Stitches and Scars (18 page)

“I won’t,” Ethan promised.

“Good.” Her smile widened as she spun around and bounded back onto Logan.

Ethan walked into the kitchen, making a mental note to never cross Sophie. As soon as he was through the doorway, he saw Kate resting her head on the granite counter. Silently making his way to her, he slipped his arm around her waist and leaned down, placing his lips to her ear.

“I was waiting for you,” he whispered. “Why didn’t you come in and sit with us?”

“I figured I would just get to work and finish these smoothies.” She shifted and he could tell that she wasn’t being completely honest.

“Kate,” he sighed, turning her around to face him. Placing his hand on her chin, he lifted her beautiful face to his.

It didn’t take long for her to give in, especially when he was looking at her the way he was. “I walked in and didn’t know where I should sit. I just figured that I’d come in here so I wouldn’t have to worry about where I should be.”

Ethan’s stomach twisted when he realized that she actually doubted where she belonged. To him the answer was simple. “Where you should be, is anywhere I am.” He smiled down at her. “Now let’s make some smoothies.” He slid his hand down her arm and grabbed hold of her hand, intertwining their fingers as he led her to the sink.

Four smoothies later, Ethan looked over the still half-full basket of produce and laughed. “I think I may have gotten a little carried away with the fruit.”

“You can get carried away with fruit any time you want, as long as I’m around.” Kate smirked.

Ethan’s eyebrows lifted. “I’ll keep that in mind,” he said before leaning in to kiss her.

With a quiet sigh, Kate pulled away. Her eyes were closed and her full, perfect lips were pulled up slightly at the corners. She inhaled deeply and opened her eyes, focusing on Ethan’s face. “Let’s get these out to Soph and Logan before I let you get carried away again.”

She grabbed two of the four glasses and turned away. Ethan enjoyed the view and watched her hips sway side to side. Kate came to a stop in the doorway and peered over her shoulder. “Are you coming?”

With a quick nod, Ethan grabbed the other two glasses and followed after her. Sophie and Logan were still in the same position they were in a few minutes ago, and this time, Kate didn’t hesitate about where to sit. She took a seat on the loveseat and patted the open space beside her. Ethan gladly accepted and wrapped his free arm around her shoulder.

The group sat in silence, watching football highlights from recent games. The playoffs were coming around, and the Eagles had secured home field advantage, Ethan knew this couldn’t have made Trent any happier. He was just angry that he wasn’t able to play since tearing his ACL during the middle of the season.

“What do you think the Eagles’ chances are of taking it all the way?” Logan asked, still engrossed in the screen.

“You want my opinion or Trent’s?” Ethan asked with a laugh.

“Trent?”

“Didn’t I mention him the other night at dinner?”

“You said you moved out here because you had a friend in the area, but you never told me about him. His name’s Trent, what does he do?”

“He plays football, actually. Although right now, he’s watching from the sidelines. He got injured earlier this season.”

At Ethan’s words, Logan looked away from the TV. “Really, you mean he plays pro? For who, the Eagles?” He was now sitting up at full attention. “Are you talking about Trent
Williams
?”

“Yep,” Ethan said with a pop. “And yes, he can get me good tickets.” He answered the question before Logan could even ask.

“Are you serious? You can get us tickets?”

Ethan nodded, and just as Logan started pumping his fist in the air, Sophie hopped off the couch and plopped down at Ethan’s feet. Apparently she wasn’t the only one excited about the prospect of getting tickets.

“Is he single?”

Her question threw Ethan off guard. “What?”

“I said, is he single?”

“Yes,” he answered slowly, still not understanding her question.

“Then we need to hook him up with Elle.”

Ethan didn’t get a chance to respond before Logan cut in. “No, no, no.” Sophie turned to face him with a pout. “Don’t look at me like that. You know as well as I do that Elle doesn’t date athletes, or ‘jocks’ as she calls them,” he said while meeting her pleading gaze.

“Come on, Logan. Who knows, maybe this guy will be different.” She shifted back over to Logan and knelt down on the floor so she was eye level with him. She gave him her best puppy dog face, and Logan could feel his defenses falling.

“No,” he mumbled miserably.

“Yeah, I’m not sure that’s such a good idea. I mean, I know Elle is a spitfire and could probably handle anything you throw at her, but I don’t think she’s Trent’s type.” Ethan stumbled for an excuse, trying anything he could to help out his friend. He looked to Kate with pleading eyes and she only smirked. She knew exactly what Sophie was doing and exactly what the outcome would be.

“Besides,” Ethan continued. “Trent can be a little rough around the edges sometimes. He needs someone like … like …” He was grasping at straws, trying to find the perfect definition for the girl that would be ideal for Trent, when it hit him. “He needs someone like the tire chick,” he blurted out.

Sophie’s button nose scrunched in confusion. “Tire chick? Ethan, I don’t know what you’re talking about, but that makes no sense.”

“And it wouldn’t. At least to you guys. See, about a week ago …” He turned to Kate. “Come to think of it, it was the day that I ran into you at the grocery store. Anyway, apparently Trent pulled over to help this girl who had a flat tire. It turned out to be a big mistake on his part because she already knew what she was doing. She must have run him through the wringer too.” He laughed remembering his friend’s worn expression.

“I tell you what,” Ethan continued. “I have never seen him so whipped by a girl in all my life. She put him in his place and didn’t swoon over him in the least. He’s not used to that happening; girls usually fall all over him. I told him he should have asked for her number, but he, for some reason, has this rule when it comes to women. He thinks that—” Ethan paused mid-sentence as he noticed the look on both girls’ faces. Their jaws hung open and their eyes were bulging. “What?” he asked curiously.

Both Sophie and Kate turned to one another and squealed. They both knew exactly who Ethan was talking about and couldn’t believe it. The two girls started shouting out random words like,
it’s him … the tire … hot … shirt … half-naked,
and
grease
, which only left Logan and Ethan more confused.

“Wait a minute. Who are you guys talking about?”

Sophie stopped her bouncing long enough to look at Ethan. “It’s Elle,” she said.

“What’s Elle?” Logan asked.

Taking a deep breath, Sophie attempted to calm herself before speaking slowly, accentuating each word. “The girl that Trent met on the side of the road with a flat tire was Elle.”

“What?” both guys said in unison.

“I said, the girl that Trent met on the side of the road, the one who knew how to change a tire, the one who used his shirt to wipe the grease off her hands, the one who wouldn’t give him her number,
that
, my dear boys, was Elle.”

Both Logan and Ethan sat in stunned silence. When they finally spoke, it was with a tone of awe. “How can that be possible? It’s all so … I don’t know.” Ethan shook his head.

“Wow. Talk about coincidence. Things like that don’t just happen,” Logan added.

Sophie took a step forward and looked down at Ethan. “It happens all the time. When things are meant to be, they have a way of working out.” She smiled at him, then peered over at Kate.

The two looked at each other, and Ethan placed his hand on top of Kate’s, squeezing it gently, letting her know that he agreed with what Sophie said.

“So. Now that you know that Elle was the girl Trent was talking about, are you still against setting them up?” Sophie placed her hands on her hips.

“I guess not,” Ethan shrugged.

“Good. That’s what I thought.”

Kate sat up excitedly. “Why don’t we all go out when Elle gets back in town? I know she doesn’t like getting set up on blind dates, but I have a feeling she won’t mind once we tell her who it’s with.”

“Don’t you dare!” Sophie yelled.

Kate stared at her in shock. “What? Why not?”

“Come on, we can’t just tell her that it’s
him
,” she said with a scrunched-up face. “We need to make it a little fun.”

“Soph,” Kate warned. “What are you planning in that little head of yours?”

“I’m not exactly sure yet.” She bit down on her bottom lip, concentrating.

“Man, Elle is going to flip when she finds out he plays for the Eagles,” Logan said with a laugh as he turned his attention back to the TV.

“
She’s
going to flip? What about Trent? You guys don’t know him. He is going to have an aneurysm when he finds out he’s going on a date with a girl from the
Sports Illustrated
swimsuit issue.”

“You can’t tell him!” Sophie squeaked. “And you can’t tell Elle, Logan. Neither can you.” She pointed at Kate. “The three of you have to swear not to say anything until I figure this whole thing out.”

“All right.”

“Fine with me.”

“Okay.”

None of them wanted to stand in the way of Sophie, who had already grabbed a pen and paper and started writing things down.

***

The group sat for a while watching TV and enjoying their smoothies. Every time Ethan lifted his glass, he would steal glances at Kate. He was entranced by the soft lines of her profile as she focused on the game and the way her lips grazed the edge of her cup.

After catching him twice, Kate finally spoke up. “Would you like a tour?” she asked innocently. A smile played on the corners of her mouth.

With a nod, Ethan stood and pulled her to his side, wrapping an arm around her waist.

“It’s not huge, but it’s enough for us,” she said, as they walked up a set of stairs.

Ethan paused when he noticed the pictures that lined the walls. “Did you take these?” he asked in amazement. He’d seen her work before at the gallery, but that was only a few pieces.

“Uh-huh,” she confirmed with a nod.

“They’re amazing.” Ethan walked by each one slowly, admiring every detail. There was no specific theme to any of them. Some were landscape shots, others architectural. There were even a few of Sophie and Elle. “What do you prefer to shoot?” he asked, still absorbed by her work.

“I don’t have a preference really. I like to do a little of everything. I can’t choose. I mean, the world is such a magnificent place.”

“Yes, it is.” He reached over and placed his hand on her cheek, feeling the heat of her warm hands.

She closed her eyes and smiled against his hand. “Come on, I want to show you something,” she said as she pulled his hand from her face and led him further down the hall.

She paused just outside of a door. “My room,” she said, looking anxious.

He smiled encouragingly. She sighed and pushed open her door. He walked into her room and tried to absorb everything at once. The walls were the color of the ocean, a gray-blue that stood out in contrast to the crisp white curtains that framed the large window next to her bed. Dark hardwood floors peeked out from beneath the edges of shell-colored area rugs.

Ethan walked past the over-filled bookcases, dragging his fingers along the worn bindings, reading the few titles that he could still make out. Next to her dresser stood a mahogany desk, covered with papers and photographs. Eager to see more of her work, he made his way over to them, but paused when the wall above it caught his eye. The entire wall was adorned with pictures. Not one frame was the same and not one picture was reminiscent of the other.

“Kate,” he said quietly. “These are …” He trailed off, not knowing what words to use to do them justice.

“Do you like them?” she asked shyly.

“Are you kidding? They’re amazing. You’re so talented.”

She dropped her eyes timidly, and Ethan was overcome by the woman standing before him. Taking a step forward, he wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her to him. “Beautiful,” he whispered, looking into her soft brown eyes and silently asking for permission to kiss her.

When she nodded, he leaned in slowly and brushed his lips against hers before deepening the kiss. She wrapped her arms around his neck. Parting her lips, she breathed into his mouth with a quiet sigh.

As they clung to each other, Ethan lifted her up and sat her on top of the desk. Papers crinkled beneath her as she leaned back, knocking over various containers of office supplies. He hovered over her as they continued to kiss, completely lost in each other. The shrill ring of Ethan’s phone interrupted them.

“Sorry,” he groaned, pulling out his cell. “Hello?” The agitation was clear in his voice and he made a conscious effort to control his irritation.