Eli was deep in his work when the door slammed open and footsteps pounded down the hall.
“Not now,” he said shortly, thinking it was one of the workmen from the construction site. Recently, they’d taken to interrupting him at home when an issue needed to be resolved. “I’m busy.”
“It won’t take long.”
Startled, he spun around to see Aria silhouetted in the doorway. The tight singlet she was wearing outlined the curve of her stomach, where his child was growing.
“What are you doing here?”
She crossed the room, her smile uncertain. “I came to see you. I’ve been thinking about a few things. Can we talk?”
She wanted to talk now? He was buried in paperwork, doing what was necessary to win her back. He didn’t want to argue with her anymore. He just needed the time to get everything in motion, then he could talk to her properly, explain what he was doing and confess his feelings.
“I’m busy at the moment,” he repeated, doing his best to ignore the hurt in her eyes. In a couple of days, when everything was wrapped up tidily, then she’d understand. “Would you be able to come back later?”
“This is important,” she said quietly.
Damn, it was probably something to do with the baby. A bolt of fear shot through him. Odd. Up until now, he’d been thinking that because he wanted Aria in his life, he was willing to take on the responsibility of being a father in order to have her. But it seemed that, at some point, he had stopped merely accepting his baby and started to care for it.
“Is anything wrong with the baby?” he asked.
“No,” she said quickly. “It’s fine, as far as I know. But I suppose we should schedule an appointment with an obstetrician sometime.”
We. He liked the sound of that. Soon, they could plan for their future together, but before he could enjoy the fruits of his labor, he had to tie up the loose ends. Work before play.
“That’s great. Book an appointment and let me know the time and place. I’ll be there. But I am busy now, Ri.” He gestured toward the pile of papers scattered across the desktop. “I need to get back to work. Perhaps we can see each other tomorrow. For lunch?”
She exhaled on a sigh, the movement drawing attention to her breasts. His groin tightened. After he won her back, they had a lot of catching up to do. Then he would learn every inch of her body and taste every bit of that smooth olive skin.
“You can go back to work,” she murmured, stepping away from him. “Don’t worry about lunch tomorrow. Take care of whatever it is that has you so engrossed.”
“I’ll call you,” he assured her, wanting her to know that, even though he was busy, she still mattered. Aria didn’t reply, just inclined her head and left the room.
How could she be so stupid? Aria had known taking a chance on Eli would only cause her pain, but she hadn’t imagined he would dismiss her without even hearing her out. She must not mean as much to him as she’d hoped. A man who loved her wouldn’t send her away so cruelly. Luckily, she hadn’t humiliated herself by telling him she loved him.
Who said that love was pleasant? It was miserable. Her stomach formed a tangle of knots. She felt sick. Her nose ran and her eyes watered. She sniffed, wiped away the wetness and pulled herself together.
Cooper was waiting in the car, and the headlights illuminated the path from the villa. After she’d hurried from their parents’ house, he had chased after her and persuaded her to bring him along for moral support. She didn’t want to face him now. Holding her shoulders back, she slid into the passenger seat and stared straight ahead.
“How’d it go?” he asked. The confident smile he was wearing faded when she didn’t reply. “Ri, what happened?”
“He didn’t have time for me,” she said, the words breaking her apart. “I was ready to put my heart on the line, and he didn’t have time for me. How could he be like that?”
“Jackass,” Cooper muttered, slinging an arm around her shoulders. “You deserve better. You know that, right?”
Although she nodded, doubt was creeping up on her. She wasn’t special. She was eccentric, plain. Eli Lockwood was handsome, rich, and so far beyond her that it was laughable. She might be pregnant with his child, but she should never have expected anything more. She’d set herself up for a fall, and the landing was hard.
“Take me home,” she pleaded. “Please, Coop. I want to be alone.”
The drive was silent, and Aria retreated into herself. Once she was home, she crawled under the covers, closed her eyes and cried. If she’d thought she’d cried herself out earlier, she’d been mistaken. Well, she comforted herself, if all else fails, I can make a living for myself as a watering pot.
Eli had finished working and was fixing himself a sandwich for supper when the door slammed open for the second time that day. Hoping it was Aria again, he got to his feet and was about to call out when two large, angry men strode into the room. Before he could identify them, one of the men hoisted him by his collar and shoved him against the wall. His face only inches away, his eyes narrow and his mouth twisted into a scowl, Eli recognized Justin Simons.
“What the hell are you doing?” Eli yelled.
Justin dropped him, a momentary reprieve, but pain exploded through his head when a meaty fist connected with his eye. Eli staggered back against the wall, then propelled himself forward with fists flying until he hit something soft. Justin grunted. Eli straightened and adopted a defensive stance. He wasn’t a violent guy, but he needed a physical outlet for his pent-up energy, and adrenaline pumped through his body. Justin hunched over and barreled into his knees. Eli rolled over his back and landed behind him. Justin fell forward onto his stomach.
A low chuckle sounded from the doorway. “Get up, you two meatheads.”
Eli turned around slowly, reluctant to present his back to Justin. It might be too tempting for him to resist. The other Simons brother, Cooper, was leaning against the wall, watching them with interest.
“I expected Justin to act like a moron, but I thought better of you,” he said to Eli. “At least I did until I heard how you treated my baby sister today.”
Eli frowned. As far as he could recall, his and Aria’s interaction today had been limited. He’d given her a gift, and she’d rejected him. Then she’d visited while he was working, and he’d said he’d call her later. Nothing to inspire such blood lust in her brothers.
“Are you seriously that dense?” Cooper demanded.
“She’s the one who rejected me,” Eli reminded him. “If there’s an injured party here, it’s me.”
“You’re really that dense.” Cooper sighed. He was leaner than his brother, but he moved like a predator, all grace and coiled strength. And he was bigger than Eli. Donna Simons had raised two giants. “Our sister came today to ask you for another chance. Do you understand now?”
Eli’s blood went cold, and he scraped a hand down his face, groaning. Aria had come here because she wanted to take a chance on him, and he’d sent her away. She might be strong, but she was also sensitive and in a vulnerable state. “Shit.”
“Yeah, shit. Dumbass.”
The insult didn’t sting.
“But that’s all right, because we’re here to help.”
Eli couldn’t help but be skeptical. After all, he’d just eaten a fist.
“You’ve got to be shitting me,” Justin burst out, apparently unaware they were on a mission of peace. “We’re not here to help. No way this bozo’s going to be part of the family. He hurt Aria.”
“And he clearly regrets it,” Cooper said evenly. “He looks like death.”
“Go to hell,” Eli snapped.
Cooper shot him an impatient glare. “Shut it, bro. I’m trying to do you a favor here.”
“Oh, so, that’s what you’re doing?”
“You want a chance with Ri? Stop running your mouth and let me handle this.”
“Why are you so sure I want to be with your sister?” Given his apparent dismissal of her this afternoon, her brother couldn’t be sure of his intentions,
“You’d be stupid not to,” Cooper replied, staring at him as if he were, indeed, stupid. “She’s too good for you.”
Ouch. “Thanks for clarifying.”
“Any time.”
“I still prefer you to him.” Eli gestured in Justin’s direction.
“Thanks, mate. You’re a smart guy.”
“Are you two finished flirting with each other?” Justin asked. “Can we get back to the punching now?”
“Have at it,” Cooper said, crossing the room to pick an apple from the fruit bowl. “I’ll wait over here.” He bit into the apple and chewed slowly.
Eli couldn’t believe what was happening. He looked at Justin. “As much as I’d love to hit you again, I don’t think it would accomplish anything,” he said.
“Speak for yourself,” the larger man replied. “It would make me feel much better.”
Sighing, Eli spread his arms wide. “Do it, then.”
“I’m not going to hit you like that.” Justin looked appalled by the idea.
“I’m not going to fight back,” Eli told him. “I want a life with Aria, and brawling with her brother isn’t the best way to start it.”
“You should have thought of that earlier.” But Justin lowered his fists and made himself comfortable resting against the arm of the couch.
“I love her.” Deciding he wasn’t about to get beaten to a pulp, Eli pulled three bottles of beer from the fridge, offered one to each brother and took the last for himself.
“Then, what was this afternoon about?” This time, Cooper asked the question.
Eli dropped onto the couch. “Is this an interrogation?”
Justin grunted. It could have been a chuckle. “Don’t push your luck.”
He plunked himself next to Eli.
“It’s a long story,” Eli said tiredly, wishing they would leave so he could call Aria and straighten this whole mess out.
“We have time.”
Cooper sat on the other side of Eli, so he was flanked by the two brothers. He wondered if it was meant to intimidate him. The Simons brothers might be massive, but he was used to throwing his weight around and wouldn’t scare so easily.
“My parents don’t approve of Aria,” he explained, hoping they wouldn’t take offense. “They want me back in Auckland, running my company and married to the woman they’ve chosen for me. They treated Aria awfully, and now she won’t—wouldn’t,” he corrected, “give me a chance, so I came up with a plan to change her mind. She interrupted me earlier while I was working on it, and I was so focused on finishing that I asked her to come back later.”
“You stuffed up there, mate,” Cooper said sympathetically.
Thank you, Captain Obvious.
“I don’t like you,” Justin added. “But if you convince Aria to take you back, and you make her happy for the rest of her life, then it doesn’t matter.”
“Have I ruined my chance?” Eli asked.
“I don’t think so,” Cooper said, stroking his chin. “She wants you, but you’re going to need a bloody big gesture.”
Eli grinned. “That’s what I was hoping.”