Page 48 of Love's a Glitch
The purr in her voice had me readjusting myself. “That wasn’t exactly what I was talking about, although I’ve replayed that part of the night quite a bit too.” I wiped mayo off my mouth with my napkin. “I feel bad that I learned more about you from my mom interrogating you than I learned from chatting and hanging out with you this past month.”
“That was hardly an interrogation. If anything, I was the one who came on too strong. I totally inserted myself into you and your family’s business—”
“Guess I’ll have to pay you back by inserting my business in your business, if you know what I mean,” I joked, and she laughed.
“Goofball.”
“You’re the one who started this conversation by talking about me like I’m a piece of meat.”
“Mypiece of meat,” she said with a laugh. “But don’t worry. I want your sexy mind as much as I want your smokin’ hot body.” The light taps of a keyboard sounded in the background. “Unfortunately, I don’t have enough time to properly tell you all the ways I’d wreck you. I have this huge project that’s due near the end of the week, and I snuck into the conference room to work on it since my coworkers were having chips and salsa, and evidently none of their mommies taught them to chew with their mouth closed. But it’s only a matter of time before my boss hunts me down so she can ask if I’m done and then tell me to work faster, as though that’s the issue instead of our micromanaging client.”
In other words, if I had something I needed to say, I should get to it—Ellie was just too nice to put it that way. “I’m sorry about the stuff with your dad. I could hear the hurt in your voice when you mentioned him.”
Silence dominated the conversation for a couple of beats. “Guess I didn’t hide my emotions as well as I thought.”
“You don’t have to hide things around me.”
“I know, and that’s why I end up spilling way too much whenever we’re together, although I also love that I feel completely safe doing so. The thing is, I loathe the term ‘daddy issues,’ even though of course the fact that he left me and my brother behind without a second thought gave me issues. I guess I just…want it not to hurt anymore. You know?”
In spite of my somewhat bumpy relationship with my family, I didn’t, and it made me feel like a dick for not appreciating my parents as much as I should. “I wish it didn’t hurt you, either.”
“Thank you.” Sincerity filled her voice, causing a pang to go through my chest.
“Thank you for helping my family and me sort out a few of our issues. And I can’t even begin to tell you how much your compliments about my photos and imploring my family to allow me my freedom meant to me.”
“You’re welcome. Honestly, I think the reason your mom brought it up in front of me is because she feels like she can’t win a discussion with you—I read a whole article about how that happens sometimes.”
Of course she had. I chose to address the remark about my mom instead of the article to keep us on topic. “It’s not about winning or losing; it’s about it not being her decision.”
“AndIget that. What you were missing was what went unsaid between the lines. I read it loud and clear. They love you and they worry about you, and they miss you when you’re gone. I get that, too, because I’ll also miss you when you head out on your next adventure. Just like I understand your reasoning behind having to leave.”
Due to a handful of tumultuous relationships in my early and mid-twenties, I’d believed it’d be impossible to find anyone who would understand and accept my lifestyle and the impact it’d have on a romantic relationship. Perhaps Ellie actually was a unicorn—a mythical woman who’d be willing to let me travel and allow me to be me.
Don’t get me wrong, as she’d talked so fondly about holidays with her family and my mom had to go and mention how good she was with kids, my blood pressure had drifted into the danger zone.
But she understood that I didn’t want those things, and perhaps we’d find a way to compromise. To find the type of middle ground that’d been mentioned in the email I’d read earlier.
Hell, the fact I was even considering a curtailed version of a relationship was a testament to how happy Ellie made me.
“Just do me a favor and make sure your family knows you care about them before you head out this next time. As someone who never got that from her own father, the majority of her boyfriends, and honestly, my entire family—as much as I love them, they tend to be very out-of-sight, out-of-mind—I’d give anything to hear they cared about me as much as I care about them.”
I nodded, and then it hit me that she couldn’t see me. “You say jump, and I say how high. But quid pro quo. Do me a favor and tell me which day of the week works best for our kayaking adventure.”
“I sort of hoped you’d forget about that.”
“That’s as unlikely as me forgetting about Madame Paulina forcing me to shake it on the dance floor.”
Ellie’s giggle burst free. “Okay, okay. I’m picking up what you’re putting down. How about Saturday? I already broke off my date with Milo. Given that last week I told him I wanted to take things slow, and then I had to call and admit that I couldn’t see him anymore because I was too fixated on someone else, it was about as awkward as his poetry.”
An odd amalgamation of guilt and relief filled my gut. I combated the guilt by assuring myself that the guy would never make Ellie happy, and I stood by that.
“Saturday it is,” I said, pride zinging through me over having her next two Saturdays belong to me. “Although I can’t wait that long to see you—I’ll never make it, on account of that “too fixated” thing you mentioned, because I’m right there with you. Today and tomorrow are going to be hectic, but how’s Wednesday night?”
“I’m afraid I can’t do anything until Thursday evening. This project’s seriously going to be the death of me.”
“Thursday it is.” The both of us would either have something to celebrate or commiserate over that day, so it seemed fitting. With our plans in place, I let her get back to work.
On my return walk to the office, my mind performed an inner tug of war over whether or not I should entertain the idea over this becoming more. She’d had far too many guys disappoint her, and I refused to be another.
