Dressed in full black with a leather jacket, he’s definitely ready to seize the title of world’s sexiest man.
And now he’s smiling at me like my answer wasn’t serious enough for him.
“Come again Bree?”
“A house. That’s why I’m here. Your supposed to close a deal on Pine Valley Lodge tomorrow but I want it.”
I’m doing all the things Shelby told me. Sound positive, be confident, talk like you deserve to own the property, but now that I’ve started talking, I realize I’m here on a whim hoping to rely on what? Our non-existent friendship.
I told him he owes me, and he does. But just because I think he owes me doesn’t mean he thinks he does.
Whatever the logical reasoning, I wanted my dream badly enough to pay a crazy amount for my flight to get me here and I’m here. I can’t back out now. Or give up.
He smirks and runs a hand over his beard.
“You’re one of my applicants?”
“Yes, except you won’t get my application because someone outbid me.”
“I’m aware of that. I’m just wondering how you’re going to talk me out of accepting a million dollars in cash. I’m sure I don’t owe you that much.”
“Yes, you do.” I’m sure if we were quantifying things it would add up to more than that, but I don’t say that. I need to get on his good side.
“What do you want the house for?”
“Is that relevant?”
“It is if we’re talking, and you want me to listen.”
“I want to turn it into a day spa. That’s my dream.”
“Your dream?”
I nod and pray he doesn’t laugh.
What happens next, however, is worse than him laughing because he doesn’t say anything.
He just looks at me in that weird analyzing way like he’s trying to figure me out.
“I completely understand why you would accept a million in cash,” I add when the silence extends for far too long. “But I figured since you have so many houses maybe you’d be willing to hear me out.”
Everything I say sounds crazier than the previous thing. Who wouldn’t accept the million in cash? I would and I don’t know anyone who would have to think twice.
“Okay, let’s talk.”
“Really?” My eyes snap wide. Maybe Shelby was right, and I haven’t been paying attention to her lessons about men.
“Yes really. We’re not talking here though.”
“Where are we talking?”
“Come with me.” Mischief lights up his eyes. It dances around his iris’ and turns into a sinful smile when it hits his lips.
The smile sparks my own mischievous thoughts so when he puts out his hand for me to take, as if we walk around holding hands all the time, I take it.
Next to him I feel like a midget even in my little kitten heels and walking out of the foyer holding his hand is something I might have to write about in the journal I’ve been meaning to get for the last decade.
Ethan leads me into the hotel bar. It’s a really classy hotel so I expect nothing less than what I’ve seen so far, but I’m shocked when he speaks to one of the security guards and asks for a room in the VIP lounge.
Moments later we’re taken to an actual room with a glass floor, black swanky leather sofas and stylish coffee table in the center.
It could be like he planned this, but there’s no way he could have because he didn’t know I’d be here. And besides Ethan wouldn’t do something like this for me.
It’s beautiful. I’ve never been anywhere so elegant and cool at the same time. I’ve never been anywhere like this full stop.
He releases my hand and motions for me to sit.
“Can I get you anymore drinks, sir?” A bartender says coming up to us.
It’s then I see the private bar in the corner.
“Yes please. Can I have a bottle of your finest wine.”
Finest wine? Christ, he didn’t even ask how much it was.
Again, I wonder about his wealth. It’s even more relevant now than when I first thought about it.
“Of course, anything else.”
Ethan looks at me. “Do you want anything else?”
“No, I’m fine.”
The bartender dips his head and saunters away to prepare our drinks.
Ethan sits opposite me but close enough so that out knees are almost touching.
The bartender returns with a decanter, a bucket of ice and some expensive as fuck looking wine. It has an Italian name I wouldn’t even try to pronounce.
When he opens it and pours us two glasses the sweetness tickles my nose. The most delicious wine I ever had was at Shelby’s third wedding. She eloped for the fourth so the only person drinking wine was her.
“Would you like some privacy?” the bartender asks Ethan.
“I would. Come back in half an hour.”
His answer sends a swarm of nerves skating down my spine. The bartender leaves us once more and when Ethan returns his attention to me a smoldering flame darkens his blue gaze to a hue that reminds me of the sky at twilight.
He reaches for one of the long-stemmed wine glasses and hands it to me.
“Drink,” he beckons, and I do.
I take a sip of the dark red liquid and when it hits the back of my throat, I’m completely captivated by the sweet almost honey taste.
“You like?”
“Yeah. This is really good. I’m not going to try to pronounce it.” I chuckle and he looks at my lips.
“Ornellaia Vendemmia d'Artista,” he replies, and I have to admit I’m completely astonished. He sounded completely Italian.
“Do you speak Italian?”
“Yeah?”
“Since when?”
“A long time ago, besides my grandfather is obsessed with Italy. My grandmother was from there. From Tuscany. He’s just bought a vineyard there. Near where they make stuff like this.”
He picks up his glass and raises it like he’s toasting.
“That’s cool. I didn’t know that about you.” It’s crazy I never picked up on the Italian roots well before now but now that he’s mentioned it, I see it straightaway in his jet-black hair, thick eyebrows, and his tanned skin. It’s not olive but he tans really quickly, unlike me who is always on the paler side.
“Drink.”
I take another sip. “Is drinking all we’re going to do?”
“Nope, but this might be the only time I get to drink with you. So, drink more than a sip.”
I down the rest and smile. “Happy now?”
“Yes. Now we can talk.” He returns the smile. “How did you find me?”
“Logan. I thought he would have details of the trip even though he wasn’t going.”
“Good thinking and timing. Another few seconds and you would have missed me.”
“I hope I’m not taking up too much of your time.”
“You aren’t. Now tell me more about this dream of yours.”
“I was hoping to have the spa running by the end of the year. I think Pine Valley Lodge will be perfect for what I want.”
“Okay, if this is a dream how come you’re only just doing it?”
Trust him to push me in the direction talking about something I’d rather not talk about.
I drag in a breath.
“I was scared. I had the idea after high school and my grandma had just died. She left me some money. Not a lot but it was enough to leave Wilmington and set up somewhere. I wanted to go to Florida or L.A., but my mother told me I wasn’t capable enough.”
Sympathy fills his eyes, and he takes another sip of his drink.
“Sorry that happened. I didn’t know your mother was like that.”
“I don’t think she means to be. She has this vision of how she wants my life to be and when I go against her it’s not good. Shelby is more like a mother to me, or rather she’d say big sister if she were here. She hates anything that makes her look old. I’m not even allowed to call her aunt in pu
blic.”
He chuckles. “So, you’re going to do the spa now. You’re not going to try and persuade me to accept your offer then change your mind if someone tells you you’re not capable.”
“I’m going to do it. I wouldn’t have flown all this way if I wasn’t.”
“All right, I believe you.”
“Does that mean you’re going to accept my offer?” I sound way too hopeful, and eager.
His lips arch. “Not so fast, we’re not done yet.” he finishes his drink and grabs the bottle to pour us another round.
“What else do you want to know?”
“Is that the only dream you have?”
“It’s the main one and the most relevant to right now.”
He rivets his gaze to mine. “What are the other things?”
I stare back at him and wonder if he’s stalling me. “Ethan if you’re screwing with me, this isn’t funny.”
“I’m not screwing with you.”
“Well, aren’t you here for a bachelor weekend? Don’t you have to go and do whatever the hell you guys planned.” I can just imagine what they planned and I’m so glad Logan didn’t go.
“Yet I’m here sitting with you.”
“But you don’t have to be. The subject of the property is oh so simple. It’s a yes or a no.” I pray it’s not no and I hope I didn’t put it in his head that it could be. I’d be so crushed.
“If I wanted it to be that simple, I would make it that simple, but it’s not. So, humor me. What are your other dreams?”
Fine I can do this. It’s easy. I decide to conjure up all the things I want to do that are on the crazy side of the spectrum to humor him.
Chapter 14
Bree
“Cliff diving,” I say with the flick of my wrist.
“You want to go cliff diving?”
“Yeah, but I’d never do something like that because I’m too scared I’d die. And since no one would ever jump off a cliff with me I don’t see that happening any time soon.”
“You should do it anyway.”
“I’ll think about it.”
“Anything else?”
“A giant teddy bear like the kind you win at the carnival, and a popcorn machine.” I chuckle deciding to be funny.
“Bree, come on. You can get that shit any old time. Be serious.”
I roll my eyes at him and take a breath then I think about something more I’d love to do.
“I want to travel.”
“Where?”
“Where this wine is made.” I’m half-joking. I would love to go to Italy, but I couldn’t see myself doing it on my own.
“It’s beautiful there.”
“I can just imagine. I’d love to walk around a vineyard at sunset and visit Juliet’s house. I’d absolutely love to go to Rome and see everything.”
“I could see you doing that. Anything else?”
I shake my head. “Nothing more I can think of now. Why are you so interested in knowing my dreams?”
“Because I don’t have any for myself.”
I raise my brows. “There’s nothing you want?” I find that hard to believe.
“Sure, there are things I want. There are a ton of things I want for myself but those aren’t the same as a dreams. Not like you wanting your spa.”
“Does that mean we can talk about the spa now?”
“Yes, now that you’ve given me your pitch, but we need to talk about something else first.”
I give him a narrowed stare. “What? And all of that was my pitch?”
“Yes, to the second question. As to the first, we’re going to talk about Liev. I want to explain myself to you.”
I bite the inside of my lip and the rage I previously felt comes back. “Maybe we shouldn’t talk about that.”
“Why?”
“Because, Ethan, I am still so furious with you. I don’t want to talk about what you did.”
“Well, either we talk about what I want to talk about or I’m sending you right back to Wilmington emptyhanded.” He nods and I bite my tongue.
If he’s talking like this, it must mean he’s contemplating helping me. I just pray he’s not going to screw me over and send me back to Wilmington emptyhanded anyway.
“Fine. Talk away. I don’t see what you could say to me though to make what you did better. There was nothing funny about it. Do you know how scared I was when you started talking shit about Guantanamo Bay?”
“I know. There is definitely no excuse for what I did. I completely abused my powers and rank to screw with you and I am sorry.”
Holy shit. He apologized. Him.
Ethan never apologizes for anything. I thought he was incapable to saying the word sorry. Clearly not. He said it just fine and never even stuttered.
“Why did you do it?”
He keeps his gaze trained on me. “I wanted you to see what could have happened to you.”
“Could any of what you said really have happened to me?” I prod.
“Yes.” He nods and a chill rushes down my spine. “Liev could have gotten you in some serious trouble and you wouldn’t have been able to dig yourself out of it.”
“Really?”
“Yes, really.”
My stomach squeezes like I’m going to throw up and I reach for my glass to down another drink. I can be upset with Ethan all I want but I was still foolish enough to hook up with a man like Liev. I was with him for all of six months and never once suspected anything. Nothing at all.
Ethan pours me another glass, finishes his drink and fills his glass again.
“You have to understand I deal with criminals all the time and I see all the shit they get up to,” he states. “I know what men like Liev do. They prey on the weak and unsuspecting. I don’t think you’re weak, but I definitely think you’re unsuspecting. Especially if you gave him your bank details.”
My lips part and I don’t know what to say. Like an idiot I gave Liev everything. I felt we were a couple, so it was okay.
“I first gave them to him because he was going to deposit some money in account for Valentine’s Day. He didn’t know what to get me and thought money would be better so I could go shopping. I didn’t know what to think when I saw two thousand dollars in my account.”
“Baby, most men would not have given their girlfriends two thousand dollars just for Valentine’s Day. And I saw more transactions like that in your account. If I’d left it like how it was the feds could have painted you as an accomplice to at least the money laundering charges and that’s imprisonment. You would have been seen as having a relationship of trust with him and that would have done you in. People get tied up in shit for less.”
“I wasn’t thinking.”
“I know that, and I knew it even more when you kept saying he was nice to you.”
That bastard. I wonder what the hell he was thinking when he first approached me. Maybe I wasn’t even the only woman he was with.
Why should I believe I was when it was clear he was just using me?
I drink some more wine and a light buzz work its way from my scalp to my toes. Another gulp numbs my mind, but I can feel I’m approaching my limit.
“That was one reason for doing what I did,” he says cutting into my thoughts.
“One reason? What was the other reason?”
“I don’t know if we should talk about that.”
I study his expression and somehow I know in my heart my question and his answer are linked to what he did in the past.
“But that’s like leaving unfinished business.”
“Maybe some things are best left that way.”
“Like the past?” I offer up.
“Exactly like the past.”
Something I can’t quite describe fills me as I stare back at him and I know it’s nothing to do with the buzz that’s over taken my mind.
“What if I want to talk about the past?”
“What good is it? It’s in the past.”
“Maybe I wa
nt to know why you thought you needed to be my white knight when I was just trying to be your friend.”
He smiles but I detect there’s only a limited amount of humor behind it, and I’m not sure if he’s doing that thing again where he’s laughing at me.
“Muffin, I’m not sure what gave you the impression I wanted to be friends with you.”
There’s something about the way he said that, that doesn’t make me mad. I also don’t think he’s being mean even though he called me Muffin.
“Why do you call me that?”
“I can’t believe you would ask me that.”
“Of course, I would. Thanks to you no one decent would date me for a long time either because of the lingering dead fish smell in my hair from trying to clean out my car, or they thought I was a stripper.”
“Muffins are your favorite things,” he replies. I’m surprised he knows that. “When we first met you offered me a strawberry glazed muffin with little pink hearts on top of it.”
I furrow my brows. “You remember that?”
“Yes.”
“But you were so mean to me. You didn’t even answer. You just scowled at me and walked away.” There I was, new in town, and my parents were having a picnic on the beach. I saw this boy by the rockpool, and I swore he was crying, so I thought I’d offer him a muffin. That was how we met. The next time I saw him was at school when he pushed me off the swing and called me a weirdo.
“Maybe I didn’t answer, and I was so mean because my dad just kicked the crap out of me when I tried to stop him from hurting my mother.”
While I suck in a breath he gives no more emotion away.
“Your dad did what?” I had no idea his father was like that. He seemed so normal when he was alive. Although I did hear some rumors about his death, and they weren’t very nice.
“Story for another time, Muffin. Anyway that’s where the name came from. That and the fact you were dressed as a giant muffin for the Christmas play when you were twelve.”
I’m endeared but I’m stuck on what he said about his father. So much so that I get up and close the distance between us by sitting next to him on the sofa he’s sitting on.
“What are you doing?” he asks.
“I don’t know. I just felt like sitting here. You, um, don’t seem so much like the devil now.”
Out of Bounds: An Enemies to Lovers Romance (Sinful Bachelors Book 2) Page 8