Page 117 of No Rings Attached
My breath hitched.
Author.
Not just a dream. Soon it would be my reality.
For the first time in a long time, I truly believed it was going to happen.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
DREW
After Marc and Delaney’s booths, we stopped by to see Wyatt.
“Hello, sweet Ellie,” Wyatt crooned, clutching his chest. “When are you going to ditch my brother and give me a chance?”
If I wasn’t one hundred percent sure my little brother was needling me, I’d have punched him.
Ellie gave him a soft, indulgent smile—the kind that made me both proud and jealous. “Hey, Wyatt. Did you design these?” She gestured to the bins of temporary tattoos set around the table.
“I did. See anything you like?” He winked. Everything he said seemed like an innuendo.
While Ellie searched through the intricate tattoos, I leaned closer to Wyatt. “Marc got stuck next to Delaney.”
Wyatt groaned. “I swear Glamma made that happen. After you left family dinner, she stopped by while Marc was grumbling about a recent encounter with her. I think she’s deliberately poking the bear.”
I shook my head. “She needs to stop interfering.”
Wyatt grunted and flicked his glance toward Ellie, who was holding up a bookish tattoo to the light. “Seems to be working out for you.”
I swallowed hard. He wasn’t wrong. “Yeah.”
As I watched her, I had a realization. I wanted to ask her if she wanted to make our relationship real.
But how could I be sure she wanted it, too?
Ellie waved the tattoos she picked at me and grinned. God, I loved that smile.
Never mind about being sure. I needed to go for it. Put my worries aside, and just do it. Despite my concerns about not having enough time to give to a seriousrealrelationship, I didn’t want to pretend anymore.
Now to find the perfect time and place to ask.
Ellie glanced at a table a few spaces down from Wyatt. “Adele’s got a bookstore booth. Mind if I run over and ask her about hosting my release? If I don’t do it now, I’ll lose my nerve.”
I liked that she was already planning to be back here in a few months. That was a good sign. “You’ve got this.” I brushed a strand of hair from her cheek. “Your book will be amazing. If you don’t ask her, I’ll drag you there myself.”
She rolled her eyes playfully, then handed Wyatt her chosen tattoos before heading off.
The second she was out of earshot, he dropped the cocky grin. “Dude. You get to have a personal life. She’s fucking perfect for you. You think Dad cares if you’re in the office a hundred hours a week?”
My brother didn’t get it. He never had. “It’s not about Dad. I worked my ass off to earn my spot. No one’s going to say I was handed this role. Especially after I made that awful design choice the first time they let me lead a project. Now we’re expanding for the first time in twenty years. If I lose momentum, I loseeverything.”
In my early twenties, I was rising through the ranks and was given the lead on the Ruby Night logo for that year. I wanted to design it myself to prove myself as an artist, and I also had the brilliant idea to offer the design as a commemorative pin and necklace. Only the way it turned out, the horizontal marquise ruby and its concentric diamond and ruby outer layers looked less like the intended sunset reflected on the river and more like a woman’s, er—personal part. Needless to say, the pin sold well but the necklace didn’t. It was a total flop, and the company lost a lot of money. I blamed myself, and since then I made sure I worked harder than anyone in the company to prove I earned each position on my way up the Kingsley ladder.
Wyatt pressed. “So what if it takes longer?” Wyatt tilted his chin toward Ellie, who was laughing with Adele. “Someone as awesome as she is won’t wait around forever.”
His words hit harder than I wanted to admit. I also didn’t miss the way he stared a second too long at Adele while he spoke words about Ellie.
I had a feeling his message might not have been just for me.
