Page 37 of Married at Midnight

CHAPTER TWELVE

The next day Ellie kept herself busy with the contract crews she’d hired. By the end of the day, the roof was finished, the exterior of the house was complete, and the entire first floor now sported fresh paint. The parlor and music-room walls were a rich red, while the rest of the rooms and hallways were a calming taupe as evidenced by the paint on her clothes, skin, and hair.

A good kind of exhaustion settled into the aching muscles of her neck, arms, and shoulders as she made her way upstairs. She had one hour to get out of her painting clothes and shower before she and Connor had to leave for their date with Max and Olivia tonight.

In her room on the dresser, she found an envelope, sealed with wax. With anticipation, she broke the seal and slipped the single sheet of paper from inside. She read the bold, slanting script:

Let old griefs be gone

let us start anew

once you accept how much I love you.

“How much I love you?” Why would he write something like that to her and not tell her to her face? Did he mean the words, or had he meant “I love you as a friend”? Or had he noticed her distance and was trying to make unnecessary amends for an imagined slight?

She fell onto her bed with the note in hand. She hadn’t given him the chance to have a true conversation. All day she’d pushed him away, shielding herself and her emotions, uncertain if she wanted to pursue a physical relationship with him or try to keep her distance. She’d given him tasks that kept him in other parts of the house. Every time he’d finished that task and tried to talk to her, she’d found another urgent thing for him to do.

Had he been trying to tell her this all day? No one had ever said those words to her before . . . or written them either. How had they gone from pretending to be married to this in such a short time? She hadn’t considered that they would ever feel more than a strong attraction to each other. But love?

Ellie brought the note down to rest against her chest, feeling her heart beat a little bit faster beneath her hand. Until Connor said the words to her directly, she couldn’t quite believe they were true. Maybe he would say them tonight. She drew a slow, even breath that cleared her head. Time would tell. In the meantime, she needed to take a shower and slip into her costume.

She’d bought a costume for Connor as well and had left it on his bed. At the thought, she smiled. What would he think of her choice, and more important, would he wear it? She’d find out soon. With thoughts of his poem filling her head, she headed for the shower.

Exactly one hour later, she hurried down the staircase to meet Connor in the foyer. The heated spark in his eyes told her he approved.

He was dressed in black jeans and a black T-shirt with the sleeves rolled up over his biceps, and he had a black leather jacket hooked by one finger draped over his shoulder. He’d slicked his hair back. The man was drop-dead gorgeous dressed as Danny Zuko from Grease.

And when he swaggered toward her, her knees went weak. “Hello, luscious,” he said in a deep, evocative voice as he raked a hungry look over her body. “Nice costume.”

She swallowed roughly. Maybe she hadn’t thought this through. As Sandy to his Danny, things between them were already heated, and they hadn’t even left the house. “There’s still time to change into something else if you’d prefer,” she offered.

“And give up seeing you in skintight black leather? Not a chance.” He pulled her into his arms and gave her a sizzling kiss. Her body flared in response. And with one kiss, all her good intentions fell around her feet.

The man was temptation himself.

His tongue explored her mouth with leisure as his hands smoothed the silken back of her off-the-shoulder body-hugging top. Then, he bent down and scooped her off her feet and into his arms.

“Connor,” she gasped as he carried her effortlessly out the door toward a sleek black Corvette that waited by the curb. With his boot he opened the passenger-side door and set her gently inside. “Your car?”

His green eyes were alive with humor and hunger. “Borrowed from a friend. We couldn’t show up as Sandy and Danny to a party driving any fuel-efficient or robotic car, now could we?”

“I suppose not,” she replied with a laugh as a thousand other emotions tore through her. “But how did you know what costumes I bought?”

He raised a brow. “I’m not as unobservant as you think.” He closed her door, strode around to the driver’s side, and got in. The car started with a low hum. He put the stick shift into gear, and they headed away from the residential area, toward the city’s center.

It was all she could do not to reach out and touch him. Instead, she focused on the road and the fallen leaves that swirled through the air. It was clear and cold, but with Connor near and dressed like he was, she doubted she’d feel anything but overheated all night.

When they arrived at the Experience Music Project, Connor dropped the car at valet parking, offered on the lower level. He came around to her door and helped her out. Through the open doorway of the oddly shaped metallic building, the pulse of music drew them inside.

Olivia and Max were waiting for them in the lower lobby, dressed as Buttercup and Westley from The Princess Bride.

Olivia rushed forward and folded Ellie in a hug while the men shook hands. “Oh, Ellie, you guys look amazing as Sandy and Danny!” she exclaimed.

“How fitting you chose the destined-to-be-together-forever lovers Buttercup and Westley. Couldn’t be more perfect,” Ellie said over the music.

“Actually, this costume was the only one that hid my baby bump,” her friend replied close to her ear. “Max wanted us to go as Batman and Catwoman,” she said loud enough for all to hear.

“Were they ever a couple?” Connor asked as they headed for the stairs that would take them to the main floor and the Sky Church, where the costume party was in full swing.