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“Ethan?” I hear the shakiness in my voice and hope he doesn’t notice it. “You’re back in town?”
Cool, calm, and collected is the name of the game when I’m around Ethan. Or at least that’s what I pretend to be. I wish I could match his nonchalant demeanor. Nothing shakes him, and nothing seems to affect him.
“I arrived on Saturday,” he answers with a shrug, as though he doesn’t have a care in the world. And he probably doesn’t. From the look of him, he’s been spending a lot of time in the sun. His honey skin tone is now a golden sun-kissed color. It must be nice to take off months and months from work.
“I’m surprised to see you here.Are you back to stay?”
“I haven’t made any permanent plans, but I’m not planning on staying long. Jake insisted I come back to catch up on some work, make some appearances at a couple of meetings, that sort of thing.” I feel his gaze wander down my body as his eyebrows lift into question when he takes in my prominent baby bump. “I can see that a lot has happened in my absence. You’re expecting a baby?”
I move my jacket in an attempt to cover my belly, as though it has a prayer of concealing the tremendous hulking bulge. At thirty-two weeks pregnant, no jacket or even a tent is able to disguise the life that is now a part of me.
“Well, you’ve been gone for quite a while,” I answer softly.
“It would seem so,” he agrees in an even tone.
“Ethan, I think we should talk. I’ve been meaning to call you.”
The strained conversation is halted when we hear the click-clack of high heels on the tile. We simultaneously turn to look toward the sound. Ethan turns back to me. “Looks like I better release the elevator. Maybe I’ll see you around sometime.”
As he steps back, I manage, “Bye, Ethan. Nice seeing you again.”
He returns my goodbye with a mocking smile and turns to walk briskly away. As the elevators close, I sag against the wall in relief. Seeing Ethan without warning was not how I had anticipated starting my day.
Then again, nothing could have prepared me for that meeting. Even after all this time, he still has the ability to make my heart flutter in awareness. I close my eyes and picture him. His light-brown hair now has rich streaks of natural blond highlights, likely from some time in the sun. He’s always kept it short in the past, but the slightly longer length today only enhances the boyish charm that he’s always had.
Not that he was trying to charm me at all today.
There’s so much I want to say to him. So much that needs to be said. The way we left things months ago, well, it left a sour taste in my mouth ever since. We both said things we regret. Hurtful things. I’m afraid we’ll never be able to go back to the friendship we had before that night.
Determined to shake off the encounter, I back away from the wall and stand up straight.
I erase the text that I started typing out to my assistant. I might as well save the conversation for a face-to-face. That girl is going to be the death of me.
The elevator ride up to my office is almost enough time for me to stamp down the confusing gamut of emotions that running into Ethan caused. I try to pull myself together as I exit the elevator and enter my office. The cool tones of the room usually have a calming effect on me. But after my run-in with Ethan, I’m not sure anything can provide the tranquility I need.
And there’s Blair, frantically going through file folders on her desk. She knocks over a glass of water as she sees me walking toward her. Water is going everywhere, covering multiple random pieces of paper strewn about her desk. I fight the annoyance that is already building up. It’s just too early for this nonsense.
I don’t know why I make her nervous. I’ve tried to be nice and patient with her. But she works in the legal department. She needs to get herself together.
I inwardly cringe. I hate that I’m having these unkind thoughts about poor Blair. It must be the pregnancy hormones making me crazy. Either that or seeing Ethan has put me in a funk.
I think it’s a little of both.
Making sure to mask my annoyance, I paste on a pleasant smile.
“Good morning, Blair. Were you able to find those files for Jake? He needs them this morning.”
Blair looks at me with trepidation written all over her face as she chews her lower lip. “Not yet, but I’m sure it’s here, Liz. I’ll find it.”
“I’m sure I don’t need to remind you that legal documents should never go missing. If we misplace the wrong documents or they get into the wrong hands, it could be a big problem.” I chide gently.
“No, no, I’m sure they are here on my desk. I would never risk losing something like that.”
I resist the urge to roll my eyes because she did, in fact, lose those documents. At least temporarily.
It won’t help to chastise her further. The poor girl can barely look at me as it is. Her eyes are darting left and right, and I swear, I can see her chin trembling. Wisps of her short brown hair have come free of her ponytail, probably due to her frantic searching. The last thing I want is to make her cry.
“I’ll help you look for them. Let me just get my coffee first.” Even though I’ve given up caffeine because of the growing baby, I like to have my decaf to pretend I have the real thing.
