Defining Moments (15 page)

“Just fill out and sign the spots that I highlighted, and we should be good to go,” he starts. “Your health benefits kick in in ninety days, but if for some reason you need to use them prior to that, just let me know and I’ll make them retroactive from your date of employment, which was yesterday. You have to be an employee here for six months before you’re eligible for the retirement benefits. I’ll get that paperwork to you before then. Do you have any questions?”

“Yeah, when do I start?” I ask eagerly.

Cord laughs and shakes his head. “Ready to get to work, huh?”

“I really am,” I nod.

“How about Monday? You’ll be working Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday, 1 p.m. to 10 p.m. with an hour break for dinner.”

“Yes! That’s sounds like a plan to me!” I tell him quickly. “Oh, wait. Next Friday I need to pick Destry up from the airport. Can I take a late dinner break and go get him and then come back?”

“That should be no problem at all,” he replies with warm eyes. “All right, here’s your copy of all the paperwork for your records.”

“Thank you, Cord. I really appreciate this opportunity,” I begin. “I know you don’t have to give me this chance, but I promise I won’t let you down.”

“Ellie, I have no doubt you will fit in here at Saint just fine. We welcome you and look forward to working with you.”

I nod and stand to head out.

“You sure you’re okay, E?” he asks quietly.

“I’m good,” I tell him with a smile. “I’ll see you on Monday.”

Just as I reach the door, it dawns on me that I’m not sure whether or not I will actually see him. I mean, I know he owns the place, but I’m not sure what his hours are or if he ever even comes into the kitchen.

“Will I see you on Monday?”

He raises an eyebrow and smiles before replying. “Why yes, Ms. Harper. It just so happens that you work the three days I am Chef.”

The smile that takes over my face is embarrassing. I love that he still works in the kitchen sometimes. I mean, I would love to own my own restaurant one day, but the thought of being more engrained in the managerial part of it and less in the kitchen makes me nervous. The whole point of owning my own place would be because I love to cook, and I love to watch people try my food for the first time. The fact that Cord spends part of his time in the kitchen just shows how much he truly loves this place.

“Great. I look forward to learning a lot from you,” I stress.

“And I you. Have a good evening, Ellie,” he purrs.

I swear the man’s voice, when he drops it that low while giving me those eyes, makes my heart beat a million miles a minute. He’s sex personified. Every single thing about him is sexy and it absolutely floors me that this man is single. I know he has been torn up about his wife’s death, but it’s been years since she passed. Angelica and Sami both make it sound like he has not dated at all since his wife died, and if my calculations are correct from the story the twins told me, Maloree has been gone at least ten years. Who doesn’t date for more than ten years?

THE DOORBELL RINGS
as I’m rolling out the dough for the potpies.

“Come in,” I holler, turning my head toward the door.

“Girl, you can’t just tell people to come in. You’re in a new place. What if you had a psycho neighbor and you just invited him in?” Claire yells at me as she comes in, a huge bouquet of flowers on one arm and a wine tote in the other.

I shake my head and turn back toward the dough. “For your information, I know my neighbor, and he’s not a psycho,” I tell her with a laugh. “He is, however, one of the most gorgeous men you’ll ever see in your lifetime.”

Thud.

Giggle.

I turn to see what she dropped and am met with green eyes. There, just inside my doorway, stands Cord, with a sexy smirk on his face.

“Cord,” I choke out. “What’s up?” I notice Claire’s eyes bug out and, for the first time in as long as I can remember, she actually looks speechless.

His knowing smile makes my heart drop into my toes. Yeah, he heard me. “Just helping your friend here bring her bag up since her hands were full.”

“Damn, Ellie. This is the hot neighbor you had dinner with the last two nights?” Claire blurts out.

Cord chuckles softly, setting her bag down on the chair nearest the door.

I shake my head and close my eyes, hoping the floor will swallow me up. I swear she has no damn filter.

“Thanks for helping big mouth over here with her stuff. You didn’t have to do that, and now I’m guessing you wish you hadn’t,” I say to Cord, while glaring at Claire. She just shrugs her shoulders and walks into the kitchen.

“No problem at all,” he replies, reaching over and grabbing my hand. “It gave me the opportunity to see your beautiful face again, E.” He pulls my hand to his lips, placing a sweet kiss on the top.

“Goodnight, ladies,” he says as he walks out the door, locking and shutting it behind him.

I stand staring at the back of the door for a moment before Claire breaks my trance.

“Girl, you need to hit that,” Claire screeches, and I have no doubt Cord heard it from outside.

“Holy shit, Claire,” I laugh out. “Could you have said that louder? Jesus!”

I walk over to the door and look out the peephole to see Cord standing outside the door, bent over with his hands on his knees, shaking with laughter. I put my forehead on the door and try like hell not to bang my head against it.

I walk back into the kitchen where Claire is standing with her back to the counter, shit-eating grin on her face, eyebrow raised high.

“Spill it. Your face is bright red,” she gushes.

“Nothing to spill. We had dinner so he could show me the restaurant. He’s my new boss. End of story.” I go back over to the dough to finish up the topping for the potpies.

“You like him. I can see it all over your face,” she gloats.

I ignore her and continuing working.

“Admit it, Ellie. There is nothing wrong with you liking the hot neighbor, boss or not.”

“So what? I like him, but I’m not ready to date yet. I mean, really, Claire. I’ve been divorced for a few months from the man I spent more than half my life with. I’m nowhere near ready to go down that road again,” I tell her honestly.

“Nobody said you had to marry him, Ellie. He seems nice, and it helps that he’s gorgeous. What’s wrong with dating?”

I shake my head, asking myself the same question.

Justin has obviously moved on. He’s got a new baby and will be remarried soon, to a young fitness model to top it off. The thing is, I do like Cord. I enjoy spending time with him, but am I ready for it to be more than that? I mean, a few dates is one thing, but the idea of someone besides Justin seeing me naked scares the hell out of me, and I know dating someone eventually leads to sex. I know part of the reason he “needed more” was because I’d become that frumpy mom I swore I’d never let myself be. He wasn’t attracted to me anymore. But while I’m being honest with myself, Justin was never overly affectionate even in the beginning, and I can probably count on both hands how many times in the past ten years he told me I was beautiful or I looked pretty. To top it off, I’ve never slept with anyone else either. What if I suck in bed? Justin never complained, but he’s a guy soooo . . . Being intimate with someone else is going to be a huge hurdle for me, I think.

“I’m scared, Claire,” I announce, almost a whisper. “I’m a divorced, middle-aged mother of three with stretch marks and too much cellulite. What in the hell would a man like Saint Cordero want with a woman like me?”

Claire walks over to me, removes the rolling pin from my hands, and turns me toward her.

“Ellie, you listen to me. I can see the wheels in your head turning. You deserve to be happy, and Justin is the one who put these doubts in your head. You are a beautiful woman, and I’m not just saying that because we are best friends. I’m saying it because it’s true. You are beautiful, funny, a wonderful mother, caring and honest, and I could go on and on. Do
not
doubt your worth.” She pulls me in and hugs me tight. “I want to kick Justin in the nuts for making you feel this way about yourself,” she grumbles out.

“It’s not totally his fault, ya know. I don’t put much effort into my appearance and Justin lost interest in who I became. I used to be fun, Claire. Not that I regret it for a second because I wouldn’t have my boys, but having kids at such a young age made me grow up a lot faster than all of my friends had too. I became that boring, married, nineteen-year-old with twin babies at home. As much as I try to not think about it, it drives me crazy knowing that I’ve been married to a man who only married me because I got knocked up and then only stuck it out for twenty-one years because I was convenient and made his life easier. He loved me because I was comfortable. I did everything for him. How could you not love someone who gives you everything you want and takes care of every shitty detail of your life so you don’t have to? Apparently, all it took was a hot piece of ass to look his way and show interest and he was done with me. It makes me wonder if there were others before her that I just didn’t find out about. Justin has worked with fitness models for a long time, and he’s hot, so I’m not so sure Julia was the first one to catch his eye.” I just stop talking because Claire’s face is bright red and she looks like she is about to explode.

“
No!
Stop right there. No matter what Justin has done over the course of your marriage is moot at this point. You’re divorced. You and Justin haven’t been together for almost a year. I understand you’re not ready to move on with anything serious yet. I get it. Just promise me you’ll have an open mind about dating. Casual dating can be fun. You get to meet new people, see new places. Nobody is saying you have to head down the ‘serious’ highway. Just enjoy being single and have fun, Ellie. You’ve taken care of everyone since you were basically a child yourself. It’s time for you to enjoy your life the way you want instead of trying to make everyone else around you happy,” she says sternly but gently.

I think about what she’s saying, and she’s right.

“You’re right. I’ll try to keep an open mind,” I tell her with a smile. “Now, let’s talk about what’s been going on with you and quit harping on my non-existent sex life.”

We finish up the potpies and throw them in the oven. By the time they’re done, we’re a bottle of wine into the evening and discussing all types of girly things, including the fact that yoga boy is a thing of the past and now she’s dating a dentist who does lots of naughty things with his mouth.

Once dinner is done and we’ve polished off another bottle of wine, we decide to call it a night. Although it’s fairly early, we’ll both need lots of water and ibuprofen in the morning.

Before we head off to sleep, Claire once again makes me promise to keep an open mind about dating. I know she thinks I should date Cord, but truthfully, the idea of dating someone as gorgeous as Cord makes me even more nervous. He could have any woman he wants. Why would he want to date me?

THE NEXT COUPLE OF
days fly by. I manage to hit the gym every day, switching between cardio and weight training. I’m sore but feel good, energetic even.

Ben and Eli have called me a couple of times, but are so super busy with classes, and girls I’m sure, they haven’t stopped by again. I’m glad they are starting to adjust to me living on my own. I was beginning to think they were going to move in with me.

I haven’t heard from Justin, which makes me happy because the random texts were becoming awkward. I can only assume he is busy with the new baby. Amelia. I try not to think about it too much and even deleted the picture Justin sent to me with the boys holding her. I just can’t let myself fall back into feeling sorry for myself.

I’d scoured Pinterest for hours in an effort to find a cute shorter hair style, something medium length and trendy. I finally decided on a long A-line bob. The color I chose is close to my own, dark brown, but with cinnamon brownish red chunks. It’s an absolutely beautiful color and I can only hope it looks as good on me as it does the model in the picture.