Indulge: Second Chance Romance

11 – Confessions

DJ



Dinner with my parents was pleasant enough, and I only got away with it because a mutual friend of theirs invited Ellie to a beach party.

My mother really couldn’t say no, considering she was a master manipulator and unwilling to show her hand.

It was true she genuinely wanted Ellie to get a break and forget the mess she was dealing with. I was also sure Mom was happy enough to have me to torture and dote over.

I didn’t even bother trying to find another club, fully aware I’d never fool anyone. It took everything in me not to open the door to her suite. It hadn’t even been twenty-four hours, and I missed her.

Craved her.

I could hear her talking through the door.

“Yeah,” her voice pitched in that heavily interested way that said she was talking to Danny. “That does sound like a long day.” She chuckled after a pause. “You’re going to have to ask Uncle Tom about that one.”

The conversation went on for a few minutes before she closed it with, “Okay, Mommy loves you. Put Uncle Tom on the phone.”

“Nice,” I muttered, noting her tone was entirely different with him.

“I did find a couple of potentials, but you know the property I’m after. Fingers crossed.”

A little more back and forth had her huffing. “Wait a minute, how did you know Ben was here? Is Carl—” She didn’t get a chance to finish the croaked sentence before something was said that left her looking utterly deflated.

“I didn’t just accept the trip to get away from him. You know Daniel and I always talked about taking this trip.” Pause. “He wanted to go shark fishing on one of the night boats.” Pause. “I miss him too.”

Her voice cracked, but she carried on. “Well, it’s not ideal to have my ex in the suite next door with the woman he cheated on me with, but it’s the same as home.”

Pause.

“Yeah, seriously, right next door.” Pause. “Yes, I’m aware y’all never liked him.”

Her answers grew shorter until Tom changed the subject. They discussed a couple of properties for their business, and by the end of the conversation, she looked drained. When an alarm went off on her phone, she got up, and without thinking, my feet followed.

It was clear she needed this—it was preplanned. Regardless, there was no part of me willing to let her get on a boat surrounded by sailors in shark-infested waters.

To my surprise, they were absolute gentlemen, and she was happy to leave the fish with them after getting her photo. Once back on shore, she didn’t head to the hotel but walked along the sand.

“I hope you enjoyed the show,” she blushed to the night sky, face in her hands. Her little self-baiting, let alone reeling in a four-foot shark, had been a show and a half.

The smile quickly faded, tears glistening in her eyes.

“I’m sorry I didn’t get here sooner,” Ellie whispered, rubbing her arms. “Just was never a trip I could afford to take.” A long pause. “And one I was too afraid to take alone. Never was great at traveling, was I? Didn’t go half the places you wanted….”

Her arms wrapped her knees as she sat, staring at the stars and tides. “I miss you, Dan, and I know I haven’t talked to you in a while. I was ashamed. You always said I had the worst judgment when it came to people, and you were right.” Her voice broke with fresh tears.

“You also said you’d come back from the dead to haunt any guy who tried it….” A broken laugh slipped through. “Been waiting for you to make good on that.”

I knew I shouldn’t listen in, but the more I heard, the more I melted. The more reasons I had to walk away became utterly moot.

“He’s so much like you, ya know? Your brothers can’t even tell your baby pictures apart from his. And he’s smart. So smart. Just obsessed with the ocean instead of dinosaurs like you were at that age.”

I wanted to hold her but knew I couldn’t. I was already invading a personal moment, but I couldn’t walk away. “They’re great at that. Telling him all about you, about how you were at his age. About protecting us, the way you always looked out for me….”

Ellie poured her heart out to her son’s father, about their life and her dreams for the future. And just like when we were kids, she had me. Hook, line, and sinker.

Regardless of it meaning I’d be playing right into my mother’s hands. I needed one more chance before she realized who I was.

She needed the night—physically as much as emotionally—and I planned on it. Not to make her feel trapped, but to make sure she didn’t feel alone. I remembered her sweet tooth and grabbed a slice of chocolate cake once I was back in the hotel.

That small detail reminded me of another: her thing about age. She always dated older guys. Back then, her sharing those thoughts over cake had probably been her letting me down easy. I still couldn’t wrap my head around her being in her mid-thirties.

By the time I got out of the elevator, I saw Ben approaching her as she tried to key into my suite rather than her own. Likely a mistake, but it worked for me.

“Come on, Ellie, talk to me.”

Was this asshole really pretending he hadn’t tried to verbally annihilate her that morning? The thought had me moving, but my Dove was made of tougher stuff. Regardless of the inner turmoil, her chin lifted in pride.

“There’s nothing to talk about.” She rolled her eyes, swiping her card again. “Don’t you need to give Lyrin her bottle or something?”

“Not funny,” he snapped, daring to raise his voice.

“Not my problem,” she growled, more at the door than at him.

He saw me before she did, his pale skin blotching red. “Let me.”

Rather than flush, she instantly stepped back against my chest. She turned for a kiss and half dragged me into my room, not even dismissing him. It was forced, not natural, proving she was out of sorts.

“Come on, Dove.” I didn’t pretend I was keeping her here. I lifted her up, carrying her through the joined bathroom to her suite.

“Before you go apologizing,” I set her down on her bed, “I get it. My door’s always open. Enjoy that, get some rest, and I’ll see you in the morning.”

Clear. Short. Sweet.

No room for embarrassment or argument. I kissed her temple and gave her her space. I still needed to get my head on straight and figure out how I was going to go about this—what I actually wanted versus what I could manage.