Been There Done That (Leffersbee #1) - Hope Ellis Page 0,20

sentiment was repeated in a pull-out quote right above a photo of Nick standing in a power pose, legs widespread, arms crossed, face stoic.

Despite myself, I felt a stirring of concern that countered any sense of self preservation. Who did you become, Nick? And what did it cost you?

“Damn, Z.” Leigh shook her head, eyes closed. “By all rights, this guy should be a stooped-over accountant with the eyesight of a mole. Justice demands it. But no. I mean, I absolutely hate him for your sake. But all this big dick energy . . . even I’m getting taken in.”

Walker scowled at her. “Do you know what the word ‘brother’ means?”

“You’re not my brother.” Her eyes burned into mine. “Zora, what are you going to do? Are you going to see him tomorrow?”

“Yeah.” I decided there really was no alternative. “I’ll find out what he wants, what he needs, so I can be done with this. With him.”

“Good.” She gave a decisive nod. “Because you need a do-over. And hopefully you can get some closure in the process.”

Closure? No. “There’s no such thing as closure, okay?” I huffed. “That’s just the excuse people use when they don’t want to accept something’s over. I don’t need the redundancy of words to prove what someone’s actions have already shown me. We were eighteen when he left. It’s old history. Case already closed.”

“So . . . you’re not at all wondering how it all started? Why he just disappeared into thin air that way?”

“No,” I lied. “I moved on, and so did he. Obviously. I’m not that girl anymore. I’m happy. I’ve reached my goals. I’m self-actualized.”

“Alright, Oprah. But tomorrow, you redeem yourself. You make him swallow his tongue. This is Rocky IV. Be Ivan Drago and break his fine ass.”

“This is truly disturbing.” We both whirled to find Walker standing behind us, arms crossed. He grimaced at us both. “You do realize that’s the movie where Apollo Creed dies in the ring, right? Are all women psychos like you two? Are they all sitting around plotting on innocent men?”

Leigh huffed. “You’ve never been innocent a day in your life. And neither is this guy.”

Walker narrowed his eyes at her. “If what you saw was really what happened, he was wrong. But you know, they were a little young to be so serious—”

“Oh, shut up, Walker.” The last thing I needed was for my brother to revive an ancient list of our parents’ Favorite Talking Points about my past. “And mind your own business.”

Leigh whooped and slapped me a high five. “Atta girl. You had a bad day. Your slip was showing at the worst possible time. We’ll get you ready, you’ll get the upper hand, and this time you dismiss the guy from your life. He’s yesterday’s news. Tomorrow’s an opportunity for a new headline.”

Chapter Five

Nick

I trailed Zora down the hospital’s hallway, forcing my eyes away from her alluring backside.

Growing up, Zora had never been able to walk in heels. But apparently, at some point, she’d gotten the hang of it.

Dr. Leffersbee met me in the lobby as previously arranged by Nellie. She coolly executed a brisk handshake, and murmured my name as if we were complete strangers.

Gone was the free, unrestrained, Lycra-wearing version of Zora. Her wild curls had been tamed into a fancy bun. Without her usual dark mane, all my attention was drawn to the bittersweet chocolate of her eyes and the lips she’d slicked with something dark red and tempting.

Before yesterday, it had been twelve long years. I don’t know what I’d expected, but I hadn’t expected this. Hadn’t expected my heart to crash around in my chest, or my lungs to stall.

I wanted to touch her.

My fingers itched to tangle in her hair. Was the curve of her lip as soft as I remembered? I managed to stop staring at her gorgeous, full mouth when I realized she’d asked me a question.

“Pardon?”

Zora blinked at me once, her dispassionate stare becoming a glare. “I said, will Nellie be joining us?”

“No.”

Nellie scared me. And she had an unnatural number of teeth.

Zora had then turned and walked away, rebuffing any additional discussion. Armored in silence, she stalked down the hallway, occasionally throwing a tersely-worded explanation over her shoulder. I followed behind her, off-balance. As a seasoned CEO at the helm of a billion-dollar empire, I’d made a name for our company by dominating my competitors. And yet, I couldn’t work up the nerve to stop Zora and break our momentum.