By the time I climbed into bed next to her, she was sound asleep. I coaxed her over into my arms and, just like always, the minute her body touched mine, she curled up against me.
There was something in that gesture, and I knew things had gotten further than I’d ever expected them to. Elena meant more and more to me each day.
Was it love? I didn’t know.
But I was willing to find out.
The mountain of paperwork never seemed to end. The reality was I needed to spend more time at my other two establishments. Lately, I spent most of my time in La Tratoria, neglecting The Bluewater Grill and Indigo. It was the first restaurant I opened and would always be the most special. However, the other two also earned me money; something they wouldn’t continue to do if I neglected them.
Leaning my head against the back of the chair, I remembered the way Elena looked wrapped around me this morning as she slept, all of her delicious curves on display. She’d fallen asleep, so we hadn’t talked. I’d have to try after work.
The knock on my door pulled me from my fantasies.
“Come in,” I called out, sitting up and leaning forward on the desk.
Miller’s head popped around the door. “Hey, man. Thought I’d stop by and see how Elena’s doing.” He waggled his brows up and down.
I pointed to the door. “Back the fuck off or shut the fuck up.”
He laughed. “You slept with her, didn’t you?”
“And what makes you think I’m telling you anything?”
“You tell me about every chick you fuck,” he said sitting down on the sofa in the corner of my office. “What makes her different?”
I turned back to the computer screen.
Great guffaws of laughter burst from Miller as he slumped down on the couch clutching his stomach. “You . . . you . . .” He couldn’t speak.
“What the hell are you laughing at?” The sound didn’t stop which annoyed me. “You know what? I don’t want to know. Just get out so I can get some work done.”
When he got himself under a bit of control, he spoke. “I was right about you that night at Dad’s.”
“Right about what?”
“You want her, and not for a quick screw. You want that woman long-term.”
“Says who?”
He smirked. “It’s written all over you.”
I no longer held the relaxed position of someone who didn’t care. My hand was clenched around my bicep, my fingers tapping against my arm.
“Fine. I want her. Happy?”
“Not really. It’s the first time you’ve wanted someone longer than the time it takes to play and get yourselves off. What gives? What makes Elena different?”
A good question. What made me want to give her the world on a silver platter when the most I cared for a woman before was whether or not she was interested in what I liked. “She’s different.”
I was saved by another knock on the door. “What?” I snapped, irritated with all of the interruptions.
Brock stepped into the room, his jaw clenched so tight I thought it might break under the strain. He acknowledged us as he stepped into the room.
“Who pissed in your cheerios?” Miller was still having trouble keeping himself from laughing.
Brock growled at Miller. Before he had a chance to strangle him, I redirected Brock’s attention to me. “What do you have for me?”
No small talk, no preamble.
“Palmer is completely aware of how he should and shouldn’t behave in the future, if he wants that future to be a bright and happy one.”
“I had a feeling he’d understand once you’d had a nice discussion with him.” As much as I hated doing any of the business at the restaurant, the whole situation needed to be handled immediately.
“We had a nice long chat about how he remembers hearing certain things about Elena.”
That sobered Miller up. “What happened with Elena?”
I sighed, not wanting to explain it but knowing Miller wouldn’t let it lie if I tried to push him off. “Some dipshit client approached us outside the movies last night, wanting to talk about the money he owes.”
“Jesus Christ. I hope you told him to fuck off.”
He was now sitting up straight, his eyes bouncing back and forth between Brock and myself. Miller was almost always a hothead. He probably would have done a lot more to Palmer.
Brock took the seat next to Miller. “Palmer and Tolley bet at the same place downtown. Sports. Not your place. Miller,” he added. “Way Palmer told it, Tolley was in there boasting about how he pulled one over on you. That no one in their right mind would want his dumbass wife.”
I slammed my fist down onto the desk. “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me? How has someone not seen to this asshole before? He must have enemies.”
Brock shook his head and I knew he was as puzzled as I was as to why Dominic Tolley was still walking, let alone breathing. In our business, guys with big mouths didn’t last long. It only took one piece of information to fall into the wrong hands, and the whole house of cards could come crashing down.
And trust me—no one wanted to be that guy.
“How did Elena take that?” Miller asked.
I scoffed. “Not well. Claimed I was using her as a fucktoy and didn’t really want her.”
“Jesus. That some fucked up shit. What the hell are you going to do about it?”
I moved to face Brock. “I want you to pay that bastard a visit today. Make it very clear that he’ll owe me every goddamn dollar if he doesn’t stop sharing our deal with the fucking world. If I didn’t think I’d take it too far I’d visit myself. But we need this guy breathing.”
Brock stood. “Will do. I’ll make sure he understands.” There was no mistaking the menace in his tone.
Once Brock closed the door behind him, Miller moved to the chair in front of my desk. “What are you going to do to fix shit with Elena?”
“I fixed it last night.”
“No, brother, you put a Band-Aid on it. Something that big doesn’t get sorted overnight. If she means as much to you as I think she does you need to make it very clear that she’s your priority. That you want her above anything else.”
“And how do I do that?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know. Take her somewhere she’s never been. Do something that shows her you pay attention. That she’s on your mind.”
Maybe Miller had a point. “When did you get so soft?”
“Fuck you. I paid a lot of attention to Mom and Dad. We work in a business that would scare the shit out of most women. You find a good one, you’ll want to keep her. If you want to keep her, you need to show her that you won’t let the business interfere with your life with her. That you can separate the two. Keep her safe.”
A plan began to form in my mind. Something she’d never done and probably wouldn’t get the chance to do again, unless she stayed with me. The question was whether I could pull it off or not.
CHAPTER 20
Elena
“Wake up, sleepyhead.”
My eyes opened slowly to find Ashton sitting on the side of the bed. In a suit he was sexy; in a pair of jeans and a tight T-shirt, he was what dreams were made of.
“Morning.” A quick glimpse at the window and I got confused. “Umm . . . or night? What time is it?”
“It’s almost three in the morning.”
He pulled back the covers and I did my best not to swallow my tongue at the way his jeans stretched across the curve of his ass. I sat up and attempted to straighten the rumpled mess that was my hair, making myself somewhat more presentable. In comparison to him, I’d never come close. He gripped my fingers and pulled them up to his lips.
“Don’t. You’re always beautiful.”
He left no room for argument, although it didn’t stop the blush from staining my cheeks.