Page 79 of Lime Tree Hill

She leaned back in her seat, her fingers sliding up and down the stem of her glass as she spoke. “I’m not happy here.”

That wasn’t news to Mitch. Ella constantly thought the grass was greener. “Then leave. You’ve talked about it long enough.”

She pulled a face. “Ouch. Don’t hold back, will you.”

“Look, I don’t mean to be unkind, but I can’t do this. Whatever we had ended years ago. At your insistence, I might add.”

“So what? You don’t even want to be friends now?”

“How can you sit there, basically inviting me to your bed, and have no qualms about who gets caught in the crossfire? This”—Mitch waved his hand between them—“you and me. It’s not gonna happen. Ever.”

“We were good together. Don’t you remember that last night?”

“Come on, Ella. We were eighteen. I’m in love with my wife now. Differences aside, I suspect you feel the same way about Chris.”

“Does Tayla feel that way about you?”

Mitch often asked himself the same question. He had no idea. “You’d have to ask her.”

“I don’t get it. You’ve never been one for rash decisions, but one minute you’re licking your wounds over Prue, the next you’vemarried the girl next door. So what was the deal? You take his youngest off his hands, and Barry Whitman thanks you with the deed to Cherry Grove? This whole sorry business has nepotism stamped all over it.”

“Wow. You always have an uninformed opinion, don’t you?”

Ella shrugged. Sipped her wine. “I saw her yesterday. Tayla.” Her words sounded like an afterthought. A need to substantiate her judgment. “Down at City Beach with Tim, the photographer, frolicking in the water like freshly baked lovers. I didn’t realize he swung both ways.”

Mitch wondered how Ella knew what Tayla looked like. To his knowledge, they’d never been introduced. “They’re friends. He has a partner.”

“Yes, don’t we all.” She leaned forward, placing her hand on his thigh. “Sometimes, I wish society allowed us the freedom to enjoy alternatives; that’s all I’m saying.”

“Society has nothing to do with it.” He lifted her hand from his leg and pressed it against her chest. “It’s what’s in here. I have no desire to invite a third person into my marriage.”

“Well, by the way your wife was acting at the beach, it seems she’s as bored with you as I am with Chris.”

Mitch stood and reached for his jacket, leaving his wine virtually untouched on the counter. “I’ll see myself out.”

Mitch:You alone? Eaten?

Luka:All alone, and no. Are you in town?

Mitch:Yep. Shall I bring food?

Luka:Naan bread from Singh’s. I have a curry on.

Mitch:Perfect. See you soon.

35

INDIFFERENCE

Mitch slowedas he turned into the driveway, the living room lights visible when the loft came into view. Once parked, he sat in his truck for several minutes, mulling over Ella’s words, her blatant invitation, and with a touch of envy, the thought of Tayla and Tim at the beach together. He’d promised to teach her to surf but had been so tied up in his own world lately that he’d neglected to see how his preoccupation might seem to her.

He’d admitted to Ella that he loved Tayla, and once the shock of that admission sank in, Mitch realized it was true. He was in love with her. Not in the way that sexual energy takes over your soul, but that easygoing, relaxed love that’s so much more than lust alone.

Even so, the physical need was a heady mix of anticipation and desire, and as he climbed the stairs, Mitch knew it was time. He didn’t want to wait until he lost her through his indifference—or to some other guy who did seduction better. Maybe he’d left it too long already.

Mitch checked the clock as he opened the door. Ten after ten. Tayla lay asleep on the sofa, the TV humming just above mute in the background. He picked up the remote and switched it off. Shestirred as he stepped closer, stretching her arms above her head, her cleavage visible through the gap in her bathrobe.

“What’s the time?” she asked, her voice low and husky.

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