11. Ellie

11

Ellie

The musty smell of old cardboard boxes fills the air as I step into the dimly lit storage room. It's time to clean this place out, once and for all. The clutter has been piling up for months, collecting dust and cobwebs like forgotten relics of the past.

Grams has never been one to prioritize organization of any kind. I thought owning a business would have forced her to make that change, but no such luck.

I really should have dug into this before agreeing to take over the store.

As I start sorting through the boxes, my mind drifts back to yesterday, to that moment of Kiara calling Ethan her fiancé.

When will I learn?

How quickly I became the woman he cheated with instead of the woman he cheated on.

He had been so sweet. We had just had amazing sex and he’s got a fiancé e.

Well, he said they weren’t together, but how do I know that he’s not lying to me?

Kiara, with her sleek blonde hair and impeccable sense of style, exudes an air of elegance and sophistication that I can't help but envy. She's like a vision of perfection, naturally attractive in a way that I'll never be. Her designer clothes and designer bags scream wealth and privilege, a world that feels light years away from my own.

She’s perfect for him.

She fits his extravagant lifestyle better than I ever could.

They look so perfect together, like a match made in heaven.

Memories of college come flooding back, memories of stumbling upon Dakota’s nude photos on Ethan’s phone, the text messages from Jaclyn, a betrayal that cut me to the core. And now, history seems to be repeating itself, playing out like a cruel joke that I can't escape from.

I swallow back the bile rising in my throat, forcing myself to focus on the task at hand. I can't let Ethan and Kiara's presence derail me from my mission. I have a business to run, a life to live, and I refuse to let them dictate my happiness.

I glance at my reflection in the dusty mirror propped against the wall, taking in the tired eyes and tangled hair staring back at me.

I may not have Kiara's beauty but it doesn’t mean that I’m less than because he’s not choosing me.

It’s his loss.

Why do I so desperately want him to choose me?

It was fitting that Dakota came in too.

The Universe is like see, bitch, seeeeee?

I did notice that he barely paid attention to her though.

There’s a noise from the front of the store and I hear Keeley greet a customer.

“Is El around?” I hear Ethan ask.

Please say no. Please say no. Please say no.

“Who?”

“Elena,” he chuckles.

“Umm, she’s here somewhere. I’ll go find her.”

“Mind if I do?”

“I don’t know if Ellie wants to see you so I’m not going to let you just wander around the store.”

I giggle to myself.

Atta girl.

Ethan is quiet which makes it even funnier to me. Keeley comes around the corner and pokes her head in the storage room. I grin back at her.

“Ethan Anderson is requesting your presence.”

“I heard,” I laugh. “I think you rattled him a bit. I’m here for it.”

“Your grandma told me the two of you had history,” she smiles sheepishly. “I thought it was weird he would come in to visit Grams every week and bring her different types of coffee pods or whatever.”

“He did what?”

“You didn’t know?”

I shake my head. “He was visiting Grams weekly?”

“Yeah. I thought it was her grandson at first and then she introduced him to me as her grandson’s best friend. According to Grams, when he played for Nashville he would visit periodically in the off season, he’d just drop in. When he got traded to Frostwood Falls he was coming multiple times a week whether it was the off-season or not. I asked her why he visited so much because it seemed weird to me. She said his family was a bunch of jerks and then later she told me the history you two had.”

“Grams never told me this.”

Actually, that’s how he met Kiara. She came in a lot, Grams told me she was an aspiring designer because I’d see them talking all the time. She was leaving one day and ran into Ethan. She was really rude to him, blew him off, and then when she saw he was here a lot too she started throwing herself at him.”

“Kiara and Grams were friends?”

“Nah, I don’t think they were friends. All of their conversations seemed really tense.”

“Is that why Ethan was always here?”

“Grams thought that it was how he remained close to you and that he didn’t feel safe going to anyone else for advice. She always said that he’s an extremely private person and felt special that he came to her with anything.”

“Advice on what?”

“How to win you back mostly,” she shrugs.

“That was a long time ago.”

She shakes her head. “No, he’s been coming here the entire time I’ve worked here. I heard him and Grams talking about you last week.”

“What?” I gasp. “You had to have misunderstood.”

“No, I heard Kiara is trying to get him back.”

“Yeah, I met her yesterday. Are you sure it’s his ex?”

“The talk is that they’re back together, but I specifically heard him tell Grams and Daniel that they were over and he’d never take her back because she’s not who he wants. Grams said she’s a vile human being.”

“I wish you wouldn’t have told me any of this.”

“I do believe he’s genuine. I know I don’t know you that well, but I’ve been where you are so if you want me to tell him to fuck off, I will.”

“Thanks,” I giggle. “I think you and I are going to become great friends.”

She grins back at me widely. “Do you want me to tell him I couldn’t find you?”

“That would be great.”

She nods and leaves the storage room.

“It’s the darndest thing,” I hear her say loudly. “She must have stepped out without telling me. I can’t seem to find her.”

“I heard you talking to someone.”

“I talk to ghosts,” she answers simply.

“You’re not a good liar.”

I laugh to myself.

I really like this girl. She’s fantastic.

“I don’t aspire to be. Do you plan on buying something?”

I hear him groan before the bell above the door chimes a few seconds later.

He left that easily?

Rude.

I take a deep breath and shake my head.

Come on, Ellie. Knock it off.

He’s shown you who he is time and time again. Why won’t you listen?

I hear a noise behind me and turn to see Ethan strut into the storage room.

“Excuse me, what are you doing here?”

“Your security guard wouldn’t let me through so I came in the back door. Grams gave me and your brother keys for emergencies. I opened for Grams once because her arthritis flared up so bad and she was slow to get out of bed. That was the day she admitted that she needed to pass the store on to you..”

“Aren’t you sweet,” I reply drily as I turn my back to him.

“I came to help. I know you’re overwhelmed.”

“You know, huh?”

I hate him for realizing that.

I have to keep him at arm’s length. I cannot let him in again.

“What would you like me to do?”

“I’d like you to leave and stop trying to pretend as though we’re friends. You’re my boss, right now, that’s it.”

“I am your friend.”

“I haven’t spoken to you in six years,” I laugh drily.

“You blocked me.”

“I had to."

“We’ve been through this already, Ellie. It’s like we’re beating a dead horse.”

I let out a groan and turn my back to him.

I hate that he’s developed this new skill of calling me out.

“I need to do this alone.”

“Do you need to do it alone because it’s therapeutic or because you don’t want to accept my help?”

I groan under my breath, because it’s definitely the latter.

“Just go.”

“Can we talk about this, hash it out, and let go?” he asks softly as he sits down on a set of boxes across from me.

“There’s no need to do so. I’ve moved on from it.”

“If you moved on then you wouldn’t be bringing it up right now.”

Bastard.

“I’m in the middle of a mess right now, so no, I don't want to hash anything out with you at the moment.”

“Tell me what you need me to do.”

“Leave.”

“I can’t do that,” he shrugs. ‘

I want to hate him right now for not listening to me, but at the same time I’m grateful that he’s not because I am overwhelmed and need the help.

He stands up and begins going through boxes. I let out a frustrated groan and roll my eyes.

My eyes go to the wall where he had me pressed against the day before.

He felt so good inside of me.

I feel the heat and wetness between my legs.

Why does my body betray me every damn time?

“Don’t you have hockey practice or conditioning or meetings?”

“All of the above, but they’re not until later.”

“Lucky me.”

I sigh as I open another dusty box, its contents a jumbled mess of memories and forgotten treasures. The storage room feels like a labyrinth of crap. My fingers trace over the worn edges of old photographs, a smile tugging at my lips as I recall the moments captured within them.

Grams kept everything in here.

But there's work to be done, and I can't afford to get lost in reminiscence.

"Ethan, could you please be a little more careful?" I call out, my voice tinged with frustration.

He is rummaging through his own box with all the finesse of a bull in a china shop, sending papers flying and knocking over stacks of books.

"Sorry, Ellie," he mumbles, not sounding sorry at all. "There’s not much room to move in here.”

I roll my eyes, resisting the urge to point out that if he'd organize his stuff properly, he wouldn't have this problem.

It’s not his fault Grams was a packrat, stop taking your frustrations out on him.

I turn my attention back to sorting through the contents of the box methodically. I group similar items together, making mental notes of what to keep and what to toss. It's a process that brings me a strange sense of satisfaction, like I'm restoring order to the chaos.

Suddenly, a sharp squeak echoes through the room, making me freeze. My heart pounds in my chest as I scan the dimly lit space, searching for the source of the sound. My mind conjures up images of rats scurrying through the shadows, gnawing on forgotten scraps.

"Did you hear that?" I whisper.

"Hear what?"

I shake my head, dismissing the thought as paranoia. But then I hear it again, louder this time, accompanied by the rustle of movement. I follow the sound, my pulse racing with a mixture of fear and curiosity.

And then, out of nowhere, a sleek black cat leaps out from behind a stack of boxes, its eyes glowing in the dim light. I let out a startled yelp, stumbling backward and nearly tripping over my own feet.

"Ethan!" I shriek, reaching out blindly for something to steady myself. Before I know it, I'm tumbling into his arms, my heart pounding against my ribcage.

"What the heck, Ellie?" he exclaims, catching me with surprising strength. "You scared the living daylights out of me!"

I take a deep breath, trying to slow my racing heart. "Sorry," I mutter, feeling a flush of embarrassment creeping up my neck. "I thought... I thought it was a rat."

He chuckles, his arms still wrapped around me. "Well, unless rats have started meowing, I think we're safe."

I can't help but laugh at his logic, the tension melting away as quickly as it had come. I push myself away from him, trying to ignore the flutter of warmth in my chest.

“How on Earth did a cat get in here? Did Grams have a pet she failed to mention?”

“No pet,” he laughs. “The building isn’t in the greatest shape, there’s no telling how it got in here.”

I hear another noise.

Is there more than one cat in here because I thought the other one took off out of the room.

I go back to look behind the boxes that the black cat jumped out of only to see five balls of fur snuggled in a corner.

“Oh no,” I mutter as I move the boxes.

“What’s wrong?”

“She has kittens.”

“Don’t touch them, she might not come back for them.”

I glance up at Ethan in surprise before kneeling in front of the kittens. They’re barely two weeks old, I think as none of their eyes are open yet.

“I guess I’ll take a pause to go get some supplies for them. It looks like the store has pet cats now.”

“You’re keeping them?”

“What else would I do?”

I stand up and walk out of the room. I make my way across the hall to the office where I grab my purse and cell phone. There is a pet store a few doors down and I’ll keep my business local.

“Hey Keeley?” I call out as Ethan is right on my heels.

How annoying.

“Yeah?” she calls from the corner of the store where she’s kneeling on the ground dusting some shelves.

“I found some kittens and a mama cat, I’m going to get some food and such for them.”

“You found what?”

She stands up, dusts herself off and then looks back at me. Her eyes narrow disgustedly as she sees Ethan behind me.

“A mama cat and some kittens behind the boxes in the storage room.”

“I thought I told you to leave,” she says to Ethan.

“I took it upon myself not to listen,” he shrugs as he throws her a charming smile.

“I’ll be back.”

I walk out of the store with Ethan right on my heels.

“Ethan, no.”

“I’m not a dog.”

“Sure about that?” I snap before I blow out a long breath. “That was rude. I need space. You are my boss, how much clearer do I need to make that?”

“How much clearer do I need to make it that I want to fix this rift between us?”

Would it be rude to punch him in the face right now?

Would it be wrong to kiss him?

Gahhhhhh, why am I this way?

I turn on my heel and walk away.

He doesn’t follow, but I hear the door to the boutique open and close.

I’ve been asking for him not to give up so easily, I can’t exactly be mad that the Universe is delivering.

“Hey babe, want to grab dinner tonight? I’m dying to catch up and tell you all about things with the new guy. I hope you’re not mad at me for dating your ex.”

I roll my eyes inwardly as I read Jaclyn’s text.

I open it and don’t reply.

Is she trying to tell me that she and Ethan are dating?

He told me that he hadn’t talked to her in years. Which one of them is lying?

Why haven’t I blocked her yet?