Fauxmance (Showmance #2)(43)
I should want to peel back her layers, see how she looked when she came, hear the noises she made. Unfortunately, my curiosity was all for someone else. That growing emptiness I’d felt before I met Ellen had started to shrink. Her presence in my life filled it.
“I made a new friend and I’ve been thinking about her a lot,” I confessed.
Cathy studied me, eyes gentle, but I did see a flicker of disappointment. It was understandable. You didn’t want the person you were with to be preoccupied with another. “You like her,” she surmised.
“Yes, but there’s more. She’s not at all what I first imagined her to be.”
She sat back and fiddled with her delicate gold bracelet. “Sometimes people can surprise us. One of my closest friends, when I first met her, I thought she was a right cow. It was only later that I realised what a great person she was. It’s those sorts of people, the ones who blindside us, who are unexpected, that often turn out to have the greatest impact on our lives.”
“I’m not accustomed to being so…consumed by someone.”
Cathy eyed me and lifted her glass. “No, I imagine it’s others who become consumed by you.”
I gave a soft smile. “You overestimate my charms.”
She shook her head. “I disagree. You’re one of a kind, Julian. If this woman doesn’t see that, then she doesn’t deserve you.”
Was that what I wanted? To be with Ellen romantically? It was a new sensation for me to feel a paternal protectiveness for someone, while at the same time finding them captivating, both spiritually and physically. Normally, it was one or the other. I wanted to protect someone platonically, like I did with Rose, or I wanted to sleep with them, get lost in a sexual affair.
Better that than ever be alone with my own thoughts.
With Ellen, it was a new mixture of both. I wanted to protect her as she discovered the world as Elodie, but I also wanted to shag her senseless.
Later on, Cathy and I parted ways. There was no sense trying to force things when they didn’t feel natural. Besides, we could try again once I got out of my Ellen fixation.
The weekend rolled in quickly and I was to escort her to the Suttons’ house party. I read the invitation for the umpteenth time.
You are cordially invited to the residence of
Branson and Krystyna Sutton for midnight supper.
Please arrive at 11:30 pm sharp.
No mobile phones or recording devices permitted.
I chuckled and decided I needed to add “midnight supper” to my repertoire of euphemisms. I was still trying to get my head around how we were even invited. Invites were reserved solely for celebrities, people in the public eye, and their companions. Elodie and I were neither, which begged the question, why had we been welcomed into the circle of trust?
I thought perhaps their group was getting a little stale, too many of the same people. What better way to spice things up than with two attractive and interesting strangers? When Elodie and I were together, we attracted attention. We were a potent combination. Krystyna had obviously seen that and wanted to get to know us better, as it were.
I wondered if Ellen was still meeting Suze on Tuesday mornings, but I’d purposely stayed away. She was worried about her true identity being discovered, and I didn’t want to make her nervous by showing up.
I texted her the details for the night ahead and got a response not long after.
Ellen: It starts at 11:30 pm? Why can’t people do things at normal hours anymore?
A smile curved my lips as I typed a reply.
Julian: You can’t very well have midnight supper at 7 pm, now can you?
Ellen: I still think it’s ridiculous. Who has the energy for a sex party at that time of night?
Ellen: Also, I don’t know what to wear.
Julian: Surprise me.
Ellen: Okay, I think I have a couple of dresses that might work.
A few minutes later I received another text.
Ellen: Awkward question but…are you planning on having sex with anyone at this party?
I paused, my finger hovering over the screen as I considered my answer. The only person I was interested in having sex with these days was her, but I couldn’t very well say that. Instead, I replied evasively.
Julian: I believe that’s the point.
Ellen: Okay.
Julian: Would you prefer it if I didn’t?
Ellen: I just won’t know what to do if you go off with someone. I’ll be standing there like a spare tit.
Julian: In that case, I’ll make you a promise. I won’t “go off with someone” unless you are already otherwise engaged. Wouldn’t want to make a tit of you ;-)
Ellen: You should’ve heard the snort I just made.
I grinned and put my phone away. When I arrived to pick her up, she answered the door in a long, flower print dressing gown, the sort an octogenarian might wear. Her makeup was done, but other than that she wasn’t anywhere near ready.
“I need your help. I’m freaking out a little,” she admitted as I followed her upstairs to her bedroom. Laid out on the bed were several outfits. I knew as soon as I clapped eyes on the deep purple dress that it was the one she should wear tonight. It would look perfect against her creamy skin.
I lifted the dress and handed it to her. “This one.”
Her mouth opened. “How did you know what I was going to ask?”