Come Back for Me (Arrowood Brothers #1)(74)

He looks down at our situation and curses. “Fuck!”

“Hey,” I say quickly, touching his cheek. “What’s wrong?”

“This is not how . . . Jesus, Ellie, I’m sorry. I was like a madman a second ago.”

He slowly puts my feet back on the floor and then cups my face in his warm hands, which I really liked on my breasts a moment ago. “I wanted you just as badly.”

“There’s stuff we need to talk about, and I lost my mind for a minute.”

“It’s fine,” I reassure him. “I promise, we have plenty of time to talk.”

His eyes flash with something I don’t quite catch. “Just . . . I don’t want to do this now or here. Not when Hadley and Declan can come walking back in. You and I, we need some time.”

I nod. “I agree. We have a lot to talk about.”

“Yeah.” He breathes the word.

“Okay, when is your brother leaving?”

He looks out the door and runs his fingers through his hair. “Tonight. He has to get back to New York.”

That gives me some relief from the guilt of not calling Sydney when I got out of work to talk about him being here. “Okay, so maybe I can ask Syd to keep Hadley tomorrow?”

I plan to have Connor all to myself.

His smile doesn’t quite touch his eyes. “Tomorrow then.”

“Tomorrow.”





Chapter Thirty-Three


Ellie





I pull up to the house and check my face in the mirror. I really wish I had some time to change into something sexy or really do any primping at all. Thankfully, I spent a good extra twenty minutes in the shower shaving and scrubbing areas I sort of have let go the last few months.

Tonight, I need everything to be perfect.

Hadley is at Sydney’s house, where they have a whole girls’ night planned with nails, hair, and movies. I’d let my daughter go on and on about everything she was going to do until my friend shooed me out the door with a comment about making good choices and wiggling her brows with a grin.

Yes, we all know what is going to happen tonight.

Nerves hit me like a ton of bricks, cementing me in place. I know that I love him, and I want this. I know that if we hadn’t been worried about Declan and Hadley coming back last night, I would’ve let him strip me down right there in the hallway.

Desire and trust aren’t the issue—it’s fear that I’m not going to be what he wants.

I’d only ever been with him that one night, and then I was with Kevin. If you ask my now ex-husband, he’d tell you I was terrible in bed.

I worry that Connor will feel the same.

My head drops to the steering wheel as I fret over a whole new set of things for a few long minutes until I hear a knock on the window beside me and scream.

“What the—”

Connor is standing there, looking at me with concern in his eyes. “You planning on staying here?”

“I’m planning on trying to remember how to breathe first.”

He gives me a soft smile and opens the door. “I heard the car and waited, but you didn’t come into the house.”

“I was having a sort of freak out, but I’m okay now.”

I get out of the car and take his hand. When we get to the front door, he turns to me. “Ellie, I don’t want you to be nervous. I want to talk, and hopefully, we can—”

My hand presses against his lips, silencing him. We’ve talked and talked and talked. I’m not up for more of that tonight.

No, tonight, I’m done with words.

“I’m not nervous, Connor.” And then I stop myself. I don’t want to lie to him. “Okay, I am, but not for the reasons you think. I’m nervous because, for the first time in my life, I feel like things are good. You’re everything, and I want us right now—”

Connor’s lips are on mine before I can say anything else. They are soft, sweet, and nothing like they were last night.

We aren’t worried about time or anyone else tonight. We have nothing to stop us from loving one another now.

I pull back, needing to say what’s in my heart. “I love you.”

“You have no idea how much I love you, Ellie. There’s no way I could ever explain it.”

I lift my hand, brushing my fingers against his stubble. “Then show me. We can talk after.”

He hesitates for a second before leaning down and scooping me up into his arms. We don’t say anything else because, sometimes, more words aren’t needed.

We reach his bedroom, and he pushes the door open. My head rests on his chest, and I can hear the steady thrum of his heart. I want to memorize this sound. Each second of this night, I want embedded in my brain.

To be loved, truly loved, is all I’ve ever wanted.

He sets me on the bed and then takes a step back.

“What’s wrong?”

“Wrong?” he asks.

“You . . . you’re well, you’re over there.”

Connor closes his eyes and breathes through his nose. “I have things I need to say.”

I get to my feet and go to him. “We’ve talked a lot the last few months, and right now, I want to feel. Will you let me feel?”

He wants me to ask for what I want, and I’m doing it. I don’t want to talk about our pasts or our future. I want the present.