Beautifully Hurt (Beautifully Broken)

“Hey, you’re here,” Jason says as he comes in via the back door.

“With salad,” Katie grins as she sets it down on the table.

“Everyone’s out back,” Jason mentions, his eyes locked on Katie.

“Everyone?” I ask.

“Yeah, Ethan, Nina, and Alex are also here.”

I thought it would just be the four of us. My stomach tightens with nerves as I follow Jason and Katie out the door.

Trees border on the edge of the backyard, and to the side, Eli’s standing with his brother and father by the grill.

“Finally, some female company,” Nina says with a warm smile.

Alex, Eli’s dad, glances our way, and I give him a wave as I move closer to Nina. I smile nervously as I sit down on one of the chairs. “Hi.”

Katie also sits down. “How are you, Nina?”

“Life’s been good,” Nina replies, then she looks at me. “Eli says your dad’s still out of town?”

I nod. “Yeah, but he comes home every couple of months.”

She reaches over, giving my forearm a squeeze. “Just call if you need help with anything.”

“Thank you,” I murmur. My eyes dart to the grill, and seeing Eli walking toward us, my heart flutters like crazy.

When he reaches us, he welcomes Katie with a smile, then holds his hand out to me. Feeling super self-conscious, I place my hand in his and get up from the chair. Eli tugs me into a hug right in front of his family, making my face go up in flames.

Pulling back, he links our fingers. “Come, I want to show you the house.”

We head back inside and feeling awkward, I ramble, “The kitchen is beautiful. I can’t believe you built it all by yourself. It’s really amazing.”

A heart-stopping smile curves his lips up. “I’m glad you like it.” He glances at his hard work with pride, then leads me up the stairs to the second floor. Gesturing at two empty rooms, he says, “I haven’t finished the guest rooms yet.” He pushes a door open, and then I find myself in the main bedroom.

Eli’s bedroom.

Holy crap.

I swallow hard on the explosion of nerves, and feeling my palms getting sweaty, I pull my hand free from his and try to be subtle about it as I wipe them on my dress.

I take in the big bed, covered with a charcoal bedspread, and then peek into the bathroom. There’s a huge shower, and everything looks modern as if a professional had done it.

“It’s stunning,” I murmur as I turn back to Eli.

His eyes are locked on my face, and as he tilts his head a little, he says, “Yeah, it is.”

It feels as if his words carry a double meaning, and my stomach flutters while my heart sets off at a crazy pace.

Lowering my eyes, I glance around the room again while tugging my bottom lip between my teeth.

Crap. I can’t come up with a single thing to say, and the silence fills with so much intensity my heart might just burst from my chest.

ELI

Having Quinn in my bedroom… yeah, not a clever move on my part. She looks breathtaking in the white cotton dress that exposes her shoulders and creamy skin.

I want to fucking kiss her until her lips are swollen and she’s gasping in my arms.

Before I do something that might scare the shit out of her, I gesture to the door. “Let’s grab something to drink.”

I can feel the nervous tension coming off her in waves, and when she walks by to get to the door, I take hold of her arm. She’s so petite, my fingers wrap right around her soft skin.

Quinn’s eyes dart up, fucking big and greener than any leaf I’ve ever seen.

Wanting to set her at ease, I say, “You can be comfortable around me. I’d like it if we could become friends.”

She lowers her eyes to my chest. “Ah… sure… I’d like that too.”

Giving her arms a gentle squeeze, I smile. “Good.” Letting go of her, we head down to the kitchen where I grab a cider for her. I take out an extra one for Katie as well.

“Now that we’re friends,” I say, approaching the subject with caution, “I was thinking of swinging by to clear out the gutters at your house.”

Quinn grips the bottle with both her hands. “You really don’t have to. My dad will take care of everything once he’s home.”

“I want to.”

Her eyes lift to mine, then she nods. “Okay. I’d really appreciate it.”

Placing my hand on her lower back, I nudge her toward the back door. “Let’s get the steaks on the grill.”

After handing Katie the cider, I head back to the grill. Ethan, Dad, and Jason all grin at me.

“And? What does she think of your place?” Dad asks.

I spoke to Dad about Quinn, and he agreed I should take things slow. He said if it’s meant to be, the relationship will happen naturally.