“Hey,” I angle my head so that she can see me in her periphery, “listen to me.” I tip her chin so she faces me. Our eyes lock, which is just what I need for her not only to hear, but feel the next thing I have to say. “You did nothing wrong. He was an asshole for even thinking he had a right to touch you.”
Silently, she nods, turning her head away so I can’t see the tear streaking down her cheek. “Come here.” Pulling her into my arms, I inhale the sweet, lingering smell of her shampoo. “I think we both need to just start over. How does that sound?”
She peeks up at me, uncertainty in her eyes. “I was terrible to you and you saved me, and now you’re offering me a do-over?”
“If you’ll take it.” I look down at her, hoping for the best. The guilt over feeling like I could seduce her out of the company rest heavily on my conscience.
A cheery smile graces her beautiful face. Extendi
ng her hand, she shakes mine in a firm grip. “Deal,” she confirms as I chuckle at her exuberance.
Standing from the log, I hold my hand out and help her up. “Your leg seems to be doing okay.”
She looks down at it as if she’s seeing it for the first time. “Oh, yeah. It was better yesterday. Thanks for carrying me, though.” A heated pink blush colors her cheeks.
Stepping closer to her, I brush her hair from her face. “It was my pleasure.” While keeping my eyes on hers, I lean in and press a sweet and hopefully sensual kiss to her round and still-heated cheek. “It would also be my pleasure to take you out to dinner tonight,” I say as we make our way back toward my house.
She opens and closes her mouth a few times, unable to answer. She does that a lot and I’ve come to think it’s the most adorable thing ever. “Part of this let’s-start-over plan, please?”
“Okay,” she whispers, barely nodding her head.
“Good,” I say, a smile whispering across my face. “Here we are,” I announce before softly pushing her back up against the door of her car.
“I’m still going into work today, unlike some people.” She eyes me playfully, winking at my more-than-casual attire. Noticing how her eyes linger on my T-shirt-covered chest, I know she really can’t mind all that much. Pressing my body into hers even more makes her whimper before mumbling, “What time?” Her words are breathless, her eyes wide, her lips wet.
She leans against my fingers as they graze her cheek. “I’ll pick you up at five, okay?” Her eyes close as my fingers travel down her upper arm.
“Hmmm…” she moans before I call her back to the here and now.
“Elle, look at me.” Her eyes flutter open and immediately fall to my lips. “Tonight,” I add quietly, running my thumb along her pink lower lip. “I’ll kiss you tonight, when my mom isn’t watching from the front window.”
At the mention of my mom, Elle’s body stiffens, automatically making me think about what her body would do when it’s under mine, shattering apart, repeatedly. Mom offers us a quick wave before letting the curtains block us from her view once again.
With a quick kiss to the cheek, I send Elle on her way.
“Mom,” I call out when I walk back through the door. When I make my way into the living room, I sit next to her and turn off the television. “Very funny.” I shoot her a pointed look.
“What?” she asks, playing dumb like a fool.
“You were just at the window and now you’re going to play it off like you’re busy watching The Price is Right?” My question forces a harrumph from her mouth as she crosses her frail arms over her chest.
“Why didn’t you tell me about my father?” There’s no point in beating around the bush. She knows I know; I know she knows. Now, it’s time for us both to just come clean with it.
“You hated him, honey. And honestly, so did I for a while.” She twists in her seat. Facing me, I can see the tears building in her eyes. “When you were a senior in high school, he had a change of heart and he wanted to be a part of your life, but I knew you wouldn’t have it. You can be mad at me for making that decision for you, but like I already told you, there was part of me that was so fearful you’d choose him over me. I couldn’t deal with that.”
“Mom,” I pull her small hands into mine, “it’s okay.”
“Well, when I told him he wasn’t allowed to see you, he understood, but still wanted to give you the college fund he’d set up for you.”
“Did I earn any of that scholarship?”
“Of course you did, Owen. You are an intelligent and hardworking young man. He just helped close the gap. It was the one thing I couldn’t give you. Without his money, the scholarship wouldn’t have been enough and you wouldn’t be who you are.”
Letting the weight of her words sink in, some of the hatred and anger I’ve felt over the years evaporates. When I received that call from the lawyer just a few short weeks ago, I thought my life had been turned upside down for the worse. Being thrown into a partnership with a woman I couldn’t stand, at a place that belonged to the man I’d spent my life not knowing, but hating all the same, seemed like the perfect hell.
But now, with pieces of my past laid out before me, and the possibilities of a budding relationship with Elle on the horizon, I realize it was all the perfect opportunity.
Mom and I spend the next hour or so talking about nothing and everything. After she makes plans to go out with a friend, I call Peter to check in. He lets me know that everything is fine and that Elle just showed up. Apparently, when both of us didn’t show up this morning, it caused quite a bit of gossip.