Forever You (10 page)

“She’s not at her apartment,” Denny said.

“How do you know?”

“I followed her after she declined your dinner invitation. She’s dining alone at a pizza place called

Pizzapopolous.”

“Then it looks like I’m having dinner there tonight.”

I stood in front of the window and watched her as she sat at a small table, fumbling for something

in her purse. She looked just as beautiful as she did last night. I walked through the door of the small

restaurant and sat down across from her. She looked up at me and rolled her eyes. That attitude of

hers was arousing.

“So this is where you want to have dinner?” I asked.

She cocked her head to the side. “Yes, Connor, this is where I’m having dinner tonight, and I don’t

believe you were invited.”

I put my hand over my heart. “Ouch, that stings, Ellery. I invited you to dinner, and you turned me

down, so I took it upon myself to join you.”

“How do you know I want company?” she asked.

I put my hands on the table and folded them. “I don’t, but since I’m here, we might as well dine

together,” I said as I looked around the restaurant.

She shook her head and lightly smiled. I opened up the menu and glanced at it as the waitress

stopped at our table to take our orders. I used to eat pizza when I was a kid. I haven’t had it in years

and I wasn’t about to start now. Just as I placed my order for an antipasto salad, Ellery reached over

and grabbed the menu from my hands.

“You can’t sit in a pizza place and only get a salad.” she said.

The waitress was eyeing me and wouldn’t stop to look at Ellery. She cleared her throat to get her

attention.

“We’ll have a large deep dish with pepperoni, mushrooms, and black olives, and a large antipasto

salad with an order of bread sticks,” she smiled.

I brought my finger up and rested it on my lips, “Do you actually think I’m going to eat that pizza?”

“I don’t think you are; I know you are,” she smiled.

Damn that smile. I’m finding it very difficult to say no to this girl. It’s like she has some control

over me, and I just can’t help it when I’m around her. The waitress brought the pizza and set it in the

middle of the table. I looked at it and then at Ellery who was putting a slice on my plate. I grabbed my

fork and knife and started to cut into it when out of nowhere, she startled me.

“What, are you kidding me?! Put that down right now, Connor Black!”

“What? What the hell is wrong?”

“You are not eating pizza with a fork and knife,” she said as she leaned over the table and took

them from my hands.

“Then how the hell am I supposed to eat it?” I frowned.

“Like this; pick it up and bite into it,” she said as she chewed.

“That’s disgusting, and don’t talk with your mouth full.”

She cocked her head, and a smirk came upon her face. “If you won’t do it, then I will,” she said as

she grabbed the pizza from my plate and held it to my mouth.

“Bite,” she demanded.

I raised my eyebrows at her, “Do you have any idea how sexy that sounds?” I winked. That was the

sexiest thing coming from her, and I started to get aroused.

I couldn’t deny this beautiful woman who was holding a slice of pizza in my face, so I opened my

mouth and took a bite. It was worth it just to see the smile on her face.

“My turn,” I smiled back at her.

“Your turn for what?” she asked.

I took the pizza and held it up to her mouth.

“Bite,” I demanded.

I couldn’t help but smile because she was so damn cute when she took that bite. We sat and talked

about art while we ate pizza, salad, and bread sticks. I was having a great time in Pizzapopolous,

sharing pizza with Ellery. A part of me was glad she turned me down for the first dinner invitation.

Her phone rang and she answered it with a strange look on her face. I pulled out my phone to check

my messages, and I looked up to see a tear running down her cheek. Her face turned from happy to

pain in a matter of seconds. Without even realizing what I was doing, I reached for her hand that was

resting on the table. She was as white as a ghost when she hung up the phone, and I became worried.

She had received the devastating news that her aunt and uncle were just killed in a car accident. She

said she needed to get out of there as she quickly stood up from her chair. I threw some money on the

table and followed her out of the restaurant. She looked confused as she stepped onto the sidewalk. I

put my arm around her and held her as she stumbled on the sidewalk a couple of times. She was in

shock, and I needed to get her into the limo so she could sit down.

I helped her into the back seat and climbed in beside her. I didn’t say a word; I just wrapped my

arms around her and pulled her into me to let her know that I cared. She clenched my shirt in her

hands and started sobbing into my chest. I kissed her on her head and held her tight, letting her cry for

as long as needed to.

Chapter 8

When we arrived at her apartment, I followed her inside and lightly closed the door. She headed to

the kitchen area and asked me if I wanted some wine. I politely declined because I had a meeting with

Paul in about an hour. I asked her if she was ok because she was standing at the kitchen window just

staring out into the world. She opened the bottle of wine, poured some in a glass, and turned around,

placing one hand on my chest.

“Thank you, Connor. I want you to know that I truly appreciate you being here for me.”

I raised my hand and brought it to her tear soaked cheek and gently wiped away a couple of tears

that were left as I said, “I know you do, and you’re welcome.” All I wanted to do at that moment was

brush my lips against hers. I wanted to take her pain away, but I couldn’t. We’re friends, and I won’t

cross that line, at least not yet. She gently smiled at me, patted me on the chest, and told me to go to

my meeting.

“If you need anything, anything at all, please don’t hesitate to call me,” I told her as I pressed my

lips against her smooth forehead.

I walked out of her apartment and started heading towards the limo. This poor girl has experienced

more death than she should have in her life. I couldn’t let her be alone tonight. My head was telling

me one thing, but my heart was telling me to bring her home with me. I walked back up to her

apartment and knocked on the door.

“Hey, what are you still doing here?” she asked.

“Pack a bag because you’re staying with me tonight,” I said as I walked through the door.

She looked at me with a stunned look. “No, I’m not; I’m staying right here.”

Why can’t she just listen to me for once? “Elle, for once, just once, please do as I say,” I sighed.

Her face became angered. “I’m not a child, Connor, and frankly, you can’t order me around. I

thought we had this discussion already?” she said.

I didn’t want to argue with her, but she wasn’t staying in this apartment alone tonight. I noticed her

easel in the corner of the room, so I walked over to it and stared at the canvas that sat upon it, trying

to get up the nerve to say what I needed to say.

“I don’t think you should be alone tonight after the news you received, and my place has a guest

room. I would feel better knowing you weren’t alone.”

Her attitude instantly changed, and she told me to wait while she packs a bag. Sitting on the easel

was an unfinished painting of the bride and groom from Central Park. Even though it sat unfinished,

the scene before me was breathtaking. I could look at the couple in the painting and see their

happiness. The thing I’ve noticed about Ellery’s paintings is that she knows how to capture the

present emotion of her subjects. I wondered what a portrait of me would look like if she painted one.

As Ellery returned, I smiled at her, grabbed her bag, and we headed out the door.

She sat in the limo next me and stared out the window. I made a phone call to Paul and rescheduled

our meeting. She turned and looked at me.

“You shouldn’t have cancelled your meeting for me, Connor,” she softly spoke.

I put my arm around her, “My meeting can wait.” She laid her on my chest, and it felt good to have

her there.

***

We arrived at the penthouse, and I took her bag up to the guest room. When I came back

downstairs, I noticed her staring at the black and white photographs that were hanging on the wall.

When I told her I took them, she seemed very surprised. She proceeded to ask me if I decorated the

penthouse. I could tell the more we talked, the better she felt. I told her about my sister, Cassidy, and

she was shocked again. I guess it’s because I’ve never talked about anything or anyone in my personal

life. I headed over to the bar.

“Drink?” I asked her.

“Shot of Jack, please,” she said. My eyes widened as I looked at her.

“Are you sure?” I asked in disbelief.

“Does that surprise you?” she laughed.

I reached for a shot glass as she made herself comfortable on the bar stool. “It doesn’t, well, maybe

it does; I just don’t know any women who do shots of Jack Daniels straight.”

“You do now,” she said as she threw back the shot. I was in awe of this girl, this woman that was

sitting across from me. She put the shot glass down on the bar and cocked her head.

“I thought you didn’t do sleepovers, Mr. Black?”

I looked at her and grinned, “I don’t, Miss Lane. I never have, but tonight I made an exception for a

friend because I felt she shouldn’t be alone.”

I poured another shot of whiskey and held up the glass. “Another shot?” I asked.

“Are you trying to get me drunk?” she smiled seductively.

Damn that smile. I put my hand in my pocket and cocked my head to the side. “Should I be?” I

grinned. She threw back the second shot and sat down on the couch. She looked worried. I sat down

next to her with my glass of scotch and asked her if she was ok. She looked up at me with her angelic

blue eyes and smiled.

“I was just thinking about how I can visit my mom and dad’s grave when I’m back in Michigan.”

“When was the last time you visited them?” I asked.

“Just a little over a year ago. I stopped by for a visit the day before Kyle and I moved to New

York.”

Just hearing his name made me angry. I’m not sure why. I should be thanking the bastard, because if

he wouldn’t have left, then I never would have met Ellery. I looked at her as she stared straight into

my eyes and spoke about how she wants to be cremated when she dies. I narrowed my eyes at her and

told her to stop talking like that. It was something I didn’t ever want to think about. She continued to

go on about how she doesn’t want people to mourn over her, and she wants them to remember the

good times they shared. She was really beginning to irritate me with all this talk about death. I told

her to stop because she was talking as if she was going to die tomorrow. Then she said something that

frightened me.

“You never know what each day will bring, and that’s why I believe that nothing lasts forever.”

I got up from the couch and took her hand, helping her up.

“Ok, I think Mr. Daniel’s has gotten to you. Let’s get some sleep; I have to work in the morning.”

I led her upstairs and showed her to the guest room. I turned around and grabbed the door knob,

“Good night, Elle, sleep well,” I spoke as I walked out of the room and down the hall to my bedroom.

I took off my clothes and climbed into bed. I laid there, thinking about Ellery and how serious she

was about her own death. How could she think of such things? The more I thought about it, the more it

made sense; death has always been a part of her life. I tossed and turned. I tried to get comfortable,

but I couldn’t. I got out of bed and slowly walked down the hall toward her room. I stood outside the

door and listened; there was silence. I’m sure the shots of Jack helped her sleep. I made the decision

that I was taking her to Michigan as I didn’t want her going alone.

The next morning, I showered and headed to the kitchen to make a pot of coffee. I called the bakery

down the street and had a dozen bagels delivered. I wanted to make sure Ellery had something to eat

when she woke up. I sat down at the table and opened my laptop. I had some emails to go over and

meetings to reschedule for when I came back. Not too long after I sat down, Ellery came walking into

the kitchen. I looked at her, and my heart started to beat rapidly. She was wearing black yoga pants

that hugged her hips and ass perfectly and a pink tank top that was way too sexy on her. She had her

hair up in a high ponytail. Damn, I was getting aroused again just looking at her. I needed to get my

mind off her body and tell her I’m taking her to Michigan.

“Good morning, Ellery, I hope you slept well,” I smiled.

She walked over and poured herself a cup of coffee and sat down across from me.

“There are bagels over there; please have one.”

She politely declined. I sighed and told her she had to eat.

“I never eat when I first get up, but don’t worry, dad, I’ll have one in a little bit,” she said in a