“So soon?” There was a note of amusement in his voice before he said good-bye.
When the cab finally rolled up to Ellis’s place, the driver had to tell me we were there. I’d been trapped in a haze of contemplation ever since I settled into the back seat and gave him the address. I wasn’t thinking about what I would tell Soren when he asked what I’d done tonight. I was thinking about the future, however much longer we had. My mind even hiccupped over my dad for a moment, before I could shuffle him back to the end of the deck where he belonged.
After thanking and paying the driver, I moved toward the front doors. The night Soren and I had been here, lines of cars and cabs had been staggered around the grounds. Tonight, there wasn’t a single car in sight. Although, based on the size of the garage, Ellis could have parked twenty cars inside if he wanted to. It must have been a smaller dinner party or something.
Which suited me just fine. I was all for the distraction a get-together would provide, but I wasn’t sure I could handle hundreds of people and the noise and endless introductions that came with them.
After I rang the doorbell, the sound of footsteps echoed from inside. I was expecting one of the housekeeping staff Ellis seemed to have no shortage of, so I was surprised to find him capable of answering his own front door.
“That was quick.” He greeted me with a tipped smile, dressed the way he had the day of our Sunday photo shoot. It must have been a casual party, which was even better. He stepped aside to wave me in, holding out the drink he held as he closed the door. When I glanced at the golden liquid sloshing in the crystal glass, he said, “It’s fresh.”
“I’m okay right now. Thanks.”
For some reason, Soren’s voice from that first night I’d visited him at the pub echoed in my mind. When he’d given me the lecture on dark versus night, not leaving my purse open when I walked down the sidewalk, and never accepting an open drink from a guy.
Ellis wasn’t just a guy though. He was my agent. The person who had my best interests in mind.
“So where’s the party?” I asked as we moved through the house, ending inside an empty room that I supposed was a living room but was the size of an airplane hangar.
Ellis waved into the empty room before setting the drink on a table.
“I thought you said you were having a party.” I swallowed as I scanned the empty room again.
“I am.” He paused beside a table set with crystal bottles and poured a different drink. Lifting the glass at me, his expression flashed with something that made my gut uneasy. “A party of two.”
I stayed in the doorway as he leaned into the table and emptied an inch of the glass in one swallow.
“Have you made your decision yet?” he asked.
My head shook as I forced myself to relax. We were having a business conversation; he was asking me the same question he’d asked over every phone call and email the last month. “No.”
“You’re becoming the face of European high fashion.” He circled his glass at me before he took another drink.
“I know.”
Ellis’s shoulders lifted beneath the light linen shirt he’d left the top couple of buttons undone on. “Don’t throw this all away. Especially on some boy who doesn’t count.”
My breath caught. “I know you’re not talking about Soren.”
Ellis’s mouth moved. “You know I am.”
“He’s about to be drafted. He’s about to make it big.”
“Yes, yes, so I keep hearing. He’s going to be the All-American athlete, and you already are the European supermodel.” A chuckle rocked his chest. “How’s that supposed to work, I wonder?”
It was one thing to have my own fears—it was another to have someone laugh at them in front of my face.
“Ellis, I’m leaving.”
As I moved toward the front door, his chuckle followed me, somehow getting louder with every step I took away. I didn’t realize why that was until I felt someone grab me from behind, before not-so-gently pushing me up against the closest wall.
“But I guaranteed you’d have a good time. I promised I wouldn’t let you go until I gave it to you.” His body pushed into mine, leaving nothing to speculation about how he had intended to do so. His breath reeked of alcohol; his face was flushed from it. He wasn’t exactly holding me against my will, but he wasn’t making it easy for me to get by him either.
Inhaling, I focused on his eyes, hoping I looked braver than felt. “You’ve crossed a line.”
“No.” He clucked his tongue, his eyes dropping to my mouth. “But I’m about to.”
Inside my purse, my phone was vibrating against my hip. It was him. I knew it was. Whether he knew or had a feeling or a subconscious awareness of what was going on, Soren was calling to check on me. Because he cared. Because he wanted to protect me.
Because he’d been right all along about the man breathing against my neck right now, trying to charm me with his money or sway, his booze or his body.
“Let me go. I’m leaving.”
“I can take your mind off of him. I can do more.” His hips thrashed into mine, making me jolt. “I guarantee I can fuck better than some boy who was just discovering he had a dick while I’d was using mine to find supermodels’ G-spots.”
“Ellis, stop.” I shoved his chest, which managed to give me a window of space to finish rushing to the door.
“I’m twice the man he is. You don’t know what you’re walking out on.” From the sound of his voice, he’d stayed where I’d shoved him. He wasn’t chasing me any longer.
“I know what I’m walking toward.” I didn’t look back as I threw the door open. “And you are nothing like the man he is.”
After slamming the door, I rushed as far away from it as I could get before the adrenaline waned and my body felt limp. Pausing just outside the front gates, I leaned into one of the big brick pillars and let myself catch my breath as my tears expelled their own form of release. I had to lean forward from the emotions pouring out of me, my body trembling like I was hot with fever.
In my purse, my phone vibrated again. I couldn’t answer. Not until I’d made it back to the apartment, taken a shower, and had a cup of tea. Not until I’d composed myself enough that I wouldn’t break down in shaking sobs the moment I heard his voice. I knew when he found out what had happened, it would take a ton of convincing to keep him with his team so he could play the game tomorrow instead of jumping on the first bus, train, or plane out of there.
If he heard me crying as I described it, he’d run back to New York if he had to.