Kristin steps closer, and her voice drops. “Are you okay? Why the hell would he be in your house? What’s wrong? What happened? Did you sleep with him?”
Her questions go so fast I couldn’t answer them if I wanted to. “I’m great. I promise. It was a crazy night after the concert and then Eli returned something I dropped.”
I guess it wasn’t that long of a story after all.
“There’s something you’re not telling us,” Danni says as she tilts her head. “Because how would he know where you live?”
My eyes move to Nicole for saving. She owes me that much.
“So, how about that work we’re all here for?” Nicole says loudly. “I have two men who promised me a very fun night as payment for working here. Let’s get to it. I’m all for my threesome that’s happening.”
That’s one way to change the topic.
Danielle groans and shivers. “Yuck.”
“You only say that because you’re jealous.”
“Danielle!” Peter calls from the kitchen. “I need your help.”
Thank God for the interruption, because I don’t know that I could’ve kept this conversation going without having to spill everything.
We spend the next few hours working on various projects. The cabinets are painted thanks to Danielle and Kristin. Apparently, there was some water damage on one of the walls, so Nicole’s two helpers ripped it out, replaced it with new drywall, and helped repaint the living room. It’s amazing how much all of us accomplished, and the house feels completely different.
I didn’t have any motivation to spend time fixing anything until I saw Eli sitting in my space.
Everyone heads out with promises to call, and the looks that I got from Danni and Kristin say we’ll be doing a lot more than talking about the weather.
I walk out onto the porch with my iced tea and sit in the swing that my dad hung the week before he was killed. I always feel a sense of calm when I rock here, as if the wind that blows is his spirit here with me. My dad was a quiet man, but he was full of so much wisdom. He loved my mother more than anything in this world. As hard as it is to admit, if my mother had been alone in that car, my father would’ve found a way to follow her in death. He would never have been able to survive in a world without her. It’s the kind of love I want in my life.
It’s the kind I thought I found with Matt. Boy was I wrong.
I lean my head back and close my eyes, hoping to feel that calm again.
Instead, I hear someone clear their throat.
My eyes open, and I come face to face with the man I didn’t think I’d see again.
“Eli,” I say, almost dropping the glass.
“Hey,” he says as he climbs the stairs. “I’m glad you’re home.”
“What are you doing here?”
“I told you I’d see you again,” Eli explains as if it makes total sense.
This is crazy. I thought we were done with him showing up. He’s been in the wind, and I had no way to get in touch with him, not that I would have called anyway. I’ve already decided this will never happen, so I don’t know why my heart is racing at the sight of him.
It makes no sense that the tight blue jeans and gray T-shirt that cling to his muscles have my mouth watering.
I’m completely unaffected by him in general. Yup. Totally. It’s because I’m tired that I’m reacting at all.
I shake off the thoughts of how much more I’d like to see of him and take a drink. “You did, but that was . . .” I pretend to have to think about it. “Like, ten days ago?” It was eight, but I’m not going to tell him I’m counting.
He grins and takes a seat next to me. “About that.”
I shift over a little, hoping some distance between us will help my racing pulse. “Were you out and about and then figured you’d stop by?”
I did not just say that, did I? Oh, God, I did.
“Nope.” He chuckles. “I just got back from New York. My agent needed me to finalize some things for our next season.”
“Oh.” I take another drink as he moves a little closer. My heart races as his side touches mine. “I’ve never been to New York,” I admit. I haven’t traveled anywhere since my parents died.
Eli starts to move the swing. “You’ll have to come with me one time.”
“Come with you?” I squeak.
“Yeah,” Eli laughs.
“That’s a little presumptuous.”
“Why? We can go away together if you want.”
“What makes you think I’m going to go on a trip with you? We barely know each other. Hell, we’re not even friends.”
“I thought we established we were definitely friends last time.”
It’s going to circle back to my groupie slut status with us. There’s no true friendship, there’s a one-night stand and pizza. It hardly constitutes as anything. Besides, I don’t need any more friends. I have my girls, Brody, and Stephanie. I’m set.
“Look, you don’t know me, and I definitely don’t know you.”
Eli throws his arm around the back of the swing, and his fingers find their way to my neck. “I think I know you pretty well.”
“Really?” I challenge.
“I know you’re beautiful, like pizza, have the world sitting on your shoulders, and try damn hard not to like me, which you are failing at.”
I smile and play with the ring on my thumb. “Whatever. I don’t think about you.”
I’m a big, fat liar. I think about him all the time, and last night, he managed to star in my dreams—again. As much as I tell myself I’m glad he stopped showing up, I was sad. There’s something about being around him that makes me crave more, which is the dumbest thing I could allow myself to want.
Eli’s thumb grips my chin, and he forces me to look at him. “I’m serious. Since the minute I laid eyes on you, I think about you all the time.”
“Eli,” I say, hoping he’ll stop. I don’t want to think about this.
“Why do you think I called you on stage? Why do you think I wanted you to come to the meet and greet?”
“Because you wanted me to sleep with you!” I say and try to shift away from him.
He cups my face and holds my gaze hostage. “No, because for the first time in all the years I’ve been doing this, I’ve finally met someone who managed to knock me off kilter. I didn’t understand it until I was in New York. I kept wanting to look at you. Then I couldn’t get to you fast enough after the show. That has never happened.”
I want to believe him, but it’s hard for me to even fathom. “Please don’t feed me lines.”
“It’s not a line. It’s you. I can’t explain it, but you’re all I think about. The way you hide your face from me when you’re unsure of yourself. How your smile makes my heart stop, and how even now, with speckles of paint on your face, you take my breath away. Don’t you see? I tried to stay away, but I keep finding myself back here.”
My chest tightens as I wonder what alternate universe I’m living in. How does one of the sexiest men alive think that I’m in any way special? I’m average on a good day. He’s extraordinary on a bad day. This is crazy.