Page 6 of The One Who Got Away (Murdock Brothers #4)

Gus

The pain in her eyes wounded something deep inside of me.

The Murdocks were close knit and a united front on damn near everything. That wasn’t the case when it came to Eloise’s family. There was a deep divide in how her small family dealt with one another versus how my mother looked at her kids.

There were sacrifices, sure. We’d fallen on our share of hard times, but I never had to worry about my mom or dad splitting. When I came home there were some things that never changed. My mother kicked ass and my dad would be there for us no matter what were only a few of the long-held constants.

I reached across to cover her hand. “Exactly what you’re doing, El.”

She pulled back, reaching for her wine glass. “Yeah, that’s enough of that. I’ve been drowning in my mom’s sad for weeks. I want to talk about anything else.”

I nodded. “Okay. How about I tell you about Roland and the vinegar swill he made me drink?”

She huffed out a laugh and leaned back in her chair. Her long fingers cupped her glass, swirling the liquid gold. “Let me guess, it was one of his most expensive bottles?”

“Damn, how’d you guess?”

“I mean I think merlot is trash no matter how expensive the bottle is, but I figure there’s always some way to fuck up wine. Especially if it isn’t stored properly.”

“Got it in one. He was trying to show off for a woman, of course. Here’s the oldest bottle I’ve got in my collection...absolutely the worst vintage in the history of wine. But the woman knew what a catch Ro was and choked down an entire glass of the hideous stuff.”

Her laugh was delighted. “Why was he a catch?”

“He owned the company that built all the resorts in Costa Rica. He was my boss.”

Her eyebrows shot up.

“I know. But he was a really good guy. Mostly. I didn’t agree with all his practices, but Costa Rica is a different place all around. We built a compound for a drug lord, then we’d go and build houses with Habitat for Humanity. It was a wild time.”

“And you loved it?”

No. Loving it wasn’t the right word. But it did keep me busy. It kept my brain from getting pickled with booze like most of the guys on the team. “I learned a lot. I had an affinity for electronics and a strong back.”

She leaned over her plate and dug into the chicken. We spoke of the builds I’d done and the games she’d been involved in. Where I’d gone searching for experiences there was always one truth.

This is where I’d always longed to be.

Listening to her talk, watching her animated face, and the little wrinkle in her nose when she laughed at herself.

She stood, picking up our dishes and my eyes drifted over her.

She was wearing one of her oversized sweaters that looked like a cloud.

Instead of her usual leggings she wore jeans that molded to her in all the right ways.

Kicking into gear, I stood and gathered the rest. “You cooked, I clean. You know the rules.”

She laughed. “We can do them together.”

In her teeny tiny kitchen. I groaned. I was going to be in so much damn trouble.

While I gathered the last of the silverware she’d put on music. The bubbly K-pop song quickly slipped into the piano melodies and grunge of Linkin Park. I grinned as I reached down for the door to the dishwasher.

She shook her head. “Busted.” She handed me a towel.

We sang along to the songs of our youth. Her off-key yowl taking me back to endless days in the summer when I crashed her job at the ice cream shop and helped her clean up.

Finally, we put the last cookie sheet away and jumped around the miniature kitchen as we sang the fast lyrics to “Breaking the Habit” to each other before she fell against me at the end out of breath.

Her cherry scent floated up and the softness of her sweater made me want to curl her in tighter.

“God, I didn’t know how much I needed that.” She grinned up at me before it slowly slid away. “I really missed you, Gus.”

I couldn’t help drawing a thumb down a curl that had sprung free in the steam from the dishes. “Me too, El. When did you start straightening your hair?”

Her golden eyes went hazy and I almost cupped her face. Would it be soft?

She pushed out of my arms. “Girl’s prerogative.” She shrugged. “The guys didn’t take me seriously with my crazy curls, so I started straightening it and wearing ball caps.” She toyed with the tip of her ponytail.

“That’s cool. I just always loved them.”

The air thickened between us, then she grabbed my hand. “Get the wine. It’s time to watch some terrible movies.”

I laughed and grabbed the extra bottle of red that I’d brought along since we’d killed the white. She urged me down the stairs then stopped and fidgeted. “I was feeling nostalgic.”

My breath caught at the pillow and blanket fort she’d made in the middle of the living room in front of the fireplace where their television was mounted. Her favorite squishy fake fur blankets were stacked along with pillows and couch cushions for extra added height.

Just like we used to.

The memory of me barely hanging onto sanity while cuddled up with Eloise put me right back into those nights when we were teens.

I’d barely been able to stop myself then.

Now?

God.

But I kicked off my sneakers and handed her the bottle. “Little different than the sodas and gummy bears of our youth.”

She grabbed my arm. “The gummy bears. I almost forgot.” She darted up the two stairs and back into the kitchen. She came out with the bagged candy as well as a massive bag of Pop Corners. “These are much better than Smartfood.”

“I’ll take your word for it.”

She plopped herself right in the middle and shook out blankets. “I was thinking Grosse Point Blank to start?”

“You know me all too well.” I settled beside her and opened the screw top wine. “This one isn’t as fancy.”

“Drinks just fine.” She held out her glass and popped a gummy bear in her mouth.

Fuck, she was even more beautiful somehow. How the hell was I going to manage to not touch her?

Idiot, she doesn’t think of you that way.

I sat back and opened the bag of chips. Not that she’d want to get naked with my skinny little body anyway. I settled in and we were both laughing at John and Joan Cusack’s opening chaos.

Falling right back into spending time with Eloise evened out something deep inside me that I hadn’t realized was so fractured. I’d traveled the world and saw places I’d never dreamed of, but right here in this cozy spot -- I’d have traded every single moment.

We laughed and recited the scenes as the wine slowly disappeared.

I was feeling warm and fuzzy, and I had a feeling she was too because she curled into me giving me the red gummy bears, she didn’t like from the bag.

I curled my arm around her in the way we used to, except it didn’t feel like the old days.

It felt like this was exactly where she was supposed to be.

I leaned my cheek against the top of her head for a second. She tipped her head up with a question in her eyes. Without a thought, I lowered my mouth. She tasted of wine and sweetness. Of everything I’d ever wanted.

The sound of the front door dented the cozy moment and she scrambled out of my arms.

The barely started kiss felt more like a tease.

“I’m home!” Melody’s familiar voice floated down the hall.

I laughed as Eloise struggled out of the blankets as if we’d been caught doing way more than a kiss.

I hit pause on the movie. The credits were already rolling anyway. I pushed up off the nest we’d made and grabbed our wine glasses. “Hey, Mrs. Cross.”

Shit. Should I call her that still?

Her mom’s blue eyes swam for a moment before she bundled me up into a hug. “You can call me Melody now. Did you guys have a nice time?” She patted my arm and frowned. “Why so skinny, Angus?”

I laughed. “Just was working too hard in the rainforest. We’d all sweat buckets.”

“Oh, wow.” She glanced from me to Eloise. “I didn’t know that.”

“Yeah, we lost touch with both our crazy jobs. We were just catching up.” Eloise’s eyes were far too bright. Both with the wine in her cheeks and the fact that she wouldn’t look at me.

Because she was embarrassed we’d kissed, or because her mom caught us?

“Well, I have an early job tomorrow with Cam.”

“You don’t have to go on my account.” Melody frowned, twisting her fingers.

“It’s okay. Sully is just like my dad. Early riser for the win.”

“How are your folks?”

“Same old, same old. My mom’s trying to feed the world. My dad is enjoying retirement. He’s taken up golf of all things.”

Eloise giggled. “No, he did not.”

“You should see his collection of golf shirts. Eye searing.”

She still wouldn’t look me in the eyes.

“Bye, Melody. It was nice to see you.”

“You too, Angus. Don’t be a stranger.” She went onto her toes and kissed my cheek. “It’s really nice to see you again. Tell your parents I said hi.”

I nodded. “Definitely.”

Eloise was already heading for the door. Maybe I’d read things wrong. Of course I’d mess things up with us right away. I was such a damn idiot. I followed her down the darkened hallway.

She opened the door and stepped onto the porch, her fingers disappearing into the sleeves of her sweater.

I stepped out behind her, pulling the door half closed against the cool night air. “You better get back in.”

She nodded, still staring at her toes. The miss-matched striped socks making my belly clench. The same Eloise in so many ways. Then I tipped her chin up. And there in the overhead porch light I saw where things were so different.

“Are you leaving soon?”

She frowned. “No. At least not anytime soon.”

The words hung between us.

She could be gone with the next job she found. I knew she was too talented to be out of a job for very long. And eventually, her mom would be okay.

Too bad I couldn’t say the same for myself. And it was time to show her that.

“Good.”

Her mouth dropped open.

“That kiss wasn’t a mistake, El. If you need some time to figure that out, I’m good with it.”

I backed down the steps and smiled at her. “I missed you.”

Then I turned and walked down the driveway to my truck parked on the curved street. I wanted to look back at her, but I made the first move and now it was her turn.”

I couldn’t quite stop myself from looking up before I drove away.

She was still standing on the porch, her hands buried in her sleeves, but they were linked in front of her mouth.

I waved and took off for home.

For the first time in a damn long time, my chest didn’t feel tight.

What better way to use this one crazy life?

I was going after Eloise Cross.