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Chapter 15
Things were back to normal.
Kinda.
Isa wasn’t at Eli’s warehouse, but at her desk dispatching and scheduling. She’d worked on Sable Concierge business more than Crane business, and thank God she had. Business was booming, word getting out about her personal assistants. Partially in thanks to Merina, who had recommended her to a few friends, and mostly in thanks to Chloe, who had taken the new management position and run with it.
Isa had also found a manager for Refurbs for Vets—someone she and Eli had both met with and approved of—so Eli no longer had to handle the day-to-day.
One week ago, he’d rescued her from an attacker, taken her home, and cared for her. Then they’d made love—falling into their routine as a couple as if she’d never left. And while he hadn’t made anything clear, she’d received his message loud and clear. Eli didn’t want to think about how things would go or how long they would last. He wanted to live in the present. After hearing about his ex-girlfriend, Crystal, Isa understood why he felt that way. Sounds like his ex had worked overtime trying to make Eli commit to a future he had no interest in.
After Isa and Josh split, she’d enjoyed being single. She didn’t stay single for three years because she had no choice. She’d turned down plenty of men at a time she could’ve buried her loneliness in someone else. There was enjoyment in being in charge of one’s own life and schedule.
She’d stayed alone because she wanted to build her business. Thrive in a way that wasn’t attached to her parents or to a man with designs on her parents’ business. Losing herself was no longer appealing.
If nothing else, Eli was giving her that same opportunity. He wasn’t pressuring her to define what they had or cage her into a routine-riddled relationship. She wanted to be content with the arrangement…She was just having trouble getting her heart on the same page as her brain.
That blame she could place on Eli Crane’s gorgeous shoulders. He was the one who’d introduced her to what she’d been missing.
She let out a sigh.
Right or wrong, he was what she wanted. It had to be enough because he wasn’t someone she could walk away from.
Her phone trilled with a message and Eli’s rudimentary all-caps text read: DATE TONIGHT.
She had to smile. He didn’t often text, saying he preferred not to mess with it. When he did message her from his office to her office at his kitchen table, he e-mailed instead, which cracked her up. He claimed his fingers were too big for his phone’s onscreen keyboard, but she suspected he didn’t have the patience to peck out a message.
You have a date? With who?she texted back.
SOME HOT CHICK WHO LICKS ME.
She was still laughing when she swiped the screen and called him instead.
“Shit,” he answered.
“Licks you?” She was still laughing.
“Likes. I typed likes. I hate texting,” he grumbled. “I didn’t want to interrupt your work with a phone call.”
“Well, it wasn’t inaccurate.” Her laughter faded to a soft hum.
“No,” he said warmly. “It’s definitely not inaccurate.”
He was sweet. She never would have guessed that Eli Crane and “sweet” would go together in her mind.
“So. Our date? When and where?” she asked, not about to turn him down.
“Tag and his buddy Lucas are dragging me out for a beer at Dooley’s around eight. I know you’re working late tonight, but I figured I could leave and pick you up around nine.”
“Don’t cut your drinks short on account of me. I can meet you there.”
“You want to have drinks with the guys?”
“Sure, why not? There’s no sense in you driving to the other side of town when I can easily take a cab.”
“A cab? That’s not very gentlemanly of me.”
“I never accused you of being a gentleman.” She could practically hear his smile through the phone. “I’m not sure when I’ll be done. It’s easier to just cab it there, honestly. And before you ask, yes, I have pepper spray.”
