Page 53 of One Touch

My stomach dropped. I knew that determined glint in her emerald eyes. There was no escaping whatever lecture she had prepared.

“El, I don’t have time for this right now,” I sighed, busying myself with wiping down the counter. “I have to open the store.”

“Oh, do you now? You have to open the store?” She folded her arms in front of her. “And where have you been for the past few days? You didn’t mind so much about not opening the store then.”

“I’ve been busy!”

“I’ve had people coming into O’Neil’s asking me if you were dead!”

“Dead? Who asked that?”

“You know. People. Romance addicts. Bibliophiles.”

“Yeah well, I’m not dead! So, everyone’s happy.”

“You haven’t been answering my texts. I thought for a minute you had just run off.”

“Oh,” I said quietly.

“You’re not going to run off, are you?”

“No.”

“You’d better not! You’re one of the main reasons I came back to this town. You’re not allowed to up and leave. It’s illegal.”

I snorted. “You ran off to New York for ages.”

“But I came back. Eventually.” She tapped the couch beside her. “So. Where have you been?”

“At Ethan’s place,” I said, sitting down beside her, innocent as pie. “I’ve been busy doing nanny stuff.”

“All day long? Even when Ava’s at school?”

“Well . . . yes.”

“Lily Elaine Lane, don’t you dare try to bullshit me. Something is going on with you and I demand you tell me right now.”

I bit my lip, my willpower crumbling under her intense stare. Taking a deep breath, I met her eyes. “Ethan and I . . . we’ve been fighting this intense attraction,” I blurted out. “And things keep getting . . . close to boiling point.”

Elara’s eyes widened. Her mouth opened. Then closed. Then opened again. Goldfish style.

“You? And Ethan? I know we were kind of joking about it before, but I didn’t—”

“I know, it’s bad.”

She grabbed my arm. “Spill. Now.”

I took a shaky breath. “Well, the first time it happ—”

“First time?” she practically shrieked. “There’s been more than one time? Are you kidding me? How have you been keeping this from me?” Elara looked like she was about to explode.

“I know, I’m sorry. Telling you would have made it real. Plus, I doubt that Ethan’s told Cole. And I’m trying to make sure nothing else happens. We don’t want Ava to know.”

“This is outrageous! I should have brought some pastries after all. I need sugar—I feel like I’m about to pass out!”

“Wait, really?”

“No!” She punched me playfully on the arm. “So come on, how did it happen? The first time?”

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