Wounded Love (A Rocky Harbor Novel Book 3) Read online

  Colton offered Ellie a napkin and she let go of his hand to blow her nose. He missed the contact and was tempted to move his chair next to her instead of across from her, but was interrupted by the waitress delivering their food.

  “Here ya’ll go. Can I get you another beer?”

  “No, thank you. But she’ll have another glass of wine. And some water.”

  “Sure thing.”

  When Ellie had finished blowing her nose and wiping her face, she shoved the napkin in her lap and closed her eyes. “That was not supposed to happen.”

  She looked ridiculously cute with smudged makeup and blotchy skin.

  “What are you smiling at?”

  Colton shrugged.

  “Do you get some perverse satisfaction over watching a woman cry?”

  This time he stretched his hand across the table and scooped up her dainty fingers in his. Back when they were kids her hands had been soft, her nails long and manicured. This new Ellie had calluses and short, unpolished nails. He liked them. A lot.

  Too much.

  “I’m kinda stuck in an awkward place right now.”

  “You? I’m the one who caused a scene.” Ellie blushed as she looked around the restaurant. No one had noticed her crying. Maybe the waitress when she delivered their food, but she was gracious enough not to act differently.

  “I can continue with our dinner staring at those gorgeous ocean eyes all night, making idle conversation and thinking about how adorable you look all smudged up.” Like they’d been rolling around in her bed all evening, he wanted to add.

  “I’m all smudged up?” Ellie used her free hand to rub under her eyes.

  “Or I could kindly suggest you go to the ladies room to—freshen up, is that what you call it? To fix your makeup—but I don’t want to sound insulting.”

  “Do I need to freshen up?”

  Colton lifted his shoulder in a shrug. “Personally, I think you look perfect. However, I don’t want you to get mad at me for not telling you—”

  “Telling me what?”

  Colton shifted in his seat. “If you had a broccoli stuck in your teeth, would you rather a man tell you about it or ignore it?” Once again he sounded like an idiot. He’d hoped making light of the situation would make him sound less like an asshole. Obviously he needed major help in the communication department.

  “I haven’t even had any broccoli today.” Ellie slipped her hand out of his grasp and dotted under her eyes with her napkin, completely missing the black makeup streak making its path all the way to her ear. And the dark marks above her eye and in her eyebrow.

  “If you did?”

  “I’d rather know.” The dignified Fairfield pose returned as she thrust back her shoulders, making her boobs more pronounced, as well as the black streaks on her shoulder.

  “Like I said before, you’re gorgeous.”

  “You haven’t told me that.”

  “Yes I did.”

  “No, you said my eyes were gorgeous.” The hint of a blush reddened her cheeks.

  “You’re gorgeous, Ellie.”

  “Buuuuut…”

  The woman didn’t know how to take a compliment, which made her even more stunning. Freakish makeup and all. “Why don’t you go to the ladies room, okay? I don’t know how to say it.”

  “You suck at words, Colton Riley,” she muttered under breath as she slammed her napkin on the table and marched off toward the bathroom.

  The waitress came by with Ellie’s wine, refilled his water glass, and left before Ellie returned.

  He took his few minutes of alone time to take in their surroundings. So not the type of place he’d picture the princess in. Or Mr. and Mrs. Fairfield. This place was like a redneck steakhouse. Hell, there was no like about it. He could picture himself and his brothers coming here after a day of hunting or fishing, sipping beer and gnawing on steak. The Fairfields though? Kinda out of their element.

  Not that he knew what their element was, other than a fancy beach house with a kickass pool and the ability to pay him double the going minimum wage.

  “You could have told me I looked like a zombie bride.”

  Colton laughed as he stood, pulling out Ellie’s chair for her and waiting for her to sit. “Like I said, you’re gorgeous with or without makeup.” She’d scrubbed her face free of it and she looked younger, innocent. Free.

  “I’m not used to going out. I didn’t even think about putting eyeliner or mascara in my purse. Or buying the waterproof stuff. I haven’t had many opportunities since CJ was born to get dolled up and go out.” Ellie picked up her fork and knife and started eating.

  Colton hadn’t realized how hungry he was until he looked down at his steak and potato and dove in. “Why not?”

  Ellie finished chewing and took a sip of her wine before responding. “First, being a single mom is a great way to ward off men. Second, I worked a lot of night shifts when CJ was little. It was easier and cheaper to find someone to watch him sleep than to entertain him during the day.” There was an edge to her voice and a distant look in her eye.

  Part of him wanted to ask about her son’s father, the other part didn’t want to accept that she’d moved on after him and had a son so quickly after aborting their baby.

  The steak weighed heavily in his gut. He didn’t want to think back to the memory of her father dumping that news at his feet either. Better to move on to the current day than reminisce about their past or her past with another man. And the child they never had.

  “You said CJ’s been sick a lot. What’s wrong?”

  She set down her fork and took another sip of wine. “I couldn’t afford health care when he was younger so I depended on a lot of walk in clinics. Without a regular pediatrician in his life, no one has been able to really diagnose what’s going on with him. Winning the Inn in that essay contest has been a godsend. With no mortgage or rent to pay, I’m able to pay for insurance now and shop around for a good pediatrician. I also have a specialist running some other tests on him. I’m hopeful he’ll be able to figure out why CJ’s sick all the time.”

  “I’m sorry you guys have gone through hell. How come your parents haven’t helped you out? At least financially?” And where was the asshole father, he wanted to add.

  Ellie picked up her fork again and took a few bites before responding. “We had a falling out a long time ago. They’re making their way back into my life. Slowly. I don’t want to depend on them financially.”

  “Even if it will help CJ?” He could understand her pride, her stubbornness, but the falling out must have been something major if she’d sacrifice her son’s health.

  “I’m not playing the martyr here and if I thought their money could help CJ, I’d beg at their feet in a second. It’s not like I’m preventing him from having an important procedure or surgery. If the doctors find something wrong with CJ and he needs…” she broke off, tears pooling in her eyes again.

  Embarrassed that she read his thoughts, he scrubbed his hands across his now-smooth face in defeat. “That’s not what I meant.”

  “Really?”

  Okay, so he thought it. Sort of. “You’re very protective of your son. I get that. And it’s obvious to everyone around you that you love him. You’re a good mom, Ellie. I’m sorry for offending you.”

  “I’m sorry I snapped.” She pushed her plate away and held her head in her hands. “I’m mentally and financially drained and probably not the best company right now.”

  “There’s no one else I’d rather be with tonight.”

  She lifted her head and a faint sign of…something twinkled in her eyes.

  “Rachael says you don’t get out much.”

  “Rachael has a big mouth.”

  Ellie grinned and leaned forward, inadvertently pushing up her cleavage so it was almost visible through the conservative high-cut in her blouse. “I wonder what kind of stories she can tell me about you as a teenager.”

  “They’d bore you.” Colton pushed his plate
aside and, thankful his mother wasn’t there to scold him, rested his elbows on the table.

  “I don’t think so,” she teased.

  The light shone from her eyes again. Whether it was from the wine, the fire, or him, he didn’t care. He liked the sparkle too much and would do anything to keep it shining his way. “I was a good boy. Went to school. Did my chores and homework. Nothing exciting.”

  “Hm. I’ll have to get confirmation from your sister.”

  “She’s known for making up stories. Don’t believe anything she says.”

  The waitress came by and asked if they wanted any dessert. They both declined so she placed the check on the table. “Whenever you’re ready,” she said.

  “We’re ready.” Colton took out a few bills from his pocket and handed them to the waitress.

  “No! Colton, dinner is on me.”

  “You can keep the change,” he said to the waitress. She thanked him before walking off.

  “Colton.”

  “My mother would have my hide if I let my date pay for dinner.”

  “This wasn’t a date, remember? It was my thank you for your work.”

  He stood, gently pulled out her chair for her, and held up her coat, helping her put it on before picking up his coat and doing the same. “I changed my mind.” He reached for her hand and led her through the restaurant, picking out two mints by the hostess’s stand on the way out the door. On their way to his truck he unwrapped one and popped it in his mouth before offering Ellie the other.

  Ellie opened her mouth to accept the mint and he stopped, staring down at her pink lips. Groaning, he backed her into his truck and lowered his mouth to hers. She tasted of wine and sunshine as he shared his mint with her, teasing and playing with her tongue and the hard candy. Her body, even clad in a bulky coat, fit perfectly with his. The feel of her hands on his neck, tugging his head in closer, stirred a long forgotten fire in his belly.

  He’d thought the fire had turned to cold ash, never to be resurrected again, but Ellie sparked something deep down under the burnt ashes of his life, igniting a blaze that he needed to get under control before he made a spectacle of himself in the parking lot.

  Pulling away, he quickly slipped the candy back into his mouth and crunched down. “Oh, I’m sorry. Did you want one?” He winked and popped the other mint into her mouth before giving her a quick, chaste kiss.

  Ellie held the candy half in her mouth, the other half out, and seductively slid her tongue from the crevice of her lips before taking it in. Her heated smirk had him twisted up in knots.

  “Hell,” he muttered and yanked the truck door open from her. Gripping her hips, he unnecessarily lifted her into the seat and skimmed his hands down her legs. When he reached her sexy black boots, he picked up her legs and swiveled them forward, then buckled her securely in, purposefully brushing his elbow across her chest. It was a cheeseball adolescent move, but it worked.

  It worked too damn well. “You need to stop doing this,” he grumbled and closed the door, rounding the hood to his side. He couldn’t think straight when he was around Ellie. There were ten thousand reasons why he needed to stay away from her and for the life of him not a single one came to mind just now.

  They were both single and by the way she responded to his kiss he’d say she was more than willing and able to make a go at it. At something. Exactly what he wanted to make a go at he wasn’t sure. Sex? Hell yeah. Dating? Maybe. A relationship? Probably not. A woman with a kid would only date and have sex if she thought it would lead to a relationship. Or knowing his luck, she’d want the dating and relationship first and then the sex. After he’d suffered months of blue balls and cold showers.

  He took a moment to readjust himself in his pants before climbing into the truck. Shoving the keys into the ignition, he waited a second while the engine warmed up.

  “What do I need to stop doing?” Her voice was low and seductive. A little miffed and a touch of sass, he’d guess. So lost in his mental negotiation he’d forgotten what he’d said to her.

  Oh, yeah. “Stop being so god dammed sexy.”

  Ellie snorted before she laughed. “Rachael’s right. You need to get out more.”

  “I don’t want to talk about my sister while I’m thinking about you naked.” Damn. He did it again. His mother would smack him upside the head—even though she’d never condone violence—if she heard him talk to a woman this way. First his sister, now his mother. Why couldn’t his mind stay focused and his mouth operate functionally?

  “You think about me naked?”

  “All the time.” Too embarrassed to look at her, Colton shoved the truck into drive and practically peeled out of the parking lot. He didn’t know if he’d insulted her, pissed her off, or turned her on.

  Ellie Fairfield wasn’t the type of woman who appreciated vulgar or sexual language. She was young and beautiful and innocent and—

  “I think about you naked too.”

  “Shit.” Colton steered the truck off the road and slammed on the brakes. “You can’t say stuff like that to me while I’m driving.” He ran his hand through his hair, nearly pulling it from the roots.

  “You said it first.”

  “Yeah, well, you weren’t driving.” He mustered up enough courage to turn his head to read her expression.

  Dark hair haloed bright crimson cheeks and a rueful smile. “You used to get mad when I’d say stuff like that when we were floating in my pool.”

  “Your parents were in the house, probably glued to the window.”

  “They couldn’t hear us.”

  “They could see us. It was kind of hard to hide the reaction I had when I was around you. Especially when you walked around in your tiny bikinis.”

  “You weren’t too hard on the eyes either.”

  He couldn’t blame his reaction on teenage hormones. Hell, he was thirty years old and this time she was bundled in a winter coat and covered head to toe but he still felt the same. What the hell would he do when he saw her naked? If he saw her naked. The jury was still out on that one. It could just be the heat of the moment talking. Once Ellie got home and had a moment to process everything, she’d change her mind.

  What did he have to offer her? Not only was he damaged goods on the outside, but he had no job and lived in a rusted tin can. She had a son with medical needs and he had his own problems to deal with.

  “Yeah, well, that was a long time ago. Things are different now.” Throwing a wet blanket on his desire, he shifted in his seat and drove in silence back to her inn.

  Chapter Nine

  Ellie

  “I heard you had a hot date last night.” Maggie Riley sat on a barstool in Ellie’s kitchen, her cute pregnant belly hiding under the counter, and sipped on her tea. “I don’t mean to pry.” Ellie paused, holding the dishrag in midair and glared over her shoulder. “Okay, I totally mean to pry. Colton is, after all, my brother-in-law. And it’s the pregnancy hormones.”

  “I figured Rachael’d be the one grilling me this morning.” Ellie finished the dishes and turned her back to the counter, crossing her arms across her chest. “Did she send you to get the scoop?”

  “She may have called me last night while she was watching CJ and mentioned something about you going out with Colton.”

  “Uh huh.”

  “His family has been really worried about him. I don’t know him very well, but Graham has filled me in. Speaking from a therapist’s point of view, getting him out and about in the real world is the best thing for him. That and being with family, and people who care about him.”

  “I take it Rachael also filled you in about our past?” Maggie lifted her mug, hiding behind the steam. “Your sister-in-law is relentless.”

  “Speaking from the therapist’s point of view again, it’s good for her too. I can’t tell you how much she’s changed since I’ve met her. Graham says she was the pesky, annoying sister growing up and always tried to work her way into the boys’ social lives. I can only imagine ho
w much that cramped their dating life.”

  “I can totally picture that.” Ellie laughed.

  “After she took off with that abusive boyfriend, she shut her family out. And then when she returned she was a broken mess. Jake’s good for her. And so are her brothers. I think she sees a lot of herself in Colton. How she was a year ago.”

  “This coming from the therapist again?”

  “Guilty. And as a friend. And sister-in-law.”

  “The Rileys sound like an amazing family. You’re lucky to have married into them.”

  “I know.” Maggie beamed. “So about that date.”

  “It wasn’t a date.”

  “Gorgeous man picks up woman, brings her out to dinner, drives her home, kisses her passionately until her lips are swollen and her hair mussed. That’s a date in my book.”

  “My lips weren’t swollen. He didn’t kiss me when he dropped me off.” Ellie smirked into her coffee, remembering their passionate kiss before they reached the inn. “I’m firing Rachael. Snitch.”

  Maggie laughed. “You’re good for Colton. And I bet he’s good for you.”

  “As if. He may be drop dead gorgeous and have buns of steel, but the man is a mind-game-playing basket case. Is there a technical term for that?”

  “Love?”

  Ellie tossed a wet rag across the kitchen at Maggie. “I can’t love a man who doesn’t know how to talk to me. Who kisses me senseless one minute and tells me he wants me naked and then completely shuts me out, not even a peck on the cheek when he drops me off. What kind of mixed message is that?”

  “I knew he’d be a good kisser. It’s those eyes. Those eyelashes,” Maggie crooned.

  “What do his eyes have to do with the way he works his mouth?”

  “All part of the package.”

  “I’ll tell you what I want to do with his package.” Maggie tipped her head back and laughed. “It’s not funny. I don’t know what to do.”