thought about that before, but…it was true. He didn’t allow the women that had come through his life to truly enter his life. He’d never had any feelings for the women in his past.
But this morning when Ella hadn’t called, he’d cared. And the longer it had gone when she hadn’t called, the more irritated he’d become.
“Is that a balcony on the second row of windows?” she asked, moving towards the windows that went up to the ceiling.
“Yes. I had an architect design everything. I wanted to be able to sit out on the upper deck without it shadowing the light coming in through the windows of the great room. He figured out a way to tilt the flooring so that it brought in the light.”
She peered up towards the balcony above while Malcolm continued to peer at her. His eyes traveled down over her jeans, then back up to the soft cotton of her sweater that molded to her breasts. The clothes weren’t particularly interesting. It was her body underneath the clothing that he found endlessly fascinating. And he wanted to peel all of those clothes off and make love to her. Right here in the sunshine!
But she hadn’t called this morning. After the night they’d shared together, she’d ignored him all day long. Damn, but he hated being on this side of the relationship. How many times had he heard the women he’d been with say the same thing? Now here he was, wondering why she hadn’t called. Karma was a bitch!
“I like this room,” she said, turning around slowly as she took in all of the details. “It isn’t one of those dark, masculine rooms that I usually read about. You know the kind, the boring rooms with all of the leather and dark walls.”
He chuckled softly. “You haven’t seen my office yet.”
Ella cringed. “Sorry.” She turned around again, looking at the large mirrors against the opposite walls that made the room look much bigger and more elegant. “This is really amazing.”
“An architect and a designer gets the credit.”
She looked at him with a shake of her head. “You had to have had the original idea.”
“Perhaps. But we’ve gotten off topic.”
Her shoulders drooped slightly. “The topic being your horrible father?”
“No. The topic was why you didn’t call me this morning.”
She stiffened and he wondered about that. She’d been so open and happy a moment ago.
“Well, I didn’t call, because I woke up after…” she stammered, pressing her lips together. “Well, after last night. And you weren’t there.”
“I left you a note.”
Her eyes widened. Was that hope in her eyes? There was a flash before it was doused again, but he’d recognized the look. Because he felt it too. For the first time today, he was hopeful that they’d just misinterpreted…everything…today.
“I didn’t see a note,” she argued, crossing her arms over her stomach.
“I left you a note. I propped it up on your countertop where you’d see it when you went to make coffee this morning.”
Another cringe. “I don’t have a coffee maker in my apartment,” she explained. “Nor do I have any food. In fact, I just plugged my fridge in a couple of days ago. But I never got around to making it to the store. So my kitchen is completely empty.”
He moved closer, startled. “So…you didn’t see the note?”
She shook her head again. “I woke up without you next to me, and was immediately…” She trailed off. He took her hands, pulling her arms away from her body.
“Hurt?” he offered.
“No. I’d expected that.” She said the words, but her eyes told him a different story.
“You were hurt, weren’t you?” he asked.
Ella shrugged noncommittally.
“Would it help if I admitted that I was furious that you hadn’t called? I’ve been pacing for hours, wondering when you were going to call. I came up with one excuse after another, trying to justify why you hadn’t called. But after too many hours and too many justifications, I wanted an explanation.”
She moved closer to him. Just an inch, but it was enough. “So you came looking for me?”
“Yes,” he replied, tangling his fingers with hers. “I couldn’t stay away.”
Ella stared up at him, amazed that he’d said so much. “Why?”
“Because you fascinate me, Ella. I don’t know why, but you’ve gotten to me.” His fingers tangled in her hair and he tugged her head backwards. “Tell me that you feel the same way,” he ordered.
Ella opened her mouth to tell him…something. She wasn’t really sure what she might have said.