“And your double espresso.” Eli’s mug was smaller, and he had a separate plate with a sugar-dusted almond croissant on it. Neither of us ordered the sweets, but that was just who Julie was: She paid close attention, learned your favorites quickly, and always knew when you needed a pick me up.
Eli’s voice pulled me from my thoughts. “You’re not allergic, are you?”
“Hm?”
He gestured to his treat. “The nuts—I can trade it for something else. I know some allergies are severe enough to be airborne so…”
“It’s fine.” Damn it. His concern tugged at my chest. “You look pretty good for just coming off a nine-hour shift,” I said lightly.
“Fourteen, actually.”
“Damn, how are you even functioning? Are you sure you don’t want some rest before…” I trailed off, watching in awe as he chugged his double espresso like a cheap tequila shot at a college frat party. “… Or never sleep again. That’s also an option.”
That, at least, got a genuine laugh out of him. He brushed a drop of foam from the corner of his mouth. “Four years of med school, five years of residency, and now a full-time physician role. Not to mention I lived in Vegas for ten years. I haven’t known ‘sleep’ in a very long time. Trust me; I’d rather get this over with. No offense.”
“None taken.” I unlocked my phone and scrolled to the folder I’d put together for him. Naturally, Nate had deleted his online profile, but not before I savedeverything. “Where should I start?”
“I… don’t know.”
Something in his voice caught my attention. I glanced up from my phone, through the locks of hair that had fallen in my face. Eli had rested his elbows on the table and was picking at his pastry, his leg jiggling beneath the table. During our brief phone call a month ago, I remembered, he seemed to deflate at the idea of making a decision. It may have been inappropriate timing, but my Dom senses flared to life.
The corner of my mouth twitched. “Doyou want me to decide?”
He dropped his chin into his hand and let out a sigh of relief. “Would you?”
“Of course.”
Oh yeah, this guy had ‘submissive’ written all over him.
And I was about to break his poor little heart all over again. With a heavy breath, I slid my phone across the table. “We actually met at a bar first, over in Wisteria.”
Eli’s head snapped up. “Wisteria?” I nodded. “When?”
“Few months ago, maybe?”
He slumped in his seat. “He told me he had a sick family member in Wisteria.” Then he gestured to the phone, at the picture of Nate’s app profile. “When did this happen?”
“A few days after that.”
Eli crossed his arms over his chest, listening intently as I recounted my relationship with Nate, eyes growing wetter with each lie uncovered. The dinner that Nate missed because he had to “work,” or when he faked a cold to get out of spending Eli’s day off with him. Every time Eli sniffled or blinked away tears, my heart cracked a little more. When he let out a choked sob, I made another executive decision: He didn’t need to see anymore.
“I can’t even begin to tell you how sorry I am.” I reclaimed my phone.
“Yeah, you’ve said that.” Ouch. Okay, he was hurting, so I could let that slide. Eli closed his eyes, rolling his bottom lip between his teeth before reopening them. “I’m sorry. That was mean.”
“I can’t say that I blame you. Do you feel any better?”
He cleared his throat and scrubbed his eyes dry. “I, um… I’m not sure yet.”
I stood and walked to the counter, feeling his eyes burning a hole through my back.
Julie crouched behind the pastry case, sliding in a tray of fresh sticky buns. She smiled when she saw me, brushing crumbs away on her apron. “Is everything okay?” she asked, her attention flickering to Eli.
“I don’t know,” I said truthfully. “I kind of slept with his boyfriend.”
“Zachary Rowland!”
“I didn’t know!” I glanced over my shoulder. Eli was taking pathetic bites of his pastry, not seeming to enjoy it. “Can I get him a glass of water? I think if I watch him chug anymore espresso,myheart will explode.”
