CHAPTER SIX
As the afternoon wore on, Ellie started to feel better than she had in a long time. She even caught herself laughing at a few of Kevin’s off-color jokes, and thought she saw a satisfied smile on Linda’s face when she thought Ellie wasn’t watching. She wondered how she could have made it through this time without her friends.
A while later, as Ellie was going through the day’s receipts and other odd paperwork at a table near the front of the shop, the door swung open and David walked in. He was wearing khakis and a blue button-down shirt that matched his eyes. His hair had the same curl swung over his right eye as that morning. It made him look dashing, as if he had positioned it there on purpose.
Ellie wondered if he had been serious about getting a cup of coffee with her. She appraised him with a new eye from behind a piece of paper. His aura was a light blue tinged with deep purple. David was tired.
“David!” both Linda and Kevin exclaimed from behind the counter. David smiled at them and waved, but spotted Ellie and bee-lined for her table. She glanced at the paperwork strewn all about her and sighed. Would he ever see her completely put together and organized?
“Hey there, stranger. They tuck you back here in the corner for doing something bad?” he asked.
“Hi, David,” she said as her hand went to her hair again. She wondered if he remembered how disheveled she had appeared that morning. “I’m just trying to get a jumpstart on some paperwork.”
She looked up into his eyes and her brain short-wired. Her social skills were failing once again. Work was the only thing she could think of to talk about, since work was the only thing she ever did. She suddenly felt like a completely boring person. “How was work?”
“I’m actually on my way in now. I had a short break this afternoon and was able to get a quick nap in. The hours can be pretty intense but I manage,” he replied. He seemed amused.
“Oh, I work a lot too, but nothing like that. I’m sorry you’re so tired,” she said. She saw David look at her with a question in his eyes and realized that she had said too much. “I mean, I’m sure you are tired. Long hours,” she said, backpedaling.
Then she saw him nod. “It can be draining, but it’s worth it.”
He smiled at her again, and suddenly she felt very warm. She’d have to check the thermostat. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Linda and Kevin taking an obvious interest in this new plot twist.
“I don’t have to be there right away, so I thought I’d head out a little early and drop in to see if you were still interested in having that coffee,” David said. He gestured at the chair across from her, but she didn’t make any indication either way. He plopped down in it anyway.
“I don’t think…” Ellie started to say, and then Linda was suddenly at her side.
“David! How thoughtful. We’ve all been talking about how nice it would be if Ellie had someone outside our little circle to talk to. Meet new people, see the world, that kind of thing.” Linda pushed a coffee cup into his hand. “Here’s your usual. It’s on me.” She winked at Ellie and strolled away.
Ellie blushed and caught herself before shouting something nasty in Linda’s direction. That wouldn’t give David a very favorable impression of her. When she looked back at him, he seemed perfectly at ease. His aura had settled into a pretty shade of blue.
“Your employees seem to be a bit out of control,” he noted as he took a sip of his coffee, grinning into his cup.
“Out of control doesn’t even begin to describe it,” she sighed. She gathered her paperwork and placed it in a stack off to the side. She was terrified of engaging in whatever this was, but at the same time she didn’t want David to leave. The last thing she was ready to do was open up about herself.
Looking into his blue eyes, she searched for something to say. “How old are you, David?” she asked. Deflection was a great weapon.
“I’m twenty-nine, and though I appreciate the interest, we can talk about me anytime. I’m not the one that needs somebody to just shut up and listen. I want to talk about you.”
His eyes twinkled and Ellie lost her train of thought again for a moment. She cleared her throat to gain her composure. She was acting like she’d never been around a man in her life!
“Really, David, I appreciate the gesture. But I barely know you and I’m sure my life isn’t that interesting,” she said.
“Well, how do people get to know each other if they don’t start a conversation? I know that I’ve wanted to get to know you better for quite a while. This seems like an ideal time, since I’m already here.” He sipped his coffee again and then sat in silence.
“What do you want to know?” Ellie was curious and flattered. He had wanted to get to know her better for quite a while? Ellie was lucky that she could remember what she did yesterday, so any interest from David could have easily gone by unnoticed. That got her mind spinning on what crazy, inane things he had witnessed her doing or saying during his previous visits.
“Okay, let’s start with the basics.” David set his coffee down and rubbed his hands together as if devising some kind of scheme.
Ellie couldn’t help but laugh at the silly gesture. There was something about him that made her feel warm inside, like she had known him before. She could feel herself relaxing into the conversation. David seemed interested, and she was definitely interested in him.
“Your name is Ellie Coulter,” David started.
“Elizabeth,” Ellie corrected. “Elizabeth Coulter.”
“See? I’ve learned something about you already.” David seemed delighted by that tidbit of information. “You own this fabulous establishment called Ellie’s Coffee Isle. Very clever, I might add, and great personal branding. You have a dog named Skipper.” David was ticking the items off on his hand.
“Now, since you were so bold as to ask me how old I was, I’d like to ask the same. I realize it’s not proper, but you can’t be more than twenty-five. How old are you, Ms. Coulter?”
Ellie laughed and decided to play along. “Although it is quite impertinent to ask a woman’s age, sir, I am not ashamed to say that I am thirty-three.”
“A good and fine age.” David nodded solemnly.
She watched his face carefully for any indication that the fact that she was older than him was going to bother him. There was none.
“Of course, I still think you’re twenty-five and just trying to be more grown up,” he teased.
“Nope. I wouldn’t go back to twenty-five for anything.” The words were spoken with a bit too much conviction, and David picked up on it right away.
“Why?” he asked.
Ellie sighed. It seemed inevitable that she was going to have to let some information loose. “At twenty-five I didn’t know what I wanted or where I was going. I didn’t have my business yet, and I was in the midst of making the biggest mistake of my life.”
“And that was…” David prodded. He took another sip of his coffee.
“Getting married.” Her answer was short and terse.
“Ah.” David sat back and sipped his coffee. He waited for her to speak again.
“But I’m not now, my divorce was final months ago,” she said with a dismissive hand gesture. She didn’t want him to think for a moment she was still hung up on Jake.
“I figured with the lack of a wedding ring and no manly presence around here that was the case,” David replied.
“Hey!” There was an exclamation from behind the counter.
David and Ellie turned. Kevin was standing there with his hands on his hips. His expression was so ridiculous that Ellie couldn’t help but laugh, and David joined in.
“Sorry, man.” David chuckled and held up his hands. “No offense. Present company excluded, of course.”
“Well, in that case, you are forgiven.” Kevin smiled and batted his eyes at David.
Ellie rolled her eyes. “Don’t you have some work to do, Kevin?” she said a bit too sweetly.
They had been friends lon
g enough that Kevin knew he was in trouble. Kevin’s cheeks turned red. He grabbed a towel and headed over to the other side of the room, cleaning tables that he had cleaned fifteen minutes ago.
“Kids?”
David’s question caught her off guard and felt like a punch in the stomach. “No,” she said, looking down at her hands. “I wanted them. Pretty bad. But looking back on things, having kids with Jake would have made the situation even worse.”
“I’m sorry. About the divorce.” David’s voice was gentle.
“That’s okay.” She started straightening her papers again so that she didn’t need to look him in the eye. “I’m really not. I got married for the wrong reasons and that didn’t work out well. My life is better now.”
“Is it?” he asked.
He reached across the table and rested his hand on her forearm, stilling her hands. She looked down at it in shock. She could feel the warmth of it radiating through her sleeve. She gulped and finally looked up. He was watching her reaction closely.
“What do you mean? Of course it is.”
“I mentioned it this morning, but it seems like you haven’t been all that happy whenever I’ve been here,” he said.
“Who are you now? My therapist?” Ellie’s voice rose a notch. “I don’t know how any of this is your business.” His touch completely unnerved her, and she was having a hard time processing the strong emotions he was awakening within her.
David pulled his hand away, and instantly Ellie regretted her words. For just a moment she had felt a connection with David, and if he had pressed she thought that she would have spilled everything.
Linda appeared beside her and put her hand on Ellie’s shoulder. Ellie instantly felt calmer. It was amazing how Linda had that effect on her.
“Shhh, dear. You’ll scare the customers,” she said as she smiled a “forgive her” smile in David’s direction. “I have a wonderful idea. It has been a long time since I’ve had a dinner party. Ever since Lloyd passed away it’s really just me puttering around in that big house. It would be delightful to have some company. How does an intimate little get-together sound?”
“That sounds great, Linda.” David grinned.
Ellie was amazed at how comfortable and confident he was, as though he got dinner party invitations all the time from random people on the street. But then again Ellie found that men often agreed to whatever Linda said. It was a fascinating study sometimes, and she felt a bit disappointed that David didn’t seem to be immune.
“What do you think, Ellie?” Linda looked at her.
“You know that I’d be there, Linda. Of course.” Ellie’s tone was sulky.
“Wonderful! Would Saturday night work for you, David? I know you have a busy schedule there at the hospital.”
Ellie knew that if necessary Linda would rearrange the entire event to accommodate David’s schedule, and she frowned again.
“I’m sure I can manage something,” he replied. “Speaking of, I suppose I should start heading in that direction. Thanks for the coffee, Linda.” David stood and looked at Ellie. “I didn’t mean to upset you, Ellie. I just want to be your friend. I’d like to have another coffee again the next time I’m in if you have time.”
Ellie shrugged. She had to think about what all this meant and make some sense of it first. Her reaction to David was throwing her for a loop.
It was David’s turn to frown. That was obviously not the reaction he wanted, but it was the best she was going to give under the circumstances. “I guess I’ll see you ladies on Saturday then.”
Linda pushed a piece of paper into his hand. “Here’s my address. Come around six. No need to bring anything. I’ll take care of it all.” Then she lowered her voice a notch. “And please, no jeans, dear. I like the chance to dress it up a little.”
David nodded. “Sounds great, Linda.” Then he turned and left the store without another glance at Ellie.
Ellie started to say something when a towel flew out of the air and hit her in the head. “Hey!” she sputtered. She stood and found herself confronted, one on each side, by Kevin and Linda. “What the hell is the matter with you two today?”
“You’ve been moping around here for months. Now some fantastically handsome man comes along, shows obvious interest, and you start getting all uppity with him!” Kevin exclaimed.
“Really, dear, how can you expect to find someone new if you are such a sourpuss all the time?” Linda chimed in right after him.
Ellie closed her eyes against the onslaught. She threw up her hands. “Look, look, look. I’m only going to say this once. When I am ready, I will be much less ‘uppity’ and ‘sourpuss’ like.” Her no-nonsense tone quieted her two friends. “Until then, trying to force anything when I am not ready is not a good idea.”
“But don’t you like David?” Linda asked. “He seems like such an upstanding young man. He certainly is quite handsome.”
“I don’t know anything about David,” Ellie exclaimed in frustration. Then she added, “But he seems nice enough.”
“Well, this dinner party sounds like just the right idea then!” Linda smiled in satisfaction.
“Dinner party? What dinner party?” Kevin asked.
“Oh, come along, dear. You and Eric are invited too, of course.” Linda led Kevin away.
Ellie sat back down in her chair. Maybe her friends were right. Maybe she had sat in her depression for too long. She stared out the window, wishing for simpler times. As independent as she had always been, she wondered what it would feel like to have a man around to take care of her. She had married Jake expecting that exact scenario, and instead she had wound up with an even bigger mess on her hands.
“If only they had left me a trust fund,” she quipped to herself. Her parents had seemed well to do, but it had all been an image put on for their friends. Their untimely death had left Ellie alone and defenseless against the world. She gathered her things, ready to go home.