Never Say Love (Never Say Never #1) by Carly Phillips & Lauren Hawkeye

Author:Carly Phillips & Lauren Hawkeye [Phillips, Carly]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Romance
Publisher: CP Publishing
Published: 2016-02-21T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nine

Watching the reunion between Nate and his mother was like watching really bad reality television—awkward to the extreme. Hannah Archer looked far older than she had the last time Ellie had seen her, which was at least five years earlier, before she’d left town with her husband—the stepfather who had caused Nate so much pain.

Apparently she was back. And no one had thought to tell Nate.

Ellie watched as a myriad of emotions passed over Nate’s face in silence. Shock, pain, rage… and then nothing. Just an icy cold veneer that froze his expression in impassive lines, so vacant that it sent a shiver down her spine.

The silence stretched out until Ellie wanted to do something, anything—break into song, strip naked, whatever—just to break it.

“Um. Eleanor, would you like another vodka cranberry?” Hannah awkwardly gestured to Ellie’s near-empty glass.

Nate said nothing.

Ellie nodded, probably with more enthusiasm than was strictly necessary. “That would be great. Thanks.” At least if Hannah went to get her another drink, it would give Nate a chance to recover.

With a lingering look at her son, Hannah nodded, then headed back to the bar. Nate sat frozen for a long moment before pushing away from the table.

“I need some air.” He didn’t look at Ellie as he moved, just shoved away from the group, his long stride eating up the distance to the front door.

Ellie watched him go, her heart in her throat.

She remembered every single time that Nate had come to the Marshall house with bruises and cuts, distress hanging over him like a dark cloud. His pain had in turn hurt her¸ but he’d hidden so deeply behind his veneer of badass that she hadn’t been able to reach him to help.

Now she ached to run after him. To soothe his hurt.

But… they were involved now. Kind of. And in the early stages.

Would he appreciate her poking her nose into his business? Questioning him about something that was clearly tender?

She hesitated for a long moment, torn. Finally she let her gut lead her and hurried away from the table herself. They’d known each other for a very long time, and she’d be damned if she’d watch someone she cared about in pain while she sat back and did nothing.

She didn’t have to look very far. Nate was seated on the edge of the sidewalk just outside the bar, his arms looped loosely over his knees. His expression was still blank, but he didn’t tell her to go away when she seated herself on the pavement beside him, so she decided to take that as a win.

Going with her gut yet again, she sat with him in silence, leaning against him lightly so that their shoulders just brushed. She squeaked with surprise when he wrapped his arm around her and pulled her in closer, squeezing tightly like he could draw on her strength.

“Do you know if she’s still with him?” Nate’s voice was tight, as though it had been stretched over a thousand razor blades. Ellie’s own heart bled at the raw emotion that she heard in it.

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