New Beginnings (13 page)

I brushed my teeth quickly and slipped into a t-shirt of Xavier’s before I climbed into bed. I reached over and grabbed his pillow and hugged it close to me. His unique scent lingered on the pillow, and I found it to be quite comforting. Just as I started to drift off to sleep, I heard my phone vibrate on the night table.

It was a text from Xavier. I glanced at the time. It was just after midnight.

I can’t sleep without you. :(

His text made me smile. My awkward encounter with Devlin quickly faded as I typed out my response.

I’m sorry, baby. Fortunate for me, your scent clings to your pillow, which is now curled up with me.

My phone started vibrating in my hand. He was calling instead of texting me back. “I miss you,” I said in lieu of a greeting.

“I think I’m jealous of my pillow.” I chuckled as he paused for a moment. I could picture the little playful pout that I’m certain was on his face. “Quit your job so you can travel with me. I never want to sleep without you again,” he said gruffly.

“You know I can’t do that.”

“Why not? You know I will take care of you. Ella, you never have to work another day in your life,” he said sincerely.

“Xavier, I need a job. I need to have something to do or I will go crazy sitting around the house waiting for you to get home every day.”

What was I saying? I’m pregnant. I don’t want to return to work after the baby is born, and I’m betting there isn’t a chance in hell that he would let me even if I wanted to.

“Sweetness, I know you love your independence and that you love your job. But I’m miserable without you and I know you’re miserable without me. Quit your job and devote your time to your true passion of landscape and nature photography. Think of the potential locations that would be available to you if you traveled with me.”

I sighed. “That offer is unbelievably tempting.” Especially after Devlin’s little move on me tonight. If Xavier knew, he would have me quit my job tomorrow.

“Don’t worry, sweetness. I’ll wear you down on the subject. Get some rest, beautiful. I’ll call you tomorrow. I love you,” he said with a reverent tone.

“Do try and get some rest, baby. I love you too,” I replied with the same reverent tone.

“Dream of me,” he whispered.

“Always,” I breathed before we hung up.

The smell of bacon and eggs assaulted my nose as I headed down the hall causing my stomach to turn violently. I paused for a moment to steady myself. Carefully breathing in through my nose and out through my mouth, I waited until the wave of nausea passed. Then Renatta’s laughter traveled down the hall. I couldn’t help but smile at the playful sound, which also helped propel me towards the kitchen.

When I rounded the corner, Renatta and Devlin were sitting at the breakfast bar while Bev was standing at the sink rinsing out the excessive amount of beer bottles from last night.

“Well, I see you two are feeling just fine this morning,” I said, smirking at them both.

“Hey, Ella.” Renatta smiled. “You know me. I never get a hangover,” she said, as she rolled her eyes at me playfully.

“Good morning, Ella. Would you like some tea?” Bev kindly asked.

“Yes, Bev. I would love some tea,” I said gratefully.

The only available seat was the one next to Devlin. Trying not to feel awkward about it, I went and sat next to him. “Good morning, Devlin,” I said politely.

“Good morning, Ella. Did you sleep well?” he asked.

“I did, thank you. You?”

“I did. Thanks again for letting me stay.” Regardless of how comfortable I tried to feel sitting next to him, there was still some tension that crackled between us.

“Ella, what can I fix you to eat?” Bev asked.

“I’m feeling a little queasy this morning, Bev. I think I’m going to skip breakfast.”

She gave me a stern look. “I’ll fix you some dry toast then.” Before I could protest, she made herself busy with the bread and the toaster. I resisted rolling my eyes.

“I’ve got my list of jobs for today so I think I’m going to head out,” Devlin said.

“I’ll show you out.” I hopped off the bar stool and walked him to the elevator.

“Thanks again, Ella. I enjoyed hanging out with you and Renatta. And I’m sorry about … you know. I didn’t mean anything by it really. I just behaved stupidly,” he mumbled.

I inhaled deeply. I needed to clear the air between us if I ever had any hope of the two of us being able to work together again. “Devlin, I like you as a friend. You were drinking. It would be best if we just acted like nothing happened. There are still occasions when we may need to work with each other and I don’t want it to be awkward between us, okay?”

“Thank you, Ella. And if I may say so, you truly are an amazing woman. You’re going to be a terrific mom,” he said sincerely.

“Thanks.” I gave him a tight smile. “Okay, get out of here. Get to work.”

I headed back into the kitchen. Renatta gave me a puzzled look. I graciously ignored her not wanting to get into it in front of Bev. Waiting for me on the breakfast bar, were two slices of dry toast and a steaming cup of tea. “Thank you, Bev.” She gave me a small smile in return.

By the time Renatta and I headed out to start the day, I had to admit that I did feel better now that I had something in my stomach. We only had three locations that required the two of us to work together. The last location was a condo down off Second Avenue that only required photos. This I would be able to go to by myself. I was surprised that Renatta waited until our last location together before she approached me about what happened this morning.

“So, do you want to tell me what that strange tension between you and Devlin was all about this morning?” she asked.

“That question has been on the tip of your tongue all day. What’s taken you so long, Ren?” I teased.

“I was hoping you would tell me on your own, El.” She raised an eyebrow at me as her lips pressed into a thin line.

I let out a deep breath. “He kissed me, but…” I quickly held up my hands stopping the words that formed on her lips. “It was impulsive. He had been drinking. He said I reminded him of his girlfriend.”

“He kissed you?” she asked incredulously. “Are you kidding me?” She sounded a little angry. “We all have to work together. What the hell was he thinking? You are engaged and pregnant. He has a steady girlfriend.” She paused and shook her head for a moment. “I’m gonna kill him.” She sounded angrier.

“Ren, please. He literally only mashed his mouth onto mine for a matter of seconds. I pushed on his chest and he backed right off. He was horrified and immediately apologized. I really just want to forget it ever happened, okay? We don’t need to make a big deal out of this.” I warned her.

“Okay,” she said. “So, no tongue?” she asked.

I rolled my eyes at her. “Geez, Ren. No, no tongue. Like I would have let that happen.”

We finished the rest of the location without another word about Devlin.

“Are you still coming over later?” I asked before we parted. I drove her back to Equinox so she could grab her Tahoe.

“Yeah, Xavier isn’t back until tomorrow, right?”

“Right.”

“Yeah, I’ll see you later, El, and no Devlin. It’s going to be just a girl’s night tonight,” she said as she winked at me.

“Agreed.” I smiled widely at her.

I made my way to my last location on Second Avenue. It was a fairly small condo that didn’t take up much of my time. I stopped at a deli for lunch around the corner on Cherry Street surprised that I was hungry for a change.

Opting for a cup of turkey noodle soup and half a roast beef sandwich, I grabbed a table in the corner. Reaching into my camera bag, I grabbed my iPad and started to read. I jumped when the chair next to me suddenly started to scrap across the floor. My stomach flipped when I looked up into the cold, dead eyes of Eric Tanner. He eyed me lewdly as he lowered himself into the chair.

“Lucky me being able to share a table in a crowded restaurant with the most beautiful woman here.”

It wasn’t until his comment that I realized that every table in the fairly small restaurant was in fact occupied. I stowed my iPad in my camera bag. Eric Tanner wasn’t the kind of man you wanted to be distracted around.

“Hello, Eric.” I gave him a tight smile.

“Hello, beautiful. Were you working in the area?”

I paused for a moment. Did he know what I did for a living? “Yes,” I replied hesitantly.

“What place around here is for sale?” he casually asked.

That answered that question. How the hell did he know? “There is a condo for sale on Second.”

He let out a chilling laugh. “Is Xavier moving?”

“Xavier and I aren’t moving.” I was sure to accentuate the and I. “Sorry, it’s not his place for sale.”

He glanced down at my hands as he eyed my engagement ring. “So, you two are still together. I wasn’t sure since no official engagement announcement was ever made.”

“He has his reasons for that.” I assured him.

“Oh, I’m sure he does. Since Heather, he seems to be overprotective to the point of being ridiculous with it when it comes to you. You don’t seem to be as possessive, though.”

He made my skin crawl as he looked me up and down. “Oh, I don’t know. I can be pretty possessive myself. Maybe I’m just better at hiding it.”

“Well, I’m surprised that you aren’t with him on his Vancouver trip or is your job that important to you?” He raised a brow at me.

“My job is important to me, but most importantly I trust Xavier,” I said smugly.

“Even when it involves Monica?” he asked, sounding surprised.

All the blood drained from my face at the mention of her name. “I’m sorry?” I whispered.

He placed his left arm on the back on my chair and leaned in close so he could whisper in my ear. “That’s what I thought, beautiful. You see it’s this little cat and mouse game she likes to play with Xavier all the time. She holds her family’s company over his head and threatens to leave his firm whenever he ignores her. In the end she always gets what she wants.”

Suddenly, Xavier’s attempts at buttering me up before he left made perfect sense. So, Monica was a client of his firm. That explained her attendance at some of the functions I had attended with Xavier. But, why didn’t he tell me? I thought back to our conversation last night. He said he couldn’t sleep. I knew he was in his hotel room alone. He hadn’t been with her, not at that moment anyway.

Warm fingers ran down my cheek and pushed my hair back behind my ear. I recoiled from the unfamiliar and unwanted touch.

“You look pale, Ella. You know you have nothing to be upset about. I’m right here. Use me if you are looking for a way to get back at Xavier for being with Monica.”

My stomach roiled. At first, I wasn’t sure if it was at the thought of Xavier being with Monica or Eric wanting to have his hands on me. Then those nasty images of Xavier with
her
flashed through my head once again. I had to get out of here. I needed to get away from this sick bastard. I grabbed my bag off the floor and reached for my jacket off the back of the chair. “If you’ll excuse me, Eric.”

He reached out to grab my arm. “Ella, where are you going?”

“I need to get back to work. I’m sorry. I’ve got to go,” I said apologetically.

“But you didn’t finish your lunch,” he protested.

“It’s all right,” I said, dashing out of the restaurant.

As soon as I rounded the corner onto Second and spotted my SUV, I broke into a sprint. As I climbed into the comfortable leather seat, I breathed a sigh of relief. I reached for my cell phone and tried to call Xavier. It went right to voice mail. I hung up. It was nearly three in the afternoon and I hadn’t heard from him all day. I headed back to the condo.

As I was pulling into the parking garage, Renatta called. Tom was able to wrap things up in Spokane earlier than expected. He was on his way back and would be home before the night was out. I was actually a little relieved. I wasn’t in the mood to explain Eric and Monica to Renatta right now.

I shut the SUV off, grabbed my bags out of the car, and made my way over to the elevator. The doors slid open just as I was about to hit the call button, and I found myself eye-to-eye with Stewart.

“Ms. Martin,” he said, looking surprised to see me.

“Good afternoon, Stewart.” I frowned at his reaction at seeing me. “Is everything all right?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Have you heard from Xavier?”

He paused for a fraction of a second. “No, ma’am,” he said without looking me in the eye. He was lying. Interesting. What the hell was going on? He wouldn’t tell me even if I asked.

“Thank you, Stewart. See you later.” I quickly entered the elevator. I was officially pissed off now.

“Good afternoon, Ms. Martin,” Stewart said before the elevator doors closed.

As soon as I got back into the condo, I tried Xavier again from the house phone, and for the second time his cell went right to voice mail. The bastard. Something was going on. It dawned on me that I had no information on where he was staying. For a moment I thought about calling Patrick, but I was afraid that I would be overstepping some invisible business-personal line that I wasn’t ready to cross yet, at least not until I was Mrs. Hart.