ELLIE
As I approached the table, I noticed that Ethan seemed uncomfortable as he listened to the blonde speak, and when he saw me, his tension appeared to grow even more.
I stopped behind her, just in time to hear what she was saying.
“It’s great to have you back. Maybe we can plan something to remember the old times,” she suggested, right as Rosie and Phillipa walked past us, returning to the table.
Ethan was staring at me over the blonde’s shoulder, as if silently apologizing.
I just waited, curious to see what he would say next.
“I can’t,” he finally said. “Ellie?” he called, making the blonde turn toward me and stare.
The blonde turned toward me, her expression curious.
“Hello!” I greeted her, noticing the confusion on her face.
She was pretty, a little taller than me, with shiny blonde hair, much like Charlotte’s.
Did Ethan have a thing for blondes?
“Jess, this is Ellie, my girlfriend,” Ethan said.
Her blink of surprise revealed her confusion and disbelief.
“Girlfriend?” she repeated incredulously.
Moving past her, I stopped beside Ethan.
“I’ll let you two finish,” I said to him, stepping toward the table, but he stopped me by grabbing my arm.
“No. Wait. We’re already finished,” he said before turning back to her. “It was nice seeing you, Jess.”
“Wait, are you seriously dating someone?”
She seemed genuinely surprised, almost skeptical, as though it were unthinkable. And I knew why.
“Ethan Morgan has a girlfriend,” she said as if trying to convince herself. “Wow…” Then she smiled, turning her attention to me. “Sorry, where are my manners? I’m Jessica—or Jess, if you prefer.” She held out her hand.
“Ellie Brown,” I replied, shaking her hand, noticing how her eyes analyzed me.
“So, it looks like you’ve worked a miracle. I never thought I’d hear Ethan introduce someone as his girlfriend,” she said with a smile.
I forced a smile in return. It seemed like she knew him well—but how well? I thought their relationship had been nothing more than casual.
“Well, I have to go. It was nice seeing you, Ethan, and a pleasure to meet you, Ellie.”
Ethan nodded.
“Good luck,” she said to me. “You’ll need it, for however long this lasts.” She winked before turning her back on us.
*For however long this lasts?*
Her words echoed in my mind as I watched her walk away.
I knew exactly what she meant, and maybe I should have been angry at her—but I wasn’t.
The look she gave me seemed more like she pitied me than like she was trying to confront me. But her words managed to hit me where it hurt the most.
“Hey,” Ethan said softly, stepping closer and tilting my chin up. “I’m sorry about that.”
“It’s fine,” I replied, brushing it off and avoiding his eyes. “I’m just tired. Can we go now?”
I turned away, heading to the table to say goodbye to the others.
“Are you okay?” Rosie asked as I leaned in to hug her goodbye.
I nodded, forcing a smile to reassure her. But I wasn’t okay, and it had nothing to do with Ethan or his ex being there.
It had everything to do with my fear, my insecurity, and how insignificant things like this made me question if I was doing the right thing.
But I knew this was something I had to deal with on my own. I had decided to try, and this would never work if I kept fearing history would repeat itself.
I waited for Ethan to say his goodbyes to the others before heading toward the exit, with him right behind me.
Outside, we stood on the curb to wait for a taxi.
He suddenly grabbed my hand as we waited.
“Hey, look at me,” he said, gently tilting my chin up. “Are you upset?”
“I’m fine,” I sighed, avoiding his gaze again.
“No, you’re not. I know because you won’t look me in the eye. Now, talk to me.”
“There’s nothing to talk about.” I met his brown eyes this time, holding his gaze.
“I thought we had an agreement.”
“I’m fine. This has nothing to do with you.”
“No. I think it has everything to do with me.”
He looked worried, but there wasn’t much more to say. I just needed to get my thoughts and feelings in order. Maybe I shouldn’t have accepted the invitation for this trip—maybe it was too soon.
“I just want to go home, okay?” I said, brushing my hand over his face to reassure him.
He nodded.
✽
It started raining as soon as we got out of the taxi. We rushed up to his apartment in silence. We didn’t talk during the ride home, and because of that, he was restless.
When we got in, I headed straight for the bedroom and began undressing. Ethan followed, sitting on the bed.
“Need help?” he asked as I pulled my top off.
I stifled a smile.
“No. I’ve got it.”
“Ellie…”
“What?” I asked, turning to him.
He sighed in frustration before heading to the bathroom. I guess the night was going to end very differently from what we’d planned.
After finishing undressing and removing my makeup, I slipped under the sheets. Ethan emerged from the bathroom shortly after, wearing just his underwear. I avoided staring at his body.
Once the lights were off, leaving only my bedside lamp on, he climbed into bed beside me.
“Come here,” he said, wrapping an arm around me and pulling me close.
I relaxed against his broad chest as his fingers began tracing the curve of my waist.
“I’m sorry. You shouldn’t have had to hear that crap.”
“It’s fine.”
“No. It’s not. If it were, we’d be having sex right now.”
I stifled a laugh.
“Goodnight,” I whispered.
“Goodnight, love,” he replied, pressing a kiss to the top of my head.
✽✽✽
ETHAN
Jason and Neil got out of the car to help with the bags.
“How the hell did you get one of these?” I asked Jason, staring at the massive SUV, which looked like it could hold a lot more people than just the six of us.
He laughed, picking up one of the bags on the ground and heading toward the back of the car.
“Look on the bright side—it’s not a minivan,” Neil said, making me smile.
“You’re right,” I agreed.
We headed to the back of the car, where Jason was loading the luggage.
“Hey! Where’s Ellie?” Rosie’s voice called from inside the car.
“She’s on her way!” I shouted back as I helped Jason arrange the last of the bags in the trunk.
Neil cleared his throat behind me, catching my attention.
“Seems like you didn’t have much luck last night.”
“Yeah, what were the odds?”
“I thought she wasn’t the jealous type,” Jason said.
“She’s not.”
“Then?” Neil asked, curious.
I was trying to come up with an explanation when Ellie walked out of the building, heading our way.
She looked gorgeous, but her silence and unreadable mood were starting to get on my nerves.
She kept insisting there was nothing to talk about, but all I wanted was for her to tell me what was wrong. I had no idea if she was mad about what Jess had said, and there wasn’t much I could do—or say—without knowing what the hell the problem was.
I’d thought maybe things would be different when we woke up this morning, but when she turned down my invitation to shower together, I knew nothing had changed.
“Morning, guys,” she greeted them as she reached the car and went straight to talk to the girls.
I took a deep breath. Maybe I could get her to open up on the way to the Cotswolds.
After closing the trunk, we hit the road. Jason was driving, with Phillipa in the front passenger seat.
Neil and Rosie were seated in the middle, while Ellie and I took the seats in the back.
For the first few minutes of the trip, Rosie told Ellie everything she knew about the village and the places they could visit. It seemed like she was already familiar with the area.
When she finally quieted down and turned her attention to Neil, I decided to try talking to Ellie.
“What do you want to do today?” I asked, resting my hand on her thigh.
“Looks like Rosie already has a plan in mind,” she replied with a shrug.
“She doesn’t have to be part of our plans,” I whispered, squeezing her thigh.
“She’s excited. I think it would be rude,” she said, then opened the book she was carrying.
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.
*It’s just the first day. Be patient.*
✽
Jason parked the car in front of the massive hotel in Castle Combe. According to Rosie, the building was several centuries old and also featured a restaurant and a golf course.
The place was truly stunning, and being in a rural area, it was surrounded by green fields, offering a beautiful view of the horizon.
My attention shifted to Ellie, who was looking around, captivated. During the two-hour drive, she’d only put down the damn book to respond to Rosie or Phillipa.
But now, she had no way to avoid me.
“This place is simply incredible. I can’t wait to go out and explore,” Phillipa said enthusiastically.
“Well, I’m starving, but how about we do a little tour after lunch?” Rosie suggested.
“I’d love to visit the village we passed on the way,” Ellie added.
“We can do that too,” Rosie agreed.
*Okay. Maybe I was wrong.*
✽
She looked absolutely irresistible as she got ready in front of the mirror, and she seemed oddly cheerful. But unfortunately, her mood had nothing to do with me because she’d spent practically the whole day chatting and laughing with Rosie and Phillipa.
After we checked into the hotel and got settled in our rooms, she quickly changed and headed down to lunch with the two of them. I was there too, but it was like I didn’t exist.
After lunch, they toured the hotel before deciding to visit the village for some exploring. And all Jason, Neil, and I did was follow them around like lost puppies.
But unlike them, I’d spent the past few months apart from my girl. All I wanted now was to spend as much time as possible alone with her—preferably in a room.
I stared at her ass in the sexy black dress, groaning inwardly.
Damn it. This wasn’t how I’d imagined this trip.
“Aren’t you tired?” I asked, sitting on the bed.
She turned to me, frowning in confusion.
“We could just skip the bar and stay here,” I explained.
“I can’t. I already made plans with the girls.”
I took another deep breath, probably the millionth of the day, trying to keep calm.
*It’s fine. It’s only the first day.*
We met up with the others in the hotel lobby. The pub was in the village, just a few minutes away on foot, so we walked.
During the short walk, the girls stole Ellie away from me again. I knew they were trying to be nice and make her feel comfortable, but I was this close to asking Neil and Jason to tell their girlfriends to stop monopolizing my girl.
“You’re not even trying to hide it,” Neil said with a grin, walking beside me.
“Hide what?” I nearly growled.
“Be patient. The night’s just getting started,” he said, patting my shoulder.
“Not like you’d understand,” I muttered.
“Do you really think we didn’t notice you’ve been on the verge of exploding all day?” Jason said from a little behind us before letting out a loud laugh.
Neil joined in, the two of them laughing at my expense, which only irritated me more.
✽
An hour later, I was at my limit. I didn’t feel like talking or drinking anymore. We were sitting at a table in the back of the pub while the girls laughed and chatted by the bar.
The place was nearly empty, with soft background music playing. I finished off the rest of the beer in my glass, ignoring the conversation at the table.
When an upbeat song started playing, Phillipa suddenly began dancing, dragging the other two to join her. Maybe they were already tipsy.
My eyes were glued to Ellie, to the way she moved, every sway of her hips fuelling my frustration.
Fuck it. I was already at my limit.
Getting up, I strode toward them with purpose, feeling my blood boil even more.
Stopping behind her, I leaned down and grabbed her hips.
She let out a sharp squeal as I hoisted her over my shoulder.
“That’s enough,” I said, carrying her toward the exit.