ll get you tipsy enough to get your courage up, and then when we get back to the castle, we’ll have James drop you off at the guest house.”
“Okay,” Elle agreed, although her stomach tightened a little bit at the thought of what she had to do. Theo had been so cold today. What if he didn’t want to give her a second chance? Well, that would certainly simplify things, wouldn’t it? And if he was that quick to give up on her, then he wasn’t worth her effort anyway.
An hour later, she was tipsy enough to believe anything was possible. She and Ruby were giggling uncontrollably as Megan invented dialogue for the couple at the other end of the bar, imagining them having an intimate conversation about what brand of condoms provided the most pleasure for each party.
“Oh look, Elle,” Megan said, interrupting herself. “Theo’s here.”
Theo stepped inside Bar None, scanning the bar for Sean, Tucker, and Jake. Instead, his gaze settled on the three women at the end of the bar. Elle and her friends were here, and wasn’t that just a shitty end to his shitty day? As if drawn by his gaze, she looked right at him. Heat traveled over his skin, and his gut tightened uncomfortably. He turned away, spotting Sean and Tucker at one of the bar tables near the door, and headed toward them.
“Hey, Theo,” Sean called.
“When are you going to have us out to the castle?” Tucker asked. “I hear you’re offering tours now.”
“It’s part of a program my grandfather set up before he passed away,” Theo told him.
Jake pushed through the front door then and joined them at their table. They spent the next several minutes catching up, and Theo felt the knots of tension inside him loosening. Coming out with the guys tonight was exactly what he’d needed, as long as he could forget who else was here.
“Don’t look now,” Sean said, “but I’m pretty sure those chicks at the end of the bar are checking us out, and I for one wouldn’t mind getting acquainted.”
So much for ignoring the elephant in the room.
Tucker glanced toward the women. “Anyone know who they are? I vote we send them a round of drinks, see if they’re interested.”
“They’re my new property managers
,” Theo said, his stomach twisting uncomfortably as he glanced in Elle’s direction.
“Those ladies are your new property managers?” Tucker asked. “Well, now we have the perfect excuse to go over and say hello. Are they single?”
“I don’t know, and I’m not really in the mood to mix business with pleasure tonight.” Theo glanced at Jake and saw that he wasn’t the only one less than enthusiastic about approaching the women. His friend hadn’t said a word since the conversation began.
“Oh, come on, man,” Sean said. “It’s only polite to go over and say hi since you know them. They must be new in town, right?”
“I need a beer,” Theo muttered, heading for the bar. He needed a beer and an excuse to get out of here without having to introduce his friends to Elle, Megan, and Ruby. Maybe they were about to leave anyway. He ordered a Savage Weed Pilsner—his favorite local brewery—and slapped some cash on the bar.
“Theo.” Her voice tied him up in knots.
Slowly, he turned, finding himself face to face with Elle. She wore an off-the-shoulder blue top, her hair loose and curly. In the dim light of the bar, her eyes glittered like jewels.
“Can we talk?” she asked. “Please?”
Dammit. He tightened his grip on the glass. His heart beat faster, and his chest felt too tight. This was the effect she had on him, and right now it pissed him off.
“Hi,” Sean said, sliding in next to him against the bar and saving him from an answer. “I’m Sean Burkhart, an old friend of Theo’s.”
She straightened, smiling politely. “Elle Davenport. Nice to meet you, Sean.”
“Theo says you’re one of his new property managers. He was just about to introduce us to you and your friends.”
“He was?” Her green eyes darted to his, uncertain.
Well, there sure as hell wasn’t any way out of it now. He gave Sean an irritated glance, just as Tucker joined them at the bar. He slid in next to Elle to introduce himself, and Theo fought the irrational urge to deck the guy when he smiled at her. Jake lingered behind Theo, his expression friendly but distant.
“What a small world,” Tucker was saying. “We’re here having a few beers, and so are you.”
Next thing he knew, they’d moved down the bar to exchange introductions with Ruby and Megan. Tucker bought a fresh round of drinks for everyone, although the women already looked like they were on the far side of tipsy.
“So tell us, boys. What was Theo like in school?” Megan asked once they’d all gotten to know each other.
“I wish I had wild stories to share, but we were in chess club together,” Tucker said with a shrug.
“He left us after fifth grade to go to boarding school in England, though,” Sean added. “So he could have been a party animal in high school for all we know.”
“I’m afraid I was rather boring in high school,” Theo said. “I had an image to uphold, even then.”
“I was boring in high school too,” Elle said, darting a glance in his direction. “I was a theater nerd. I tried out for everything, even the musicals.”
“And she can’t sing,” Megan piped up, still smiling. “But you guys should see her up on stage. She’s amazing.”
“You went to high school together?” Theo asked. He imagined teenaged Elle up on stage, singing and performing. He could see her as an actress. She had the presence; he felt it every time he was around her.
“Ruby was homeschooled mostly,” Megan said. “But we’ve known each other since elementary school, all three of us.”
Ruby nodded. “We met in third grade. That was one of the only years I got to attend public school. I sat in front of Megan, and she invited me to her birthday party on the first day.”
“I invited the whole class,” Megan told them. “I wanted as many friends as possible.”
“Some things never change.” Elle nudged her playfully.
“I didn’t get invited to many parties, so it really meant a lot to me,” Ruby said, tugging at a tendril of dark hair that had escaped from her ever-present bun.
“Why were you homeschooled?” Theo asked, since it seemed to be somewhat of a sore subject.
“I have primary immunodeficiency,” she told him. “I was sick a lot as a child. It was better for my immune system if I wasn’t around many other kids.”
Elle wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “Sometimes Megan and I would sit outside her bedroom window so we could tell her about school without exposing her to any germs.”
“We’d pass notes back and forth in this little bucket that she lowered down from her window,” Megan said, smiling at the memory.
“Wow, you were like a bubble kid!” Sean said, his eyes gone wide.
“I wasn’t in a bubble.” Ruby gave him a severe look. “I just had to stay home a lot.”
“But you’re better now?” Theo asked.
“I had a bone marrow transplant when I was sixteen and things have gotten better since then,” Ruby said. “I still have to be careful with my health, though.”
“We take good care of her,” Elle said.
Theo had no doubt that was true. The women obviously shared a close bond. He’d been able to see that from the moment he first met them. He wondered if anyone would have sat outside his bedroom window to keep him company if he’d been too sick to go to school. He was fairly certain the answer was no.
“You’ve been awfully quiet,” Megan said, fixing her gaze on Jake. “What’s your story?”
“Just felt like more of an observer tonight,” he told her, taking a long pull from his beer as his eyes found hers. And lingered there, while she stared right back.
“Oh?” Megan leaned closer, clearly interested.
Theo searched his brain for a quick change of subject. Jake had just lost his wife, and the last thing he needed was a social butterfly like Megan flapping around before he was ready to re-enter the dating game.
Sean beat him to it. “That’s a pretty necklace,” he said, gesturing to the engraved silver disk Megan wore on a chain around her neck. “What is it?”
“It’s the Tree of Life.” She lifted it, leaning in to give Sean a closer look—both of the necklace and her cleavage. “It was a Bat Mitzvah gift from my grandmother.”
“Oh, you’re Jewish?” Sean’s expression brightened. “So am I.”
And just like that, Jake was forgotten. Megan and Sean were soon deep in conversation—very flirtatious conversation if the frequent laughter and touching was any indication—while Tucker, Jake, and Theo made small talk with Elle and Ruby. Ruby told them about a senior couple she’d caught yesterday getting frisky in the hot tub that had everyone cracking up. She was a lot more fun to be around than Theo had expected, or maybe that was just the beer talking.
Every few minutes, he caught his gaze drifting to Elle. He couldn’t keep his eyes off her no matter how hard he tried. And he really did try.
After another round of beers, the women got ready to head out. Hell, if Elle was half as exhausted as he was, she must be dead on her feet. Was it really just yesterday they’d shared that incredible—if sleepless—night together? Elle hung back as they made their way to the door, her eyes searching his face, and he remembered her request to talk to him earlier. Suddenly, he needed to know what she had to say.
He said goodnight to his friends and caught up to her at the door. “Could I give you a ride home? You said there was something you wanted to discuss.”
Her eyes widened, and she nodded. “Yes, actually—yes. Let me just…” And she dashed after her friends, somewhat wobbly on her feet.
He stood outside the front door of Bar None, watching as she spoke to her friends. Megan darted a glance in his direction and nodded, and then she and Ruby headed for the Bentley without Elle.
She walked toward him, highlighted by the street lamp behind her so that she seemed to glow with a kind of halo, outlining her curves and the wild curls of her hair. The urge to pull her into his arms and kiss her was almost overwhelming.
“I’m so glad…” She paused, sucking her bottom lip between her teeth. “I need to apologize. I panicked a little bit this morning. It just felt like everything was happening so fast, and it almost felt too right between us. Does that make sense?”
Her words landed like a punch to the gut, knocking the breath out of him because, yeah, he knew exactly what she meant. “It does.”
“It freaked me out, and I started second-guessing myself. It was stupid, and I’m sorry.” She stepped closer. “I miss you like crazy already.”
“Miss you too.” He reached out and took her hands in his. They stood there for a moment like that, hands clasped, staring at each other, and then she was in his arms, and they were kissing, and something seemed to come alive inside him, an energy he only felt with Elle.
“I can’t bear to be with you, and I can’t bear to be without you,” she said against his lips, peppering him with a shower of delicate kisses.
“That makes no sense.” His arms tightened around her, anchoring her against him.
“I know,” she whispered. “Nothing that’s happened between us makes a bit of sense.”
“Isn’t that the damn truth?”
“So I can’t think of anything to do but embrace this crazy thing and hold on for the ride.” She kissed him again, deep and greedy.
“I agree.”
“Just, maybe…” She raised her head, her expression raw, maybe even vulnerable. “Maybe we should try to slow things down a little.”
“Okay.” He cupped her face in his hands, savoring her touch, her taste. So far, their relationship had been mostly a frantic tumble forward, so he understood her desire to slow down. “I can be a patient man when I need to be.”
“Good.” She exhaled dreamily against his neck, reminding him that she was half-drunk. They stood there for another minute, just holding on to each other, kissing and touching, but they were still standing on the sidewalk outside Bar None. People bustled past all around them, occasionally giving them curious looks.