“Left me high and dry this morning.What the hell was that?Just a wham bam thank you Lucas?You know, in case you forgot, I enjoy morning-after cuddling just like you do.”He turned around, placing a mug of coffee down on the small island in the center of the kitchen and pushing it toward me.
Instantly, my mouth went dry.I hadn’t bolted for any other reason other than shock.I leaned forward and picked up the mug of coffee, blew on it before taking a mouthful, hoping that some sort of words came to my mind.
“Ella, you should know that I enjoyed last night, and I’m having an absolute blast with you.It’s like old times, and there are absolutely zero regrets over here about what happened between us last night.”
My heart skipped a beat as I continued looking at the floor, unsure what the hell to say to that.I enjoyed myself last night as well.There wasn’t a doubt in my mind that he already knew that.I didn’t need to tell him that, did I.
“Honestly, Ella, I’ve been thinking of us a lot since you started with the team.There have been so many times I thought about calling you, or coming to your office and talk to you, just to see where you stood with the idea of us, if you were maybe open to trying again, but after your father lost his shit with me over the locker room incident, and you wouldn’t even look my way, I decided I wouldn’t pursue you.I didn’t want it to put any type of pressure on you, and I didn’t want any bad blood in the workplace, so I just shoved that idea aside.”
Whoa, what the hell?He’d thought about us.He’d thought about maybe one day trying again.I almost wanted to pinch myself to see if this was some sort of dream, because things like this never happened to me.They happened to my best friends, and pretty much everyone around me, but never to me.
“Lucas…I, um…I don’t know what to say.I….”
“You don’t need to say anything.I don’t want there to be any pressure between us.I just figured you should know the truth.I don’t want you walking away from this weekend thinking that what happened between us was a mistake…”
“I wasn’t sure what it was,” I muttered.
Lucas was quiet.I stood there, afraid to look up for fear he was joking around.I wasn’t sure I could take it if he was.This was the most shocking and sweetest thing he’d ever done.
“Ella, you can look at me, you know.”
With my mug in my hands, I slowly raised my eyes to his.One look at his face told me he was serious.As I looked at him, I wondered if perhaps this time we could have something real.Not that what we had wasn’t real before, but maybe now that we were both older, maybe he’s ready for more.
“We should get ready to meet your sisters,” I said, my voice shaking, wanting to take the focus off what we were talking about, because at this point, I wasn’t sure if I should open up on how I was feeling or just shove it back down inside of me.
Lucas pushed himself off the counter.“Yep, you’re right, we should.Give me ten,” he mumbled, and he took off toward his room, his head down, leaving me in the kitchen alone.
Just like every decision up to this point, I feared I was making another mistake.Why was I so afraid to share how I felt?
Chapter Six
Lucas
I’d watchedher most of the day with my sisters.They’d laughed and talked and for a quick moment it felt as if we’d never parted.It warmed my heart to know that she was just as dedicated to helping me after I’d spilled my guts to her this morning as she had been yesterday.
“So, Ella, what’s your father like?”my mother asked her while we were eating lunch.
“Mom, you know her father.You’ve met him before,” I said.
“In passing, Lucas.Only in passing.”
It was the truth.Her father had been dealing with many personal issues when Ella and I had dated before, and he was rarely available to deal with anything she needed.When we’d asked him to meet my mother over dinner, he’d done nothing but bark and murmur that all he had time for was to say hello in the driveway.
“It’s okay, Lucas,” Ella said, placing her hand on mine and squeezing.“It’s been a while since they met in passing.”She winked before turning back to my mother.
“Well, my father, as you know, now owns the Dominators, so he is pretty business-oriented, more so than ever before.He is also very focused on hockey.He is strict, but very caring for me, and as you know, I don’t know my mother biological mother.She left us when I was young.The one thing I’ve missed about your family is how tight-knit it is.Since Lucas and I split, I wished I had that, as it was something I loved about being with him and with your family when I was younger,” Ella added, her eyes watering.
I couldn’t help but look at her.It upset me to hear this information.I hadn’t realized how much my family and I had meant to her when we dated before.Honestly, I knew I loved her, but I didn’t figure we were that serious with one another, and apparently that was because, as she put it, I was too involved with my hockey stick to notice.Now all I could think about was changing this for her, and if she were mine, I’d do just that.
“Well, Ella, you have that now.Don’t forget it either.You are part of this family, regardless of what happens between you and my son.You understand that?”my mother said, rubbing the back of her hand.
“I do.”
As my mind reeled with this new information, I began feeling a little guilty.Okay, a lot guilty.What I had planned to do after Ella agreed was come here, prove to my mother and sisters that I had a girlfriend, and in a few months break the news that we’d gone our separate ways.
As I sat there, listening to my mother talk about holiday plans, I knew I couldn’t just follow the plan I had.Besides, after our time together last night, Ella somehow owned my heart again, and I wondered if she always did.I’d never felt this way about a woman before.
Fuck, I really needed my boys.Both Dylan and Knox had been through this shit.As close as I was to Clay, there was no way I could get any advice from him.Ella was right, he was a manwhore, but he’d been acting so strange lately and had been keeping to himself.
