Trouble in Sudden Falls: A Sudden Falls Romance (6 page)

He indicated the couch with his index finger “Sit down. You’re making me nervous. I promise, I rarely bite.”

“Rarely?” She raised one eyebrow.

“Only if you ask nicely.” He grinned.

Maddie swallowed, her stomach dipping at the idea. She’d tried asking nicely once. It hadn’t gone that well. Settling into the end of the couch, she tried to forget the details. Every single humiliating one.

Eli handed her a glass and sat down next to her. They weren’t quite touching, but Eli could easily have sat farther away at the other end of the sofa.

He swirled his wine in his glass then looked up at her. “So are we going to talk about it?” he asked.

Her dinner considered a strategic retreat. She swallowed hard. Throwing up might make for a dependable diversion, but she wouldn’t go there deliberately. “About what?”

“The elephant that’s been sitting in the room for the past two days.”

She inhaled slowly. “Sleeping elephants, when disturbed, will trample you. Let’s let him be.”

“Maddie…” She could hear the frustration in his voice, which caused panic to bloom through her chest as she tried to get him to back off. Her legs tensed and she shifted forward, ready to flee.

“Seriously, Eli. I really… I don’t want to talk about it.”

Eli reached for her, tugging her back down onto the couch as he opened his mouth to speak again. Finally, he shook his head as she let herself ease back into the cushions. “Fine. We won’t talk about it
tonight
. But soon.”

She’d won that too easily. Eli was clearly not in favor of ignoring their history, but he let go of it pretty quickly. Why?

“We’ll see,” she said.

“Will you tell me what happened with Darren?”

Out of the frying pan, into the fire.
“Never trust a man who doesn’t have eyes like Sinatra.” Of course, it would be right at that moment that she noticed what pretty baby blues Eli had.

She took a long swallow of her wine.

“Ione Skye,
Dream for an Insomniac
.” He raised his eyebrows. “And that doesn’t answer the question.”

She had no desire to give a much deeper answer for a variety of reasons—not the least of which was, she’d been extremely dumb to stick it out as long as she had. For that matter, she’d been an idiot for marrying him in the first place. One more major mistake in a long line of mistakes.

“He had a little problem with fidelity.” She kept her voice light, as if the memory of his constant betrayal didn’t rip her to shreds every time she thought about it. “Actually, he had a huge problem with fidelity. Usually it was anonymous girls he saw once or twice then kicked to the curb. Then he took up with his assistant, a charming little…
tart
with more boobs than smarts or class who threatened to—
quote
—kick my ass—
endquote
—when I told him to put a leash on her.”

“That sounds like something you would say.”

She shrugged. “What can I say? I kind of lost it. She started mouthing off at me, which I didn’t think she had the right to do after I’d found her chubby, naked ass in bed with my equally naked husband.”

“Ooo. Ouch. She was chubby?”

“In all the right places.” She held her hands out in front of her approximating the size of giant watermelons, exaggerating slightly.

“I told him right then and there he needed to make a decision—her or me. He chose her, I packed a bag. Then he spent the next six months making my life miserable.”

Her face warmed as she remembered the humiliation of that moment. Probably the second most embarrassing moment of her life… Surpassed only by Eli’s rejection, as a matter of fact. The big difference being, she’d really cared about Eli, and by the time she’d discovered Darren in bed with the chubby tart, she would have had a hard time crossing the street to spit on him, even if he were on fire.

Eli’s eyes narrowed. “What do you mean,
miserable
? He didn’t hurt you, did he?” If Darren had been in the room, Maddie felt certain he wouldn’t have been able to get out without taking a serious beating.

She rolled her eyes, but still, she appreciated the support. Too bad she hadn’t had it when she’d actually felt like she was in danger.

“Physically? No. But once I moved out, he’d show up at my apartment unannounced and I’d run into him all over town. At the dry cleaners, the bank, the library. Just creepy stuff. I got sick of it and it did kind of freak me out. I had to leave the city, though, when I realized he was the reason I couldn’t get a job.”

“How did he do that?”

“First by insisting that I quit my computer programming job to become a full time executive’s wife. I didn’t really mind at the time, but in retrospect, it wasn’t a smart move on my part. All my certifications expired and I fell completely behind on the technology. I don’t think I could program “Hello world” at this point. You know as well as I do how quickly you lose computer languages if you don’t use them.” She took a sip of her wine.

“And the thing was, I didn’t really miss it. I know I was a fairly good programmer, but my heart was never really in it.” She’d gotten into the computer field in college because Eli had. Looking back, that had been the first of several big mistakes she’d made as far as her career was concerned.

She prayed she could make a success of the antique store. Working there with Aunt Millie in high school had been some of the best times of her life. For the first time in a long time, Maddie was truly excited at the prospect of going to work every morning.

Assuming they ever un-condemned her store.

“What was the second thing?”

“The second thing?”

“You said the first thing he did to keep you from getting a job was keep you from it for so long… what was the second thing?.”

“You know how small a community Sudden Falls is? Well, the information technology biz—even in a city as big as D.C.—is every bit as small. Every IT guy knows every other major IT player. Darren was the Chief Information Officer of a very big corporation. He knew and had worked with about every IT recruiter and consulting firm in the area. He started bad-mouthing me and my ability to find a job swirled down the tube.”

“You could have gotten an IT job in a different city,” Eli reasoned.

Maddie shrugged. “Probably. But I didn’t love it enough. I needed a change. Mom mentioned that they were at a loss as to why they couldn’t sell the store after Aunt Millie died—it had been on the market for more than six months. I proposed taking it over so it didn’t sit empty.”

“But she only gave you six months?”

“We are talking about
my
mother after all.”

He chuckled, but it was an ironic sort of laugh that died quickly. She sipped at her wine, noticing that she was nearing the bottom of her glass once again. How many did that make? The silence stretched for a moment too long.

“Had romantic prospects since your divorce?” he asked.

That was out of left field.
“What? You mean a boyfriend?”

“Sure.”

“No!” She realized a moment after she’d spoken that her response had been a tad over-zealous.

“You don’t want to date?”

She shook her head. “No. Not really.”

“What about…” He gestured awkwardly.

“Sex?” She raised an eyebrow. “I have a hand-held massaging showerhead.”

Eli sputtered.

“TMI?” she asked, knowing—or at least hoping—it was the wine that had made her say something so bold.

“Um… I guess it depends on whether or not you want me to imagine you in the shower.”

She was of two minds on that one, and decided not to dwell on it for the time being.

However, in spite of some of his tough questions, she felt warm and almost relaxed. She’d missed Eli so much. Even if there were things left unsaid—thank God!—it was so enjoyable to sit and talk with him. How sad that it took a few glasses of wine? Not that she was drunk.

Unfortunately.

If she was, she could probably handle talking about what had happened.

Or if not probably, than
maybe.

“There’s more to a relationship than sex,” Eli pointed out as he plugged the cork back into the now empty bottle.

“Like trust?”

He shrugged. “Sure.”

“I trust everyone. It’s the devil inside them I don’t trust.”

“Charlize Theron—and Donald Sutherland—
The Italian Job.
And too flip. I’ve dated a fair amount, but I’m always trustworthy.”

Maybe, maybe not.
She refused to argue the point with him. “I wouldn’t date you.” And since the feeling was clearly mutual, she didn’t have anything to lose by saying so.

“Why not?” If she hadn’t known better, she might even think she’d hurt his feelings. But she did know better.

“Seriously, Eli. What was your longest relationship since high school?
Maybe
six months? Probably less? Those aren’t good odds. However, since you never lack for female company, I refuse to feel bad for you.”
Jealous,
sure. Bad for
him?
No way.

Eli hesitated a long time before responding. “Rogan’s appearance will slow my social life, so that may change.”

For Rogan’s sake, she hoped so. She’d hate for Rogan to feel like he was second place after Eli’s girlfriends. She’d been in the second place spot before. It wasn’t a fun place to be. “Just as well. I can’t see Veronica wanting to be a step-mommy to a seventeen-year-old.”

Eli winced. “Definitely not. So you gonna tell me the secret to living the celibate life?”

“Stop having sex,” Maddie said.

“Er, right. I got that part. How do you live like that?”

“Like I said. Massaging showerhead.” She shrugged. “You get used to it. People
can
live without sex.”

“But who’d want to?”

Maddie rolled her eyes at him. “And this is exactly why I wouldn’t date you.” Well, that and he didn’t
want
to sleep with her.

“So how long’s it been?”

Part of her knew that if she hadn’t a couple of glasses of wine, she’d never have answered the question. She also knew that Eli knew that when she had any alcohol in her system, she had virtually no ability to keep a secret.

“A year and some change.” Of course, the year prior to her divorce had been pretty sparse in the sex department as well. Not for her ex-husband, as it turned out, but that was something she tried not to dwell on.

“I’d bet that you’re about to your breaking point.” His voice held a bit too much confidence. “Either that or your showerhead is.”

She put her hands over her eyes in embarrassment. “I should never have admitted that to you.” She’d no doubt regret it when she thought about it tomorrow.

“Too late now.”

It was too late for a lot of things.

“In fact, I’ll bet you’ll break within the next three months,” he said.

Maddie snorted. “Not gonna happen my friend. I’ll take that bet.”

Eli raised an eyebrow. “You will?” He paused for a long moment. “What will you bet?”

She shrugged. “It can’t be a friendly bet? The satisfaction of being right?”

“Hell, no.” A devilish glint entered his eyes. A glint that made her very,
very
nervous. “How about that car of yours? I can totally see myself cruising down the street in a 1966 Mustang Fastback.”

“I’m sure you can, but I wouldn’t bet my brother’s car.”

“Gotta put your money—or your car in this case—where your mouth is. If I win, you have to let me have free access to the car for a year.”

“And if I win?”

“Name your price.”

She thought about it a long moment. The only thing she wanted from him she’d never again ask for… and it would be kind of counter-productive toward winning the bet. “You have to clean my house once a week for a year.”

Eli snorted. “Not a chance. I hire someone to come in and clean
mine
.”

“Take it or leave it.”

He sighed, and then the look was back. “Ok. I’ll take it. But…” His eyes narrowed, and she felt a sinking in the pit of her stomach. “If you sleep with
me
then it’s two years.”

The sinking in her stomach turned to a white-hot flash somewhat lower. Was he hitting on her?

No. That couldn’t be possible. He was simply being his usual cocky, flirty self.

“You’re not that irresistible,” she informed him through a tight throat while a little voice in the back of her head thought,
Oh, yes he is…

“We’ll see about that. So it’s a bet then?”

It was probably the wine talking, but she would have full control of the end result. And having an additional reason why she
shouldn’t
sleep with him could only be a good thing.

“It’s a bet.”

Chapter Four

“Rogan, c’mon!” Eli yelled up the stairs. “We have to be at the school in fifteen minutes.” As Eli tried to herd his very reluctant son out to the car, he found himself returning repeatedly to his conversation with Maddie the night before.

He still couldn’t believe that he’d laid down the gauntlet like that. Or that she’d picked it up. Of course, that could be more easily explained by the fact that he’d tried to lubricate her with a bottle of Cabernet.

He refused to feel guilty. It’s not like he’d gotten her drunk and taken advantage of her.

“You don’t even have my transcripts. They won’t register me without them.” Rogan spoke with the voice of experience, unenthusiastically settling himself in the passenger seat of Eli’s SUV.

Rogan’s resistance to the idea of registering for school neither surprised him nor fully pulled his mind away from his Maddie musings. He nearly lost his response when Maddie stepped out of her house, looked up and saw him, then ducked back inside before he could so much as wave.

He grinned.
Chicken
.

He finally turned his focus to Rogan, kicking himself for his sub-standard parenting skills. “I’ll be willing to bet that Mrs. Scarpa, who has been the guidance counselor since long before I was in school, will be able to convince someone from your old school to send them over.”