AllFreeNovel
Share Us
My gaze drifted to my children, both of them completely enthralled with whatever they were playing on their tablets, and a sharp pain squeezed my chest.
Zach was younger, wealthy, with none of the baggage that I carried around. He and Ellie were on the same playing field, had grown up in the same environment. I wouldn’t know what to do at a fancy gala; not a civilian one, anyway. I probably would have shown up in my mess dress and embarrassed her. Ellie was smart—she probably realized that.
Maybe they’d had this planned for a long time, or maybe the golf game rekindled their affection for each other.
I tapped back to the photo Olivia showed me, of the two of them in front of a B&GC branded banner, and zoomed in. Ellie wore a gold sparkling dress, and she leaned into Zach, just a little, as if she were relying on him. Her smile was wide and genuine, her eyes bright. Zach looked like a model with a casual smile and an all-American charm, despite the tuxedo. Together, they really looked like a perfect, happy couple.
The sick feeling in my stomach grew. Maybe it was too soon for me to be dating; maybe I wasn’t cut out for this. Ellie insisted she had no romantic interest in Zach, but this didn’t really look like ‘friends.’ Random people online seemed to know all about their relationship and expected them to end up married with 2.5 kids. Even her own dad was openly trying to get them back together. Was Ellie just in some kind of denial about where she was headed?
Because even I knew there was no way I could compete with that guy. I had a small military pension, two young kids, and a whole lot of baggage. I had nothing to offer the heiress to a billion-dollar ski resort.
I’d been fooling myself that this would work. I knew that now.
I also knew what I needed to do.
* * *
I stewedover it all day Saturday, and eventually bit the bullet, asking Ellie to meet me for coffee on Sunday. I suggested we meet at Bear Paw Brew; it was the only coffee shop I knew by name, thanks to the Fall Fest. She seemed happy enough to meet up, and the confusing mass of feeling swirled in my gut even as I waited for her outside.
My heart lurched when she walked around the corner; the temperature had cooled, and Ellie was radiant with jeans and a fitted leather jacket. She had a soft knit hat on top of her tousled blonde hair, with pink cheeks and shining eyes. As soon as she spotted me, she unleashed that irresistible smile, and my heart rate sped to double-time when she walked up and kissed me in greeting. Guilt bubbled in my stomach, seeing her so happy and knowing what I had in store.
“Hi Jake!”
“Hey, Ellie. Good morning,” I opened the door and gestured her through.
“Good morning is right. I’m glad you suggested meeting up. It’s gorgeous out today and I probably wouldn’t have dragged my butt out of bed for hours if you hadn’t. Are the kids here?”
“No, they’re at their grandparents’ this morning.”
She led us to the counter, and we placed our orders. “Do you want to sit, or should we walk? I feel kind of restless, if you’re up for walking. For some reason, fall always gets me excited. Something about the change in seasons, the excitement for the holiday, ski season; maybe it ties back to school, however twisted that is. I was always excited for back to school.” She rambled on happily, an excited energy that I wished I could share.
“Sure, we can walk,” I shrugged like it was no big deal, but I was secretly relieved. My nerves were running overtime, and I was restless, too. Just for a different reason.
Once we claimed our coffees—she got a pumpkin spice latte, which was just soEllieI almost laughed—we stepped outside into the crisp fall day. I sipped my plain black coffee while she rattled on about her upcoming plans for employee events. We wandered down the small town main street, past shops decorated with orange and yellow leaf garlands and other fall motifs. There were a few people out, but the summer crowd had clearly departed. In the distance, the mountain peaks were white-capped, snow already working its way toward us for the winter season.
“Is there something on your mind?” Ellie asked after a few minutes of non-committal ‘mms’ and ‘mm-hmms’ on my part.
My heart throbbed again—this was it. I had to do it. “Yeah, I wanted to talk to you about something.”
“Okay, shoot.” She took a sip of her drink and smiled, glancing at a shop window.
“I… I don’t know how to do this without sounding ridiculous, so I’m just going to jump in. Olivia was on the Girl’s and Boy’s Club website yesterday, and she showed me photos of you… with Zach. On Friday.”
Ellie’s smile dropped. “Oh, god, the gala. I’m sorry, I should have told you about that.”
“I just… I mean, you say you’re not seeing the guy, but then you’re sneaking off to these events with him and not telling me about it.”
“Hey, there was no sneaking,” her tone was sharp. “I told you I have to attend a lot of these things. It’s part of my job. And I didn’t go with him, we were just there.”
My voice grew sharper in response. “Well, that’s not what itlookedlike. I mean, I feel like an idiot because I didn’t know anything about it, and then these photos of the two of you pop up and everyone’s commenting about how you’re the perfect couple and speculating about when there’s going to be an engagement announcement.” My hand tighten on the paper cup and I focused on not squeezing it too hard, lest I crush it and end up with coffee all over myself. “I just—if it was so innocent, I don’t understand why you hid it from me. As far as the whole town is concerned, you and this Zach guy are a couple, and it feels like I’m kind of just your secret.”
Ellie released a long, pained sigh. “Jake, I’m really sorry. You’re right. I should have told you about the gala. I had tickets with my dad, and he bailed on me last minute.”
She stopped walking and turned to face me, her blue eyes bright and sincere.
“I didn’tgowith Zach, okay? He just was there, and his parents ditched him as well. It did kind of feel like a parental setup, if I’m honest. They still think we’re going to eventually get back together, and I don’t know how to convince them otherwise. Obviously, that is something I’ve got to put a stop to.”
Ellie reached out and placed a hand on my shoulder. My need for reassurance warred with my upset about the situation. I wanted to accept her explanation, to let go of the anxiety in my stomach.
