Chapter 22
“He went home?” Eliza repeated what Aunt Wendy had just told her. “You’re sure it was Nate, not Neil.”
“Yep.” Wendy explained as she filled her plate, “I know most people can’t tell those two apart, but I always could. Nate makes me feel like a middle schooler with a crush, Neil makes me feel like a middle school teacher with a problem student.”
“And he didn’t say anything?” Eliza wasn’t sure how to ask if he’d said anything about her.
Wendy shook her head as she dumped a spoon full of scrambled eggs on her plate. “No, ma’am. I couldn’t sleep and came down to see if I could scrounge up a glass of whiskey to take the edge off and I saw Nate rushing out in a hurry. I asked him where the fire was. He said he was on his way back home. I asked in the middle of the night? And he said yes. I spoke to Ada this morning, to make sure she, Lenore and Neil Sr. made it home safe and sound after driving so late last night, so she wouldn’t miss church, and she didn’t mention anything about a family emergency.” She shrugged. “I figured it was a work thing.”
Eliza tried not to jump to conclusions and just look at the facts. He’d left early this morning, possibly because of work. It wasn’t personal. Although, it did kind of feel personal. It would have been nice if he had at least left her a note. Or woken her up to say goodbye. Maybe told Wendy to tell her goodbye. Something.
As she finished filling her breakfast plate she realized she had absolutely zero appetite to actually eat. She reminded herself that she and Nate weren’t actually a couple and especially not a public one. He barely acknowledged her in public. And as she replayed what had happened last night in his room and the night before in the coat closet, she realized he hadn’t said anything about the two of them being together. To her it had felt like they’d finally found their way to each other, but maybe she had been projecting.
Laughter from the other end of the dining hall rang out and Eliza looked up and saw Bailey and Amber cracking up. And then an epiphany hit her with the force of a Mack truck. The truth was a harsh pill to swallow sometimes, especially when it was being forced down your throat in the form of a supermodel pediatric surgeon.
Nate had told Eliza that he and Bailey dated but were just friends. Not serious, those were his exact words. If he had not wanted anything serious with Superwoman, why would Eliza have let herself think he would want that with her? If Nate didn’t think Bailey Rossum was worth settling down for, why would she be any different?
If someone asked Nate about her, he’d most likely say the same thing he’d said about him and Bailey. It wasn’t serious. Because apparently, it wasn’t. It was so not serious that she couldn’t even call and check on him to make sure that he was okay. Why? Because she didn’t have his phone number. Sure, she could get it from someone, but that’s not the same thing. He hadn’t given it to her.
She tried to ignore the feeling of being punched in the gut as she found an empty seat at the long table and sat down. From beside her she heard Seth talking to his brother Jason. Just like with Jess on the phone, it wasn’t like she was trying to eavesdrop, but she couldn’t help it since they were speaking in her proximity.
Seth sounded relaxed as he said, “Yeah, it’s been great. I promised Amber I would do this more often.”
Jason asked, “Is this the first time you actually shut down completely?”
“Yeah.” Seth answered. “The office is closed. All calls are going to a service, so anyone who wasn’t on an assignment as of Friday has enjoyed radio silence.”
Radio silence. A buzz sounded in Eliza’s head. So Nate wasn’t at work. He hadn’t had a family emergency. He’d left in a hurry. After they slept together.
She stood, knowing there was no way she could choke down breakfast. She needed some time alone. She wanted to go up to her room, pack and go home. But when she reached into her pocket, she realized that she’d left the key to her room in her room.
When she’d woken up early, at six a.m., and found herself alone in Nate’s bed, she’d noticed that his side of the bed was cold. He hadn’t been there for a while. She’d grabbed her dress and done the walk of shame down to her room. Luckily, no one saw her since the hallway was empty. She’d taken a shower and gotten dressed for breakfast, but she’d been so distracted by the fact that she’d woken up in Nate’s bed, alone, that she must have left her key on the nightstand.
She sighed. It looked like she’d have to stop by the front desk before she could get out of here and go straight to the one male in her life that would never disappoint her, Farmer.
It had always amazed Eliza how much things could change in such a short period of time. Last night she’d been so sure that she and Nate were going to be together. That they were soulmates. That destiny and fate had joined forces to give them a happily ever after. Her heart had been filled to overflowing with love. This morning she knew that she and Nate were friends, at best. They’d hooked up, not shared some kind of life-changing cosmic connection. And her heart felt like it had been pushed through a meat grinder.
When she arrived in the reception area in the large foyer she saw that no one was behind the counter. She checked the two rooms off the main hall, but when her search came up empty, she decided to wait in the seating area off the entryway that opened up to the garden. She would still be able to see the front desk and looking at flowers had the same effect on her that sunrises and sunsets did, they put things in perspective. Just like no matter what was going on in her life, the sun would still rise and set and flowers would still bloom.
When she stepped out the large, arched doors she saw that someone else had the same idea. Well, sort of the same idea. She hadn’t brought a book.
“Hey, Grandpa J. Mind if I join you?”
He looked up from what he was reading and patted the chair beside him. “Well now, I would be honored young lady.”
“Are you out here hiding from the M&M sisters?” she teased as she sat. On her way down to breakfast she’d heard them arguing over which one was going to sit with Grandpa J while they ate.
He shook his head. “Those two are quite the characters.”
That was putting it mildly, in her opinion.
“What about you? Are you waitin’ on your fella?”
No. My fella left without saying goodbye. No, that wasn’t true. The truth was she didn’t have a fella.
“Nope, no fella.” She shook her head.
“What about that Holmes boy?” He lifted one brow.