I reluctantly climbed out of the bed. After I’d used the bathroom, flushed and washed, I headed downstairs to make coffee. I found Malik in the kitchen, unpacking food.
“I hope you know what you’re doing.” Malik told me.
I didn’t have to ask what he meant. “I have no clue.” I admitted. “If it ends bad, I’ll show up at your place and you’ll have the strong drinks and junk food to cure my broken heart.”
Malik turned to look at me but laughed. “I’m serious.”
“So am I.” I poured myself some coffee. “I can’t keep closing myself off.”
“But her?”
I shrugged. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to disappoint you.”
“Come off it, Tarek.” Malik frowned. “You have never disappointed me. And I don’t think you could ever do that.”
I kissed the side of his head. “How was your surgery last night?”
“Good—we’re waiting now to see if infection kicks in or if she’s out of the woods.” He stared at me for a moment. “I worry about you, you know that, right?”
I took a couple sips from my coffee then nodded. “Of course, I know that. And I worry about you too—its in the contract.”
Malik makes a face. “You’ve forgiven her?”
“Kind of.”
“Kind of?”
“We had the talk last night about how I was feeling about that entire mess.” I set the mug down and stoke a sausage from one of the containers. “I told her I wanted to believe she’s changed but it’s going to take some time. Ellie seems okay with that.”
“I’m going to trust your judgement, Cobra. But if she hurts you again—”
“I won’t.”
We both swung around. Ellie walked into the room, dressed in one of my shirts. I arched a brow.
“It took me a long time to get to this part and I don’t want to lose it.” Ellie explained. “You don’t have to believe me—I’ll just spend all my time proving it. My father always saidactions speaks louder than words.”
Malik seemed satisfied with that. “Come get something to eat. I hear you two have a long drive a head of you.”
Ellie nodded and Malik set a plate in front of her so she could grab some food. I watched their interaction and knew my brother was trying. It made things a lot easier.
Sure, the fear she may lose her mind and do something crazy was still at the back of my mind. It wouldn’t go away overnight—I was prepared for that. After all, I was already falling for Ellie and to stop now, would break more than I cared to admit.
Ellie
It seemedTarek was also my protector in my dreams as well. In his arms, the nightmares remained at bay, and for the first time in months, I had a good night’s sleep. Tarek shifted under my body and I was awake. He kissed me forehead a few times then tapped my nose gently causing me to smile. I stretched like a cat in the sun, but I didn’t yawn. The last thing I wanted was for my morning breath to knock him out.
He dropped a kiss to my nose and climbed out of bed as his phone had been ringing.
“Hey Jesse,” Tarek said.
He didn’t leave the room right away. Instead, he watched me, a slight tent in the front of his pants. I giggled and pointed to the door.
Tarek groaned but left. Though I had wanted to spend a little time with him that morning, I couldn’t be needy. His life didn’t revolve around me. Instead of complaining, I climbed out of bed, showered and dressed in a pair of shorts and an oversized Montreal Expo t-shirt. I made my way down the stairs and headed to the coffeemaker. Tarek was still speaking with his youngest brother Jesse, and I didn’t want to interrupt.
I figured I could start breakfast, but as I stared into what should be scrambled eggs, I realized I had failed miserably. For a few minutes, I tried saving what I had been cooking. But the more I tried, the worse it looked, and I knew there was no making it right. I grumbled under my breath and stomped my food in irritation.
Tarek peeked over my shoulders at the tail-end of his conversation and laughed. “Not a cook, are we?”
