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Chapter 30
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2024-10-29 19:42:56Ethan watched his mother’s expression change to astonishment as she took in his announcement.
She stood frozen, kettle in hand and stared at her youngest son, the words still slowly sinking into her brain. From Ethan’s expression, she could almost swear her son was just as stunned at the announcement he’d just made if the look on his face was anything to go by.
“You’re bringing someone?” Martha finally recovered enough to repeat Ethan’s words. She set the kettle down, tea forgotten and pinned Ethan with a searching look.
Ethan looked dazed, as though he couldn’t believe he’d told her that. Then he straightened his shoulders in that way that Martha knew all too well and returned her look with an implacable one of his own.
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Erin glanced at the clock and winced. Seven pm. The obnoxious man was clearly taking no chances if he was already at her door.Another knock sounded and she sighed, tempted to bury her head under the pillow. Instead, she dragged herself from bed, fastening the ties of her silk robe and padded barefoot to open the door.As expected, Ethan stood there, looking particularly ravishing in a dark suit and red tie that contrasted nicely with the cream shirt he wore underneath. Erin swallowed, overwhelmed by the powerful aura of cool, handsome and confidence he exuded.He looked at her, noting the state of undress and sighed. “Figures you’ll make it difficult.”Oh dear sweet heaven. The man looked good enough to devour. Preferably served naked on her Egyptian c
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Erin shot a questioning look at Jared. “What’s a bake sale?”Momentarily flustered at the realization that he’d inadvertently spilled the beans, Jared cast a surprised look in Ethan’s direction, brows raised in silent query. Ethan glared back, fingers gripping the edge of Erin’s seat in an attempt to stop himself from wrapping those very fingers round his brother’s neck and squeezing real hard.Jared leaned close to whisper to Ethan, his eyes glinting in amusement.“Uh oh! Haven’t asked her yet?”“I was going to if you’d managed to stay away long enough.” Ethan whispered back, sparing Erin a glance as she watched their exchange, a small curious frown on her face.He turned back to Jared in exasperation. “You’re an idiot, you know that?”Jared managed to look contrite for about three seconds then chuckled, clearly enjoying his brother’s disco
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Erin studied her reflection in the mirror, worrying her lower lip between her teeth as she contemplated the dress for the umpteenth time. The light pink gown complimented her complexion and showed off curves in all the right places, but still she worried that the dress was not formal enough for the occasion. From what Ethan had described, the bake sale was going to be more than just a family get together.His mother had invited a lot of Chicago’s upper-class for the fundraiser. She also knew she would be facing Ethan’s family, all curious to know how she’d ended up as his date for the day.She signed and rubbed her forehead, feeling the beginnings of a headache. She so was not looking forward to being the center of attention, maybe it was not too late to things off. Sure Ethan would be furious and threaten her as usual, but she could handle that compared to the ordeal she was about to put herself through.Erin turned and strode back to her clos
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Erin happily bit into her fifth strawberry cookie, letting out a little moan of delight. “Oh my god! I swear this gets better with every bite.”Emily grinned, looking pleased. “Glad you think so. I dug the recipe from an online site just yesterday and couldn’t wait to try it out. So far, it’s been a great hit with the guests.”“It’s really good.” Erin popped the rest into her mouth and chewed in bliss for a few moments. She eyed the plate of cookies sitting on the kitchen counter, and decided one more wouldn’t hurt. She would worry about gaining a few pounds tomorrow. Today, she could gorge herself as much as she wanted and no one would judge her for it.She perched on a high stool in an effort to rest her aching feet, marveling at how comfortable she already was with Ethan’s family. Once the awkwardness of first introductions had passed, the Lachlan’s had welcomed her into their midst and d
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Ethan walked briskly towards his apartment building, carrying the bags that contained their breakfast. The cold air whipped through his body but he barely noticed, his thoughts on the woman waiting for him in his bed. It had taken every inch of self-control he possessed to leave after kissing Erin senseless, only the promise of what was to come later had kept him going.He smiled at that thought, imagining how he'd take his time rediscovering every delicious inch of Erin's body once he'd made sure he'd fed her. It wouldn't do to have her pass out from hunger during lovemaking and he clearly intended to keep her in his bed all day.He'd already placed a call to Peter and Laura while Erin was asleep, asking them to reschedule his calendar for the day as he had every intention of taking the day off. Ethan chuckled as he recalled how shocked Laura had been at the n
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Ethan glanced up from the papers on his table as Marcus strolled into his office. He ignored the grin on the lawyer's face and returned to his papers with a scowl. He needed to speak to Laura about letting people into his office when he'd given specific instructions otherwise."Whatever it is, I'm not in the mood.""What's eating you?" Marcus retorted, leaning on a corner of the desk. "Laura tells me you've been like a bear with a sore head for the past week and you've ripped into several employees which is quite unlike you. Spill man, let Uncle Marc make it better.""I'm working, Marcus." His jaw clenched harder. "Go away.""Yeah, no. Are you going to tell me or do I have to sit here till you get over yourself?"Right. He wa
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“What a douchebag!” Kim handed Erin a drink and curled up on the couch next to her friend. “What kind of guy yells at a woman in the middle of the sidewalk?”Erin took a sip of whiskey, feeling the comforting warmth of the alcohol spreading through her body. She still smarted from the encounter with Ethan, her mind going through the scene in her mind over and over. How could he claim not to have seen the note? She’d left the damn thing on the coffee table, right where he would see it as soon as he walked into the room. So what had happened? Was he lying to her?After that encounter. Erin had been reluctant to go back to Nicky’s place, couldn’t stand to face her cousin’s depression and she’d needed someone to talk to. So, she’d called Kim and her best friend had asked her to come to her place instead. Now, safely ensconced on Kim’s sofa, listening to her friend rant and curse at Ethan made Erin realize sh
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Erin opened the door to Nicky’s room and peered in. Through the gloom, she could just make out her cousin’s form on the bed, fast asleep. She heaved a sigh of relief and shut the door just as quietly as she’d opened it. At least her absence hadn’t been noticed, thank god for small mercies.She crossed to the kitchen to make some coffee, then called her assistant to get the same brand of ice cream and have it delivered to the apartment while the coffee brewed. Finished with the call, Erin leaned against the counter, resting her head on the cool marble in an effort to calm the throbbing in her head.Even though her feet hurt from spending nearly the entire afternoon idly roaming the park nearby, trying to get her thoughts and feelings sorted out. It had worked…to an extent, the air and ambience doing a lot to calm her nerves.
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Erin let herself into Ethan's apartment, heart beating a wild rhythm in her chest. She leaned against the door, knuckles gripping the knob as though unwilling to take the necessary steps into the room, worry and dread turning her skin cold. She took a deep breath forcing much needed air into her lungs, tight with anxiety as she silently tried to reassure herself with Kim's words.She could hear the low murmur of voices coming from the balcony and Erin muttered another prayer as she forced her steps in that direction. Ethan and Marcus occupied the two wrought chairs, both men slumped against the furniture in a drunken sprawl with Ethan facing away from the door, nursing half filled glasses filled with what Erin knew would surely be alcohol. A half empty bottle of Jack Daniels sat atop the table and her heart sank. Dealing with a sober Ethan was hard in itself, but when he was intoxicated, heaven only knew w
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Erin found her parents at their home, having a late breakfast.“Erin!” Her mother’s face lit up in delight. Harold Gosling looked up from his copy of the Wall Street Journal and smiled as Erin walked up to give him a kiss. “How lovely you could join us darling, it’s been a while.”Erin dropped a kiss on her mother’s cheeks then slid into an empty seat, accepting the glass of juice Victoria passed over.“Hey Mum,” she stole a piece of toast from her dad’s plate. “I missed you guys, so I decided to come over.”Harold snorted and closed the journal, picking up his coffee mug, his eyes glinting with humor. “Of course, of course. And this visit has nothing to do with needing a favour? Impressive.&rd
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Ethan jerked upright, heart racing as his brain struggled to catch up with the rest of him.Beside him, Erin stirred and murmured something in her sleep and he felt his pulse begin to steady as he turned to regard the sleeping woman.It hadn’t been a dream, thank God!She was here in his bed and in the flesh. He felt like bursting into the Hallelujah chorus – he was that excited.Careful not to wake her, he leaned down to gently brush aside the hair that clung to her face and pressed a kiss on her bare shoulders before easing out of bed. The sound that had woken him came again, and he cursed under his breath. Who the hell could be at his door at - he grabbed his phone to peer at the illuminated display and swore.
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"Mr. Gosling called a meeting for ten 'o'clock," Heather informed Erin, watching as her boss strode to her desk and sat down. Erin paused, one hand reaching for her laptop and regarded her assistant."Did he mention what the meeting was for?" Erin asked as she booted her laptop, simultaneously checking the folders Heather had left for her attention. Already congratulating herself for her decision to come in to work, she knew the activity would keep her mind occupied and thus keep those disturbing thoughts at bay. She checked her watch-seven am and that meant she had three hours to catch up on the backlog of emails and things that required her immediate attention."Nope, but the memo did say that attendance was absolutely mandatory for all senior executives.""Thanks." Heather turned to go then stopped. "Umm, I don't
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Erin stared at the blank screen of her cell phone and took a deep breath, fingers hovering over the power button."This is ridiculous." she muttered to herself in disgust, grateful that at least Kim was not here to see her acting like a scared fool. She tossed the offending object aside and drew her legs up on the bed, hugging her knees.A part of her was curious to know what sort of messages Ethan had left on her voicemail, had Nicky told him everything? Was he furious at her for keeping her cousin's infidelity a secret?So many questions, and if she wanted answers, she would swallow this irrational fear and call Ethan.She reached for the phone, then stopped and sighed again."Stop being foolish," she chided in a voice that
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"You really have no idea where she could be? She hasn't called you?"Erin's assistant shook her head in the negative, her eyes curious as she followed Ethan's restless movements back and forth in front of her desk."Maybe she's at Nicky's." Heather offered, "She's been spending a lot of time with her lately especially since the breakup.""She's not there." Ethan replied, raking a hand through his hair in frustration. "She's not in her apartment either, Kim says she hasn't seen her, and she's not answering her cell."His brows drew together in a worried frown as his mind began to envision all kinds of bad scenarios. It had gone past a need to just find Erin, now he was full out worried for her safety and he cursed himself for the millionth time for not seeing her safely h
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Returning to the room, Ethan found Nicky still perched on the edge of the sofa, and the sight of her worsened his already foul mood. She looked at him, eyes large and round in fright, but at this point, he felt no pity for her.He crossed to the window, hands jammed in his pockets as he took deep breaths, trying to get his emotion under control. Erin's good bye had carried a note of finality to it, as though she wanted nothing more to do with him and that thought sent coils of uneasiness through him. He was as much to blame for her misery as Nicky...Christ! Maybe he should have simply walked away and got on with his life when Nicky had called an end to their relationship rather than lashing out and hurting a woman who had only acted in her cousin's best interests, an action that had come around to bite him in the ass.Yeah...karma was a bitch indeed.
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For the third time that evening, Erin felt shock course through her like a punch in the gut, stealing her breath in one forceful slam, threatening to topple over her already fragile hold on reality.She wouldn’t be surprised to suddenly wake up to find that the past few hours had been nothing but a product of an already stressed out imagination. She could hear Ethan saying something, but she couldn’t make out anything through the frantic swirl of thoughts as her brain struggled to piece together a story that made more sense than the ridiculous notion that Nicky was somehow involved in all this.She shook her head, and took a step back, her legs coming up against the chair and she sank down to it, the tightness in her chest a reminder that she had forgotten to breathe. She opened her mouth on a gasp, the renewed flow of oxygen helped to clear her mud
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Dammit! Ethan swore silently, his fingers tightening on the wheel in an effort to stop himself from ripping the damn phone from Erin and tossing the thing out the window, the urge getting stronger as he listened to her side of the conversation and realized the bastard was actually asking her out.Todd. Ethan pictured the dude in his mind, recalling the last time he’d seen Erin with him and how he’d had the same urge to punch his lights out then, much like he very much wanted to right now. He thought they’d already settled the issue of her dating anyone else? Was she doing this deliberately to annoy him? Somehow, he didn’t think so…from the breathless way she sounded on the phone, it appeared Erin really liked this guy.That thought soured his temper even more.“I’m gonna ki
