Read Online Bound to the Greek by Kate Hewitt - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Kate Hewitt
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he looked. How close he was. How she could take one step—maybe two—and be in his arms.
Eleanor turned away, busying herself with the already fastened clasp of her attaché case. ‘Admittedly, I made a fool of myself,’ she continued in that same curt voice, ‘telling you every empty thing that came into my head, but there was plenty you didn’t know about me.’
‘Like what?’ Jace challenged softly. He’d moved even closer and she could feel him again, his heat and his strength, the sheer power radiating from him, making her, absurdly, want to lean on it. Lean on him. Already she could imagine his arms enfolding her, his chin resting on her head as he used to do—
Eleanor straightened. ‘Like the fact that I wouldn’t lie,’ she said shortly.
Jace stilled, and the room crackled with a new kind of tension. A chilling remoteness that made Eleanor feel as cold as she’d been on the terrace.
‘Right,’ Jace said, and his voice sounded distant. ‘Of course.’ Eleanor forced herself to say nothing. No apologies, no excuses. No regrets. ‘You’ve changed,’ he said after a moment, and she tensed.
‘I’ve been saying that all along.’
‘You’re the kind of person you never wanted to be,’ Jace told her quietly. Eleanor froze, her mind shocked into numbness, and then she whirled around.
‘That’s a rather arrogant statement,’ she said, her voice coldly furious. ‘Not to mention incredibly rude.’
‘You told me,’ Jace replied steadily, ‘that you never wanted to be like your mother.’
‘You’ve never even
met
my mother—’
‘You told me she was an event planner, the best in her field. Never missed a day of work. Never made a softball practice.’
Eleanor’s breath came out in a slow, surrendered hiss.
‘Stop—’
‘Consumed by her career, hardened and weary and lonely,’ Jace finished. Each word was an indictment, delivered in a terrible, matter-of-fact tone. ‘I could be looking right at her.’
Eleanor felt her face drain of colour. Her fingers, clutching the strap of her attaché so tightly, were aching and numb. She hated that Jace had assessed her so thoroughly, so damningly. She hated that he was right.
‘You don’t know anything,’ she said, the words forced out of a throat that had closed in on itself, tight with tears. She hated too that he’d made her so emotional, when for ten years she’d managed to be as cool and professional and feelingless as ice. As snow.
‘Don’t I?’ Jace took a step closer. Eleanor saw compassion on his face, softening those taut lines, turning his eyes to a soft, sympathetic grey. ‘What made you change so much, Ellie?’
A single stab of fury streaked through her, startling her out of numbness. ‘Even now you don’t know the answer to that question?’ she demanded, her voice harsh with accusation. ‘I’ll tell you what changed me, Jace. You did.’
His eyes widened, his jaw slackening for the briefest of seconds. ‘Ellie—’
‘And I told you, don’t call me that. I stopped being Ellie the day I went to your apartment building and nobody was there.’ She saw him give a little shake of his head, and she wanted to scream at his arrogance. He had no idea what she’d been through. No idea at all. He’d chosen to damn her and miss it all. ‘So don’t call me that again,’ she informed himbrutally, ‘because that Ellie? The one you think you knew so well? She no longer exists. She hasn’t for ten years.’
And with that, leaving Jace still shocked and speechless, Eleanor turned and left the room.
CHAPTER FIVE
E VERYTHING was ready. Or, Eleanor amended silently, as ready as it ever would be. She glanced around the dining room; the first guests were scheduled to arrive in just ten minutes.
She’d spent the entire day at the boathouse, arranging centrepieces and party favours, checking to make sure the sound system worked and the band, who had arrived an hour ago, had everything they needed. She’d visited
Eleanor turned away, busying herself with the already fastened clasp of her attaché case. ‘Admittedly, I made a fool of myself,’ she continued in that same curt voice, ‘telling you every empty thing that came into my head, but there was plenty you didn’t know about me.’
‘Like what?’ Jace challenged softly. He’d moved even closer and she could feel him again, his heat and his strength, the sheer power radiating from him, making her, absurdly, want to lean on it. Lean on him. Already she could imagine his arms enfolding her, his chin resting on her head as he used to do—
Eleanor straightened. ‘Like the fact that I wouldn’t lie,’ she said shortly.
Jace stilled, and the room crackled with a new kind of tension. A chilling remoteness that made Eleanor feel as cold as she’d been on the terrace.
‘Right,’ Jace said, and his voice sounded distant. ‘Of course.’ Eleanor forced herself to say nothing. No apologies, no excuses. No regrets. ‘You’ve changed,’ he said after a moment, and she tensed.
‘I’ve been saying that all along.’
‘You’re the kind of person you never wanted to be,’ Jace told her quietly. Eleanor froze, her mind shocked into numbness, and then she whirled around.
‘That’s a rather arrogant statement,’ she said, her voice coldly furious. ‘Not to mention incredibly rude.’
‘You told me,’ Jace replied steadily, ‘that you never wanted to be like your mother.’
‘You’ve never even
met
my mother—’
‘You told me she was an event planner, the best in her field. Never missed a day of work. Never made a softball practice.’
Eleanor’s breath came out in a slow, surrendered hiss.
‘Stop—’
‘Consumed by her career, hardened and weary and lonely,’ Jace finished. Each word was an indictment, delivered in a terrible, matter-of-fact tone. ‘I could be looking right at her.’
Eleanor felt her face drain of colour. Her fingers, clutching the strap of her attaché so tightly, were aching and numb. She hated that Jace had assessed her so thoroughly, so damningly. She hated that he was right.
‘You don’t know anything,’ she said, the words forced out of a throat that had closed in on itself, tight with tears. She hated too that he’d made her so emotional, when for ten years she’d managed to be as cool and professional and feelingless as ice. As snow.
‘Don’t I?’ Jace took a step closer. Eleanor saw compassion on his face, softening those taut lines, turning his eyes to a soft, sympathetic grey. ‘What made you change so much, Ellie?’
A single stab of fury streaked through her, startling her out of numbness. ‘Even now you don’t know the answer to that question?’ she demanded, her voice harsh with accusation. ‘I’ll tell you what changed me, Jace. You did.’
His eyes widened, his jaw slackening for the briefest of seconds. ‘Ellie—’
‘And I told you, don’t call me that. I stopped being Ellie the day I went to your apartment building and nobody was there.’ She saw him give a little shake of his head, and she wanted to scream at his arrogance. He had no idea what she’d been through. No idea at all. He’d chosen to damn her and miss it all. ‘So don’t call me that again,’ she informed himbrutally, ‘because that Ellie? The one you think you knew so well? She no longer exists. She hasn’t for ten years.’
And with that, leaving Jace still shocked and speechless, Eleanor turned and left the room.
CHAPTER FIVE
E VERYTHING was ready. Or, Eleanor amended silently, as ready as it ever would be. She glanced around the dining room; the first guests were scheduled to arrive in just ten minutes.
She’d spent the entire day at the boathouse, arranging centrepieces and party favours, checking to make sure the sound system worked and the band, who had arrived an hour ago, had everything they needed. She’d visited
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