Game of Love Read online

  “REMEMBER THAT DAY?” Dex leaned against his bedroom doorframe.

  Ellie started and put the photograph she was holding back on his dresser. “Dex, I’m so sorry. I was looking for a bathroom, and I…”

  He smiled and picked up the picture. “It’s my favorite. Do you remember taking it?”

  She nodded, and he wondered if she felt the same longing for that time as he felt when he looked at it. The picture had been taken two weeks before she’d been sent away. Siena had just gotten a camera and was always taking pictures. Ellie hated getting her picture taken. She’d had on a halter top. Dex remembered thinking how pretty she was and that she never wore shirts like that. She’d turned away, and he’d wrapped her in his arms. Her back was warm and soft, and Dex had wanted to hold her forever. He’d told Siena to stop, but Siena had taken the first shot—the picture in the frame—and she’d caught the happiness on his lips, the look of love in his eyes. She’d caught his heart on film, and though the next five pictures showed a very different and protective Dex because Siena hadn’t listened when he told her to stop taking pictures, he’d kept this one for himself.

  Ellie nodded. “Siena was always up for mischief.”

  “She still is. I’m having lunch with her tomorrow. Want to come?” Please say yes. Having Ellie with him last night brought back so many memories and forced the ache of missing her to the forefront. He knew he shouldn’t get close, but resisting Ellie was not in his bailiwick of skills.

  “I can’t. I need to find a job and I need to find a place to live. Oh, and call the bank to cancel my credit card.” Ellie ran her hand through her hair, and her fingers tangled in its thickness.

  He set the picture down. “What about reporting it to the police?”

  “That sounds like a headache. There was nothing but a little cash and one bank card in my purse. I’d better shower.” She started to walk past him, and he stopped her.

  “Ellie, use my bathroom. The only other full bath is in the room where Regina is sleeping. How are you getting to your interview?”

  She shrugged. “Walk, I guess. I’ll figure it out.” She opened her suitcase and began to unpack her clothes for the interview.

  “I’ll give you money for a cab.”

  She spun around. “No. I don’t need—”

  “No shit. You don’t need money for a cab. You’ll walk twenty blocks or however long it is to the school. I know you can and will, Ellie. But until you get the bank thing worked out, just take the cab money. You can make breakfast to pay me back.” He smiled, knowing she was going to fight with him about the money and almost relishing in it. She was too tough for her own good—and so damned cute when she got ornery.

  “I suck at cooking.”

  “Then you’re in luck, because I don’t.”

  She shivered. “It’s chilly in here.”

  He crossed the floor and closed the window. “Old habits.”

  She narrowed her eyes.

  “I sleep with it cracked every night. Always have. Well, ever since…” Ever since you showed up at my bedroom window that first time. He realized his mistake as soon as he’d said the words. He’d just given her another reason to run. Don’t get close to Ellie Parker or she’ll take off. That could have been written under her photo in her high school yearbook. The week his mother invited her to dinner, Ellie didn’t walk home with him once. It had taken her almost two full weeks to find her way back to him again. But like a fish to water, she’d come back, and then she’d eased into his family’s hearts the same way she’d snuck into his.

  She shifted her gaze from the window to her toiletry bag, clearly ignoring his comment. Damn it. He had enough going on in his life that he didn’t need the roller coaster ride that was Ellie Parker. But he’d be damned if every part of his body didn’t crave her now that she was close.

  “I’ll be really quick in the shower, and I can walk, but thanks anyway.”

  Chapter Ten

  AFTER CALLING THE bank and checking directions online for the school, she realized that walking a few miles in heels might be a bit much after sleeping only a handful of hours the night before. She’d swallowed her pride and borrowed cab fare from Dex, ignoring the smirk on his handsome face. He’d wished her luck before she left, and as she walked into the old brick building, she realized that luck hadn’t been on her side in months. Maybe even years. Or ever. Although, what else could running into Dex have been?

  The halls of the elementary school were bright and cheerful. The school had that unique elementary school smell of paste and cafeteria food. She missed the kids she’d worked with in Maryland, and she hoped they were getting the attention they needed from their new teacher. When Ellie was teaching, she didn’t have shivers of doubt. She was confident in her teaching skills, and although school had been a painful experience—Ellie had always felt like a misfit—it was the one place she could prove herself. She’d excelled at schoolwork, earning A’s in most of her subjects despite feeling out of place. Grades were all about her. She controlled how much she studied and how intently she paid attention. No one else could take credit for her grades, good or bad.

  “Ms. Parker? I’m Principal Price. I’m glad you made it.” Principal Price was an older woman with pencil-straight salt-and-pepper hair worn in a severe blunt cut just below her ears. Her smile was forced, which Ellie noted went along with her feigned kindness. She imagined this woman, who was as vertically challenged as Ellie, hovering somewhere around five foot three, had a default scowl that took hard work to mask.

  “Thank you. I’ve heard a lot about your school.” Ellie followed her into a small office, which was impeccably clean save for a small stack of files on one side of her desk.

  With her nose in Ellie’s file, Principal Price said, “On your application you stated that you were moving to New York to return to your roots. Is that right? So you’re from the city?”

  Was it? Or was it to be closer to Dex? Focus, Ellie. “Not the city, just outside. You know what they say…” Shit. Ellie had no idea what they said, much less who they were. “Once a New Yorker, always a New Yorker.” She pressed her hand to her knee in hopes of settling the nervous bounce that had taken over.

  “Tell me about your teaching style.”

  Ellie had practiced for her interview nonstop on the train to New York, and she rattled off her prepared answers. “While I follow the outlined curriculum for the students, I cater how I teach each lesson to the needs of the children. I work with the kids who need more time or depth to understand a concept while the ones who do understand are working their way through the problem. I find that holding up the entire class for one or two children’s needs tends to cause the kids who do understand to lose interest.”

  Principal Price wrote something on her clipboard.

  “Can you tell me about the class? What are the children like? Have most of them gone through the previous classes together, or do you have a high turnover rate in the classrooms?”

  Principal Price opened her drawer and pulled out a spreadsheet. She slid it across the desk and Ellie looked it over.

  “Our fifth-grade students scored above the national average in every area tested in the spring. Overall achievement was at the sixtieth percentile, ten points higher than the national average of fifty.” Principal Price continued rattling off statistics and milestones.

  Ellie redirected the question and asked about the morale of the students, hoping to glean a little insight into the children themselves, their behavior, their attitude toward school.

  Principal Price referred again to the statistics, reiterating that they had achieved above-average scores.

  She tried one last time. “I understand the rankings and achievements, but I’d love to know about the children’s personalities, how they interact, if there are any children who need more attention than others. Anything that I should be aware of with regard to working with them in the most effective teaching manner possible?”

  “Ellie, they’re ch
ildren. They come to class to learn, and you’ll teach them the curriculum to ensure that they pass the state requirements. I’m sure whatever you did at your old school will be similar in practice to teaching here. The most important thing is that we meet the established milestones.”

  By the time the interview ended, Ellie couldn’t get away from the building fast enough. She’d hoped to find a school that focused on the children as individuals rather than statistics, and Principal Price seemed more interested in the latter.

  Her phone vibrated, and she pulled it out to read the text.

  How’d it go?

  Dex. Of course. He was so polite, and attentive, and…so Dex. Her lips lifted into a smile as she typed a response. Fine, but I didn’t like it.

  She wished she could pick up a little something to thank Dex for letting her crash at his place, but buying a gift with his money didn’t cut it. The bank had said they’d overnight a new card to her and it should arrive at Dex’s place by tomorrow. She had two more interviews lined up this week, and she hoped something panned out. At least once she got her bank card back, she could find another place to stay and not impose on Dex anymore. The thought of staying someplace else left her feeling lonely.

  Her phone vibrated again. Sorry. The next one will be better.

  Mr. Optimism. Dex had a way of always seeing the bright things in life.

  She answered. It’s fine. I have two more this week.

  When her phone vibrated, she expected it to be Dex again. It was Dina.

  What happened last night? Jed said you took off in the middle of the night.

  Ugh. She’d hoped she wouldn’t have to explain herself. She texted back quickly.

  Couldn’t sleep. I left your key on the counter. Thanks for the place to crash.

  Dina didn’t text back. Neither did Dex. By the time she reached his apartment building, it was one o’clock and she was starving. She noticed the decadence of the gabled and turreted building for the first time. Above her, intricately carved ceilings provided a beautiful canopy, and expensive floors inlaid with mahogany laid the path to the elevator. She felt nervous just walking across the floor. The building took her breath away and made her feel uncomfortable all at once. She pulled the key to his apartment from her pocket as she waited for the elevator and dropped it just as the elevator doors opened. A stunning dark-haired couple walked out.

  “Hi,” the woman said as she stepped into the lobby, hesitating beside Ellie, who was still bent over, retrieving the key she’d dropped.

  She felt her cheeks flush as she stood and dropped the key again. She groaned silently.

  “Here, I’ve got it.” The woman picked up the key and handed it to her. “Are you staying here?”

  “Yes, with Dex Remington.” She watched the couple exchange a glance. Their eyes softened as they turned their attention back to her.

  “I’m Josh Braden, and this is my fiancée, Riley. Any friend of Dex’s is a friend of ours. If you ever need anything, we’re on the sixth floor. Just pop on up.”

  Ellie shook their hands. “Thanks. I’m only here for a few days.”

  Josh reached for Riley’s hand. “Well, nice to meet you.”

  She rode the elevator up to Dex’s floor. Dex had given her a key to use, and she was surprised when she slid the key in and found it was already unlocked. Her heartbeat sped up. Was he home? She went inside, and the unique smell of him—fresh soap and sheer masculinity— surrounded her. She slipped out of her heels and breathed a sigh of relief.

  “Yeah, I know.”

  Ellie froze at the sound of Regina’s voice.

  “She showed up here at like five in the morning.” Regina came down the hall wearing the same jeans she’d had on the evening before and the tank top she’d slept in. A Twizzler hung halfway out of her mouth as she spoke into a cell phone.

  Their eyes locked.

  “Mitch, I gotta go. I’ll be in soon.” She ended the call and smiled at Ellie.

  It wasn’t a feigned smile, like Principal Price’s, and Regina’s not-yet-made-up brown eyes looked much kinder than they had last night.

  “Hey,” Regina said.

  “Hi.” Ellie wondered why she was still there. “Is Dex here?”

  “No. He’s at the office.” She narrowed her eyes. “Everything okay?”

  “Yeah. I’m sorry to have barged in last night. I just got into town and the girl I was supposed to stay with kind of blew me off, and things got a little nutty after that. But I’ll be gone soon.” She couldn’t help but stare at the tattoos that covered Regina’s arms and chest. She wondered what Regina was hiding from. She had read somewhere that people who had many tattoos were hiding behind the body art. She thought of Dex’s tattoos and wondered what that said about him.

  Regina gnawed on her Twizzler. “Hungry?”

  Regina was talking to her as if she were a friend. She didn’t know what she had expected, but the question took Ellie by surprise. “Kinda.”

  “Come on. I’m a killer cook.” She walked past Ellie and headed into the large kitchen. She began taking items from the pantry and putting them on the counter. She definitely knew her way around Dex’s kitchen. “The kitchen is always stocked. Though I have no idea why. He never eats here.”

  Do you? Ellie wanted to ask but bit her tongue.

  “So you grew up with Dex? What brings you back here?” Regina moved with grace as she mixed flour and other ingredients in a bowl, cracking eggs with one hand and tossing the shells in the sink.

  “Work. I taught at an elementary school in Maryland, but…” I found out my boyfriend was married and didn’t want to be known as a home wrecker; then he grabbed me and... “I wanted to come back home.”

  Regina nodded. “I’ve moved so much that being in one place for a few years has been nice.”

  Maybe she’d misjudged Regina. She was actually being nice. “Do you want some help?”

  “Nah. Just chill.” Regina added fresh blueberries to the batter, then poured it onto a skillet.

  Ellie was dying to know about Regina and Dex’s relationship. She’d believed Dex when he’d said they were just friends, but Dex was hot, and Regina had acted like she owned him the night before.

  “You’re the girl in the picture, aren’t you?” Regina asked.

  “Picture?” Ellie knew damn well which picture she was speaking of, but she was too nervous to admit it. Regina and Dex were obviously close friends. She tried to ignore the pang of jealousy that speared her when she thought about Regina in Dex’s bedroom. Cut it out. Part of Ellie wished she’d never run away four years ago. She could have been the one with Dex all this time. But they weren’t that type of friends. But we could be. Maybe. The thought took Ellie by surprise. The fact that she didn’t immediately discount the idea surprised her even more. What the hell is going on with me?

  Regina finished cooking the pancakes and set them on a plate. She took a Twizzler from inside a bread box on the counter and shoved it into her mouth. “The one on his dresser in his bedroom.”

  They might not have been that type of friends, but then there was that picture. In his bedroom, where any woman who accompanied him in there would see it. She pushed away the need to figure out what it meant and played it off as if it were nothing. “Yeah. We were kids.” Is it nothing? It doesn’t feel like nothing.

  Regina nodded. “Eat while they’re hot.”

  “Aren’t you having any?” Or do you exist on Twizzlers and beer?

  Regina smiled and held up her Twizzler. “The breakfast of champions. Real food slows me down.” They sat at the kitchen table together. Regina put her feet up on the chair next to her while Ellie wolfed down the amazingly delicious pancakes.

  “What was Dex like as a kid?”

  Ellie didn’t have to think for long to retrieve the right words to describe Dex. “He was the kid who always did the right thing even when he was trying to do the wrong thing. He was sweet and…chivalrous.” She smiled, remembering the way he’d gone
after Siena for taking too many pictures of Ellie.

  Regina looked away with a thoughtful expression in her eyes. “I can see that.”

  “These are delicious. Thank you. I can barely boil water.” Ellie dragged the last piece through the thick syrup and popped it into her mouth. She wondered if the Dex she’d seen last night was different from the Dex everyone else saw. She hesitated before asking, “What’s Dex like now?”

  Regina sauntered to the bread box and snagged another Twizzler. She twirled it in the air before chomping down on it. “I think he’s probably a lot like he was as a kid.”

  “He always had his nose in a book or his hands on electronics,” Ellie said. She used to love to sit with him while he tinkered with his computer. She remembered feeling like they never even needed to talk, that just being with Dex had made everything seem better. Like last night. A web of confusion tangled her thoughts. Why were all those feelings coming back so strongly?

  “And did he used to get this glint in his eye when he had an idea?” Regina asked.

  “Like this?” Ellie’s eyes widened and the right side of her lips lifted to a cockeyed smile; then she narrowed her eyes and drew her brows together.

  Regina laughed. “Yes! That’s the one. See? He hasn’t changed. Did you graduate from high school together?”

  Ellie felt sadness squeeze her heart. “No. I was a year younger than him, and I left before he graduated.” She had always wondered what would have happened if she’d stayed. She didn’t have grandiose dreams of going to the same college as Dex or anything as romantic, but she’d have liked to have had more time with him. Her stomach fluttered as she realized that the feelings she’d had for Dex when she’d run away four years ago weren’t buried as deeply as she’d thought. They were rising to the surface, and this time, she wasn’t in such a rush to push them away. She’d missed him. God, how she’d missed him.