Well Built
Page 45
The two of them continued to bicker, and Ella laughed softly and shook her head as she made her way to her car, knowing she was leaving her dad in good hands. There was no doubt in her mind that her relationship with her father might be strained for a while, but she also knew he’d never disown her. And maybe, hopefully, given time, he’d come to realize and accept that Kyle was the best thing that had ever happened to her.
Feeling as though a hundred-pound weight had been lifted off her shoulders, she got into her car and started the two hour-long drive into the city to get her man.
* * *
Freshly showered and wearing an old, comfortable pair of sweat pants, Kyle sat in an armchair facing the windows overlooking the twinkling lights on Lake Michigan as he took a drink of the Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey he’d poured himself. He wasn’t a big drinker. A beer here and there with friends, but knowing he was heading into his first long weekend without Ella, he’d opted for something more fortifying.
Every day this past week, he’d held out hope that he’d hear from her. A phone call. A text. Anything at all to give him some kind of indication that maybe she’d come to the realization that he was worth fighting for. That they were worth fighting for.
That he hadn’t royally fucked everything up by walking away from her.
No, as much as he hated the way things had ended between them, he knew he’d done the right thing by leaving, because he couldn’t go another three months, or longer, hiding a relationship with Ella. And it didn’t even matter that he’d come up with a possible solution to their distance issue. If she didn’t stand up to her father and resolve those issues, they had no chance at a future together. End of story. And apparently, end of them.
He downed another gulp of whiskey, welcoming the burn that slid down his throat and settled in his belly. Then he went ahead and finished off the last of the shot. Drowning his sorrows was beginning to sound like a damn fine idea.
He pushed out of his chair to go and refill his glass just as one of the intercoms on the wall buzzed from the doorman downstairs. Kyle couldn’t imagine what the guy could want, and he was interrupting Kyle’s pity party, but he went ahead and pressed the button and answered with a curt, “Yes?”
“There’s an Ella Fisher here to see you,” the older gentleman said. “Would you like for me to let her up?”
Kyle frowned. For a moment, he thought he was hearing things. Ella was here, in the city, on a Friday night? Considering her aversion to Chicago, that didn’t seem likely . . .
“Sir?” the doorman prompted. “Ms. Fisher said it was important that she speak with you. What would you like me to do?”
Cautious optimism surged though Kyle, and he replied before Ella took his silence for a no. “Yes, let her up, please.”
The line disconnected, and it seemed like it took forever to hear a knock on his door while he paced the entryway. He opened the door, and there she was, looking like the bright ray of sunshine that he called her. A frazzled-looking ray of sunshine, but his nonetheless. He hoped.
“Umm, can I come in?” she asked tentatively.
“Of course.” He stepped back and she brushed past him as she walked inside his place and into the living room. He followed behind, and the sweet scent of lemons filled his senses, instinctively stirring his desire for her. Then again, everything about this woman made him feel like a lovesick fool around her.
She turned around to face him. From the dress she had on to her gorgeous hair falling around her shoulders to the blatant fortitude in her eyes as she met his gaze, she looked absolutely stunning wearing all that confidence. It stole his breath and made his heart pound wildly in his chest because of what it could mean.
He still found it hard to believe that she’d braved the city to come to him. “What are you doing here?”
She lifted her chin a notch, and the sudden fire in her eyes told him that she was prepared to fight for what she wanted. “I’m here to tell you that I love you, which is something I should have said a week ago. Because it’s true. I never stopped loving you,” she said, a vulnerable tremor in her voice. “And I can’t imagine my life or my future without you in it.”
His relief was so overwhelming he nearly dropped to his knees in gratitude. He wanted to take her in his arms and hold her forever, but there was just enough wariness still left in him to address the biggest conflict that stood between them. “What about your father?”
“Well . . . I don’t care what my father thinks, because this is my life and my choice, and I told him so. Is he happy that I’m here? Absolutely not,” she said with a soft, derisive laugh. “But I’m the happiest I’ve ever been when I’m with you, wherever that may be. And if that means we need to compromise and split our time between Chicago and Woodmont”—she exhaled a deep breath—“I’ll somehow learn to deal with getting around in the city. I’ll do anything to be with you, Kyle, because what we have is worth it, and I’m not giving you up a second time.”
The fact that she was willing to make that sacrifice for him, for them, told him everything he needed to know. That she was committed to making this work, that she was willing to face the obstacles, that in the end, it was about the choices they made together.
He moved toward her, finally closing the distance between them because he needed to touch her so badly. When they were standing toe-to-toe, he picked up her hands and held them in his. She lifted her gaze to his, and the emotion there and the love for him shining in the depths nearly slayed his heart.
He raised his palms to her face, and, unable to stop himself from taking what he absolutely needed more than his next breath, he lowered his head to hers and kissed her—slow and sweet and infinitely tender. Telling her without words what she meant to him, that she alone made his world complete. She was his shining light, his north star that would always guide him home.
He finally ended the kiss, a soft, dreamy look in her eyes. “God, I love you, Ella Fisher.”
She smiled, her expression radiant. “I love you, too. So much.”
He skimmed his thumbs along her smooth cheeks. “But I’m not letting you move to the city.”
The happiness and exhilaration in her gaze dimmed, and he realized she’d mistaken his words for a rejection. Ahhh, far from it.
He quickly corrected her wrong assumption. “I appreciate all the concessions you’re willing to make for us, but this past week has given me a lot of time to think about logistics. Yes, my job and company are in the city, but my hours are completely flexible. We can live near or in Woodmont and you’d be close to the market, and I can make that one-hour commute. People do it all the time.”
Feeling as though a hundred-pound weight had been lifted off her shoulders, she got into her car and started the two hour-long drive into the city to get her man.
* * *
Freshly showered and wearing an old, comfortable pair of sweat pants, Kyle sat in an armchair facing the windows overlooking the twinkling lights on Lake Michigan as he took a drink of the Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey he’d poured himself. He wasn’t a big drinker. A beer here and there with friends, but knowing he was heading into his first long weekend without Ella, he’d opted for something more fortifying.
Every day this past week, he’d held out hope that he’d hear from her. A phone call. A text. Anything at all to give him some kind of indication that maybe she’d come to the realization that he was worth fighting for. That they were worth fighting for.
That he hadn’t royally fucked everything up by walking away from her.
No, as much as he hated the way things had ended between them, he knew he’d done the right thing by leaving, because he couldn’t go another three months, or longer, hiding a relationship with Ella. And it didn’t even matter that he’d come up with a possible solution to their distance issue. If she didn’t stand up to her father and resolve those issues, they had no chance at a future together. End of story. And apparently, end of them.
He downed another gulp of whiskey, welcoming the burn that slid down his throat and settled in his belly. Then he went ahead and finished off the last of the shot. Drowning his sorrows was beginning to sound like a damn fine idea.
He pushed out of his chair to go and refill his glass just as one of the intercoms on the wall buzzed from the doorman downstairs. Kyle couldn’t imagine what the guy could want, and he was interrupting Kyle’s pity party, but he went ahead and pressed the button and answered with a curt, “Yes?”
“There’s an Ella Fisher here to see you,” the older gentleman said. “Would you like for me to let her up?”
Kyle frowned. For a moment, he thought he was hearing things. Ella was here, in the city, on a Friday night? Considering her aversion to Chicago, that didn’t seem likely . . .
“Sir?” the doorman prompted. “Ms. Fisher said it was important that she speak with you. What would you like me to do?”
Cautious optimism surged though Kyle, and he replied before Ella took his silence for a no. “Yes, let her up, please.”
The line disconnected, and it seemed like it took forever to hear a knock on his door while he paced the entryway. He opened the door, and there she was, looking like the bright ray of sunshine that he called her. A frazzled-looking ray of sunshine, but his nonetheless. He hoped.
“Umm, can I come in?” she asked tentatively.
“Of course.” He stepped back and she brushed past him as she walked inside his place and into the living room. He followed behind, and the sweet scent of lemons filled his senses, instinctively stirring his desire for her. Then again, everything about this woman made him feel like a lovesick fool around her.
She turned around to face him. From the dress she had on to her gorgeous hair falling around her shoulders to the blatant fortitude in her eyes as she met his gaze, she looked absolutely stunning wearing all that confidence. It stole his breath and made his heart pound wildly in his chest because of what it could mean.
He still found it hard to believe that she’d braved the city to come to him. “What are you doing here?”
She lifted her chin a notch, and the sudden fire in her eyes told him that she was prepared to fight for what she wanted. “I’m here to tell you that I love you, which is something I should have said a week ago. Because it’s true. I never stopped loving you,” she said, a vulnerable tremor in her voice. “And I can’t imagine my life or my future without you in it.”
His relief was so overwhelming he nearly dropped to his knees in gratitude. He wanted to take her in his arms and hold her forever, but there was just enough wariness still left in him to address the biggest conflict that stood between them. “What about your father?”
“Well . . . I don’t care what my father thinks, because this is my life and my choice, and I told him so. Is he happy that I’m here? Absolutely not,” she said with a soft, derisive laugh. “But I’m the happiest I’ve ever been when I’m with you, wherever that may be. And if that means we need to compromise and split our time between Chicago and Woodmont”—she exhaled a deep breath—“I’ll somehow learn to deal with getting around in the city. I’ll do anything to be with you, Kyle, because what we have is worth it, and I’m not giving you up a second time.”
The fact that she was willing to make that sacrifice for him, for them, told him everything he needed to know. That she was committed to making this work, that she was willing to face the obstacles, that in the end, it was about the choices they made together.
He moved toward her, finally closing the distance between them because he needed to touch her so badly. When they were standing toe-to-toe, he picked up her hands and held them in his. She lifted her gaze to his, and the emotion there and the love for him shining in the depths nearly slayed his heart.
He raised his palms to her face, and, unable to stop himself from taking what he absolutely needed more than his next breath, he lowered his head to hers and kissed her—slow and sweet and infinitely tender. Telling her without words what she meant to him, that she alone made his world complete. She was his shining light, his north star that would always guide him home.
He finally ended the kiss, a soft, dreamy look in her eyes. “God, I love you, Ella Fisher.”
She smiled, her expression radiant. “I love you, too. So much.”
He skimmed his thumbs along her smooth cheeks. “But I’m not letting you move to the city.”
The happiness and exhilaration in her gaze dimmed, and he realized she’d mistaken his words for a rejection. Ahhh, far from it.
He quickly corrected her wrong assumption. “I appreciate all the concessions you’re willing to make for us, but this past week has given me a lot of time to think about logistics. Yes, my job and company are in the city, but my hours are completely flexible. We can live near or in Woodmont and you’d be close to the market, and I can make that one-hour commute. People do it all the time.”
