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“Of course. No problem at all. Honestly, I’m hoping you two take it. You’ve had the best vision so far and really the place needs sprucing up. The last tenant was a luxury clothing shop and it didn’t last long. Prices were way too high for Pine Bluff. It’s been sitting vacant way too long.”

Ellis turned his attention back to Warren then. “Thank you.”

Warren shook his hand, too. “Seriously, give me a call anytime.”

As he left, we crossed the street and got back into Ellis’s car. He didn’t start the engine right away, and we were both silent for a long time, but after a while, Ellis glanced at me. When we made eye contact, he quickly looked away and started the car.

I took a deep breath and braced myself for whatever his reaction might be. “Is everything okay?”

Chapter Fourteen

Ellis

“Is everything okay?”

It was such an innocuous question, so kind and laced with genuine care, but it set my heart racing, my stomach twisting into knots as I tried to find the words to answer Kieran.

“You don’t have to tell me anything if you don’t want to. I just… you seem upset.”

He wasn’t wrong. I was upset. Not at him, of course. I didn’t know what to say, or even what I wanted to say. Eventually, I settled on a non-answer. “I’m fine.” He didn’t look away from me, just kept his gaze steady, my body heating as I fought the urge to deflect further. I certainly could deflect. Or… I could tell him the truth. “It’s… that was Eva.”

He was silent for a beat. “Do you want to talk about it?”

Well, that wasn’t what I’d expected him to say. A part of me did want to talk about it. Desperately. A part of me wanted to ignore the question and pretend the call never happened. Eventually, though, I nodded. “Yeah.”

Kieran turned so he was facing me in his seat. “Okay.”

I put the car into gear and pulled onto the street, heading home as I began to speak. “Eva and I were together for just a year before we got married. We were married for seven. I don’t know what happened. Nothing catastrophic. Nobody cheated, there were no scandals. We just… I don’t know, drifted apart or whatever. One day we were fine, and then I looked up and realized I wasn’t happy anymore. Neither of us were. We were just going through the motions. When I told her I wanted to separate, she said she was relieved. She’d been trying to work up the courage to tell me the same thing for months, she said.” I paused and took a breath.

He nodded slowly. “That sounds rough. It was probably painful to hear, even if it was mutual.”

“It was,” I agreed, the tension in my chest loosening a little. “But it was for the best. It wasn’t fair to either of us to be stuck in a marriage that we weren’t happy in. Eva seemed to have a hard time with it, though. After we split up, she kept trying to find ways to get me to come back. She apologized and said she missed me, needed me in her life.”

He hummed softly. “I’m sure that was hard to hear.”

“It wasn’t fun, trying to break free and having her trying to pull me back constantly. The divorce ended up getting really messy. We had to get lawyers involved and she really dragged it out longer than necessary. In the end, I walked away from all of our shared assets. I let her have the house and the car. But I guess that wasn’t enough. She’s been calling lately. Texting. Trying to get me to do things for her around the house.” I stopped talking and glanced at Kieran. He was still watching me, listening intently. “Anyway, the latest is that she’s asking for help with yard work. Simple stuff. It would only take a day of my time. But… I’m not her husband anymore. I don’t live there. It’s not my house. We’re not together. Even if she hadn’t made it so difficult, I’d feel this way. It’s over and she needs to start relying on herself. Not me.”

“Have you told her that?”

I shrugged half-heartedly. “Sort of. I told her I can’t. I’m busy. That sort of thing.”

He was quiet for a moment and when he spoke again, his voice was soft. “I know you didn’t ask for my opinion, but I think you should tell her how you feel. She’s never going to stop reaching out if you don’t make it clear to her that you’re not interested in continuing a relationship.”

I didn’t know what to say to that. He was right, of course, but it felt hard to actually say that to her. I nodded slowly. “You’re probably right.”

He reached over the console and put his hand on mine where it rested on the gearshift, squeezing gently. My heart raced at his touch. “I know it feels tough, but I have faith in you.” After another second, he removed his hand. I missed his touch acutely the moment it was gone. Another beat passed. “What I’m thinking is you’re secretly a softy, under that gruff exterior.”

I glanced at him and he was grinning, wide and bright, a smile that went all the way up to his eyes. I huffed a laugh. “Don’t tell anyone.”

He drew an X over his heart with his finger. “Your secret is safe with me.”

By then, we’d arrived home and as I pulled the car into the driveway, I glanced at him. “Thanks again.”

“Anytime,” he said, his tone soft. “Let me know if you need anything.”

I nodded. “I think I’m going to stay out here and give Eva a call.”

“Of course.” A moment later, he’d gotten out of the car and I was alone.