“You’re sure?” Same question, met with the same apologetic smile.
“One hundred percent.” He believed it.
Wasn’t this all I needed to hear? Knox’s assurance meant this marriage hadn’t fucked up Eloise’s reputation. Her family still saw her as responsible. Now I could walk away.
Except something was happening here. Something I couldn’t quite grasp. It was like my shoes were getting heavier. Like there were roots growing beneath my feet.
And they were pulling me toward the woman at the hotel’s reception desk.
The idea of being tied to someone again made my stomach churn. But as my gaze drifted to Eloise again, to that smile, the roiling slowed. It didn’t stop, but it calmed.
Knox followed my gaze, staring at his sister. “This hotel is the heart of Quincy. And Eloise is the heart of this hotel. Don’t break it.”
“I won’t.”
A fool’s promise. But I made it anyway. Hurting Eloise wasn’t an option.
If she wanted me to walk away, if she wanted her own freedom, I’d go.
But if she wanted me to stay . . .
It had happened last night, when I’d stood on the porch of the A-frame, watching my wife stand beneath the trees wearing only a towel, letting the rain soak her face.
Eloise was my wife.
There wasn’t a damn thing fake about this marriage. Not anymore.
So we’d get through this wedding in Italy. Then we’d talk. Once she saw the world where I’d come from, she could decide.
If she still wanted to end it, I’d walk away.
With the final guest checked in, Eloise waited for them to collect their luggage and make their way toward the elevators. Then she hopped off her stool and walked over, her feet practically floating over the hardwood floors.
She moved with grace. With lightness. Like she had invisible wings.
“Hi, angel.” I held out an arm, waiting until she slid into my side. Then I dropped a kiss to her hair.
“Hi.” Her eyes sparkled as she looked up, probably glad I was putting on a show for her brother. Or maybe, if I was lucky enough, she was just as glad to see me as I was to see her. “What are you doing here?”
“Thought I’d see if you wanted to go to lunch since you didn’t pack one.”
“How did you know I didn’t pack a lunch?”
Because there hadn’t been a knife covered in peanut butter and jelly when I’d put my breakfast dishes in the dishwasher this morning. “Did you?”
“No.” She smiled. “I was either going to get something from Lyla’s or beg my favorite older brother to make me lunch.”
Knox chuckled. “Griffin is your favorite older brother.”
“Yes, but this is your chance to beat him out.”
“That’s what you said the last time I made you lunch.”
“I did? Oh.” She lifted a shoulder. “See? You’re already the favorite. Congratulations. So about that lunch . . .”
Knox shook his head, his gaze shifting my direction. “You like ahi tuna?”
“Yeah.” I nodded.
“Our delivery truck just got here. Let me help the crew get everything put away, then I’ll make you lunch. I’ve been wanting to try something, but Memphis won’t eat tuna right now, so you can be my test subjects. Give me thirty.”
“Thank you.” Eloise leaned her cheek against my chest. “I owe you and Memphis a night of babysitting.”
“Deal.” Knox winked at her, then headed toward Knuckles.
“Okay, let me check in with the housekeepers and get someone to come man the desk.” Eloise untucked herself from my side.
“I’ll hang out.” I jerked my chin for her to go do her thing while I took the same seat on the couch, reading an online article about a man who completed 101 consecutive triathlons in 101 days.
If Foster wasn’t fighting, maybe I could train for a race. An Ironman or something.
Working as a trainer had never been about the money. As a member of the Vale family, I had my own trust. That fortune, held in my name since birth, mostly sat untouched. I didn’t need or want a flashy life.
But it gave me freedom. Freedom to buy an A-frame cabin in Montana. Freedom to pay cash for a diamond ring from the local Quincy jeweler. Freedom to make sure that if the Edens ever did sell The Eloise Inn, I’d buy it in a heartbeat for Eloise.
And while I didn’t need to work, I liked setting goals. Challenges. Maybe I could convince Foster to do a race. The two of us could train together. There was a Spartan race in Bigfork in May. We’d missed this year but maybe next.
If I was still in Montana.
Eloise appeared over my shoulder, dropping her forearms to the back of the couch. “Ready?”
“Yep.” I nodded, tucked my phone away and followed her into the restaurant.
“Mondays are usually slow,” she told me, waving at the waitress who motioned for us to take any table we wanted.
Eloise picked one in the center of the room, so I pulled out her chair, then took the seat beside hers.
“Why do you always take the seat beside me?” she asked.
“What do you mean?”
“You never sit opposite me when we’re eating. You always sit beside me. Is that like an East Coast manners thing?”
No, I just didn’t like having a whole table between us. The corner was enough. “Makes it easier to talk this way.”
“Because you talk so much,” she teased.
“I talk to you.”
Her eyes softened. “I guess you do.”
Last night’s conversation seemed to hang over our heads. Or maybe just mine.
“Does Foster know about your ex?” she asked.
“No.”
“Why’d you tell me?”
There was an eyelash on her cheek. I reached over to run my thumb across her skin, collecting the eyelash. With it on my finger, I held it out. “You asked me to try.”
Eloise stared at the eyelash for a long moment, like she was making a wish, then she blew the eyelash away, sending it floating to the floor. She unrolled her silverware from her napkin before draping the white cloth on her lap. “Are you going to take that job?”
Only if she wanted me to leave Quincy. “I don’t know. The guy seems nice enough. He’s young. Which either means he’s coachable or he thinks he already knows everything. I didn’t spend enough time with him to find out.”
“Why didn’t you?”
I unrolled my own silverware, waiting for her to answer her own question.
“You missed me,” she whispered, almost like she didn’t think it was real.
The waitress came over with glasses of ice water, interrupting our conversation to say hello to Eloise and introduce herself to me. She didn’t bother with our order since Knox had already told her he was making us lunch.
“So . . .” I said, leaning my forearms on the table as the waitress left. “Thought we could talk logistics about the wedding.”
“All right.” Eloise turned the rings on her left hand, spinning them clockwise.
“We’ll get there the day before the wedding. Thought we’d need a little time to adjust to the time difference. Get some sleep.”
“And explore?” She pinched her thumb and index finger together. “Just a tiny little bit. I’ll sleep when we get home.”