RISK(63)

That doesn't surprise me. Eda anticipates everything before it happens. She's the one who told me darker shades of lipstick would be the big ticket items last fall. She was right. She's also the person who warned me that Shelby was trouble when she showed up at my office unannounced. That's how we met. She marched into my life because she wanted to be the face of the summer line. I took her to bed instead, not heeding any of Eda's words.

"Don't try and make sense of falling in love, sir." She picks up the mug and stands. "Just enjoy it. Let your heart feel what it wants to and trust that Miss Madden feels the same about you."

I do trust it. I saw it last night when I made love to Ellie and she clung to me for an hour after. It was there in her eyes when she kissed me goodnight and held my face in her hands. She's falling in love with me too and I'll do everything in my power to make certain that doesn't change.

***

"The background check brought up nothing on a sibling." Crew keeps his eyes trained on where Ellie is standing next to the entrance of the store. "The information Kristof pulled listed Ellie's mother's name and her date of death. He found nothing about her father or a sibling."

"I had no idea her father was dead or that she even knew him." I stiffen as I survey the area near the skin care creams. "I wasn't surprised when she told me about her mother's passing. I wasn't prepared when she brought up her nieces."

"I'll call Kristof right now and get a new file on Ellie." He taps my forearm. "I'll get him to dig deeper. Any questions you still have will be answered."

"I don't want that." I look at him. "If I have a question, I'll ask Ellie myself."

"Ask me what?"

I turn at the sound of Ellie's voice. Her eyes dart between Crew and I before she finally settles on me. I wait a beat before I say anything. "Ask if you're free for dinner tonight."

"Not tonight." She shakes off the question with a two-word reply and a shrug of her shoulder. "I keep forgetting to ask if you've seen a necklace. I lost one. I usually keep it in my shoebox but I thought it might be in yours."

"Shoebox?" Crew huffs out a laugh. "You two are already at the cute code talk stage which means I'm out of here."

Ellie watches as he walks away. "The necklace isn't expensive, but it does mean something to me. I'm pissed that I didn't get the clasp fixed before it broke."

"It's being fixed as we speak." I tuck her hair behind her ear. "I found it at the shoebox yesterday. I was going to give it to you last night but it slipped my mind. I noticed the broken clasp this morning so I sent it to a jeweler in Chelsea. She does excellent work."

"You're kind of perfect." She tosses me a smile. "I'm sorry about tonight but I promised Adley we'd go to a movie."

Her devotion to her best friend is admirable. It's also annoying, but I'm learning that Ellie isn't the type of woman to alter her life for anyone.

"I'll hang out with May." I lean in to kiss her forehead. "Shoot me a text before you go to sleep."

"So I can talk dirty to you?"

"So you can text dirty to me," I correct her with a smug smile.

"Deal." She reaches for my hand and brings it to her mouth. She closes her eyes before she brushes her lips across my fingertips. "Keep your phone close, Nolan. You never know when I'll get the urge to message you."

I watch as she walks away, the swell of her ass under the tight red pencil skirt she's wearing moves with every step she takes.

My phone chimes. I look down at the screen and the message from Ellie.

You're so busy staring at my ass that you haven't noticed the woman standing behind you staring at your ass. I can't say I blame her.

I look up to see Ellie disappear into the stock room, her back straight, her focus forward.

I debate whether to turn but I do. I pivot on my heel and face the woman who apparently is checking me out.

"Nolan Black," she says my name before I register that I've never seen her before. She's petite with long dark hair and a tailored white suit. "I'm Thea Morgan. I'm representing Shelby Leon. We can do this the easy way or you can make it hard. I'm open to either approach."

Somewhere in there is a reference to my cock. I can tell by the way she's checking out the outline of my erection through my pants. I have Ellie's ass to thank for that, which I will do, personally as soon as possible.

"My eyes are up here." I tap my nose. "My lawyer is across town. He's the one you should be speaking with."

She slides her gaze up my frame until her eyes are locked with mine. "My office is half way between here and there and I have a press conference scheduled there in an hour with Shelby by my side. I thought you might want to discuss terms before that happens."

"The only thing I want to discuss is how misinformed you are." I tense. "My lawyer has undeniable proof that I am not the father of Ms. Leon's baby. If my name is brought into this in a public manner, there will be repercussions."

"I'll postpone until I review what your attorney has." Her gaze darts quickly around the store. "I use Matiz products. I have to tell you I've never used anything better."