“Or you could stay in here and listen to my brother bitch, possibly get verbally scolded by your sister again.” I pretended to glance around to see who else was here although I already knew. “There’s also your aunt Larissa who I see coming this way. She’s gonna hammer your ears too, I imagine.”
Eli followed my gaze to see I wasn’t lying about Larissa. She was headed this way.
“Fuck,” he muttered.
“What did you expect?” Bliss whispered.
Eli turned his head and his eyes came back to me. Before he could say anything, Larissa was there. “When did you become a little shit? Hendrix has always reserved that role in the family.” Larissa sounded more disappointed than anything. I had no idea who Hendrix was, but Eli didn’t seem insulted.
“He’s still a shit,” Eli replied.
“Was it his comments this morning at breakfast that kept you from showing up like a decent human being tonight?” Larissa asked.
I was intrigued and maybe a little nosey. If Eli didn’t look so uncomfortable, I’d let this go on so I could figure out who Hendrix was and what he’d said to Eli. Right now, I was on a rescue mission even if I didn’t want to be.
“Eli, can you take me on that walk now?” I asked him and all four pairs of eyes swung to me. I ignored them all but Eli’s of course. I smiled sweetly at him. “You did promise,” I added.
Nate didn’t like me getting involved. I could tell without looking at my brother. He could get over it.
“Yeah,” Eli replied, and he nodded his head for me to start walking and he’d follow.
I managed a bright smile that was so fake it was ridiculous to the other three standing there then turned on my heels and made my way to the French doors overlooking the gulf. Before I reached the exit, Eli moved in front of me and opened a door then stood back so I could go outside. There was the guy I remembered. The gentleman everyone loved. But as quickly as he appeared with the opening of the door, it was gone. No smile. No thank you for the rescue. Not even silent eye contact.
I slid off my heels and left them at the top of the stairs then headed down toward the sand below barefoot. The breeze was warm, so my arms weren’t chilled. Summer wasn’t officially here until the solstice, but in South Alabama, it had most definitely arrived.
The moon was full and walking beside Eli in the silence felt nice. There was no need to talk if he didn’t want to. We’d done that already. I hadn’t gotten him out here to talk anyway. I was tired of talking today. I’d done more than I usually did. Besides, Eli had little to say. No need to force him to speak.
The house was just a light in the distance when he finally spoke.
“Why did you do that?” he asked.
I lifted a shoulder to give a half shrug. Still no thank you. Not even the sound of gratitude. “You looked like you needed an escape.”
“I did,” he agreed.
“I was headed upstairs to escape myself. But I couldn’t ignore my hero mentality and let a poor guy get eaten alive by angry females.”
“Hmmm,” was his only response. What did that mean? And why did it have to sound so raspy and sexy? I should be annoyed by his lack of response. Not turned on by a deep husky rumble.
Back off Ophelia. Don’t go there. You already discussed this with yourself. He is off limits. Girl code unscripted or some shit.
“I owe you one.” His voice and words surprising me. That was as close to a thank you I was going to get, but I’d take it. Besides if he was gushing over me and appreciative would I be as attracted to him? I knew that answer and I was going to pretend I didn’t. It made me sound shallow. I hated shallow. Needing to get out of my own head, I decided I’d do the small talk thing. Or attempt it with him.
“No, I think we are even now. I owed you one,” I told him.
I felt his gaze on me then. Meeting that gaze was a stupid idea. I did it anyway. Because tonight I was being all kinds of stupid. Even out here in the moonlight, those eyes of his were something.
“Why did you owe me?” he asked, and I was suddenly as mesmerized by his lips as I had been his eyes. What was I doing? Snap out of this, Ophelia! I jerked my gaze off him and looked straight ahead again.
“The wedding. You saved my sanity by sharing your whiskey. Got me through that day.” I wasn’t just saying that either. I was serious. I’d been stressed out until my little visit with Eli on the bench under the beautiful live oak tree. He’d made me smile, given me enough drink to calm my nerves, and I enjoyed his drunken company.