Rush: The Season (Austin Arrows Book 1)(122)

I don’t need to hear what he has to say. I turn my head and stare out the window.

“You can’t give up on her, Kingston.”

I frown, turning back. “Me? Who said I was giving up? She’s the one who’s working things out with James.”

Spencer leans back and glares at me. “Is that what you think is going on? You think the two of them are hooking up?”

My attention returns to the window. I don’t know what I think. We never talked about it. She never told me what the two of them talked about, and I never bothered to ask. I didn’t want to know.

I know he hasn’t met Bianca yet, but I did hear Spencer mention that she’s planning to introduce the two of them soon. The paternity test confirmed he’s the father, so it only makes sense.

“Have you met him?” Spencer asks.

Since one handshake in the hallway doesn’t count in my book, I shake my head but don’t look his way.

“Well, I have. He seems to be a good guy.”

Yeah, whatever.

“And he only wants the best for my niece.”

And your sister. I keep that part to myself.

“Do you even have any idea what my sister has done for—”

I snap my head around when he cuts himself off. “For what?”

“Nothing.” Spencer wads up the paper and gets to his feet. “Not important.”

If we weren’t sitting on a f*cking airplane, I would’ve pinned Spencer to the wall and insisted that he tell me what’s going on. Instead, I watch as he heads toward the back of the plane, then disappears from sight. I lean my head against the plastic beside the window and stare out at the white clouds beneath us.

I don’t need Spencer to point out the fact that I’m having a hard time doing my job because my mind is elsewhere. When I’m with Ellie, I feel invincible. When I’m not, I feel…

Like I’m missing a piece of myself.

And I don’t f*cking like it.

Not one bit.





Ellie

“So…” James smiles at me. “How do you want to do this?”

A torrent of butterflies is currently loose in my belly. The more I think about doing this, the worse I feel. Not because I shouldn’t be, but because it doesn’t feel like I’ve thought it all the way through. I talked to Noelle; she says she thinks it’s the right way to move forward. When I asked Spencer’s opinion, my brother told me he trusted my judgment and to know that he would always be there for me no matter what. There might’ve even been a small apology for the way he treated me when I originally told him.

The apology was nice, but neither of those answers helped my decision.

Which is why I’m having lunch with James, contemplating what the next step is. We’ve spent the past month getting to know each other. As far as I can tell, things have been going well. I like him. He’s a really nice guy. Not that I think I would’ve hooked up with a not nice guy, but I was twenty-one when I met him so … anything’s possible.

“You want to go to your place? Or mine?” he asks, leaning forward and putting his hand over the top of mine. “We’re good, Ellie.”

I nod, letting my gaze linger on our hands. “I know we are. I’m just nervous.”

“Are you worried about Kingston?”

I jerk my head so I can look in James’s face. “Why would you ask that?”

James leans back, his hand falling from mine. “Because you’re in love with him.”

I frown.

He smiles.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

He chuckles, then leans forward again. “I’ve been talking to you for a solid month, Ellie. Don’t think I haven’t noticed. Hell, why do you think I haven’t asked you out?”

Okay, now I’m really confused. “What?”

“I haven’t asked you out because I know you’re in love with another man.”

“I’ve never said that.”

“You don’t have to. But I see it, and I respect it. I don’t know him personally, but I know he’s a good guy.”

“That’s a big assumption, don’t you think?” I offer a mirthless laugh. “I mean, he was accused of hitting a woman.”

James stares back at me. “I know his brother, Ellie. Kingston Rush is a good guy. Whatever happened with that woman—”

“Nothing happened,” I hurry to say.

“I believe you.”

When James doesn’t say anything more, I have to say something. The silence is deafening.

“He is a good guy,” I say automatically. “A really good guy.” And it’s true, he is. Since I haven’t seen him in a little over two weeks, I think it’s safe to say we’re through, though. I don’t bother to mention that to James.

“And because of that and the fact that you love him, I agreed to help you find out about that girl.”

“I thought you did that for me.”

“In a way, I did. But not to get in your good graces, Ellie. I don’t want you to think that I would try to manipulate you like that. I want to get to know you because you’re the mother of my child. I want to talk to you because I like you as a person. I think we can be friends and we can raise Bianca together. I missed a lot of time with her and you did all the work. I’d like to help where I can. But I’m not here for anything other than to be a part of her life.”