Page 31 of Eat Your Heart Out
14
Gerard
My body grew hard, so I let Ali go. The last thing either of us needed was for me to rush her. But damn, she was beautiful, and I wanted to kiss her, though we were only friends at the moment.
I was positive she needed to learn to trust herself, then maybe she would be open to more. It probably wasn’t good to live in a fantasy, but I kept thinking about her.
I swam back into the deep end, but she went to the ladder. I gave her a minute, but as she lifted herself from the pool, my heart stirred. She had nothing to be ashamed of if her scars were what held her back.
She covered herself, and I swam closer. As I used my arms to get myself out, a buzz rang in the air.
She squeezed her hair, which seemed to have some blond streaks where she’d taken the red out. “Your phone is ringing.”
I shrugged as she glanced at my body. “I’ll call them back.”
She crossed her arms. “It could be important.”
I grabbed a towel from the rack behind her. My body had warm goosebumps as I felt her eyes on me. “My family is still in disbelief I took off for a year. Before I left, they had bets on how long the trip would last before I came home since I was so work driven. I never slept much and was always looking for a new deal.”
Her lips curved up. “So now you’re going to prove to them wrong?”
“Exactly.” Good. She wasn’t nervous anymore, but I didn’t want to push my luck.
Then she said, “Go get it before they hang up.”
I nodded and patted my stomach. “We’ll grab lunch after then head to the library.”
She said, “Sounds nice and quiet.”
I saw my brother’s name on the screen. Once I was farther from the pool, I answered and said, “Elon, I was just talking about you.”
“Is everything good?”
I put him on video chat and said, “Yes, we’re adjusting course for the storm, but we’re well out of the path. What’s going on?”
As I settled in my seat, my brother said, “Nothing as important as a hurricane. Is that Ali?”
I glanced to my right as she stepped away.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt,” she said.
I waved for her to sit next to me and pointed the camera at her pretty face. She sat quickly.
Elon told her, “I just wanted to thank you for making my brother smile again. He was stressed out, but with you, he seems calm.”
She stilled. “I’m not doing anything. I love being here. I’ll leave you two alone.”
Love.The word out of her mouth sent a shockwave through me. Maybe she felt it, as she jumped up to head inside.
Elon said, “You lucked out, it seems, and found a nice woman that Mom already likes.”
I watched her until she disappeared. “Something about her makes me calmer.”
“That’s good. Remember that good relationships are about communication.”
My lips quirked higher as I almost laughed. “You sound like Pedar. You’re the one in need of a good woman, and you’re surrounded by tons.”
“After what happened with how Leah used Cyrus and used me to get to him, I stay away from all female doctors. I have my vineyard production of wine up and running, so if you’re in Italy, stop by for a glass.”
“Sounds good, but not every woman is bad in the world, Elon.” With that, I turned to where Ali had disappeared then nodded. “I have to go.”
“Stay safe.”
I shrugged off his concern. My ship was designed for storms and more, though I said, “Of course.”
Once we were off the phone, I jumped up and followed Ali inside. I needed to ensure she was okay. Honestly, she took my breath away the more time I spent with her, and I needed more.
