Breaking the Bro Code (14 page)

‘There was something that I never told you about Dad’s death, something that I think you deserve to know. I’m not going to hold anything back from you anymore. I hope this proves it to you.’

‘I thought your dad’s death was a freak accident?’

She fiddled with the lengths of her ponytail, fighting the urge to shut down. ‘He and Mum were on a raid together. It was a drug bust, a fairly big one from what I remember. They’d been tracking this particular group for a while and Mum came across some information about where they were hiding some of their product. She was in charge of the operation and Dad was going as backup.

‘They thought they cleared the place and Mum ordered Dad and another cop to search the backyard. But they’d missed someone. There was a man hiding out in the backyard and he had a gun. He killed Dad and wounded the other policeman. Mum always blamed herself. She was cleared by the Internal Affairs hearing but she never went back to work.’

‘Why didn’t you tell me any of this? I thought it was a weapon malfunction—that’s what Rich told me.’

‘That’s what we were telling everyone. Mum couldn’t bear the truth and the force didn’t want those kinds of details getting out to the media. They kept it quiet because Mum and Dad were both respected members since they graduated high school.’ She bit down on her lip. ‘We were never allowed to talk about it, to ask questions. Mum refused to see a psychologist and she got worse and worse until Rich left because he couldn’t take it anymore. She developed a gambling problem...that’s why the ballet school was in a bad state. She gambled away all our savings, everything I’d stashed away and almost all of Dad’s payout.’

‘How could you not have told me this? After all your mother did for me...why didn’t you tell me?’

‘She didn’t want us to tell anyone. After I quit ballet Rich left for England. I had to suck it up and keep everyone going. The studio was my outlet in the beginning, but I was young and stupid. I thought it would be better to have a mortgage on the studio and keep some money in our accounts in case anything happened... I had no idea she’d blow the whole lot.’

‘My God, Ellie. I was sitting on the other side of the world completely oblivious.’ He talked as if to himself. ‘I have more money than I know what to do with. I should have helped you sooner.’

‘I thought you were paying for my services.’ She squeezed her eyes shut for a moment. ‘You told me it wasn’t charity.’

‘It wasn’t charity.’ He paused. ‘I knew having you close by would calm me enough to make the presentation.’

‘I never felt like I was a calming presence. You’ve been anything but calm since you got to Australia.’

‘That’s because I’m chasing the impossible.’

Elise rested her hand on his wrist but didn’t say anything. Her heart was hammering as if fighting death itself, her blood roared and her stomach tilted. It was as if every atom of her being resisted opening up to him, resisted facing the truth.

‘Why do you find it so hard to come to me for help?’ he asked.

‘No beating around the bush, hey?’ She took a deep breath. ‘I’m not very good at asking
anyone
for help, Col. It’s not just you—don’t take it personally.’

‘I want to take it personally.’ He shook off her hand and rubbed the back of his neck.

‘Why would you want that?’

‘I want you to lump everyone else together and treat
me
differently. I want you to at least tell me what’s going on.’

‘It’s not that easy.’

‘Yes, it is. You pick up the phone and you call me. Sounds pretty damn simple to me.’ He touched her face, swiping a thumb over her cheek. Her lip trembled and her breath hitched.

‘I love you,’ she blurted out, before clamping her hand over her mouth.

‘Yes, we’ve established this.’ He withdrew his hand. ‘You love me as a friend.’

‘That’s true.’ She nodded. ‘But I also love you as something else.’

Col’s eyes flashed but he kept his distance. She could see the torment in his face and it made her chest ache to think she had caused him to feel like that...not just now but over and over. Should she really be telling him how she felt?

‘Spit it out.’ His voice was quiet but it made her draw her shoulders back and look him in the eye.

‘I love you like everything. Like a best friend, like a lover, like life support.’ She resisted the urge to close her eyes and put her hands over her face. Her mask had no place here. ‘I love you like I’ve never loved anyone else.’

‘Then why have you been denying it?’

She bit down on her lip, trying to think of why she’d been keeping it locked away as though it were her life’s greatest secret.

He sighed. ‘I’m supposed to be leaving to catch a plane.’

‘Then why did you come after me?’

‘Because I’m an idiot. I can’t keep myself away from you.’ He sighed bitterly. ‘I can’t learn that lesson.’

She took a deep breath. ‘You know what my house was like growing up. Mum and Dad weren’t very demonstrative.’

‘I know.’ He nodded. ‘But that doesn’t change what
I
need.’

‘Nor should it. But I’m telling you that’s why I was denying it...because I didn’t know how to deal with all these crazy, illogical feelings. I thought it was wrong to be vulnerable, Mum always brought me up to be strong, to be a rock.’

‘You
are
a rock, Ellie.’ His face softened. ‘But I don’t want to be with a rock. I want to be with that girl who completely lost herself in that hotel room upstairs. I want to know that if we have a fight you’ll be able to talk to me about it afterwards. I want to know if you have a crappy day that you won’t hide it from me. I want to know you won’t stop letting me in.’

‘I won’t.’ She grabbed his hand.

‘I don’t want to wake up one day and realise I don’t know anything you’re thinking.’

‘I promise, I will work at it every day.’ Her eyes welled but she beamed up at him. ‘Look what you’ve done to me—you made me cry!’

‘You’re the only woman I know who would sound so excited about having a man make her cry.’ He smiled, lacing his fingers in hers.

‘I
am
excited. I thought I was doing the right thing by letting you go back to the States. I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to live up to what you need.’

‘And what do you need, Ellie? It’s not all about me.’

‘A push. I know I’m not perfect, but I’m going to try. I need you to keep pushing me.’

Her mind switched to thoughts more illicit and heat bloomed in her cheeks.

‘Anything else?’ He cocked a brow, clearly noticing her change of thought.

‘Multiple orgasms?’

A smile tugged at the corners of his lips and he ran a hand along his stubbled jaw. ‘I thought they affected your judgement.’

‘I want to be affected.’ She blinked the moisture from her eyes. ‘I want to be vulnerable and passionate and all those things I’ve been afraid of up until now.’

He stood, scooping her up in his arms. His lips crushed down to hers with burning intensity, he opened her up, took from her the passion he deserved and that she wanted to give for the rest of her life. He pressed her back against the elevator wall.

‘Are you going to miss your plane?’ she asked, pressing her face against his neck.

He shrugged. ‘There will be another one.’

‘How are we going to make it work? I can’t leave Mum here by herself.’

He pressed his lips to her temple. ‘I love you, Ellie. That’s how it will work.’

She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled his face close to hers. ‘I love you too.’

‘Besides, I can afford my own plane.’ He laughed. ‘And I’ll move my whole goddamn company here if that’s what it takes.’

‘You can do that?’ Warmth spread through her, loosening her limbs so that she melted against him. For the first time in her life she felt exposed and protected at the same time. She knew deep down in her heart she would do everything in her power to make Col feel loved and that he would unravel her insecurities bit by bit.

‘I can do anything now.’ He pressed his hand against her lower back, drawing her to him. ‘Now let’s find somewhere we can get started on those orgasms.’

EPILOGUE

For someone who’d
spent the past week relocating his office from one continent to another, Col was surprisingly energised. In record time he’d sourced a new location in Melbourne’s central business district for his company headquarters, set up a satellite office in New York to make sure all of his workers still had a job
and
moved his personal effects from his apartment to Elise’s unit. They would look for a new place, of course, but there were other more important matters to attend to first.

He patted the bulging pocket of his dress trousers where a small, velvet box was hidden. His palms were slick but he’d never felt so sure about anything in his whole life. Tonight he was going to propose to Elise Johnson, and there was not a shred of doubt in his mind how she would feel about it. He bit back a grin.

‘I wish Jasmine and Grant would arrive so we can order,’ Elise said, fiddling with her cutlery. ‘I missed lunch today and I’m
starving
.’

‘She texted me before. It sounds like her rehearsals ran overtime.’ Missy sat across from Col and Elise, her red hair gleaming in the restaurant’s cosy lighting.

As if on cue Jasmine rushed into the restaurant, cheeks pink and hair in a slick ballerina bun. Her fiancé, Grant Farley, was close behind.

‘I’m so sorry we’re late,’ Jasmine said. ‘The director’s working us to the bone.’

‘Only one week till opening night,’ Grant added, slipping Jasmine’s coat from her shoulders and slinging it over the back of her chair.

The pair settled down and the three girls immediately started talking about the ballet studio’s upcoming cabaret night. Col watched Elise, enamoured with the way her grey eyes sparkled when she talked about her studio, which, thanks to a little financial planning, was starting to thrive again.

‘They’re always talking shop, these girls.’ Grant chuckled. ‘Such workaholics.’

The conversation dimmed as a waiter arrived at their table to deliver a bottle of champagne and take everyone’s orders. Col grabbed the bottle from the ice bucket and eased the cork out with a satisfying pop. The girls immediately held their flutes out for the sparkling liquid.

‘Yes, please!’ Elise said with a bright smile on her face.

‘Don’t skimp either,’ replied Missy. ‘It’s been a
long
day.’

Once the bubbles were distributed Col took a deep breath and stood up. ‘I’d like to make a toast.’

Elise looked at him curiously. Toasts were not his thing, in fact this would be the first toast he’d ever made, but a lot had changed since he’d taken the stage at the technology conference three months ago. Public speaking still made him nervous, but if he were to feel comfortable declaring anything in public, his love for Elise would be it.

The table waited for him to speak, champagne flutes at the ready.

‘Elise and I organised this dinner to celebrate the move of my company to Melbourne
and
to say thank you for keeping the ballet studio going while she was helping me in New York.’ Col drew a slow breath. ‘But I have a different agenda for calling you here tonight.’

The table was so silent you could have heard a pin drop and the ambient noise of the restaurant faded away into nothingness. All Col could hear was the intake of breath from Elise, who looked up at him with saucer-like eyes.

‘Not too long ago the idea of standing up to give a toast in the middle of a restaurant would have made me run a mile. However, if it weren’t for that fear I might never have been desperate enough to come to Elise for help.’

‘Gee, thanks, Col,’ she said, rolling her eyes. The table chuckled and Col winked at Elise.

‘Elise has helped me a lot over the years,’ Col continued, his tone suddenly serious. ‘And I’d like to think that more recently I’ve helped her as well.’

Elise nodded vigorously. ‘You have.’

Col slipped the velvet box from his pocket and got down on one knee. Her breath hitched as she looked from Col to the box and back again. Inside, nestled in plush satin, was a diamond solitaire surrounded by small emeralds that trailed down the sides of the band. He’d known the second he laid eyes on it that it was perfect for her. Beautiful yet different.

‘Elise, I want us to keep helping each other. I want us to help one another be the best versions of ourselves.’

Tears sparkled in her eyes. She was as still as a statue, her face alight with joy. He would propose to her again and again if only to be rewarded with that look.

‘Will you marry me, Elise Johnson?’

A tear slid down her cheek. ‘Yes.’

He stood and slipped the ring onto her finger, the thudding of his heart even louder than the cheers coming from their table and from the tables around them.

‘You didn’t have to do it in public,’ she said, throwing her arms around his neck. ‘I respect that you’re a private person.’

‘I know.’ He brought his lips down to hers, breaking away to laugh when Grant let out a loud wolf whistle. ‘But I wanted to make sure your judgement wasn’t clouded.’

‘Is that so?’ A sly smile spread over her lips.

‘And if we were home alone...’ he bent his head to whisper in her ear ‘...nothing could possibly have stopped me pleasuring you until you didn’t have a coherent thought left in your head.’

‘Judgement is overrated.’ She bit down on her lower lip, eyes glimmering. ‘Put me down for an extra-large order of incoherence.’

‘Anything for you, Ellie.’

* * * * *

Keep reading for an excerpt from BETWEEN THE ITALIAN’S SHEETS by Natalie Anderson

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