Never Far Away (The Never #2)(3)

“Is there anything in particular you are looking for?” Her eyes bore into him and she hoped he could feel her eyes burning into his forehead. It must have worked because he looked up at her and mumbled a disinterested remark at her.

“Uh, no. We're just looking.” He went back to looking at his cell phone while the woman continued browsing.

Disappointment washed over Ella and her shoulders slumped slightly when his too high-pitched voice immediately answered the question she asked herself hundreds of times a day: was this him?

The voice she heard that day had been deep, raw, and full of love. She had wondered about the love in his voice for two whole months now. How could someone besides Kyle speak to her in such a way that made her feel like he loved her? After weeks and weeks of arguing with what she heard, she finally gave in and just accepted that what she heard was most definitely love. Aside from actually uttering the words at her, everything else she could remember about those few moments she had with him ached with love; the way he touched her, the way his words caressed her, and the way he kissed her.

Her family insisted that no one else had been at the hospital but them, but Ella knew better. What she didn't know was why they lied to her about it. Her mind mostly tried to convince her that if they kept something from her it was for her own good, but there were times when she was so angry and frustrated with them. She deserved to know everything about what had happened to her, the good and the bad.

“Ok, well, if you need anything let me know,” Ella said to the woman, flashing a forced but hopefully convincing smile at her. She walked over to a table that displayed soft blouses of bright colors for summer and began folding the shirts into neater piles, trying to pass the time while her mind kept wandering back to the mystery voice. Eventually, she knew she would go crazy thinking about it, but there was nothing she could do to stop herself. It was a result of reverse psychology. Her family basically told her she could never know who he was, so it was all she thought about, obviously.

She heard the door open again and a very genuine smile played across her face as her little sister came walking into the store. Ella could tell ever since she woke up missing six weeks of her life that Megan struggled with keeping information from her. Megan did what their parents thought was best and they had developed a “Don't ask, don't tell” motto around the whole debacle. It would be really easy to be mad at Megan, but she couldn't bring herself to hold it against her.

“Hey, Megs. How are you this morning?”

“Loving the sunshine, Fella. We should close up shop and hit the Saturday Market. It's a perfect day for strolling along and browsing,” she said with a lazy voice.

“Right. Which is exactly why we need to be here, making sure people have the opportunity to browse in my store.” Ella gave her sister a big grin.

“Fine. Slave driver,” she said with a laugh and continued into the backroom. Ever since Ella had been in the hospital her sister started taking shifts at her store when she could to help out. Megan majored in business and graduated from the University of Portland just the week before. Megan's fiancé, Patrick, landed a job at a reputable company in the city. Ella was thinking about asking her sister if she wanted to help her expand her business, but hadn't found the right opportunity yet. Megan seemed content working for her at the moment and Ella was enjoying spending all the time with her sister.

When she returned from the back, Megan started looking through some of the new merchandise Ella put out that morning. There were perks to owning a clothing boutique, but sometimes it was more of a hindrance to the wallet. Even though she spent more money on clothes than she would ever admit, Ella loved being able to bring in unique and unknown designers that she liked and felt sometimes like she was helping out designers who were trying to get their name out there. It was thrilling for her when a designer she supported became well-known in the fashion world. It was validating for her and cemented for her what she had already known: that she had an eye for fashion and was doing what she was meant to do.

“This dress is amazing, El. You should save one for Kalli.”

“Already did. She's coming by later.” Kalli was the wardrobe manager for a movie being filmed in town. She came by the store before her accident, but before Ella could get better, the movie wrapped and Kalli left. A couple weeks later she came back for another film and came by the store to see if they could work together. Everything worked out well and Ella's store supplied many pieces for the female lead in a new romantic comedy that would be out the next year. The most rewarding part of the whole situation was the friendship she'd developed with Kalli.

Kalli was fun, witty, gorgeous, and thirty as well. She lived in Seattle, but was in Portland for the duration of the shoot of the movie. One of the things Ella liked most about Kalli was that she had no idea what happened to Ella in those six weeks she lost. Spending time with her was easy and free of the tension she sometimes felt around her family. Ella and Kalli talked about what had happened to her, but it wasn't something they dwelled on. Ella loved that they could spend time together and that she felt normal around her. Plus, they were able to visit the set and met some pretty famous people. That wasn't bad either.

“Good. Kalli will love it. How's it been today?”

“Pretty steady. It's early yet. Once everyone has had their coffee they'll be out and we'll get busy. Hope you're ready.”