Page 82 of Off Limits

Sticking his hands in his pockets, he glances my way. “I had an ulterior motive, besides my apology.”

Ellie glances my way too, her face solemn. “Oh?” she asks softly.

Cal nods. “I know you guys had something serious going on, and I don’t know the details”—he holds up his hands, palms out—“and I don’t want to, so no one tell me anything. But I know that Simon’s been moping around here for the last week and a half, and from the look on your face after the game, Ellie, and the little bit that I caught of what you said, I’m guessing you have too. I don’t know what went wrong between you, but I feel like me being a giant douchecanoe probably hasn’t helped anything. And maybe you wouldn’t have even had the fight you had if you didn’t feel the need to keep what’s between you a secret from me. So you officially have my blessing.” He makes the sign of the cross in the air in front of him, which causes Ellie to burble out a laugh. My mouth twitches with a suppressed smile, too.

“I ordered Chinese from our favorite place, and I paid and tipped them already.” He pulls his keys out of his pocket. “I’m gonna go somewhere else for a while and let you two figure out your shit, okay?” He looks at me. “Let me know when it’s safe to come home.”

I give a jerky nod. “Sure.”

And with one last quick hug for Ellie, he leaves, only a gust of cold air filling the hallway in his wake.

Now it’s just Ellie and me. Alone. And suddenly, despite this being exactly what I wanted like five minutes ago, I have no idea what to say to her. How to start this conversation. What to do with my hands.

Oh god. I’m going to fuck this up all over again, aren’t I?

CHAPTER FORTY-ONE

Ellie

I blink at Simon. He stares at me, still standing in the entrance to the living room with his arms crossed.

God, I wish he would put those arms around me.

Cal’s hugs were nice, sure, but he’s not the one I actually want to patch things up with. Though I do appreciate the fact that he acknowledged he’s been awful for years and is promising to do better. We’ll just have to see how things play out there, though I suppose him leaving me alone with Simon and ordering us dinner is a start. I never would’ve expected him to do something like that. Like … ever. If he hadn’t told me himself that’s what was going on, I would never have believed it.

When Simon makes no move to invite me in or speak or … anything, I finally clear my throat. “Would you … I mean, earlier you didn’t really seem to want to talk to me. I didn’t know this was what Cal intended, so … I can go.” I nod to myself. “Yeah. I think … I think I’ll just go. Sorry for barging in on you like this. Like I said, Cal didn’t tell me anything. He just said he wanted to apologize and told me to come for dinner. I assumed you’d be somewhere else for likesooomany reasons. So … yeah. Sorry.” I clamp my lips shut to stem the nervous babble. I could blame it on the whisky, and I think I will, even though it’s surely worn off by now.

With a deep breath, I spin to face the door again, but Simon’s deep voice stops me before I reach for the handle.

“Stay.”

The floor creaks, and I can feel him behind me. “Please, Ellie. Please stay.”

Turning around, I look up in his face. “Why?”

He gives me a soft half-smile. “I get it now.”

My eyes narrow. “What? What do you get now?”

With a sigh, he threads his fingers through mine and tugs me into the living room, pulling me down on the couch with him. I don’t take my coat off, though, because I’m really not sure how long I’m going to stay, even with Simon asking me to.

“I get what you meant before, when you said what you tell me isn’t important.”

My shoulders sag in a mix of relief and embarrassment. “Oh?”

He nods and licks his lips, tracing my fingers with his free hand. “I just want you to know that what you tell me, the conversations we’ve had,youhave always mattered to me. Everything you say is important to me. Even if it seems inconsequential to you, the fact that you’ve wanted to include me in any part of your life is significant to me.” He lets out a harsh breath and looks away. “I’m sorry for overreacting and not giving you a chance to explain.”

“Oh,” I say, not expecting an apology. I was expecting to be the one apologizing. I mean, I did already, but I figured maybe he’d want to hear it again. It’s not like a single apology on its own has ever done the trick before. “Um, thank you.”

He lets out a soft chuckle. “You’re welcome.” I let him draw me closer, and he tugs the hat off my head so he can run his fingers through my hair. I lean into the gesture like a cat. He tips my chin up and places a soft kiss on my lips. “Next time we have a disagreement,” he murmurs, “I promise to listen to you.”

“Okay,” I whisper against his lips. “And the next time we have a disagreement, I promise to try to say what I mean without sounding like you’re not important to me. You’re very important to me, and I’m sorry that anything that I said or did made you feel differently.”

“Okay,” he whispers and kisses me again, this time for longer, his lips molding to mine. God, I’ve missed his kisses.

His hands go to my hips, and he hauls me into his lap, one hand sliding under my hair to cup my head, his tongue finally parting my lips. I open for him, practically giddy with the feel of his tongue against mine.

The doorbell causes us to break apart, and I slide out of his lap to lie in a boneless heap on the couch. Glancing down at me, he chuckles, then bends and kisses me once more. “Take off your coat and stay a while. I’ll get the food and be right back.”

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