Never Be Her Hero

by Donna McDonald

  “Well, I’m still rooting for you, McElroy. That gal thinks you hung the moon. It’s in her voice when she talks about you.”

  “Is it?” Elliston asked, wondering how Della managed to be so convincing.

  “She said you were the most perfect date she’s ever had. She also mentioned some long list of how you were funny, polite, and thoughtful. I tuned most of that crap out. At first, I thought it was overkill, but everyone who’s met you thinks you’re equally great. I think her stories have brainwashed everyone into thinking you’re some kind of Superman.”

  “Thanks,” Elliston said, grinning at the laughing man. “Della thinks I’m too busy with my career to have a real relationship with anyone—including her.”

  “Is she right?” Bert asked. “I know you just got covered up with the work I sent your way.”

  “I’d make time for Della if she’d make time for me.” And that was the truth, Elliston decided. But Della had already said she didn’t want to do that.

  “Give her some time. I can tell you guys are meant for each other. And I better see you two at our Christmas party in Newport. It’s the second week of December.”

  “I’ll do my best,” Elliston said, sincerely wishing he could show up with Della. “Thanks for everything this weekend, Bert. I appreciate all the referrals. You’re my hero.”

  “Nah… I’m more like your sidekick,” Bert said, inclining his head toward where the women still chatted. “You need to be Della’s hero. Something tells me that’s the way to win her heart.”

  “I’m not sure Dr. Livingston needs anyone.”

  Bert stood and clapped a hand on his shoulder. “Then I guess you better be looking for another date to bring to the Christmas party. You need to start now because it’s going to take you a long time to replace that woman,” he said before walking away.

  They left dinner together still not talking. Elliston sighed internally when Della grabbed night clothes and headed to the bathroom as soon as they were inside the room. She wasn’t in there long before emerging in shorts that actually fit her and a tank top over her bra.

  Without saying anything, Elliston grabbed up his shorts and headed to the bathroom. He returned shirtless and noticed Della refused to meet his gaze. She was once again wearing computer glasses as she worked.

  “Can we talk?” Elliston asked.

  “If you feel there’s more to say,” Della answered, swallowing her dread.

  He pulled on a t-shirt to make her more comfortable and walked to her bed. Della scooted a little when he stared down at her so he sat on the mattress. “I’m sorry if I pushed too hard today. I thought you liked me back. Am I reading you wrong?”

  Della sighed and shook her head. “No. I like you. In fact, I like you a lot. That’s my problem.”

  “Because you don’t have time for me?”

  “That… and you’re Mariah’s client. In the not too distant future, I was hoping you might be my client too.”

  “What do you mean?” Elliston asked, stretching out at her feet.

  Della stared hard. “Can I trust you to keep my secrets?”

  “You can trust me with anything,” Elliston vowed.

  “My career dream is to convince Mariah to take me on as a partner. That means my dissertation has to pass and be published. It will establish me as an expert in my field.”

  Elliston nodded. “Now I see why you’re so focused.”

  “Yes. My reticence to date you is not because you’re not a great guy. You’re totally great. This thing between us is just bad timing… and fueled by the wrong factors.”

  Wrong factors? Oh, right. “I’m still not buying the whole gratitude thing. I was feeling something when your buddy on the street helped put your suitcase in my car.” Elliston rolled to his back and brought his legs up to get more comfortable. “Okay. What if I said I can wait until we have better timing?”

  “I don’t know when that could be. Plus, we would still have the dual career problem.”

  Elliston rolled his head and stared at her. “Challenge… not a problem. Lots of couples have dual careers. In fact, I would say most couples do.”

  Della glared at the man on her bed. “Okay. You saw me for months at The Perfect Date and never were interested. You can’t really blame me for being suspicious about why you’re making your move now.”

  “Just how desperate do you think I am, Dr. Livingston?” Della’s laughter made him grin. “I don’t know why I missed seeing how great you were before this weekend. At the best of times, I bore easily and you haven’t bored me for a single moment. I can’t believe some smart guy hasn’t married you already, but since you’re still single, I want a chance to see if you’re really as great as you seem.”

  “The reason I’ve not married is that I’ve made sure everyone I dated understood I was not going to marry them. I have no time for babies and daycare and driving a mini-van. I may be Mariah’s age before I’m ready for that.”

  “Okay. Do you have time for dinner, the occasional movie, and maybe some phenomenal sex once in a while? We all need downtime now and again.”

  “Why does my concession matter so much to you?” Della asked.

  Elliston rolled to his knees and crawled over her legs to get to her. Della pressed back against the headboard in shock. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d wanted to kiss a woman so badly. He leaned over her laptop and put his lips on her forehead. When he pulled back, she was still looking stunned.

  “I like you, Della. The last woman I liked was the older woman Mariah set me up with. Liking her is why I talked her into giving the younger guy she was in love with a chance. I don’t know what you and I are meant to be to each other, but I want to know. I like you the way I liked her, which was without reservation. That hasn’t happened often to me.”

  Della sighed in relief when Elliston backed off. “That may be the nicest thing any man has ever said to me.”

  “I could be a whole lot nicer if you’d let me be because I’m also very, very, very attracted to you,” Elliston said.

  Della’s gaze dropped to her laptop. “This is hard enough…”

  “Woman, you have no idea,” Elliston said.

  “Stop,” Della said, giggling. She put her face in her hand. “I can’t sleep with you. I want to, but I just can’t.”

  “Sure, you can. You already did. That’s all I’m asking for tonight. I’ll even sleep on top of the covers again. I just liked the way it felt waking up next to you.”

  “Elliston…”

  “No pressure for sex. I swear. Just sleep.”

  Della pulled off her glasses and closed her laptop. “Do you always get your way?”

  “I know how to compromise. And I keep my word. I guess the short answer is yes. I typically do get my way.”

  He watched as Della put her laptop on the nightstand and her glasses on top of it. She scooted over in the bed which suddenly seemed too small for both of them.

  Elliston climbed up to the pillow that was now available. “You can trust me, Della.”

  She nodded and stretched out under the covers. “That’s what all guys say. You’re going to freeze out there with no cover.”

  Elliston grinned. “At least you care what happens to me. That’s a good sign, right?”

  “Stop pushing. There’s a spare blanket in the top shelf of the closet,” she said dryly.

  Elliston rolled to the floor and went to retrieve it. He came back and climbed back into bed with his now reluctant fake girlfriend. He watched her frowning as she got comfortable.

  “Just keep an open mind about us, okay?”

  He smiled across the small distance their separate pillows created. Della smirked back.

  “Don’t get used to talking me into doing what you want,” she warned.

  “I’ll sleep with you when we go to your parents too. It’s only fair,” Elliston offered as he chuckled.

  “If you sleep with me there, my father will get his shotgun and we’ll end up
having a double wedding with my knocked-up baby sister. Is that what you want?” Della asked.

  Elliston grinned. “Outside of wanting to date you, I have no idea what I want. Being at the business end of your father’s shotgun sounds like a little too much adventure.”

  “Well at least you’re honest,” Della said.

  Elliston reached over and kissed her temple. She smelled like flowers and heat. He wanted to taste her mouth so badly his teeth hurt. He hadn’t felt like this about a woman since he was a teenager. And Della wasn’t doing anything to be seductive. She was just wiggling and squirming as she tried to get comfortable.

  His arm stretched across her waist. He smiled as her body stilled beneath the covers. “I’ll never bite unless you ask me to, although I have been told I’m very good with my teeth.”

  “Good with your teeth? That makes you sound like a horse,” Della said.

  “A horse? I was thinking more like a sexy vampire,” Elliston said, grinning at her giggle. “God, I love your laugh. You’re uber intellectual until you laugh. Then you sound like a ten-year-old.”

  “Gee, thanks,” Della said wryly. “Just what every woman wants to hear—the hot guy in bed with her thinks she laughs like a child.”

  “Oh, I absolutely know you’re not a child. My blanket is just hiding my knowledge of it well.”

  “Nice ass save for a geek,” Della said, closing her eyes and laughing harder.

  Elliston grinned wide. “You really need to learn to take a compliment, Dr. Livingston. What is your problem with them?”

  “You’ll find out when you meet my family,” Della replied, her voice fading off.

  Elliston watched as Della’s face softened with sleep. He carefully reached over and brushed a hand across her cheek to push her dark hair out of the way. His contentment surprised him, but being with Della had felt that way all weekend.

  Maybe she was right. Maybe it was just infatuation caused by knowing she’d helped him impress a whole lot of people this weekend.

  And he hadn’t even kissed her yet.

  Elliston rolled to his back and willed sleep to come. The woman he wanted was already snoozing.

  It was just after two when they got back into the city. Elliston pulled over in front of Della’s building. Luck was with him, so he managed to get one of the two remaining spots directly in front of the brownstone containing her apartment. He waited for a break in traffic, and then climbed from the car. Della was already on the sidewalk, so he headed to the trunk to get her luggage. Handle adjusted for pulling, he dragged it to where she stood.

  “Thank you,” Della said, chewing her lip. “I had a nice time this weekend—truly. I’m glad you got all that business from it.”

  Elliston nodded. “Thanks for being my fake date. Have you given any more thought to being a real one?”

  Della ducked her head and sighed. “You know I haven’t.”

  “Okay. Fine. Can I at least have a goodbye kiss? It’s going to be nearly three weeks before our next fake date.” Elliston smiled when she laughed and narrowed her eyes. “Come on. One little kiss? What could it hurt?”

  Della huffed out a breath and stepped forward. She’d worn her walking sandals home in the car so she had to stretch up on her toes to reach his cheek. Putting her hands on Elliston’s shoulders, she pressed her lips to his rough jaw. They’d left early this morning so he hadn’t bothered to shave. It gave her all kinds of wicked thoughts. She didn’t dare risk more.

  “What was that? That wasn’t a kiss,” he said firmly

  “It’s the best a fake girlfriend can do,” Della answered, chuckling at his irritated tone.

  “Oh, I doubt that,” Elliston said. He reached out and tugged Della up against him with an arm around her waist. “A real kiss requires full body contact and the proper friction in all the right places. I thought you were an expert on this stuff.”

  “I’m a dating expert. Why? Are you a kissing expert?” Della asked in her best smart-aleck tone.

  “Well, I don’t have my doctorate yet. Want to help me with my degree, Dr. Livingston?” Her giggles made him grin. “I’m sincerely going to miss you, Della. At least think about me now and then, okay?”

  Della gazed into the most intense gaze she’d ever known. Elliston was as good-looking in the light of day as he was on a pillow at night. Why on earth hadn’t a man like him married? Finding someone like him a perfect match should be a piece of cake.

  “Of course, I will think of you, Mr. McElroy. But first, you’re going to have to turn loose of me so I can leave your side. I hear reminiscing is best done at a distance.”

  “Distance is overrated,” Elliston whispered.

  Then his lips were against hers and Della suddenly didn’t want to turn loose of him. Good lord, the man could kiss. His teeth nibbled across her bottom lip, unapologetic in their exploration. His tongue never delved inside her mouth, but boy she sure wanted it to.

  Wanting to prolong their contact in any way possible, Della raised a quivering hand to his jaw and shivered when the hot roughness grazed her fingertips. She was a little stunned when Elliston pulled away and stumbled back from her until she was at arm's length.

  “Whoa. My bad. That’s definitely not going to make these next few weeks easier to tolerate,” he announced loudly. With his gaze boring into hers, Elliston stepped back further and smacked his own forehead.

  Della rolled her eyes at his excessive reaction to kissing her. “How do you ever survive the stress of your work? You’re such a drama queen,” she muttered.

  Giving her an arch look, Elliston closed the distance between them and put his mouth on hers once more. If a cop had been nearby, they’d have been arresting for kissing in public the way he was kissing her, but he couldn’t seem to help himself.

  Della was clutching the front of his shirt and panting when he finally found enough control to pull away a second time. “Are you absolutely sure about us not dating?” he asked, his voice gruff with longing.

  Della pushed him out to arm's length and glared. “Yes. I am sure… and don’t kiss me again.”

  “Or what?” Elliston demanded, chuckling at the dazed look in Della’s eyes.

  “Or nothing. It wasn’t a dare. I’ll see you in a few weeks,” Della said roughly, grabbing the handle of her luggage. “Bye, Elliston.”

  “Bye, Della. Yes, I’ll definitely see you in a few weeks.”

  He watched her bump the luggage up a dozen steps, and then the perfect backside she’d inherited from her father’s family disappeared into her building along with the rest of her. “I feel drunk. I kissed her twice and she made me light-headed. I don’t believe this is happening to me.”

  Mumbling to himself—okay, complaining mostly—Elliston climbed back into his car and prayed he got to his home without wrecking. The woman was hell on his driving.

  Chapter Seven

  “Busy here, people. Stop calling me. I’ll talk to you later,” Della said to the ringing phone as she loaded a new memory card into the camera.

  “I’m having déjà vu,” Mariah said from the doorway, watching her efficient assistant blush. “Family still bugging you?”

  “Yes. Now that they know I’m coming, they want me to organize their bizarre idea of a bridal shower slash baby shower for Irena. I told them no. All showers associated with the wedding are the responsibility of the maid of honor. It’s a matter of tradition. I’m merely the sister of the bride—no more than that. Showing up has got to be good enough.”

  Mariah laughed and shook her head. “Yes, this is definitely déjà vu.”

  “Sorry to drag you into my family drama again,” Della said.

  Shrugging, Mariah smiled at a worried Della. “That’s what friends are for and I consider us friends.”

  Dell stopped her preparations to look at her boss. “Thank you, Mariah. That means a lot to me. I consider us friends as well.”

  Mariah nodded and cleared her throat. “So…” she began, “how was your week
end with Elliston.”

  “Fine,” Della answered.

  “Fine as in the good fine… or fine as in a vague, non-committal, he was a jerk fine.”

  Della stared blankly, thinking about it so hard that it made Mariah laugh at her again. She shook her head and grinned at her own hesitation. “Fine as in Elliston was charming and nice and paid for massages just as promised. He more than kept his part of the bargain.”

  “But…” Mariah said, narrowing her gaze on her assistant.

  Della snorted as she laughed. “You’re the most skeptical person I’ve ever met. No buts, I swear. Elliston was great. Truly.” She marked the memory card she’d pulled from the camera and stored it in a carrying case. “The weekend was a success. He got a lot of new clients and we slept together twice.”

  “Whoa, that is not my business—and you don’t have to tell me anything at all about it,” Mariah exclaimed with a firm head shake.

  “No, it’s okay. We literally slept together. We didn’t have sex. That would only have complicated things. The first time was my fault. I’d had too much champagne, which never goes well for me, and apparently, I insisted he stay in the bed with me. The second time Elliston blackmailed me into letting him sleep in my bed though I still don’t know why he did that. Both times, he was outside the covers. It was all very ‘Little House on the Prairie’ if you know what I mean.”

  Mariah chuckled and tilted her head. “I do know what you mean. Sounds like he likes you.”

  Della shrugged, not willing to think about it. “He says he does. He even asked me out… like on a real date. But I said no. I don’t have time right now. I really don’t.”

  Mariah crossed her arms and ducked her head to hide her smile. “If he’s anything like his uncle, he’s not going to take a simple no for an answer. John kept showing up everywhere I went. I still don’t want to know how he always knew where I was.”

  “Elliston won’t do anything like that,” Della said with shrug. “He knows I’m focused on my doctorate. I’ll see him when I pick him up for the wedding.”