Fair Catch (24 page)

Ten minutes later, she pulled into the parking lot of Safeway. She climbed out of the car, the warm, sunny day starting to feel like summer. Her flip-flops slapped against the pavement as she made her way into the store.

Ellie felt a little strange without Cade as she pushed the cart down each aisle. After stocking up on cold cereal, she bought a few items to make homemade spaghetti. If she and Nick really ended up together, it might be a good idea to hone in on her cooking skills.

She made her way to the front of the store, picking the shortest line. Drawing closer to the conveyer belt, she noticed the various magazines and newspapers on the end cap. She felt a little nervous as she scanned over the covers. Relief washed over her when she noticed the
People
magazine from last week had already been replaced by this week’s newest issue. It still blew her mind that she and Nick had shared the front page of the popular magazine. Alec called Nick to say sales for the magazine skyrocketed last week, especially in Colorado.

She squinted, focusing on the latest copy of
Celebrity Weekly
. It had its usual provocative headlines. Thankfully, Nick’s name wasn’t mentioned in any of them. Nor hers.

Ellie pulled her eyes away from the tabloid, not interested in Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt’s latest vacation and whether or not they argued. Since her experience into the tabloid world, she doubted the validity of any of their stories.

The woman in front of her placed the rubber divider down so Ellie could start unloading her groceries. The cashier finished up with her current customer and happened to glance over at Ellie. She stared at her for a few intense seconds before looking away to finish the transaction.

As Ellie continued to unload her cart, the cashier cast her furtive glances while scanning her items. The glances turned into outright stares, making Ellie think there might be something wrong with her makeup.

Trying to ignore the girl’s looks, Ellie dug in her purse for her wallet. She pulled it out and stood in front of the debit card machine, waiting for her total. When the last item was scanned, the girl looked up and blurted, “You’re her! Aren’t you?”

Chapter Eighteen

Ellie
glanced over her shoulder, only to find a little old man standing behind her. She shot a questioning look at the cashier and pointed at her chest. “Me?”

The cashier covered her mouth and squealed. “Oh my gosh. It is! You’re the one dating Nick Coulter.”

Ellie leaned in close, reading the girl’s nametag. Did Rachel have to talk so loud? “Um, yeah.”

“Can I have your autograph?”

“Why?” she whispered in bewilderment.

Rachel’s face fell.

Ellie felt bad. “I mean, sure.” She leaned in close again. “Do you really want it?”

The girls face brightened. “Yes!” She reached down and pulled out a tattered copy of the
People
magazine from last week and thrust it into Ellie’s hands. “Thank you so much. You are so lucky.” Her hands shook slightly as she handed Ellie a pen.

Ellie signed her name. She was so mortified. If she had known this would happen, she would’ve at least practiced her signature. It looked pretty boring. Embarrassed, she handed the magazine back to the clerk. “There you go.”

The cashier’s eyes glowed with delight. “This is so totally cool.” Suddenly her eyes snapped up to Ellie’s. “Do you think Nick ever shops here?”

Not after I warn him
. “I’m not sure.” Ellie glanced at her watch. “I really need to leave. Can I get a total for my stuff?”

Rachel started to giggle. “Sure. I’m sorry. It’s not every day I get to meet a celebrity.”

Celebrity?

Ellie quickly swiped her debit card, anxious to get out of there. The card was denied. The clerk told her to try again, more slowly this time. It was still denied. Ellie didn’t understand why.

Rachel smiled. “Sometimes the cards get too old. Do you have another one?”

Ellie tried a regular credit card, and it worked just fine. After signing her name again, she loaded the bags of groceries into the cart and took her receipt. “Thanks.”

“Thank you,” Rachel said with another giggle. “Please come in again. With Nick.”

Yeah, right
. Ellie hurried out of the store, keeping her gaze straight ahead. She heard the whispers as she whizzed by. One woman said Ellie was as pretty as her photograph, but her friend said in a loud voice, “I think her hair is too long and she needs to gain a little weight.”

Ellie stewed about the encounter at the grocery store as she drove to get Cade. Was this what Nick experienced everywhere he went? Her shoulders tensed as she pulled up in front of the correct address. Other moms had arrived to pick up their children, and Ellie had a sinking feeling that her privacy was about to be invaded again.

The birthday party kids were outside so Ellie spotted Cade right away, wearing a birthday hat and chasing Daniel, the birthday boy. She just knew her son would delay leaving the party.

Bridgette, one of the women Ellie wanted to avoid, swiveled around, her eyes lighting up as Ellie climbed out of her car. The woman spread more gossip than
Celebrity Weekly
.

Bridgette rushed over with a few other women behind her. “Ellie! I’ve been dying to talk to you.” She laced her arm through Ellie’s like they were best buddies. “I can’t believe you’re dating Nick Coulter.”

Ellie felt a headache coming on. “Crazy isn’t it?” She spotted Cade and hollered out his name. He completely ignored her.

“I saw the pictures in
People
.” Bridgette squeezed her arm and giggled. “But the one on
Celebrity Weekly
made my knees go weak.”

You and me both
.

Bridgette leaned in close. “Is he a good kisser?”

Ellie pursed her lips together. Did she look like the type to kiss and tell? “Bridgette, I can’t really talk about my relationship with Nick. The PR guy is a real stickler about that kind of thing.”

Bridgette’s lower lip jutted out. “Oh, come on, we want inside details.”

Ellie managed to disentangle her arm. “Sorry, I can’t break the rules.” She walked away rapidly and captured Cade’s hand. “Sweetie, it’s time to go home.”

“Why?” He twisted his hand, trying to get loose.

I need to leave, and I desperately need chocolate
. “It’s time. And,” she whispered close to his ear, “if you come right now, you can watch a movie in my bed tonight.”

“Okay.” He darted off for the car.

Bribing Cade was probably getting a little out of hand, but it worked so well. She thanked Daniel’s mother and rushed to her car before any more questions could be asked.

The minute she got home she took some ibuprofen and grabbed a couple of chocolate Kisses. The chocolate melted on her tongue as she put away the groceries. Once the counters were clear, she noticed the answering machine was flashing. Hardly anyone called Ellie on her parents’ landline.

The message was from a Mr. Hall, the manager of her bank. Maybe it had something to do with her malfunctioning debit card. Ellie picked up the phone and returned the call. Her gut tightened with worry as the man explained that Thomas’s support check had insufficient funds.

She leaned against the counter as Mr. Hall continued, “We ran it twice, as customary, and both times it failed to clear. I just wanted to notify you, because the checks you wrote last week are coming through. Since this is the first time this has happened, I’ve allowed the checks to be processed without returning them.”

At least that was something. “Thank you, Mr. Hall. I don’t know what happened, but I’ll call my ex-husband to find out. In the meantime, I’ll go online and transfer money from my savings account to cover the checks.”

Mr. Hall thanked her and told her to call if she had any more problems. Ellie hung up, wishing she hadn’t eaten the chocolate. Her stomach rolled when she thought about calling Thomas. So much for not talking to him for months.

Fishing her cell phone from her pocket, she called him, hoping she would luck out and get his voicemail.

He answered right away. “Ellie, how nice to hear from you.”

The mocking tone almost made her hang up, but she had to do this. “Hello, Thomas.” Her fingers gripped the phone as she plunged ahead. “The bank just called and said the alimony check didn’t clear.”

A few seconds of uncomfortable silence followed, making Ellie even more nervous. “Great,” he said in an irritated voice. “I’ll check with my bank and get back with you.”

What? No swearing or cutting remarks?
But she wasn’t going to push it. “Okay. Thanks.”

He ended the phone call without saying another word to her. She held out her phone and looked at it strangely. That was weird. Thomas hadn’t insulted her, nor had he threatened to talk to his attorney about taking Cade away.

She placed the phone on the counter, unsettled by his unusual behavior. Now what was Thomas up to?

Letting out a big breath, she turned around and pulled open the fridge, scanning the contents. She needed to make dinner, but didn’t feel like cooking. It was tempting to order a pizza, but with her latest financial woes, she better wait until Thomas took care of the alimony check.

Spying a block of cheese, she decided on grilled cheese sandwiches. She pulled out the cheese and a loaf of bread just as the doorbell sounded.

* * *

Nick set the bottle of root beer on the porch and balanced the pizza box in his palm as he pushed Ellie’s doorbell. His stomach rumbled when he caught the scent of the hot pizza. He figured if Ellie and Cade had already had dinner, he could polish off the pizza all by himself. He probably should’ve texted her about his early return, but he wanted to surprise her.

She opened the door and stared at him in shock for a few seconds. “Oh, my, something smells so good.”

Nick cocked up an eyebrow. “Me or the pizza?”

She laughed. “You, of course.” Her eyes dipped down to the box. “But the pizza is a close second.” When her gaze returned to his, Nick watched as her aqua-blue eyes deepened in color, the love and longing as palpable as the heated pizza box in his hand. “I’m glad you’re home. I missed you.”

Suddenly, the only appetite Nick had was to kiss Ellie senseless.

Cade nixed that idea when he popped out from behind his mom. “Nick! You’re home!” He about knocked the pizza out of his hand when he threw his little body against his legs.

“Hey, kiddo. It’s good to be home.” His eyes locked on Ellie as he said it. Man, he had missed her. “Are you all hungry?”

Her eyes held his as she moistened her lips. Cade was the one who answered. “Yeah.” He jumped up and down. “I’m super hungry.”

Ellie smiled and Nick gave her a slow wink before leaning down and picking up the bottle of soda. He followed Cade and Ellie into the kitchen. While Ellie pulled out three plates and glasses, Nick placed the pizza on the table.

After saying grace, Cade dominated the conversation, telling Nick all about the birthday party earlier today. At some point, Nick found Ellie’s hand and entwined their fingers together. The two of them exchanged meaningful glances while eating one-handed.

Being with Ellie and Cade felt so right. He longed to make it a permanent situation, and wondered if he could make any headway with Ellie about marrying him as soon as possible.

The second Cade finished his meal, he jumped up out of the chair. “Is it time to watch my movie?”

Ellie stood up and cleared his plate along with her own. “It’s still pretty early.”

Scraping back his chair, Nick stood up and cleared the rest of the table. A movie night sounded perfect. It was early enough that he and Ellie could legally snuggle in the dark without the risk of Cade falling asleep. “What movie are you going to watch?”

Cade’s eyes lit up. “Bolt.” He bounced over and grabbed Nick by the hand. “Do you wanna watch it with me?”

“Sure.” He glanced at Ellie. “If it’s okay with your mom.”

Ellie nodded her head. “Yes. We can all watch it together.”

“Yay,” Cade said, hopping up and down. He tugged on Nick’s hand. “Come on, we get to watch it in my mom’s bed.”

Nick watched Ellie’s face flush a rosy pink, her mouth dropping open. “Uh, Cade. We can’t watch it in my bed.”

The little boy’s mouth drooped. “But you promised.”

She cast a warning glance at Nick when he started to laugh. “I said
you
can watch a movie in my bed. If you want Nick to watch the movie, it has to be down here.”

“She’s right,” Nick said, crouching down. “But if we watch it down here tonight, I’ll bet your mom will let you watch a movie in her bed another night.”

“Will you be able to watch it with me then?”

Nick straightened up and raised an eyebrow at Ellie. “Maybe someday.” At least that’s what he was hoping for. “But not tonight.”

Cade agreed and ran upstairs to get his pajamas on, leaving Nick alone with Ellie. He moved over to her, placed his hands on her waist and pulled her close. “You’re cute when you blush.”

She looked up at him, fighting back a smile. “You enjoyed that, didn’t you?”

“It
was
funny.” He brushed his lips against hers. “And I’m really hoping that someday—”

Ellie pressed her mouth to his, cutting off his words. When she drew back, he nuzzled her nose with his. “Why can’t we talk about getting married?”

She let out a small sigh, trailing her fingers through his hair. “I’m getting there. Just keep being patient with me.”

That was a lot better than her usual reluctant replies. “I will.” He gave her another quick kiss. “Hey, I’ve been meaning to talk to you about something. My parents want to meet you.”

“They do?” She wiggled out of his arms. “When?”

He reached out and snagged her hand, reeling her back in. “Next Saturday. They’re coming out to attend a dinner party I’m hosting. I want you to be there by my side.”

He watched her eyes widen and her mouth open in protest. “I…don’t know.” She looked down at their hands. “Who all will be there?”