Dangerous Curves Ahead: A Perfect Fit Novel (22 page)

But then I turn to the side.

Back fat. Bra bulge. Chub flub.

The bane of my existence.

Ellis stared at the big sleeping man in bed beside her. He needed a haircut. His formerly short hair had transformed into small black, silky curls. He looked yummy with them. Unable to stop herself, she lifted her hand to run her fingers through it and sighed. He was gorgeous even in his sleep. He didn’t snore. He didn’t drool. He didn’t sleep with his mouth open. And there she was in her rumpled monkey-printed nightgown, her hair probably looking like a rat’s nest.

Where’s your willpower, woman?

She was going to end up hurt. She could feel it coming. It wouldn’t be like it was with Jack. It would be worse. Mike wouldn’t mean to break her heart. She should end things once and for all. Before it all came crashing down.

“I like your monkey pajamas,” he said, startling her from her thoughts.

“Thank you.”

He pulled her closer, brushing his fingers across her cheek. She didn’t want to bask in his nearness but as soon as his skin came in contact with hers she tingled. “Your bruise is finally gone,” he said sleepily. “You’re back to being gorgeous again.”

“Hey, didn’t you think I was gorgeous with it?”

He placed a soft kiss on her cheek. “Every time I looked at you I wanted to kill the guy who hurt you.” He dragged his lips across her skin, kissing the place where her ear met her neck. “It almost made it hard for me to make love to you those six times but somehow I managed to soldier through.”

His words brought a smile to her face and she shut her eyes, enjoying the smoothness of his lips on her skin, the tingles of pleasure that shot through her body. She’d missed him. Despite everything she’d missed him. But she didn’t want him to break her heart. “You should have stayed away, Mikey.” She opened her eyes to see his face. “It was for the best.”

His eyes shuttered a bit before they moved to the clock on his side of the bed. “I can’t believe you let me sleep for almost three hours. What do you want to do today?”

“Mike.” He wasn’t going to make things easy for her.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve laid around all day. We can do that. Maybe go to the movies later? Or go for a walk in the park?”

“Mikey…”

“You want to take a bath? I can run you one and put all that smelly girlie shit you women like in there. By the time you get out I can have brunch on the table.”

He slid out of bed and headed into her bathroom, where she heard the faucet turn on. “Do you have any food in here or should I order out?” He stuck his head out the door waiting for her response.

She should send him home, remind him what a mistake they were, protect herself from heartbreak. This was her time. She needed to be focused on her store—on growing her business. She needed to make a clean break. But not just yet.

“Food? You know I don’t keep any in the house. We’ll have to order out.”

*   *   *

The day passed quickly. Too quickly, Ellis thought. She took a long hot bath, and when she got out the food he promised was waiting. Warm bagels, cream cheese, fresh fruit, and orange juice. They ate in bed, and afterward dozed a little. Ellis finally got the chance to begin the book she had been meaning to read while Mike read the newspaper. They didn’t talk much, didn’t kiss, and barely touched. Ellis kept waiting for him to make his move, to attempt to make love to her. But he didn’t try a thing. She would welcome it if he did. Too many times she’d thought about him, his mouth, his body, his hands over the past week. Too many times she caused herself to grow damp because she couldn’t stop herself from thinking of him.

Tomorrow she would officially cut the ties between them. She knew she wasn’t the type of girl who could just have sex. And she knew they weren’t the type of people who could just be friends.

Mike set down his paper, placed his warm hand on the back of her neck, and settled his gaze upon her mouth. She knew he liked her lips. She remembered how much time he spent kissing them on that night they spent in his bed. “Put the book down, Elle.”

She did as he asked, anticipation filling her. Finally. It had been hours. Actually it had been weeks. She deserved this. His lovemaking. When she was with him she stopped feeling like the insecure little fat girl and more like the desirable women she always wanted to be.

“Want to play Rummy?”

“What?”

“Rummy? I saw a deck of cards on your shelf. Or we can play Hearts. Actually, I could go for a game of Spit. I haven’t played that since I lived at home with my sisters.”

Ellis shook her head, not sure if she was hearing him correctly. “You want to play cards with me?”

“Yeah.” He looked at her as if it were obvious.

“You’ve got me in bed and the activity you want to engage in is card playing?”

“Yes.” He frowned. “Unless you want to take a nap.”

“No,” she sighed. “I don’t want to take a nap. Go get the cards.”

*   *   *

Mike stood in front of Ellis’s door preparing to leave for the night. It was nearing eight
PM
. He had been there all day and still he was finding it hard to step over the threshold and leave.

“You’ve had enough of me today?” she asked him.

No, he wanted to say. He wanted more. “You cheat at cards. You think it’s funny to put your cold feet on me and you kept stealing my fries at dinner. I think I’ve had all I can take.”

“I didn’t cheat.” She tried to keep a straight face but was failing miserably. “I lost, remember?”

He shook his head, smiling at her outrageous lie. “I didn’t say you were a good cheater, but you switched hands while I was in the bathroom and that constitutes cheating. I should have known better than to play cards with a lawyer. They always cheat to win.”

She pulled her lower lip between her teeth. “If it makes you feel better, I felt slightly guilty about it.”

“Only slightly?”

She nodded. “If I’d won I would have felt really guilty.”

He smiled at her, wanting to pick her up and carry her upstairs to the bed they spent all day in and bury himself inside of her. “I have to go.”

“Oh.” He watched her shoulders slump a little. He felt the same way. “I had fun today.”

“So did I.”

He grabbed her hand and tugged her into his arms, an erection forming as soon as her body touched his. It was almost enough to set her away from him. Almost. Instead he brought her closer, tipping her chin up so that he could taste her. He purposely kept his kiss light, only allowing his lips to brush over hers, keeping the flame from growing into a fire. But Ellis wasn’t content with that and deepened the kiss, slipping her sweet tongue in his mouth, inviting him to consume her. She set his damn heart racing. He gently broke the kiss before it could go any farther, before he found himself stripping off her clothes where they stood.

“Mikey…” She hugged him tightly. The silence stretched between them for long moments as his mind raced with uncomfortable thoughts. “I don’t think we should see each other anymore.”

Her words hit him like a punch but he knew she didn’t mean it. Her words said one thing but her body, her actions told him another. They weren’t done yet.

“No.” He kissed her forehead. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

As he drove home the restless feeling returned. He tried to ignore it, tried not to think about spending another night alone. During their nine days apart he had thought about going to a bar, picking up a girl, satisfying his baser needs, but night after night he couldn’t bring himself to do it. Finally last night he grew tired of fighting with himself and resigned himself to the fact that he was about to enter a real adult relationship.

He wasn’t sure what had changed his mind. Maybe it was the fact that Lester’s wife had surprised him at the station yesterday. She brought him lunch. She asked him how his day was going. She kissed him good-bye.

Mike saw that and it didn’t make him feel lonely. He had spent most of his adult life alone. It made him miss Ellis. It made him wonder why he was so hell-bent on staying away from her when she was the only one who could make him feel good.

Opening his front door he found his phone ringing. He was tempted to ignore it, but glancing at the clock he noted that it was his mother’s usual calling time; if he didn’t pick up she would keep calling.

“Hello, Ma.”

“How did you know it was me?” He could hear the smile in her voice.

“Who else calls me at eight o’clock every single Sunday without fail?”

“You’re my only son,” she reminded him. Mike could picture her face in his head. Her eyebrows raised as they always were when she was making a point. Her mouth softened with a smile. “And you live hundreds of miles away. If I didn’t call you I would never hear from you.”

Hearing her voice flavored with that thick western New York accent made him miss home. He should go see her. “That’s not true. I would call you on Mother’s Day and your birthday if I remembered what day it was.”

“Ha ha, son,” she said dryly. “How are you? You sounded a little down last week.”

“I’m fine, Ma. I like it here.”

“Are you sure?” She paused momentarily. “Colin mentioned that there might be a girl. Is there anything you want to tell me?”

“What? Colin told you?” He shook his head, wondering what kind of punishment he should deliver to his best friend.

“Of course Colin told me. Who do you think I call every Sunday at eighty thirty?”

Mike wasn’t surprised that his mother stayed in contact with Colin. She was the type of woman who fiercely protected those who were important to her. “There is nothing to tell.”

“What’s her name?”

“Ma!”

“I would like to see you happily settled before I die, Michael. You are going to be thirty-three in a couple of weeks and it’s time I start getting some grandbabies from you.”

He was about to remind his mother of his feelings about marriage and children but he saved his breath. “Okay, Mom.”

“Did you hear from your father again?” At the mention of his father, Mike’s stomach clenched.

“No.” There had been a message waiting for him the night he bumped into his father at the coffee shop, asking for the chance to talk. Mike hadn’t returned the call and his father hadn’t tried to contact him again. “Has he tried to talk to you?”

She was silent for a long time.

“Mom?”

“He did. He wanted to make amends.” She took a breath. “I’ve forgiven him, Mike.”

“You’ve forgiven him?” Mike raked his fingers through his hair. “He walked out on you, left you with four kids, and you’ve forgiven him? Have you forgotten all of that?”

“No, I haven’t forgotten, and it was my choice to do so. You don’t have to forgive him if you don’t want to but I will not have you judging my decision to do so.”

Thoroughly chastised, he apologized. “I shouldn’t have raised my voice. I’m sorry.”

“I forgive you, too, son. There are some things about your father that you don’t know. You might want to think about speaking to him. It could change the way you see him.”

“I doubt it.”

Mike knew he could never forget the look in his mother’s eyes the day Harry left her, or the stress of not knowing whether they were going to have enough money at the end of the week to keep food on the table. His mother never moved on, never dated again, stopped smiling like she used to, and all because of her worthless husband. She may be able to forgive, but Mike wasn’t so kind.

“He’s not a bad man but it’s up to you, son. I will support you either way. Your sisters are all torn about it.”

“How are my sisters?”

“Good. I think Lara is pregnant again, but she hasn’t said a word. I honestly don’t know how they are making it. She and Bobby are working fifty hours a week. I don’t know how they are going to manage a fourth baby.”

“Things will work out. They always do.”

They chatted a few minutes longer, Mike barely focusing on what his mother was saying. All he could think about was her ability to so easily forgive the man who had destroyed their family.

“I bet if I could see you, your eyes would be glazed over.”

“Huh?” Her words snapped him back to attention.

“I’m going to go now. My adopted Irish son is expecting my call. I love you.”

“I love you too, Ma.”

*   *   *

Mike walked up to Ellis’ house the next morning a little before eight
AM
. It had barely been twelve hours since he’d kissed her good-bye. Twelve hours since he’d spoken to his mother. The conversation with her tilted his world a little. She forgave. Out of all the things Margie should have done, out of all the things Harry deserved, forgiveness wasn’t one of them. It caused Mike to think about Ellis’s family, how unconventional, how slightly overbearing they were, how loving. He wondered how she would handle it if her father walked out—if Phillipa would be able to forgive. He wondered if he were wrong for not wanting his mother to do so. He knew forgiveness wasn’t something he was capable of.

He reached her door, rang the bell, and waited, wondering what cute little nightgown she would wander down the stairs in this time.

“Hey.” She opened the door and he was surprised to see her dressed but barefoot in a pair of super-tight jeans and a brown turtleneck.

“Damn, I was hoping to catch you half naked again.”

She blushed. “Want me to change?”

“Yes.” He sighed. “But don’t. I’m taking you out today.”

She smiled, motioning for him to come in. He liked her cozy house. How it felt like a home.

“Do you want coffee? I would offer to feed you but you know the state of my refrigerator.”

It was empty. The only food she had in her house was ramen noodles, a block of cheese, and some Ritz Crackers. “I’ll take some coffee. You go put on some comfortable shoes, maybe something without a heel.”

She frowned at him and went to her hallway closet. “I don’t own any weather-appropriate shoes without a heel.”

When she opened the door Mike saw rows and rows of shoes, sandals, and boots, some neatly lined up on the floor, some hung in an organizer on the back of the door.