Bachelor Untamed - Brenda Jackson [31]
Chapter 9
“Okay, El, start at the beginning.”
Ellie rolled her eyes as she slumped down in her favorite chair. She glanced out the window. Uriel was in the middle of his workout. It was close to nine, which meant he’d gotten a late start this morning for some reason. She’d had a sleepless night, and she couldn’t help wondering what his excuse was.
She tried turning her attention away from Uriel and back to her conversation with Darcy. She had meant to call her aunt’s agent first thing this morning, but before she could do so she had gotten a call from Darcy, who in a very excited voice had told her about a job offer she’d gotten with the City of New York.
Ellie was happy for her friend and knew it had been Darcy’s lifelong dream to live in the Big Apple. Darcy worked hard and was good at what she did as a city planner. Minneapolis’s loss was now Manhattan’s gain. After going through all the congratulations and deciding when the two of them could get together to celebrate, Ellie, needing someone to talk to, and had unloaded on Darcy, telling her all the things that had happened over the past two days, namely Uriel wanting a summer fling and her aunt being, of all things, a romance author of erotica fiction.
“Just what part didn’t you get, Darcy?” she finally asked.
“Both.”
Ellie pulled in a deep breath as she went through everything again. From her time spent in Gatlinburg with Uriel to their heated kiss, and then his proposal that they have a summer fling, all the way to the letter her aunt had left with her attorney. Surprisingly, Darcy just listened and let her talk without any interruptions.
When she was finished Darcy had her turn. “Okay, let’s take one issue at a time. I understand about you and Uriel. You’ve been hooked on the guy forever, and you’re not bad-looking, so quite naturally he would come on to you. Personally, I expected it. And if you recall, that day the two of you kissed on the pier, he was enjoying it. He only got pissed off because I interrupted things. You were too busy kissing him back to notice that he was attacking your mouth just as much as you were attacking his.”
Darcy paused briefly, then continued. “Now fast-forward to present day. Most men his age aren’t ready for commitment. In a way, I wish Harold hadn’t assumed that he was. It would have saved me a lot of misery. I applaud a guy who won’t marry until he feels that he’s ready. And in the meantime, do you really expect him to twiddle his thumb and lay off women until then? Come on, El, that’s not how it works. I read plenty of romance novels, but this here is the real world. Men prefer affairs, and believe it or not, some women do, too. Things are less complicated that way.”
“Are you saying that maybe I should consider having a summer fling with Uriel?”
“It’s your decision, Ellie, and I can’t help but admire Uriel for giving you the time to make it. Most men, especially one our age, would use this time to seduce you into one. From what you’ve said, Uriel has kept his distance, giving you a chance to think straight, without him being around. In other words, he hasn’t sought you out.”
Ellie gnawed on her bottom lip, deciding it wasn’t necessary to tell Darcy that it had been the other way around. She had sought him out, without him knowing she’d done so. Uriel had no idea that she watched him work out every morning or that she would often watch him fish from the pier.
“Now, with this issue involving your aunt. I can’t believe she actually penned a romance novel. And one with love scenes. How hot were they?”
Darcy’s words pulled Ellie’s thoughts back in. “They were hot. Actually a bit erotic. But the love scenes fit the story.”
“So you enjoyed it, hmm?”
Ellie knew what Darcy was getting at. “Okay, I did enjoy it. It was different from what I’ve been reading, so I was quickly pulled in. After the first chapter, I knew it was more than that. It was truly a well-written story. I hate that the manuscript didn’t get finished.”
“So, what are you going to do about that?” Darcy asked.
“There’s nothing