I rolled my eyes and headed to the bedroom, “Ouch.”
“See, I told you not to roll your eyes at me, and you didn’t listen.”
I smiled as I shut the door and got dressed. When I came out he was downstairs in the kitchen. He set a cup of coffee on the counter and a plate with scrambled eggs, bacon, toast and potatoes. “Did you make all this?”
“I sure did, you sound surprised?”
I took a bite of the eggs, “To be honest I am, I didn’t think you knew how to cook.”
He sat down next to me at the island and started eating. “How hard is it to cook eggs? Plus I can cook a little,” he smiled.
I wanted to bring up the conversation I heard earlier, but we were heading out in a while, and I didn’t want to upset him.
“So, did I harm you in any way last night?” I asked.
He looked at me and frowned. “No, in fact, you put your arms around me, started rubbing my chest and calling me Peyton, I was quite turned on.”
My mouth dropped until he smiled and I knew he was joking. I went to smack him as he laughed and grabbed my wrists, holding them rubbing my scars and looking straight into my eyes. The atmosphere was no longer playful as it turned serious.
“My scars really bug you don’t they?”
He let go of my hands and stood up, taking his plate to the dishwasher, “They sadden me, that’s all.”
“Why Connor, I didn’t even know you when this happened. Why would my scars sadden you so much?”
He kept his back turned to me, “It saddens me that someone could think so little of their life to want to do such a thing.”
That comment hurt me deep down to my core, and I wanted to break down and cry. He stood staring out the window with his hands on the counter.
“I told you why I did it, and it wasn’t because I thought so little of my life. I did it to lessen the pain for my father, and how dare you Connor Black.”
Too late, the tears started falling; I left the kitchen. He came after me and grabbed me pulling me into him as he held me.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it, I swear I didn’t. I just get sad when I see them because it reminds me of what you went through.” His voice was sincere, and I could tell he regretted saying what he did.
I looked up at him, “It’s ok, let’s just forget about it and head out.”
He gently wiped my tears and put his forehead on mine, “I’m an insensitive bastard.” He sounded wounded and broken. Those words were from pain, and I wanted to know what happened in his life to make him this way.
I put my hand on his firm chest, “You’re in luck; I am quite fond of insensitive bastards.”
He smiled and kissed me on the head, “Let’s go.”
We took the elevator to the garage and set out on our road trip to Michigan.
The Range Rover was comfortable and I had an easy time settling in my seat with my iPod in hand. I looked over at Connor; his seat was slightly leaned back. He had one hand on the steering wheel, and his other arm was resting on the console in the middle. The way he drove was sexy, and I could not help staring at him. Everything this man did was sexy even when he tried to control me.
He looked over at me. “Why are you staring at me?”
“I was just wondering about Connor Black, that’s all.”
He sighed and looked back at the road. I looked out the window and put my headphones in. I pressed play and started singing as we merged on the U S 1-9. Connor tapped me on the arm. I took out my headphones and looked at him.
“Are you going to ignore me the whole way there?” He asked.
“Are you going to tell me a little bit about Connor Black?” I smiled in a cocky way.
He sighed and shook his head. I could tell I was pissing him off, so I put my headphones back in. He yanked the headphone out of my ear, “Hey, what the hell Connor?”
He laughed, “Take those things out you stubborn girl and I’ll talk.”
I knew I’d win; I always do, but if it got to be too much for him, I would tell him to stop.
“My sister’s name is Cassidy, and I had a twin brother Collin.”
I gasped as my eyes widened, “How the hell could you not tell me you were a twin?”
He sighed and took a hold of my hand, “Are you going to ask a million questions or are you going to let me finish?”
I twisted my face contemplating what to say, “Ok, I promise not to ask any questions at all, go ahead.”
“Are you sure?” He seriously asked.
I shook my head and made the zip my lip motion across my mouth. He smiled and continued; “Collin died when he was 7 years old from a virus that attacked his heart.” I swallowed hard. I wanted to throw my arms around him and comfort him because I knew how hard this was for him to tell me.
“My mom and dad had a hard time with his death and their way of dealing with it was to get pregnant with my sister. When Cassidy was eighteen, she got pregnant from some guy who tossed her to the side when he found out. You asked me why my company is involved with the autism charity; it is because my sister’s 5 year old son, my nephew is autistic.”
I put my hand on his leg, “I’m sorry Connor, you don’t have to say anymore.”
My sympathy ran deep for him, and my stomach was in knots for behaving the way I did and forcing him to tell me about his family.
He put his hand on top of mine and glanced at me, “It’s ok; I want to tell you.”
“My father built Black Enterprises from the ground up and started grooming me when I was around thirteen. I worked hard, learned fast, went to Harvard and 2 years ago he retired. He handed over his company to me, and in those 2 years I doubled the company’s profits. So now you know about my family.”
“What about past relationships?”
I knew that was crossing the line with him, but I was hoping he would feel comfortable enough to tell me since he was telling me about his family.
He pressed his lips together and took in a deep breath, “I do not talk about my past relationships, there’s no point, what’s past is past and why revisit it. I don’t have a girlfriend, nor do I want one.”
His comment hurt deep down; just hearing him say he didn’t want a girlfriend was heartbreaking. It’s for the best though, because I could never be his girlfriend and he could never be my boyfriend. I figure if I keep telling myself that, I’d actually convince myself.
“Why not, even if you’ve been hurt before, you pick yourself up and move on. Everyone’s been hurt at least once in their life, some more than others, but you have to make a choice what to do with that hurt.” I sounded way too casual about that, and who was I to talk anyway.
“It’s not that simple Ellery, trust me.”
“So, you don’t ever want to get married or have children and do the whole perfect family thing?”
He looked at me with such seriousness it startled me, “No, I never want any of that and to quote you, nothing lasts forever.”
I could just kick myself for saying that to him. It was true, but I did not mean to live a life of loneliness and misery.
“You really need to stop quoting that Connor, I think you took it the wrong way.”
“Regardless of which way I took it, I mean it, I already told you that I do not do relationships, and I mean that.”
I looked out the window, “I know.”
I was starting to regret asking him to tell me about himself. I think it was better if I didn’t know, maybe then I wouldn’t be hurting so much.
Chapter 19
We had been driving about 4 hours as Connor pulled off the expressway and stopped for gas. “I’m going to fill her up, and then we’ll get something to eat,” he said as he got out of the car. I got out and walked around stretching out my back and legs. I walked over to the gas pump where Connor was pumping gas and kissed him on the cheek.
“What was that for?” He asked.
“It’s just a thank you for telling me about your family.” He gave me th
at heart melting smile of his.
“I’m going in the shop to get a couple of things.”
I entered the store and headed right to the candy isle. I scanned the rows trying to decide what I wanted when Connor came up behind me, “You’re going to fill your body with this junk?” He asked.
I turned quickly to face him, and a wave of dizziness fell over me as I stumbled into him and he caught me. “Ellery, are you alright?”
I held my head, “I’m fine. I just got a little light-headed.” He held me until it passed.
“I knew we should have waited an extra day to leave. You are not ready to travel yet, and you need to rest more.”
I was feeling better and could have lifted my head up from his chest, but I liked where it was. “Connor, stop being protective, I’m fine, it’s probably the pain Meds I took.” I lied; I never took any, but I didn’t want him worrying about me.
“Well, I’m finding us a hotel, and we’re stopping for the rest of the day. We’ll continue first thing tomorrow. We’ll be in Michigan in plenty of time for the funeral.”
“Ok, but let’s get something to eat and drive for a couple of more hours before stopping for the night. Go grab one of those little baskets over there,” I said to Connor as I pointed by the door.
“You aren’t seriously buying that much, are you?”
“Ok Mr. Black, if you must know the truth, it’s my PMS time.”
He took a step back and put his hands up, “Whoa, enough said.”
I grinned as I picked up a bag of Fritos, Cheetos, a Hersey bar(king size), a Twix bar, a small pack of chocolate donuts, 3 cans of coke, a bag of tiny twist pretzels and a jar of Nutella. Connor looked in the basket and then at me with a horrified look on his face.
“Hey, you’re the one who wanted to take me on this road trip. I’m just trying to keep the peace because without these foods for a woman at that time of the month,” I waved my hand. “Well, you don’t really want to know.”
I put the basket on the counter. The cashier overheard our conversation, she looked at Connor and said, “Trust her; we girls are two sheets short of psycho when it comes to our special little time.”
He just stood there and looked at both of us, speechless, as she rang up the food. She gave me the total, and I looked at Connor.
He looked at me in confusion, “Really? You want me to pay for this crap?”
The cashier leaned over the counter and looked him straight in the eyes, “Remember, 2 sheets short of psycho.”
He pulled out his wallet and paid as he was mumbling under his breath. He took the bag and headed out. I looked at the cashier and high fived her, “Thank you.”
“We girls need to stick together,” she said. I walked out of the store smiling as he sat in the car waiting for me.
We headed back to the interstate as he looked at me.
“What?” I smiled.
“You’re crazy; I just wanted you to know that.”
I laughed, “Awe sweetie, I know, but I promise it’s only for a few days.”
He shook his head, and I saw how hard he was trying to fight a smile. We saw some signs on the interstate for some restaurants. I was going to be polite and let him pick where he wanted to eat. He got off at the next exit, and we entered restaurant haven.
“Take your pick Mr. Black, the call is yours,” I said as I moved my hand around.
“You really don’t care where we eat?”
I looked at him and tilted my head, “No, pick wherever you want, I like just about anything.”
“Ok then,” he smiled. “There’s a seafood restaurant over there.”
I pressed my lips together and didn’t say anything. I didn’t like seafood, but I said it was his pick, and if that’s what he wanted then that’s what we’ll have. They should have something non-seafood. We got out of the car as he held his arm out for me. I hooked my arm around his as we walked into the restaurant.
“Wow,” I said as I looked around at the sharks and swordfish mounted to the walls. A cute little blonde girl walked over to us and said there was about a 30 minute wait; this was my chance to get the hell out of here. I didn’t like staring at those things on the wall; they’re creepy.
“30 minutes is a long time to wait Connor; maybe we should go somewhere else.”
He looked at me with a smile, “30 minutes is nothing, and time will fly by. Go look at those lobsters over there.”
I flinched because I hated to see them in those glass tanks, moving around not knowing they were next to be thrown into a pot of boiling water. He grabbed my hand and led me to the bar, “We’ll sit here and have a drink until they call us.”
I sat on the stool as the bartender, a very attractive woman with long brown curly hair and large perky boobs, walked over to us, but only made eye contact with Connor. She leaned over the bar, not taking notice that I’m sitting right next to him, and with her low-cut top and cleavage hanging out she says, “What will it be handsome?”
He gave her a flirtatious smile and leaned in closer, “I’ll have a sex with the bartender.” I gasped, and with a horrified look on my face, I looked at him.
“One sex with a bartender coming right up stud,” she winked.
He looked over at me as I clenched my jaw and took in a deep breath. I could not believe he just did that and right in front of me. I bit the inside of my cheek and contemplated.
“Umm sweetheart, when you get his drink don’t forget to bring those luscious boobies over here,” I smiled. The look on Connors face was priceless after that statement.
“Ellery, what the hell are you doing?” he whispered.
“What? Am I embarrassing you Mr. I’ll have sex with a bartender?”
She came over and handed him his drink, looked at me and in an irritated way asked me what I wanted. I looked at her and pouted, “Don’t you think it’s only fair that you give me the same kind of service you’re giving him? Why should he be the only one to get to see your boobies? I like them to.”
Connor threw some money on the bar and stood up, “Come on honey, I think our table is ready.”
I smiled and winked at her as she gave me a dirty look and turned away. Connor leaned over to me and whispered in my ear, “Point taken, you bad girl.”
“You love it Mr. Black and you know it.” He smiled as the waitress showed us to our table.
I opened the menu and guess what, no non-seafood items existed. Shit, I thought to myself. What was I going to order? Well, I do have a car full of junk food if it comes down to it.
“What are you going to order Ellery?”
I looked up from my menu and glared at him, “I’m not sure; I’m torn at the moment.”
The waitress came by and asked to take our drink orders. Connor spoke up before I could tell her I wanted a Cosmopolitan.
“I’m set, and she’ll have a coke.”
I frowned, “I wanted a Cosmo Connor.”
“Not after that little stunt, who knows what that bartender would do to that drink.”
I laughed and continued looking at the menu. As soon as the waitress brought my coke, she asked us if we were ready to order. Connor closed his menu and looked at me. I glanced up at the waitress and bit my lip. Connor looked at her, “Give us a minute please.” I looked at him; I think he realized I didn’t like seafood.
“You don’t like seafood do you?” I stared at him while biting my lower lip.
“Why didn’t you say something?” He said as he ran his hands through his hair.
“Well, I wanted you to have what you wanted.”
He looked at me with those beautiful green eyes and suddenly they turned evil. He didn’t say a word, but he was scaring me as he waved for the waitress to come back.
“I’m going to order for us,” he said. Uh oh, now I’m in trouble.
“We will start with an order of Calamari, crab legs and a lobster tail for each of us, also throw in an order of broiled scallops.
The waitress looked at me, and
I managed a slight smile. Connor crossed his hands and placed his elbows on the table.
“Remember the times when you made me eat things; the pizza, hot dog and let’s not forget the use of the chopsticks?”
I just stared at him. Two can play this game.
“Yes I do and I’m fine with everything you ordered.”
“We’ll see about that,” he smirked.
I leaned over the table, “You’re a vicious man Connor Black.”
He leaned in closer until we were face to face, “Not as vicious as you darling.” I sat back, smiled and reveled in the moment when he called me darling.
The waitress came and set the calamari in the center of the table. I looked at it and then at Connor. I got out my phone and Googled calamari; my eyes widened as “squid” appeared. I looked up at Connor; he was laughing at me.
“You Googled it didn’t you?”
I shook my head and took a sip of my coke. His laughing subsided, and he looked at me with a serious face.
“You don’t have to eat it, I’m sorry.”
I took in a deep breath, “No it’s ok, and I’m going to try it. It is the least I can do for everything you have done for me.” He lightly smiled as I took a piece from the plate and inspected it.
“Seriously Elle, don’t, I know you don’t want to.”
I took a small bite and started chewing; his eyes intently watched me as I was eating the Calamari and making faces. He took out his phone and started taking pictures of me, “This is classic,” he laughed. The Calamari wasn’t as awful as I thought it would be.
“Ok bad boy bring on the next one.”
Connor threw his head back and laughed as the waitress brought the scallops and lobster tails. I stabbed a scallop with my fork and held it up to my mouth as he smiled and took a picture. I ate it and to my surprise, enjoyed it. I held up the lobster tail and pouted at it as he took another picture. We both laughed and talked throughout dinner. I will admit I liked it all; this new seafood experience agreed with me. We finished up and left the restaurant. Connor put his arm around me and pulled me close. I put my hand on his chest and my head on his shoulder as we walked to the Range Rover.