bullshit me.”
I looked down at his chest and traced my finger across his hard muscle. “Not now. Not yet.”
He lifted my head up but I kept my eyes low. “Look at me, Anna.”
I wasn’t ready for the conversation about what happened next. I wasn’t ready for it to be over, either. I wanted to keep enjoying what we had. I wanted Ethan for longer than three months. This wasn’t how this was supposed to have gone. This was supposed to be the guy that helped me move on. This wasn’t supposed to be the guy I fell in love with.
I lifted my eyes to meet his and his gaze was dark, intense—as if they were trying to pull something out of me. “When?” he asked. “We have to talk about it sometime.”
I pulled my face from his hands and lay my cheek on his chest. “Soon,” I mumbled.
* * * * *
We had dinner regularly with Daniel and Leah—Daniel and Ethan seemed to hit it off.
The boys were having a game of pool before dinner in Daniel’s games room leaving Leah and I to catch up in the kitchen, pretending we were cooking, when Daniel’s housekeeper had done it all and we were just warming stuff up.
“So, I’m in love with him,” I said abruptly to Leah as she poked about in the oven.
She spun round to look at me. “You’re finally admitting it?”
“What do you mean ‘finally’?”
“Well, you’ve been in love with him since New York.”
“I’d only known him a week in New York.”
“Doesn’t mean you weren’t in love with him.”
Leah had turned into a hopeless romantic since getting together with Daniel. There was no point in arguing with her.
“I told him.”
She stared at me as she took a seat at the breakfast bar, nodding at me like a lunatic. “And?” she asked.
“And what?”
“Don’t be obtuse. Did he say it back? Ask you to move to New York? Did he propose?”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” I said, trying to come across cool.
“He didn’t say it back?” she asked, scrunching her eyebrows together.
“Yes, he said it back.”
“Well, that’s great. You’ve both finally admitted what we’ve all known forever.”
“Stop, Leah. There are no happy endings here. We live on different continents. Our lives are on different continents .”
“Are you telling me that if he asked you, you wouldn’t go to New York? And don’t you dare say no. Because he’s totally worth it. He makes you happy and you love him and he loves you and treats you like a queen and—”
“I didn’t say I wouldn’t go, for god’s sake, Leah.”
“So you would go?”
“Yes!” I was exasperated. She was making me talk about things I really didn’t want to verbalize but I spent every spare minute thinking about.
“Have you told him?”
I shook my head. “We agreed to live in the present and not worry about the future while he’s here.”
“But—”
“I know. I’m just not ready to lose him if he doesn’t want what I want.”
“But he loves you. What makes you think you’re going to lose him?”
“It’s complicated.”
“What’s complicated?” Daniel asked as he and Ethan clattered into the kitchen.
“Making risotto balls,” I said quickly.
“Yeah, like you were talking about making risotto balls,” Ethan said. “You can just about fry an egg.”
“Whatever.” I shrugged and he wrapped his arms around my waist.
“Don’t worry, you have other skills that keep me coming back for more.” He buried his head in my neck to kiss me.
“Eww. TMI!” Leah exclaimed.
We all laughed and set about dishing up dinner. I was relieved to have Leah and Ethan distracted at the same time.
Ethan
The weekend had been perfect. I didn’t know how Anna would react to getting gifts. She didn’t come across as one of those New York girls dripping in labels and expecting to be bought things. But the scarves suited her. I loved seeing her naked in them and I loved seeing her at work, in her suit with one neatly tied around her neck, covering the signs that she belonged
I looked down at his chest and traced my finger across his hard muscle. “Not now. Not yet.”
He lifted my head up but I kept my eyes low. “Look at me, Anna.”
I wasn’t ready for the conversation about what happened next. I wasn’t ready for it to be over, either. I wanted to keep enjoying what we had. I wanted Ethan for longer than three months. This wasn’t how this was supposed to have gone. This was supposed to be the guy that helped me move on. This wasn’t supposed to be the guy I fell in love with.
I lifted my eyes to meet his and his gaze was dark, intense—as if they were trying to pull something out of me. “When?” he asked. “We have to talk about it sometime.”
I pulled my face from his hands and lay my cheek on his chest. “Soon,” I mumbled.
* * * * *
We had dinner regularly with Daniel and Leah—Daniel and Ethan seemed to hit it off.
The boys were having a game of pool before dinner in Daniel’s games room leaving Leah and I to catch up in the kitchen, pretending we were cooking, when Daniel’s housekeeper had done it all and we were just warming stuff up.
“So, I’m in love with him,” I said abruptly to Leah as she poked about in the oven.
She spun round to look at me. “You’re finally admitting it?”
“What do you mean ‘finally’?”
“Well, you’ve been in love with him since New York.”
“I’d only known him a week in New York.”
“Doesn’t mean you weren’t in love with him.”
Leah had turned into a hopeless romantic since getting together with Daniel. There was no point in arguing with her.
“I told him.”
She stared at me as she took a seat at the breakfast bar, nodding at me like a lunatic. “And?” she asked.
“And what?”
“Don’t be obtuse. Did he say it back? Ask you to move to New York? Did he propose?”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” I said, trying to come across cool.
“He didn’t say it back?” she asked, scrunching her eyebrows together.
“Yes, he said it back.”
“Well, that’s great. You’ve both finally admitted what we’ve all known forever.”
“Stop, Leah. There are no happy endings here. We live on different continents. Our lives are on different continents .”
“Are you telling me that if he asked you, you wouldn’t go to New York? And don’t you dare say no. Because he’s totally worth it. He makes you happy and you love him and he loves you and treats you like a queen and—”
“I didn’t say I wouldn’t go, for god’s sake, Leah.”
“So you would go?”
“Yes!” I was exasperated. She was making me talk about things I really didn’t want to verbalize but I spent every spare minute thinking about.
“Have you told him?”
I shook my head. “We agreed to live in the present and not worry about the future while he’s here.”
“But—”
“I know. I’m just not ready to lose him if he doesn’t want what I want.”
“But he loves you. What makes you think you’re going to lose him?”
“It’s complicated.”
“What’s complicated?” Daniel asked as he and Ethan clattered into the kitchen.
“Making risotto balls,” I said quickly.
“Yeah, like you were talking about making risotto balls,” Ethan said. “You can just about fry an egg.”
“Whatever.” I shrugged and he wrapped his arms around my waist.
“Don’t worry, you have other skills that keep me coming back for more.” He buried his head in my neck to kiss me.
“Eww. TMI!” Leah exclaimed.
We all laughed and set about dishing up dinner. I was relieved to have Leah and Ethan distracted at the same time.
Ethan
The weekend had been perfect. I didn’t know how Anna would react to getting gifts. She didn’t come across as one of those New York girls dripping in labels and expecting to be bought things. But the scarves suited her. I loved seeing her naked in them and I loved seeing her at work, in her suit with one neatly tied around her neck, covering the signs that she belonged
Similar Books
