by JA Low
Stella reluctantly lets me go.
“Take a seat and let me serve you.” Heat laces my words, and I see Stella shiver. I head into the kitchen, where I feel confident and in my zone. I set about preparing for tonight’s feast. I want to show Stella how much she means to me with this meal. Now that I’ve blurted out the three little words before the first course, I will still continue on with the menu like I had planned.
As I cook Stella tells me about her getting in touch with her childhood friend, Hadley. How that didn’t go down so well, but she was looking forward to catching up one day soon. I tried to explain to her not to be so hard on herself over the mistakes she believes she’s made in the past by using Logan as the example of guilt robbing you of a future, and she kind of agreed. I told her she can’t change the past, only build on the future with her family. I also said to her that they have a right to be angry over her ghosting them for the past six years, just as she has the right to be blindsided by her father’s romance.
“Okay, the first course is ready.” I lay the plate down in front of her at the dining table.
“This smells delicious, EJ.”
“It’s the famous Nantucket Bay scallops in tequila, citrus, and chili dressing,” I explain, taking a seat beside her. I pour her a glass of champagne and raise my glass. “To exploring the future together.”
She smiles, and we clink our glasses. Then I watch in anticipation of her first bite. The sounds that fall from her mouth is making me hard, not going to lie.
“That was delicious, EJ,” she states as I take her plate away from the table.
“Thank you.” Grinning, because as a chef, you always want whoever’s eating your meal to enjoy it. I place the plate in the sink and begin the next course.
“Can I ask you something, EJ?” Stella pipes up from the table. Her cheeks are a little pink from the champagne.
“Anything,” I tell her as I chop some herbs.
“I don’t want to ruin the night, though.”
My hand stops chopping, and I place the knife down on the chopping block. I wipe my hands on the dishtowel and move back over to the dining table where she’s seated. “You couldn’t ruin the night, babe,” I tell her, taking a seat beside her.
“I just…” She looks away from me, unable to look me in the eyes. I reach out and hold her hand—she’s shaking. What on earth is going on? “This is real, isn’t it?” She waves her hand between us.
“Do you think it’s not?” I pose the question back to her.
“No. I believe what you feel is real.” There sounds like a but is coming on the end of that statement as she tries to reassure me. “But…” There it is. “Where do we go from here?”
“What do you mean?” I’m a little confused by her question.
“Like when this is all over.” Stella waves her hands in the air above her head.
“The Hamptons?” I am trying to follow her, but I don’t know the direction she is taking.
“Yes. And when my leg is healed. When real life kicks back in,” she asks.
Oh. Okay. I see.
“We can make it Facebook and Insta official if you like,” I tell her.
She cracks a smile. “Now, that is commitment. How are the women of the world going to cope knowing Mr. Playboy Chef is off the market?” She grins.
“I’m sure you’re going to hear the thunderous sound of hearts breaking all over the world once they know I’m taken,” I tell her.
“What about work?”
“Work and home life are separate.” She nods her head in agreement. “When we come home to each other, whatever happened at work shouldn’t spill over into our personal space.”
“When we come home?” Stella questions.
“Yeah. If you don’t like my apartment, I can buy something else. Something that is more fitting for the two of us. I know you’ve never liked my bachelor pad.”
“You want me to move in?” She seems a little surprised by this confession.
“Well, yes.”
“But I was only living with you because of my leg,” she adds.
“Yes, but when you come back from The Hamptons, I assume you will be moving back in with me.”
Is that not the plan?
“You didn’t ask.”
“Didn’t think I had to. I thought you would want to live with me. Don’t you?” My stomach twists into knots as the realization that we are on two different pages over us.
“Our relationship has changed since I was there.”
“So, what you’re saying is, I need to ask you to move in with me?”
“Isn’t that a little soon?” she asks.
“Stell, I’ve known you for six years. We have worked together for all of those years, seven days a week together. I think we might be past social norms of when the right time would be to move in with someone’s girlfriend, don’t you?”
“I’m your girlfriend, too?” Stella seems confused by our relationship status.
“Of course. I told you, it’s you and me against the world.”
“Maybe you’ve had these conversations in your head about this situation, but I think you might have forgotten to have them with me.” Stella points to herself.
Maybe she’s right.
“Stella.” I grab her hands and entwine them with mine. “I’m done dating. The only person I want to share my life, bed, heart, and a world with… is you.”
Stella bursts out crying and reaches out for me, and I go willingly, pulling my chair as close as I can to hers as she wraps herself around me.
“You’re it for me, Stell. I’m an all-in, baby. The whole happily ever after.” Her bloodshot eyes widen at my words. “I may not have been the man you saw yourself with, but I promise you, Stell, I will make you so happy.”
“Elliot.” She says my full first name. “I’m all in, too.” She grins. “I never thought you would ever see me as anything more than your assistant or a friend,” she confesses.
I push back the hair from her face. “The moment I hired you, I wanted to sleep with you because I thought you were hot.” This makes her shake her head and roll her eyes. “But because you were my assistant and we worked together, it made me look at you differently,” I tell her honestly. “But you didn’t take my shit from day one, and I knew I was in trouble.”
She nods her head in agreement.
“I’m not going to lie… my feelings for you began burning slowly, Stell. You are a beautiful woman, but you’re also kind, bubbly, honest, confident, funny, and so much more.” I am trying to explain to her why my feelings changed. “But my ego got in the way.”
Stella chuckles. “Is that code for your dick?” She grins.
“Yeah. That, too. That got me in a lot of trouble as well.” Grinning at her, I continue, “All that bullshit faded away as soon as I had to imagine what my life was going to be like without you, Stell.”
My throat begins closing up, remembering the emotions I felt.
“I prayed, and you know I’m not a religious man,” I tell her. “I prayed that you would survive, so I could tell you I had feelings for you, Stell. That all these years, the crush you had on me wasn’t just one-sided.”
Her brow raises in surprise.
“I had to sit there and watch you date one dickhead after another because I wasn’t mature enough to give up all the superficial bullshit that surrounded my life.” I kiss the tops of her knuckles. “I’m done with that part of my life. It was fake. None of the connections were ever genuine. It was always simply mutually beneficial. But I was so caught up on the high of it all that I destroyed the feelings you had for me.”
“It hurt seeing you with all those women, Elliot. I’m not going to lie about that,” she tells me. “I guess I saw the fake Playboy Chef persona for so long I didn’t know if the real EJ existed underneath,” she tells me honestly. “So, I didn’t believe you all those weeks ago when you told me your feelings had changed.”
“And now?” Hope blooms in my ches
t.
“How could I ever have doubted you.” She grins. “I just can’t believe you feel the same way.” Stella shakes her head as if she still doesn’t believe it.
“Believe it, babe.” Grabbing her face, I kiss her slowly. “I can’t wait to start this new adventure with you. Everything, from this moment forward, we are planning for our future together. Happily ever after. Okay?” Making sure she believes me this time, I give her an honest look.
“Okay.” She smiles, sealing my words with a kiss.
38
Stella
After the most delicious three-course dinner prepared by my private chef, Elliot Jones, we spend the night making love pretty much all over the house. EJ didn’t stop shouting from the rooftops that he loved me, and I get it. I get it now. He loves me, and I love him, and that declaration has me floating on cloud nine.
“You wore me out,” EJ grumbles beside me as his strong arms wrap around my body while his lips nuzzle my neck.
“Pretty sure, Mr. I’ve-Got-One-More-Round-In-Me is the reason I’m sore and exhausted.” Turning in his arms, I look at him.
“That does sound like me.” He grins before kissing me on my forehead.
EJ’s phone starts ringing, and he reaches over to his bedside table and grabs it. He lets out a groan when he sees who’s calling. “It’s Chloe.” He rolls his eyes. Of course, she wants the lowdown on how last night went, especially as she set it all up, but he lets it ring out. Then moments later, my phone starts ringing, and we both burst out laughing.
“Let me answer it.” EJ grins. He grabs my phone and answers the call, and he puts it straight on speaker. “Morning, Chlo,” he greets her.
“Wait.” You can hear the wheels turning through the phone. “I called Stell’s phone.”
“Yeah, you did,” he replies.
“And you answered it,” she questions him, still unsure of what has happened.
“Yes, I did,” he toys with her.
“Put her out of her misery,” I whisper to him.
“Where’s Stell?” she asks.
“I’m right here, Chlo,” I reply.
The phone goes crazy with Chloe’s scream down the line. Pretty sure we could hear her up here from Manhattan.
“So, last night went well, I take it.” You can hear the smugness in her tone, thinking she’s the reason we are together.
“It did. But we got together Friday night,” I tell her.
The phone goes crazy again.
“You are lying pieces of shit. How dare you both not tell me you’re already together,” she yells.
“For this very reason, sis,” EJ adds. “You don’t have boundaries.”
She is quiet for a couple of beats. “Whatever. I just love you both, that’s all.” You can tell she’s pouting without seeing her over being left out of the loop. “Do you two love each other?”
“Yes,” EJ answers. “We’re happy. Stella’s moving in with me when we get back to the city, and then we will see how things go,” he tells Chloe.
There’s more screaming down the line.
“You’re moving in together. Oh my God, this is insane. Hold on…” The phone muffles, and you can hear Chloe screaming out to Noah. Moments later, his muffled voice filters through the phone as we listen to her passing on the news to Noah.
“Congrats, guys.” She puts the phone on speaker. “I’m happy for you.” Noah then addresses Chloe. “Babe, I was in the middle of something. We’ll catch up later, okay.” Then he’s gone.
“Okay. Does this mean you’re moving to the suburbs with us?” Chloe asks.
Wait a minute, Chloe’s getting a little carried away.
“I’m not opposed to it,” EJ answers, which makes her squeal. I look over at him, a little surprised. “I’ll explain in a moment,” he whispers. “Chloe, we have to go.”
“Yes. Yes. Have fun. We must go out to dinner when you get back into town, especially now that Emma and Anderson are back together. Oh my God, I’m so happy. Now we need to find someone for Ariana, and the squad is complete,” she rambles on before EJ hangs up on her.
“My sister is crazy.” EJ groans as he falls back against the bed.
“She’s just happy for us, that’s all.” I snuggle close to his chest. “But I’m interested to know more about this move to the suburbs?” Broaching the subject, I never thought I would hear from EJ in a million years. He loves the city’s fast-paced life.
“I’ve been chatting to a chef friend of mine, Sebastien Sanchez. You might know him from Under the Spanish Sun.” EJ grins.
No way. “You know him? Why have you never told me this before? You know how much I love that show.”
“The guy’s Spanish, and I can’t compete with that.” He chuckles.
“Please, I bet you’re a better chef, anyway,” I butter him up.
“I knew I loved you for a reason. You’re good for my ego.” He plants kisses all over my face. “Anyway, I was having a chat about the business. I wanted to know if he missed his life in the city… the accolades and stuff like that,” he tells me honestly. “And you know what he told me?”
I shrug my shoulders.
“That he was the happiest he’s ever been slowing down. He said that he’s so much more creative than he used to be. He’s not as stressed, and it restored his passion for food.” He looks over at me seriously. “I’ve lost my passion, Stell. And I didn’t know how to tell anyone, so I coped by being a whore,” he confesses candidly to me. “I’m so proud of my restaurants, and I know I am still a young gun on the scene, but I don’t want to be a part of that scene anymore.”
I’m genuinely shocked by his words. Honestly, I had no idea he felt this way.
“I’ve done a lot of soul searching since the accident, seeing what course I want my life to take. And I want to buy a farm in Connecticut, near the others. I want to produce farm-to-table produce at a little rustic place in the country, but also grow to produce for my restaurants in Manhattan and Vegas,” he explains. “And I want you to be there right beside me,” he tells me as he rolls onto his side. “What do you say? Wanna become a farmer?” He chuckles.
“Boy, I’m way more country than you will ever be.” I put on a country twang, which has him roaring with laughter.
EJ pulls me into him. “I want to know the country Stella. All of her.”
“Will you be by my side when I go home to speak to my dad.”
“Of course, baby.” He kisses my temple.
If EJ’s by my side, maybe then I can tackle my past.
39
Stella
EJ’s had to go back to the city for some meetings after being with me every single day for the past week. But it’s been nice, we’ve spent our time driving around checking out local farms and produce, did some wine tasting, and, of course, some antiquing. Every night we sat on the back deck by the pool and watched the sun set.
EJ’s been excited about creating new dishes, so every night, I’ve been getting gorgeous meals for dinner while he trials great food. My stomach thanks him, but my ass does not. Now that both of us know where the other stands, there’s no more bickering, no more fighting, and no more angst. We can touch and kiss anytime we want, and it feels good. I know we’ve created a little bubble for ourselves out here, and once we get back to the real world, things might be different, but I don’t want to think like that, not when I’m this happy.
There’s a knock at the door, and I hobble over to answer it.
Who on earth could it be? Unless it’s EJ home early. No, he has a key and would open the door himself. Eventually, I make it to the large wooden door. Turning the knob, I pull it open, and I’m dumbstruck.
There, standing before me, are my brothers, Jesse and Austin, my sister, Lacey, and my childhood best friend, Hadley.
How the hell did they get here? I’m speechless.
“Fuck, Stell, you look fancy,” Jesse hollers. He rushes over and picks me up in his arms, swings me around, making me squeal. He s
till looks the same dressed in his uniform of cowboy boots, tartan shirt, and Wrangler jeans. He stands out so much in this preppy scene. His skin’s tanner than I remember, his face is more chiseled, and he has a five o’clock shadow growing on his jaw. He still has his bright blue eyes that sparkle under his hat.
My friends used to drool over Jesse, the grumpy, mysterious older brother, but the New York ladies would eat him alive. Then there’s Austin, who’s the spitting image of Jesse, just with a happier disposition. The difference is night and day with these two. Jesse looks at the world through serious eyes, and Austin is the prankster of the group with always a broad smile across his sun-worn face.
“Missed you, Stell.” Austin is the next to greet me, hugging me tightly. Tears well in my eyes at the reception they’re giving me. I didn’t realize how much I missed my family until this moment.
How the hell did I let it go for this long without seeing them?
“Stelly.” Lacey rushes to me with tears streaming down her face. I wrap my arms around her body and hold on tightly. “I’ve missed you.” She cries into my neck.
“I’m sorry. So deeply sorry.” While burying my face into hers, another set of arms wrap around me, and it’s Hadley.
“The Three Amigos are back together again.” I haven’t heard that in such a long time.
“I can’t believe you guys are here. I thought you were coming next week? Did I get the dates wrong?” I’m kind of confused by the whole situation.
“Your friend Chloe sent a jet,” Jesse explains.
“The fact your friends have a plane, and they happily sent it to get us is insane.” Austin chuckles. “I need new friends.” I can’t believe Chloe did this for me. I just don’t know how I can ever repay her.
“Come in,” I state, forgetting my manners.
Austin picks me up in his arms, making me squeal as he carries me back inside. He places me down on the couch in the living room.