When Stars Fall [EBOOK and PAPERBACK PUBLISHED]

8. Ellie - Present Day

I wait for the explosion. When will the bomb go off? Tick, tick, tick.

Haven eats the ice cream I bought and chats to Wyatt like they've been friends for years. The balloon he got her is clutched in her tiny hand. Wyatt hasn't asked her how old she is. It seems to be the first or second question people ask. She's petite and looks younger than she is. Maybe he thinks he knows. Nikki's daughter. She didn't even have to say anything.

His baseball cap is turned backward. His posture, his mannerisms, the jokes he tells, all remind me of when we first met. He's so light and carefree with Haven. Is he really sober? Is it possible?

She's asked him about movies, actors and actresses he's worked with. She asked him about me, too. She stumbled over calling me Ellie, but she's called me by my first name enough in public that I'm not sure Wyatt noticed. Why would he question it? To him, she is Nikki's.

When he turned to look at me before starting to speak about us, my heart shattered. The love in his eyes when he met my gaze took my breath away. How can he still look at me like that after ten years?

Of course, love was never the problem.

As he stared at me, he said, "Ellie is the best woman I've ever known. You're lucky you get to spend time with her."

The truth is so much more complicated, for all of us.

Every time I look at them together, I rub my chest, wishing for the tightness, the ache, to go away. Bittersweet has a new meaning.

When it starts to get late and the room shades over, one of the nurses comes into the room. "You both staying here tonight?" She eyes Wyatt, another question in her voice.

"Ellie and I will be staying." Nikki jumps in before any other assumptions can be made.

The nurse nods. "I'll get another bed wheeled in here for you."

Wyatt sighs and stands up. He grins down at Haven. "I should probably get back to my hotel. If you're still here tomorrow, would you like me to stop by?"

An objection is on the tip of my tongue. But I hold it back. I can't possibly deny either of them their time.

"Yes!" Haven says. "Even if I'm back at home, you can come over." She turns bright eyes to me.

Nikki intervenes before Haven gets too carried away. "We'll see what tomorrow brings, Haven."

"Spoken like a true mother." Then he holds my gaze for a beat too long, like he's memorizing me for later. "Can I have a quick chat with you in the hall before I take off?"

"Ellie." There's a hint of warning in her voice.

"It's fine," I say, blowing off her concern. There's nothing Wyatt can say to me in the hall that's going to change my life. I have Haven and Matt and a career that I love. He's ten years too late to wheedle himself back in. I follow him out of the room, my hands in the pockets of my shorts. When we're alone, I lift my eyebrows in silent question.

"Dinner tomorrow? If Haven is feeling better." Wyatt leans against the wall in the hall with his shoulder.

"Wyatt," I say letting impatience seep into my voice. "I already told you that I can't do that to Matt."

"Do you see Matt every day?" His gaze flicks over my face, looking for something I don't want him to see.

"No." I shake my head. "We're both busy people." That's the truth. Matt runs a huge construction company. I have obligations on the island to my family, and I have a career, a big one.