RISK(61)

Chapter 41


Ellie




"Move." I fist the material on the front of Nolan's T-shirt giving it a firm tug. It's solid enough that he can't help but take a heavy step in my direction "Get out of the way! Now!"

"What the hell?" he mutters under his breath as a man on a bicycle whizzes past him.

"Slow down," I call after him. "You're going to kill someone."

He flips me the bird without turning back to look at either one of us.

"That's not permitted," I huff as I look past where Nolan is standing to make sure there isn't another reckless cyclist on their way. "You can't ride on the sidewalk unless you’re a child. He's not a child. He's a f*cking *."

I scream that last sentence in the hope that the light wind picks up my voice so the cyclist can hear me. I know he can't though. He's likely weaving around the pedestrians crowding Eighth Avenue by now.

"Are you all right?" I run my hand over his chest to smooth away the wrinkles on his shirt. "You definitely feel all right."

He grins before he leans down to kiss my forehead. "I just had the pleasure of being rescued by the beautiful Ellie Madden. I've never felt better."

"I didn't rescue you," I argue with a pout. "I gave you a heads-up."

"You tore my shirt," he challenges. "It's a small price to pay so don't mistake it for a complaint."

I study the front of his shirt. It's worn. The logo that used to be emblazoned across the front has faded. There's a small hole in the center, but I doubt I made it. "This shirt has seen better days. Since when do you dress like this?"

"You're saying you don't like how I'm dressed?"

I love how he's dressed. The T-shirt is the same color as his eyes. The jeans he's wearing are faded to perfection. He's wearing polished black shoes which look completely out of place yet perfect at the same time. "I never said that."

"So you like this look?"

"I don't mind it," I acquiesce. "It's the laid back version of you."

"Is this the laid back version of you?"

I look down at the white shorts and pink blouse I'm wearing. "It's semi laid back. I had a date before I called you."

He glares at me, the entire expression on his face shifting instantly. "We only date each other, Ellie. Please tell me you haven't forgotten that."

Of course not. We haven't discussed it since he brought the subject up in his office. That was before I knew about May or his vasectomy. I could argue that those life changing realizations void our agreement, but they don't. I promised him exclusivity. I intend to keep that promise until it's no longer what I want or until he tells me the same.

"I went to Queens for a playdate with my nieces."

I see the relief wash over his face. His shoulders relax and the tightness in his jaw disappears. "You have nieces?"

"Three of them," I admit. "I haven't seen them since I've been back in the city, so I went to Queens and hung out with them."

"How old are they?" He glances over his shoulder before his gaze settles back on me.

"The twins are seven and their sister is six."

"Twins?" he chuckles with a swipe of his hand across his brow. "Are they identical?"

I nod. "They are, but I can tell them apart. Aunties have ways of doing that."

"I've heard that." He straightens, his arms crossing over his chest. "What about the rest of your family? Can any of them tell them apart?"

"I don't have any other family. My parents aren't here anymore." I shift on my feet. "They're both gone. They're dead."

"I'm sorry, Ellie." He reaches for my hand. I let him take it. "I didn't know."

That surprises me. With all the information he's known about me, I'm shocked that he didn't uncover the truth about my mom and my dad.

"Do you want to talk about what happened to them?"

It's the question I always dread. It's not easy to answer. My mom died from cancer. Her inattention to her own health was her death sentence. She felt ill one morning and by the time the doctor at the free clinic by our apartment in Boston was done his examination the news was grim and she was on her way to the hospital in an ambulance.

A week later the news was worse. They gave her three months to live but her will was lost in the hospital room when a doctor she'd never met before told her that the cancer that had started in her lungs had overtaken her body.

That was when my dad came from New York City. They talked and cried, and then hours later she died. Life changed then and again on a cold winter evening when my dad, weakened from his addiction to anything that could numb the pain, died in a park in Manhattan, while I waited for him on a bench less than a mile away. He never came and my life was never the same.

"We don't have to talk about it tonight, Ellie." Nolan's voice breaks through my thoughts. "I'll order us a burger, two fries and a bottle of water. You can have the butter cookies this time."

I swallow. I want him to know about my parents but the words aren't there. "We'll split the cookies."