They were nowhere near that man anymore and Eli still continued to keep her close. Her heart pounded, no matter how hard she tried to control her breathing. Besides,
Dallas was right there. What would he think? She sure didn’t want him to get the wrong impression. What kind of impression was Eli trying to make anyway?
As they walked, the battle in her raged on. She didn’t think the physical contact was appropriate in front of her son, but the boy seemed clueless. However, she had thought that a few minutes earlier as well. She thought it was best if they weren’t touching, but a buried piece of her didn’t want to pull away. Honor knew that to those around them they appeared like a couple and a part of her thrilled at the thought. She didn’t want to be excited at his touch, but she was on fire. His cologne encircled her, and she subtly pulled in long breaths, getting drunk on him. Honor had never had a reaction of this magnitude to another man, even the one she’d married. Her senses were on overload. All the while her head spun with a thousand thoughts warning her to pull away. His fingers seared her as he winked again, pulling her closer to his side. She swallowed hard taking in the man staring back at her as they walked. There was no agreement between her heart and body versus her mind.
So far, her body was winning out.
For more than a decade she’d been alone. Even before Kolby died. Their house was tiny. Voices filled it. But she had been alone, wrapped up in a world that consisted of her son and the four walls surrounding them. Kolby had checked out on her the minute she dropped the bomb. He only married her to piss off his parents more than he already had. She lied to herself for years, telling herself it would get better. It never did…then he was gone.
It had been almost twelve years since she last felt wanted, desired, or anything at all. One night—that was all that she’d gotten. That was all that it had taken. Nine months later, she welcomed a new man into her life.
The tingles running up and down her body were probably all in her head. As she told
Dallas before they left, there was no way Eli Hunter had any interest in her. She had more emotional baggage than what they were waiting for at the luggage carousal. Plus, she was thirty-two. Honor had no idea how old Eli was, but he wouldn’t want someone her age, not when he could snag some young twenty-something. One that didn’t have an eleven-year-old in tow.
Then his hand squeezed her waist, and he looked deep in her eyes. It was like a direct connection to her heart, as if to say,
I’m letting go, but I’ll be back
.
Honor could only stare at him. Her eyes narrowed, her head tilted trying to figure out the man as he grinned foolishly back at her. Then he turned to help
Dallas wrestle the bags before they were swept away for another loop on the conveyer belt.
CHAPTER FIVE
She had been a little unsure of what she was getting into when she buckled herself into Eli’s luxury SUV. When he passed through town, the hotels zipping by one by one, she started to get a little jumpy. With Dallas talking Eli’s ear off from the backseat, she held in her street-smart worries.
Honor had accepted his offer to pick them up at the airport, mainly because the man wasn’t going to take no for an answer. After four rounds she gave up. There was something about him, an undercurrent of his personality that screamed control. Yet, it was oddly comforting.
She had grown up suffocated. Her mother’s brand of control had been wielded with an iron fist. It was a time she didn’t like to remember, and a power she never used over her own son to keep him in check. Not wanting him to resent her like…well, her mother was gone so it didn’t matter anymore.
But Eli was there. Right there. Their arms were not more than a few inches apart as they both rested on the console. His presence filled the vehicle and his joking and laughter with
Dallas set her son at ease immediately, yet the same made her jittery. She ignored Mac’s direction and ordered coffee instead of wine on the plane, a decision she was now regretting as the extra jolt of caffeine ramped her up even more.
Her nerves, already on edge with the guilt building up about Mac and the new found insight she’d gained at the worst possible time, put her in overdrive. Added to that was the scent of the man beside her. All she wanted was to escape, even if only as far away as a bath tub in the hotel room. When Eli drove by her last chance at that, Honor got nervous. Seeing the hotel disappear behind her, she turned to the driver.
One glance over at Eli and she could tell he was up to something. His hazel eyes sparkled, the corners crinkling with mischief. Maybe he was just excited to show Dallas the track and would bring them back into town later. After studying the brochure Eli left, she had the track layout practically memorized. She also knew from their conversations that each of the owners of the academy all lived close to it. But that was all he mentioned.
Eli turned off the main road to a deserted, two-lane, black-topped road. Honor was used to country living, her closest neighbors were not within walking distance. Well, technically they were, if she wanted to go on a hell of a long journey through the span of pasture that connected them.
They drove past the elaborate stone entrance for the academy, the white fence stretched on past what the eye could see, marking the grand property.
Honor looked at Eli, then back out her window, then back again at Eli.
The man grinned shamelessly, even though his eyes didn’t leave the road.
His smiled grew when he slowed at a driveway, not much further down the road, which was lined with maples on both sides. He turned even though it was marked
private
.
“Where are we going?” she spit out before her manners kicked in, and she controlled herself. “That was rude, I’m sorry. Where are we going, do you mind my asking?” She asked, trying to sound less frantic.
“Yes.”
“Yes, what?”
Eli winked. “Yes, I mind you asking. It’s a surprise.”
She raised a brow at his impish grin. The man had the audacity to wink a second time, and then look behind her at her son in the backseat like
Dallas was in on some kind of private joke.
“Excuse me?”
His hand that had been resting on the console between them moved toward her. He squeezed her wrist then left his palm lightly resting on top of her hand, his thumb gently sweeping back and forth against her skin.
Honor’s insides felt like a bag of that old-fashioned popping candy. Crunching and popping until she thought she would burst. Oh, she was ready for the privacy of her hotel room all right. She needed desperately to get a handle on what was turning out to be a crazy, disappear-down-the- rabbit-hole, situation. For days, she’d told herself she’d imagined Eli’s interest in her, that it had been her reading way more into the moments than what it really was.
Space. If she could put a little space between them…Her previous thought was replaced by…
What the hell
?
They were now parked in front of and staring open-mouthed at the largest home she’d ever seen in person.
“Where are we?” Honor’s view tilted under the sun shade to get a better look through Eli’s windshield.
Oh…holy…hell.
“Is that…is…do the Noland’s live…
here
?” The last word came out on a whisper of disbelief. Honor took it all in. She shook her head and tore her attention away to stare blankly at the man beside her, his words not registering.
“I’m sorry, what did you say?”
He grinned and escaped out his door without answering. She alternated her line of sight between watching him walk around the front of the vehicle toward her door and the home behind him.
Opening the door for her, he leaned in close enough so that woodsy-scent of his once again encircled her. Then he turned his attention to the back seat. “Come on, buddy. They’re all anxious to meet you.”
Dallas looked to her with a nervous smile, seemingly waiting for her approval, support, something. He could be as introverted and shy as she could, especially when they were walking into something this completely foreign.
Shit.
“You’re serious, Eli?” She asked, half under her breath.
The question was left unanswered as one of the two big wooden French doors opened and two little children came scrambling down the impressive stone stairway.
“Uncle E, Uncle E, you’re finally back.”
The little pixie’s voice brought a smile to Honor’s mouth. When she launched herself into Eli’s outstretched arms, giggling with total confidence of being caught, Honor melted. The sun-bleached blonde curls hung down her back, much like Honor’s auburn ones, except the little darling had her sides pinned up with large, white bows.
She tried to look behind her uncle, not able to see through the tinted window of the still-closed back passenger door. “Is he here, Uncle E? Is he here? Did you bring him?”
Honor couldn’t help but smile. They were excited to meet her son. She watched Eli rough up the little boy’s hair who was standing silently by his leg. The small boy’s eyes darted between hers and his uncle’s several times. Eli tickled the little girl’s neck and set her back down.
“Yep, he’s here. Come on, Dallas. I’ve got some people who are dying to meet you.”
Honor and
Dallas both slowly exited the safety of the SUV. Within seconds, the little vixen in bows pulled Dallas from his mother’s side and halfway up the front walk. The little boy, three steps behind, walked with a much older man’s cocky gait.
Honor watched her son start to disappear through the open door with a backward glance in her direction. She gave a slight wave and a reassuring smile, letting him know she was right behind him.
“Your niece and nephew are really adorable.”
Eli beamed. “Ah, thanks. In case you couldn’t tell, they’re actually twins. Alexandra and Jackson. Alex and Jack for short. They’re Molly and Carter’s.”
“Oh. So…?” She tilted her head, not wanting to be rude by finishing her question.
“No, not by blood, but by heart and soul—they’re mine,” he said, his voice firm and very proud.
The man was working his way into her heart. The way he treated her son was one way in, but the fact that he adored the two little ones, definitely earned him some brownie points.
He held out his hand for her. “Shall we?”
Maybe it was the nerves from the day, the stress of saying goodbye to Mac, the second glass of wine she wasn’t used to that Karen Noland placed in her hand, or the exhaustion of the late evening that hit her, but Honor hadn’t let it sink in, that once they pulled away from the Noland’s home, Eli was not driving back into town. It wasn’t even until his garage door shut and he got out, walked around and pulled her out of the car that she suddenly realized they were certainly
not at a hotel.
“Is this your—”
“My house?” He interrupted. “Yes.”
Always a gentleman, he helped her out of the car, shut her door and walked to the back of the vehicle to retrieve their bags as if it was no big deal, and that they were apparently staying with him.
“But I thought—”
Again, he cut her off. “I know.” He said with a wink.
Those damn winks. What in the hell was the man thinking? “Eli Hunter.”
Her
mom voice
must have amused him. He glanced from behind the SUV and flashed her a wide shit-eating grin.
If she weren’t so tired, she would’ve knocked his head off. She didn’t like feeling conned and at the moment she definitely was feeling played. Sure, an outsider could point the finger at her. She hadn’t questioned him when he said their accommodations were
taken care of
. In retrospect, Honor could kick her own ass. She never gave it a second thought. The mistake was quite humbling for someone who considered herself wise to the world.
Honor leveled him with her patented
mom glare
, to which the devil incarnate wiggled his eyebrows.
Shit.
They were going to have to get a few things straight. In the morning. Right now if the man offered her the couch, she’d take it. If he handed her a blanket, she might even be inclined to say
thank you
.
With both of his hands full, he nodded for her to follow him. She came up short when she walked into the kitchen. It was truly magazine-worthy and any discerning chef’s mouth would water over it. Honor had been cleaning houses for eleven years, but nothing she’d seen came close to this lavishness. Well, perhaps one home could. The one they’d just left looked even grander than Eli’s. But she had to admit, his was beautiful. Now, even though it was dark outside, she wished she’d paid closer attention to the outside of the home.
The chrome, granite, and stainless steel shined. Marble columns matched the fireplace on the opposite wall of the family room. The step-down was the only divider marking the two in the wide-open space. Cushy, soft, brown leather couches welcomed her when she entered the room. The heavy dining furniture finished the rustic appeal. His decorating was definitely marked with a man’s touch. But picture frames covered most surfaces, and everything was spotless. Even the oak cabinets gleamed.
Honor set her purse down on the counter, running her palm over the chilled, speckled granite, appreciating it like some women would a fine silk.
She looked up at Eli, speechless. He hadn’t acted out of place in her meager home. Looking back, she recalled how she had noticed the cashmere sweater immediately, but dismissed it as clothing. She never assumed he was loaded. He acted so down to earth and easygoing, she actually hadn’t given it another thought.
With pieces slipping into place before her eyes, it made sense. Of course, he was well-off. He’d been at the top of his game before he was injured. Add to that, their school was rated number one—internationally.
Yet, here she stood, in his kitchen.
For the first time in a very long time, she felt completely out of place.
Shy, vulnerable, and so out of her element, she closed her eyes to Eli’s smile. She didn’t belong here. Even if it was a short stay, it just reminded her of what she couldn’t afford to give her son. What she’d never be able to offer him that others could. What other kids had that her son didn’t.
She didn’t know he was near her until she felt his palm slide across her cheek to cradle her head in his hand. The breath she pulled in was automatic at his touch, and it pissed her off that her body betrayed her so audibly. It gave him an advantage she didn’t want him to have. She left her eyes closed, not able to bring herself to make that intimate connection.
Honor worked her ass off to give Dallas everything she could. Even more so these last two years. Not once had she ever felt embarrassed, until now.
For the first time in her life, she was humiliated.
It wasn’t Eli’s fault, and she knew that. The man had done nothing but offer her son things she couldn’t. But it still hurt.
“What’s wrong?” he whispered the question.
She could feel he was close enough and crouched down so that his breath hovered near her lips. He leaned in closer, and she felt his forehead lean against hers. With his hand behind her head, he held her to him. No escaping.
“Nothing.” She whispered the lie back in return.
“Something’s bothering you, sweetheart. Don’t lie to me. Tell me so I can fix it.”
She mustered up the courage to open her eyes, his hazel ones close enough she could see the golden specks, the dark hunter green ring on the outside. She could see the concern in them.
“Don’t you see, Eli? That’s just it. You can’t.”
****
But he
could
fix it.
He could fix everything—if she let him.
His heart broke for her. The pain that she was trying desperately to mask was evident in her eyes and she tried to hide from him.