them both. She was tired by the time Friday arrived, and felt relieved when five o’clock rolled around. With a glance at the clock, she grabbed her purse and walked from the office toward her car. The afternoon’s winds had swept the sky clean as evening settled upon the city. Ellie pulled in a deep breath. The air smelled sweet with summer. Though she felt tired from a full day’s work, stepping outside had revived her spirits.
Jax walked up beside her. “So, will you go with us tomorrow?”
She frowned.
“Come on, Ellie. It will be fun.” He lifted puppy-dog eyes to her, which always made her give in.
“Isn’t it enough that I have to work with him every day, Jax? Must I see him on the weekends, too?”
“It’s not like we do this every weekend. A trip to Chicago, a day of sailing on Lake Michigan. Please? I could use some relaxation, and Alex wants to go with another couple.”
“Look, Jax, Lucy and Ricky Ricardo, they are a couple. Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson, they are a couple. Cole Preston and I work together. We are not a couple.”
He stepped back and held up his hands. “I know, I know. I didn’t mean you were a couple.”
Ellie took a deep breath. “I hate like everything to do this, but I will do it for you, Jax. That is the only reason.”
He smiled like a dieter who’d lost another pound—a smile she hadn’t worn in weeks. He grabbed her with both hands and promptly placed a kiss on her forehead. “You’re the best, Ellie.”
She shook her head and smiled in spite of herself. “Just you remember this the next time you need a partner.”
He groaned.
“Seriously, Jax, I’m doing this for you. The last thing I want to do on a Saturday is spend my day off with Cole Preston.”
“Why don’t you like him?”
She wasn’t sure how to respond. After all, Cole was Jax’s best friend. “Besides the fact he’s got an ego the size of Texas?”
Jax threw back his head and laughed. “I guess he does at that. But then I need someone with confidence in the business.”
Climbing into the car, she rolled down her window and looked up at him.
“We’ll pick you up at seven o’clock tomorrow morning,” he said.
With a reluctant nod, Ellie turned on the engine and pulled her car into gear. She waved goodbye and looked in her rearview mirror in time to see Cole join Jax in the parking lot. Her stomach knotted. With a glance at the glove compartment, she decided even the hidden candy bar could do little to calm her spirits. Just one day, she told herself. No big deal, right? She would go along for Jax’s sake.
She took a deep breath; the tomato-juice diet wasn’t working and it made her too edgy. Someone at the office had told her about a new low-carb diet. She decided she’d like to try that one. Once her car pulled up at the traffic light, Ellie glanced again at the glove compartment. Her fingers danced lightly on the steering wheel. The light stayed red. Finally, she reached over and pulled out the candy bar. Maybe she’d try the low-carb thing next week.
The doorbell rang much too soon. Ellie grabbed her canvas bag and purse then headed for the door.
“Good morning.” Jax and Alex met her with a smile. She wondered why they both came to the door. Probably afraid I would back out and it would take two of them to haul me, kicking and screaming, to the car. She smiled with the thought.
“Hi.” Although Ellie did not want to go on this outing, she had to admit she felt a twinge of excitement. The day already boasted of warmth, sunshine and fun. She followed Jax and Alex to the car, taking note of their appearance. Ellie decided Jax looked nice in his navy shorts, a white pullover with a navy collar and stylish sandals.
Auburn hair fanned across Alex’s shoulders in waves. That color was reflected by a chunky necklace of browns and tans nestled at the throat of her cream-colored blouse. Brown shorts with a matching belt and sandals completed her outfit. At her side, she carried a cream wide-brimmed hat. She appeared to have just stepped out of a modeling shoot.
Ellie glanced down at her own sensible shorts outfit. They say you can tell a lot about people by the clothes they wear. She imagined her clothes said she hadn’t glanced at a fashion magazine in months. Besides, the inside of a person was what really counted. She tried to ignore the storm gathering around her heart. Come to think of it, she wasn’t exactly model material in that department, either.
“Beautiful day,” she said, pulling on her seat belt.
“We’re going to have so much fun!” Alex said with more enthusiasm than Ellie had ever seen from Jax’s date. Ellie had to admit she was glad she had come after all.
Jax put on his sunglasses then edged the car out of the driveway.
“Did Cole already make arrangements to rent the boat, or will we have to do that when we get there?” Ellie asked.
“Oh, it’s all taken care of. Seems he has a friend there who is loaning us his sailboat.”
“Of course, he would think of everything,” she muttered under her breath. She looked around the car then up at Jax through the mirror. “Did you bring any chocolate?”
Jax shook his head. “Eat your energy bar.” He pulled into the blur of traffic.
Finally, at Cole’s house, Jax went up to the door to let Cole know they were there. Alex chattered about what fun they were going to have, but Ellie didn’t hear much once she saw Cole step outside. She watched as he lifted a cooler, placed it on the porch, then closed the door behind him. He caught up with Jax and walked toward the car. His long legs sported khaki shorts and he wore a comfortable shirt, revealing the strong arms of a disciplined man.
After some small talk, Jax turned on the radio and they settled into a comfortable ride. Ellie took a deep breath and decided now was as good a time as any to get things straightened out with Cole. She whispered so the others couldn’t hear. “Hey, about the other day—”
“Forget it. I stepped out of bounds and I’m sorry.”
The apology surprised her. “Me, too.”
Cole smiled and winked, chasing the dark mood from her heart. She thought the day might turn out all right after all.
Once settled on the boat, a warm breeze carried them a good ways onto the lake. Ellie sat with her eyes closed, willing herself to relax in the comfort of the summer sun. Though the temperature rose to an uncomfortable degree on land, the wind lifted mists of lake water around them, making the air perfect.
Hearing Alex laugh, Ellie peeked over and saw Alex playfully jabbing Jax. Ellie turned away, not wanting to intrude upon their private moment, and glanced at Cole. His head was back, his face tilted heavenward. Golden sunlight sprayed across his already bronze body, causing his skin to glisten.
Confusion plagued her. She closed her eyes. Cole drove her crazy at work. Always changing things, putting new policies into place, new rules, new guidelines. Sometimes she thought he did it because he knew she hated change. Why would he want to make her life miserable? Was she miserable? Yes, though she wasn’t sure why. Maybe she needed a new job. She loved working for Jax, but she knew he wanted to go into teaching someday. Why couldn’t things stay the same? Why couldn’t Jax be happy in the business? Then they wouldn’t have this mess with Cole. Why couldn’t people be content? Changes, changes and more changes. Nothing stayed the same.
Lord, help me to stop looking at things through negative eyes. I’m sure my attitude has been less than pleasing to You, and I’m sorry. Whatever You want for my future, Father, help me to leave that in Your hands.
“You still with us?”
Ellie opened her eyes to see Cole. Her heart jumped like a playful fish on the water’s surface. “Uh-huh.”
He