Page 40 of Unless It's You
But I can’t get that guy out of my head. I think about him telling me about his mom dying and her flat, and how he can’t even go in. I unlock my phone again and go to my deleted email folder.
Yeah, there it is. That email from an MBA classmate raising funds to expand his business. He’s got a packing and moving company that started in London but is now expanding to the whole of the UK. I bet he could help Ethan with his mom’s flat.
Not that he asked for my help. Not that it’s any of my business, really. But I move the email out of my trash folder anyway.
I toss my phone on the coffee table and head to the kitchen to refill my wine.
16
ETHAN
Monday, 15 July
Ipush open the door to the coffee shop two blocks from Pepper Me Marketing, intending to grab a giant one before heading to the office for a meeting to talk final storyboards and directors for the Sporting UK Foundation commercial.
And there she is. Stella Hart.
The woman I can’t get out of my head is right in front of me, like she stepped out of my daydreams and into line for coffee.
But she’s not quite in the line, standing off to the side facing me, staring down at her mobile. Tight jeans cling to her hips, a pink sleeveless silky shirt with a scooping neckline exposing a hint of skin above her breasts, her blond hair sweeping down on either side of her face like a shield. She bites her lip and furrows her eyebrows. One hand runs through her hair, pushing it back from her face, just to have it fall where it was.
I breathe in and out noisily.Bloody hell.What’s going on? Something with her great-aunt’s will? I rumble in my throat. My thoughts go to exactly the wrong place, and I imagine bringing her into my arms. No. I should leave before she notices me. I shouldstep back outside and see her at the office, in an actual meeting, not here.
“Hart.” I approach her instead, and her name comes out of my mouth like a raspy statement. I can’t leave her here with that distressed look on her face.
Stella looks up, eyes wide. “Oh, hey.”
“You okay?” Unable to keep my distance, I stop too close to her. Close enough that I could lean over and kiss her forehead or push her hair behind her ear.
“Yeah.” Her eyes blink a few times rapidly, like I pulled her out of a trance. “I mean, I don’t know, actually. My sister just texted me saying she urgently needs to talk.” Stella lifts her mobile in the air like it’s evidence. “But now she’s not answering her phone. Who does that? Who sends an urgent text, then is completely unavailable? Why wouldn’t she wait to text me until she can text back? Or just call?”
Tears fill Stella’s gorgeous dark-blue eyes.
“Hey.” I reach my hand out and touch her bare upper arm, rubbing up and down slowly. Her skin is smooth and warm, and she leans into my hand. “I’m sure everything’s fine. She’ll call back when she can.”
The vulnerability in Stella’s eyes is too much for me to handle. Her gaze darts down to my hand moving on her body and then back up to me, our eyes locking. She takes a half a step closer.
“Last time she had something urgent to tell me, Aunt Evelyn had died.” Her words come out as a whisper. A tear escapes from her right eye and I lift my free hand and wipe it away with a finger, letting my touch linger. “But I know it’s worse for you. You just lost your mom. I’m sorry it’s always about me.” She shakes her head.
“Come here.” Before I can stop myself, I pull her gently against my chest, wrapping my arms around her and running my palms up her back, just like I wanted to when I first walked in. After a soft, surprisedsound, Stella lets her body melt against me, pressing her hands against my chest and moving the one without the mobile ever-so-slowly, driving me crazy. I let my face drop down and press my mouth against the top of her head, wanting to plant a kiss there, but stopping myself. I love the feeling of her cheek pressed against my chest.
A wave of warmth drowns me, coming from the center of my body. Fuck. This feels so good. And not just the stirring in my groin that makes me wonder what it’d be like if we were skin-to-skin, but her in my arms feels... right.
Stella’s mobile vibrates against my chest, and she jumps back a step. I reluctantly let her go, but she’s still close to me, and her cheeks are as flushed as mine feel.
“Is it your sister?”
“Damn.” She glares down at the screen. “A text from my mentee. I’m supposed to get her feedback on her submission for a scholarship competition.” Stella shuts her eyes and I drink in her plump pink lips and the skin of her neck. What I would do to touch her freely.
“Why don’t you grab a table, and I can stay while you wait for your sister to call back? I’ll get us coffees. Vanilla latte?”
She opens her eyes, and they smile before her mouth does. “Thanks for paying attention, but today I need something more. Can I have a triple mocha with extra whip?”
A tingle runs up my spine when she smiles at me. I shrug like it’s no big deal. “Sure thing. And I can tuck you in for a nap under the conference room table later when you crash.”
She chuckles before turning to stalk a pair of women with laptop bags gathering trash from their table.
I accidentally order two triple mochas with extra whipped cream, probably because I’m distracted by the thought of crawling under a conference room tablewithStella. The fit barista’s eyes roam over my tattoos, visible on my forearms because of my usual rolled-up sleeves, and she smiles softly at me. Normally I’d smileback and consider flirting, maybe even asking her out for what would inevitably be a one-night stand.
