Page 33 of Reluctant to Love

16

Roderick

It’s been a week and already I know, this is not going to work.

“Eleanor, we need to talk,” I tell her quietly after Izzy’s gone to bed.

When her mother said she was having the house renovated, we thought we’d have some time to get things sorted. The demolition crew had an immediate opening in their schedule and arrived a few days after Izzy came home from the hospital. Since then, both of my girls have been staying with me in a hotel suite.

She flops down beside me with a sigh. “I hope you’re not breaking up with me,” she teases.

“Over my dead body. We need to talk about our living situation.” I reach for her hand, grab it and bring it up to my lips. “I love waking up next to you every single morning, sweets. But we need our privacy. We need more space. And nothing we’ve looked at has come close to what I can offer in New York.”

“You want us to move to New York City? I thought you were willing to stay here with us. To get to know Izzy.” I anticipated her pushback.

“I can do that in New York. I have a perfectly fine loft, ready for you and Izzy to take over. We can take Izzy to all of the parks and museums. It just makes sense.”

“For you. But not for us. We live here, Roderick. I can’t just pack Izzy up and move her hundreds of miles away.”

“Tell me what’s keeping you here and I’ll stay.” She hasn’t been exactly honest with me about her job and finances and I haven’t exactly pushed her for answers either. “Is Izzy in preschool? Your job? Someone else?”

She gives me a sharp look. “There’s no one else.” She works her bottom lip through her teeth before letting it pop free. “I work from home and Izzy isn’t in preschool. I can’t afford it.”

“Then it’s settled. We’ll go to New York for a little while.”

She grunts her dissatisfaction which makes me smile. I slide one arm behind her and pull her close. “I know you’re upset with me, sweets but it’s for the best. Trust me.” Playfully, I nip her earlobe and then kiss her cheek.

As long as we’re sharing a hotel suite, sex is off the table. But when I get her back to New York and we’re finally inmybed, it most definitely will be back on the table.

“You’re right,” she says at last. “Going to New York is probably easier.”

“You’ll be able to meet with your agent and publisher too.”

She smiles. “I can’t believe I have an agent and a publisher!”

Once Izzy was released from the hospital and Eleanor had a day to wrap her head around her mother’s sudden plans, she called Caroline and had a lengthy conversation about the publisher who purchased her first book.

“You deserve it,” I tell her with a kiss to the top of her head. “Give me a few hours to book airfare. When do you want to leave?”

She shrugs. “I don’t know. I guess whenever is cheapest. I’m going to check on Izzy.”

She shifts away from me but my hold on her is tight and I draw her back. “You’re not going anywhere,” I growl.

She pushes against my chest. “I need to check on Izzy.”

“She’s asleep and she’s fine. But I’m not.” I pout playfully.

I pull Eleanor onto my lap, arranging her legs on either side of my hips. My hands grip her thighs; my thumbs rubbing small circles dangerously close to the center of her body.

“We finally have a few minutes to ourselves. I want just a little taste.” I lean forward and brush my lips against the base of her throat.

She purrs happily and runs her hands up my chest and over my shoulders. “Izzy makes things a bit more complicated,” she explains.

My hands roam up and over her hips to grasp her backside. “She’s a complication I’ll happily deal with any day of the week. That doesn’t mean I don’t want you.”

I emphasize my point by lifting my hips slightly, so she feels exactly what she does to me.

“I want you too,” she whispers. “I just can’t do this with her in the other room. It’s awkward. What if she wakes up?”