black shirt and a narrow black skirt, I slip on some heels and make my way to the house. It's just past six, and I figure I'll use the excuse of wanting a drink by the pool to explain my presence. The staff has just headed for the mainland, and the office looks quiet as I pass by.
There are men's voices when I enter the house through the kitchen.
"Because she's Zara's friend."
"That makes her off-limits?"
"It does for me," Nash snaps, and I freeze by the door.
They are silent for a moment before Ellis replies, a darker change in his tone. "You're harboring a grudge against me, Nash. If you'd like to talk about it, let's talk about it."
"I'm not harboring a grudge. I told you, water under the bridge, but this isn't like Britta, Ellis. Hanna is family to me."
And suddenly I realize Nash is trying to cock block me, and the blood drains from my face. That asshole.
"I understand," Ellis responds as their voices grow nearer.
"I'm being protective," Nash says while I consider slipping back outside through the patio, but it's too late.
"Protecting her from me?" Ellis says as they enter the living room. I'm standing by the door, clearly having heard everything they said.
"Hanna," Nash blurts out.
Ellis doesn't even bother looking embarrassed. He wears a smug grin as he greets me. "Hello there."
"Did Thalia not deliver your dinner?" Nash asks.
"She did. I just...I wanted a drink..."
"Well, come on in. That's exactly where we were headed," Ellis says, waving me toward the bar. I can feel Nash's eyes on me, specifically on my outfit and heels. But I ignore him, holding my head up as I follow Ellis to the bar in the living room.
"Ellis told me you two met already," Nash says. There's some tension in his voice, and I peer back at him to notice his shoulders by his ears again. The urge to go over and run my hands down his back to ease some of his stress is intense.
"Just for a moment," Ellis replies as he pours me a glass of red wine after I pointed to the bottle. “Hanna found me getting dressed," he adds with a laugh.
“I apologized,” I reply with a smirk.
"What would you like to drink, Nash?"
"I'll fix my own drink," he barks, and I glance up at him. I came over here to find Ellis, hoping for a connection I couldn't make with Nash, and now that he's watching, I feel unsettled. He won't stop looking at me.
Ellis puts his hands up and moves away from the drinks to come stand by me. "So, are you getting the break you needed?" he asks me.
"It's not so bad out here. It's so quiet though. Don't you ever get bored, Nash?"
"No," he answers abruptly.
"Because you work too much," I reply.
"I work a lot, but it's not too much."
"So, what do you do if you need a break? You already live on an island," I say playfully.
"I go to the mainland and find plenty of company there,” he replies calmly. I know what he’s trying to say, so my gaze lingers on his face for a moment. He’s implying he finds women there. That women are his stress relief.
The three of us take our drinks and sit on the patio under the large cabana by the pool. There are two sofas shaped in an L, and when I sit, Ellis takes the spot next to me. I notice the way Nash watches him, sitting across from us.
“This place has changed a lot,” Ellis says, looking around at the island. His arm rests on the back of the sofa.
“You’ve been here before?” I ask.
“He used to work with my dad,” Nash interjects. “When I was a kid.”
Ellis laughs, a deep, low rumble of a chuckle. “What he’s saying is I’m old.”
“How old?” I ask, leaning back so my cheek almost brushes his arm. It feels almost intimate.
He smirks at me, and I know I’m being bold by asking, but I’m nothing if not a good flirt. Plus, Ellis doesn’t seem like the kind of man to feel ashamed of his age or keep secrets. He looks too proud.
“I’m thirty-eight.”
“That’s not old,” I reply softly, and I feel his fingers touch my hair.
Nash shifts in his seat to get our attention. After taking a drink of my wine, I look back at Ellis. “So, what was Nash like as a kid?”