“Probably not,” she said, going up on her toes to meet him halfway. But nothing felt so amazing as being kissed by Nate on a moonlit night in May.
Chapter Eleven
Nate walked into the kitchen, determined to put the woman singing about love while tossing fruit into a blender back in the friend zone. He cleared his throat. “Ellie, about last night.”
She turned with a smile that lit up her face and sucker punched his rehearsed speech out of his head. None of the well-intentioned arguments he’d come up with in the shower withstood the beauty of that smile. Maybe because this was new to him.
He couldn’t remember the last time a woman had gotten so deeply under his skin in a matter of days. Possibly because he never stuck around long enough to give them a chance. Then again, Ellie was special, so he shouldn’t be surprised he’d spent more than an hour coming up with reasons why being anything more than friends was a bad idea. She wasn’t the type of woman you loved and left. She wanted more, deserved more, more than he was willing or able to give.
“Don’t give it another thought, Nate. The judge’s reaction was over the top. I honestly don’t know what’s gotten into him.”
He, for one, was grateful the judge had interrupted their kiss on the dock. There was no doubt in Nate’s mind where that kiss had been headed—to Ellie in his bed. And the last thing he wanted was to have been having this conversation the morning after.
She made a face at the blender. “Maybe it’s this new eating regimen I’ve got them on. Diets make me cranky.”
Don’t laugh or smile, he told himself. This was a conversation they needed to have. It was serious. His lips twitched. Love, he reminded himself, she’d been singing about love. “He’s just being protective, Ellie. He knows I’m not the guy for you.”
“I’m a thirty-three-year-old woman who knows her own mind. I don’t need protection.” She grimaced. “I mean, of course I need protection. No woman should have sex without it. But I certainly don’t need a man telling me who I should or shouldn’t date.”
What was he supposed to say to that? He could barely think straight. The blood had left his head and headed south. Now all he could think about was Ellie and sex. He needed a do-over. He’d grab a coffee, take a shower, a cold one this time, then come back down and try again.
Except she wasn’t finished. “Not that I think we’re dating,” she said, scooping protein powder into the blender. “So you can stop worrying that I’m expecting a declaration of love and a proposal of marriage, Nate. It was just a kiss.”
“It wasn’t just a kiss, Ellie. It was…” What the hell was it? It had felt like a whole lot more than just a kiss to him. But like she’d said, she knew her own mind. Who was he to argue? For all he knew, he was projecting his feelings onto her. “Whatever it was, we shouldn’t do it again.”
“It was a kiss between friends. One of those friends had had a rough night, and the other friend was trying to make him feel better. That’s all. Nothing more, nothing less.”
“So you’re saying it was a pity kiss? You didn’t feel like the world had tipped on its axis and the stars had exploded in the sky?” He stepped closer to her. “You didn’t feel like you needed that kiss like you needed your next breath?”
She shook her head, her cheeks flushed. “No. No I didn’t,” she said, and turned on the blender.
He bent his head and whispered in her ear, “Liar.”
She stabbed the Off button with her finger and whirled around to face him. “What do you want me to say? You’ve made it clear that you don’t want anything more from me than friendship. Do you want me to bare my soul to you, embarrass myself and say, Yes, Nate, that’s exactly how I felt? The world turned upside down, and the stars exploded, and I felt like I needed that kiss like I needed my next breath. There, are you happy now?”
“No. I’m not.” He cupped her shoulders with his hands. “I was talking about me, Ellie. That’s how your kiss made me feel.”
“I don’t understand. If you feel the same way that I do, why did you say it can’t happen again? Why wouldn’t you want to see where this goes?”
“Because I know exactly where it goes. I’m not like Chase or Gabe or Hunter. I don’t stick around. I don’t do promises, and that’s not going to change. I’m not going to change. I like my life the way that it is.”
She stood there looking dejected, the light extinguished from her beautiful violet eyes. He hated that he’d done that to her, but she needed to know the truth. He let his hands fall to his sides before he did something stupid like pull her in for a hug. With Ellie, a hug wasn’t just a hug.
She looked away from him, wrapping her arms around her waist.
“Do you want me to leave?”
She nodded. “Yes. Yes I do.”
He felt like he’d been sucker punched again. Only this time, the blow hit him in the heart instead of the head. He didn’t blame her though. He’d hurt her just like he’d known he would. “Okay. We’ll go as soon as Ryder wakes up. If that’s okay with you.”
“What are you talking about?”
“You said you wanted me to leave.”
“The kitchen. I wanted you to leave the kitchen.” She shook her head. “I can’t believe you’d think I’d ask you leave the inn. If that’s the type of woman you usually date…What am I saying? You don’t date. Ryder needs you, Nate, and you need a place to stay.” She narrowed her eyes at him. “Unless you’ve decided your two-week commitment to him and Gina is too much for you.”
After what had happened with Ryder last night, he’d been more than ready to throw in the towel. Except Gina had cried when he told her it wasn’t going to work out, and he’d caved. Besides that, he owed Brodie.
“No. I’m not bailing on the kid, and I appreciate you letting us stay. He seems to like it here.”
“Good. And I’ve just decided you should stay here, and I’ll go.” She took off her apron and handed it to him. “I have a meeting in town this morning. You can make breakfast.”
“Okay. But you’re not going to town right now, are you?”
“Yes. Yes I am. I’m walking out of this kitchen, getting into the truck, and heading for town. I plan to stop at the bakery before my meeting. Is that all right with you?”
“Uh, yeah,” he said, fighting a smile. “But you might want to change out of your pajamas.”
“You might want to change out of your pajamas,” Ellie muttered under her breath as she stood in line at Bites of Bliss. Nate had ruined her dramatic exit.
She would have figured out she was wearing her purple T-shirt and matching unicorn sleep pants before heading into town. Then again, maybe she wouldn’t have. She didn’t remember the last time she’d had a fit of temper. Clearly, Nate brought out the worst in her.
“Hey, Ellie. I’m so glad you stopped by. I was going to call you about the menu for this weekend’s tea,” said Bliss, the bakery’s pretty blond owner.
With everything going on, Ellie had completely forgotten she’d agreed to hold afternoon teas this coming weekend. And not only had she agreed, half the women attending last Saturday’s tea had made reservations before they’d left the inn. This time they were actually paying, so it wasn’t like she could afford to cancel. She’d need the extra money to put into the guest rooms’ redesign. She swallowed a groan and forced a smile. “I’m sure whatever you’ve come up with will be fabulous, Bliss.”