Elaine stood there with her hands on her hips, blowing a stray hair out of her face while she glared at him. She wanted an answer, and Elijah didn’t like being given an ultimatum. At the start of their relationship, he had told her he wanted nothing serious, and she had agreed to it. Why was she now changing the goal posts? Wasn’t helping her with a commission enough for her? She had stretched out doing the artwork for the bar long enough. He suspected the delay was solely to drag out the relationship, but this demanding to meet his parents was a deal breaker.
“You’re not my girlfriend. So, no, I won’t introduce you to them. I’m ending this now, whatever you think we have. You can still finish the commission piece on the wall. No hard feelings.”
“Wow Elijah, you’re an unfeeling bastard, aren’t you?”
“We’ve had three dates in four weeks. Casual, remember? I’m not cold, just not interested in taking us to the next stage,” Elijah said and fidgeted on the spot so he could get a direct view of the bar and still talk to Elaine.
The truth was, if Lilly let him, he would take her to bed and then the next day present her to his parents wearing an engagement ring. But Lilly showed little interest in him apart from small talk. He had spotted Lilly walking in a few minutes ago, and his heart beat faster for a few seconds.First, he had to deal with Elaine standing in front of him, knowing that Lilly was in the same room, probably watching the car crash happening. It equally thrilled Elijah that she could see he was about to be single and hoped that was why she didn’t respond to his flirting.
“Just as I thought, this was a non-starter. It’s a shame, Elijah, we could have been good for each other. Never mind, now leave me to get on with this painting,” Elaine said.
Elaine turned around, ending the conversation. If Elijah wanted to say anything else, he was going to have to talk to her back. He wasn’t going to, so he shifted his gaze from her paint-splattered overalls and to the bar. His eyes locked on Lilly’s. Her face and eyes were not smiling, they were simply staring at him, asking him a question. He suspected she was asking what was going on and was he ok, but without words he was guessing. He was dumbstruck by the connection and couldn’t move his head to answer her question. Instead, Elijah turned his entire body and walked to the other bar, out of her sight. He didn’t want to know what she thought, while she could consider the worst. He couldn’t stand the thought of her thinking that he was an idiot and she no longer wanted to speak with him. It was a bizarre idea because the worst she could think about was that he just ended a relationship. It scared him to death that he was now single, and there wasn’t anything stopping him from pursuing Lilly. What if Lilly didn’t want him? That would break his heart. He’d hidden behind his job to chat with Lilly from afar. Over the last eight months, they had got to know each other over lunch every day. Now he was single and open to court her, to have a relationship with her, and it terrified him.
Chapter Two
The following day, Elijah watched as Lilly Harrison walked into Blue’s, with the same look, which graced her beautiful face every day. Desolation. He couldn’t work out why she kept doing the job she did if she felt unhappy. He had watched her spend her lunch break in his bar for too long and listened as she complained about the job she had and the people she worked alongside. She worked with the biggest set of bitches he had ever met. They were regulars in his bar on a Friday and Saturday night. Hanging out and looking for their next rich man so that they could give up their jobs.
Elijah was leaning against the tall wine refrigerator. He shouldered himself off the glass front and walked towards the dark-headed beauty that was Lilly. Lilly pulled herself onto the tall bar stool and laid her arms on the metal pole that ran along the bar edge. Her head rested on her forearms and she massaged her head on her forearm, moving it from side to side like she was ridding the ache in her head.
Elijah had only ever seen her in Blue’s so had no idea what she did for fun. At this moment in time, he didn’tthink she ever had fun. Moving towards her, he picked up a glass and poured her the drink she ordered every time. Lime and soda water, with plenty of ice.
Standing in front of her, Elijah placed the glass on a coaster and stroked the back of her head. Smoothing down the stray strands of hair that had come loose from the bun she wore at the back of her head.
“Are you okay, Lilly?” Elijah asked her.
Lilly raised her head in slight confusion and beamed a broad smile as she looked at Elijah’s face. That look she gave him made his heart thud, hard. To be responsible for making someone else smile was a great feeling. When Elijah made Lilly smile, it made his day.
“No different from yesterday, Elijah, but I’m fine now. I have seen your face. Thanks for the drink,” she answered.
Elijah tilted his head to the side in question and raised an eyebrow at Lilly. She mimicked his action and smiled back.
“I’m ok Elijah. The bitches are keeping to themselves today.”
“Why do you stay at the job? You don’t enjoy it and do it under sufferance.”
“I do it because I owe it to my parents. They schooled me to be a lawyer and have high hopes for me. I couldn’t possibly leave. They would never forgive me, and I would never hear the end of it. They would go on about how much money they spent on me,” Lilly said and resumed her position of rolling her head from side to side on her arm. “What else would I do with my life?” It was the most she had ever revealed to him about why she stayed in the job, and he was delighted that she had shared with him the confidence. This meant he had something to work with. Hehoped that his scene with Elaine yesterday meant that she would open up more to him.
Elijah walked around the bar, stood next to Lilly, and tapped her on the shoulder. He waited for her to sit up and slide around on the seat to face him. Elijah was tall and able to trap her knees between his thighs. He rested his large hands on her shoulders and bent slightly so that his eyes were level with hers. His green eyes were looking into her green eyes.
“Now, you listen to me and listen well. Life is far too short to be miserable. You need to do what you want to do. You have spent the last six months complaining about your job and how much you hate it. I have seen you lose weight and become unhappy. I promise you that if you continue to work in that job, you will make yourself ill with those snobby bitches any longer. I’m not prepared to watch that happen. Are you listening to me?” Elijah asked and shook her to emphasise his point.
Elijah swept his eyes over her face, looking at the dark shadows under her beautiful eyes, and wished she would leave for a happier job. His beseeching look startled Lilly, who sat there wide-eyed, unblinking, into Elijah’s face.
“I’ll think about it, Elijah. I know what you’re saying is right, but I don’t think I have the courage to leave. What would I do instead? I have no idea what I want to do with my life. I had never known what I wanted to do when I was in school as a career. Mum and dad decided for me, and I went with what they said I should do.”
Her voice started to falter, and Elijah thought she might get upset. To rescue the situation, he blurted out the first thing that he could think of.
“Work here. I’ll give you a job,” Elijah said.
He didn’t know where the notion had come from, butnow he’d said it, he went with it. Elijah often always offered help without thinking. He told himself he must stop doing this as that got him into trouble time and time again. He had just ended his relationship with Elaine after helping her out with a commission.
“You can work behind the bar until you decide what you want to do. The wages are not great, but the tips are good and we are an excellent team and have fun,” he said. He couldn’t believe what was tumbling out of his mouth. He couldn’t stop them from pouring out.
“Work here? I don’t know how to pull a pint, let alone make a cocktail.”
“I’ll teach you. Please consider it Lilly. I don’t know how much longer I can watch you fade away and become a shadow of your former self.”
“That’s a bit dramatic. I’m not that bad,” Lilly replied.
