Page 83 of Wild Love

She smiled, relief evident on her face. "That's wonderful. I really appreciate it."

She walked away as if she hadn't just blown up my entire world. Why would Eli have bought the theater unless he thought it would get me to stay? The bigger question was, why had he kept it from me?

I drove to the lodge, not really seeing anything. It was a good thing it wasn't icy. I would have slid right off the road into a ditch. By the time I parked, my hands were shaking from anger. There were other thoughts on the edge of my consciousness, but I couldn't move past the shock.

I knocked on Eli's door, a little louder than normal. He opened it with his white button-down rolled up his forearms, just how I liked it. I smelled something cooking, maybe roasted chicken?

"I missed you." He pulled me into his arms and closed the door, but he must have sensed that I was stiff against him and pulled back. "What's wrong? Did something happen?"

"A Realtor came to the theater to talk to me. I didn't catch her name." I stepped away, knowing I couldn't think while he was so close to me.

Eli's face went from surprise to carefully blank.

"She wanted me to pass on a message to you."

"Oh, yeah? And what's that?"

I took a deep breath. "She wanted to know if you were interested in selling the theater. Her client wants to convert it into a bar and restaurant."

Eli bit off a curse, running a hand through his hair.

"Were you going to tell me you bought the theater?" I was embarrassed that my voice trembled.

"I thought about doing it tonight but—" He watched me like I was liable to storm out at any second.

"I don't understand why you'd buy the theater unless you thought it would keep me here. Did my family pressure you? Or was this your idea?" What I couldn't figure out was how he was going to keep me here. Once the play was over, then what? Did he think I'd want to continue teaching classes and never want to leave? I felt so betrayed. This was worse than Steve because I trusted Eli. "Did everyone else know about this?"

"Marigold didn't. But the Fletchers did. They work in real estate, and Mac told me the theater was for sale. I didn't buy it with the intention to keep you here?—"

I raised a brow and crossed my arms over my chest.

Eli sighed. "Maybe it was somewhat. It's not as bad as you're making it sound. I wanted to do something that would make you happy."

"So you bought a theater? That's insane. Who does that?" I let my hands fall to my sides.

"I do apparently. It was obviously the wrong thing." His tone was dry, his eyes wary.

"Ya think?" I asked sarcastically, anger coursing through myveins. I couldn't get past the fact that one more person—one I trusted—would manipulate me in this way.

Eli grabbed the back of his neck. "The theater was for sale, and I thought it would be a nice space for the kids. You could have a real performance. Maybe on some level, I hoped you'd want to stay."

I couldn't shake the sense of betrayal. "Why not be upfront with me? Why not tell me what your plan was?"

"I knew you wouldn't like it."

"Well, news flash, I don't. No one likes to be manipulated. Especially by someone richer and more powerful."

Eli's eyes flashed with irritation. "Whoa. Where is this coming from? You've never said anything like that before."

"I had trouble with my last boss. He thought he could push me around, and when I quit instead of putting up with his high-handedness, he blacklisted me in the industry. I couldn't get another position."

"I didn't know that."

"And here you are doing the same thing." In the back of my mind, I knew it wasn't exactly the same. Steve used his position to try and get what he wanted from me physically. Eli bought a theater to get me to stay here. His intentions were good.

Eli grimaced. "What do you want to do? If you don't want the theater?—"

"The theater is yours. Not mine. I work for you apparently, for free." The wounds were piling up. I trusted him, and he'd gone behind my back in the ultimate scheme to get me to stay. At least my family just used guilt. This was above and beyond anything I'd ever experienced before.

---