Finn bent down, at the same time Ellie did, to reach for the runaway muffins. They knocked shoulders and Finn drew back. When had he become so clumsy? This wasn’t his usual self. “Sorry.”
“It’s okay, it’s my fault.” She reached for the muffin closest to them, at the same time he did. Their hands brushed. She staggered to her feet, nearly toppling, and reached out a hand to steady herself. It connected with his bare chest, just a brief second, before she yanked her palm away.
A jolt of electricity ran through Finn. His gaze jerked to her face. Ellie’s eyes were wide, her lips parted. “Sorry,” he said again.
“No, I am.” She looked away from him, back at the floor. “I can make toast, if you prefer.”
Toast? Muffins? Had she been affected at all by that accidental touch? “I’m not hungry. I should get to work.”
Yes, get to work, get to the office and get on with his day. Rather than indulge in any more of this craziness. Get his head clear—and back on straight.
“I’ll clean this up,” she said, gesturing to the mess on the floor. “If you want to hop in the shower and get ready.”
“Sure, sure.” He dumped the crumbs in his hand into the trash, then turned to go.
“Finn?”
His name rolled off her tongue, soft, easy. For a second, he wondered what it would be like to hear her say his name every day. Every morning. Every night. He turned back to face her, taking in those wide green eyes, the sweet smile that curved across her face, and yes, those bare feet. “Yeah?”
She shot him a grin. “Coffee’s ready.”
Coffee’s ready.
A heavy blanket of disappointment hung over Finn while he got ready. Hell, what had he expected her to say? Stay? Kiss me? Take me back to the bedroom?
No, he didn’t want that. He wanted exactly what he had—a platonic relationship that let him focus on work and didn’t send his head, or his world, into a tailspin.
Except the image of Ellie in her kitchen, swaying to the music and doing something so mundane as making coffee, kept coming back to his mind. He had lived alone for too long, that was all. That was why the sight of her affected him so much.
He got ready, then headed out the door, leaving Ellie a note that he had to stop by his office and would meet her at WW later. He knew it was the coward’s way out, but he’d been thrown by waking up in her place. It was all moving so fast, and he told himself he just needed some time to adjust.
Later that morning, he was heading up to the tenth floor of the building housing WW Architects, flanked by Noel and Barry, two of his best architects, who’d met him in the lobby. The team Finn brought in had been part of the bidding process, and was already familiar with the Piedmont hospital project, so the trio exchanged small talk until they reached Ellie’s floor. A few minutes later, an assistant led them to a conference room where the WW staff had already assembled. Ellie stood at the head of the table. Her curly blond hair was now tucked into a tight bun, the bare feet were clad in sensible black pumps, and her curvy figure hidden beneath a jacket that turned the blue skirt into a suit.
She was all business now. Exactly what he wanted.
Then why did he feel a sense of loss?
“Thank you for coming today, gentlemen.” Ellie made the introductions between her team and Finn’s. Finn headed to the front of the room to stand beside Ellie. “Before we get started, we … I mean, Finn and I, have an announcement.”
She exchanged a look with Finn. He nodded. They had talked about this last night, and decided the best way to spread the news was fast and first. “We … Ellie and I … we got married.”
Jaws dropped. People stared.
“You got married?” Larry asked. “As in … married?”
“Last night.” Ellie nodded and smiled, the kind of smile that reached deep into her eyes, lit up her features. Just like the smile of a happy new bride. “It was an impromptu thing.”
“You married her?” Noel scowled at Finn. “Is that why we’re working together?”
Finn wasn’t about to tell their employees the real reason he had married Ellie. If he did, it would taint the project. No, let them all think it was some act of passion. Cover up the truth with a lie.
A lie that a part of Finn wished was true. The part that was still thinking about coffee with Ellie and seeing her in the kitchen. “Not at all. Working together is just a … fringe benefit,” Finn said. “Ellie and I agreed to merge our companies for this project. After that, we go back to being separate entities.”
Ellie leaned in and grabbed his arm. That same jolt of electricity rushed through his veins. “Separate business entities at least.” She grinned up at him and for a half a second, he could almost believe she loved him. Damn, she was good at this.
“You eloped last night?” Noel let out a little a laugh. “I don’t believe it. I’m sorry, Finn, but I just don’t see you as the eloping kind.”
Explaining that the practical, methodical Finn they all knew had done just that was suddenly much harder than he’d expected. “Well, I … I …”
“Blame it on me,” Ellie said, pressing her head to his arm. “I didn’t want the fanfare of a big event, and so I told Finn, let’s just run to the courthouse and get it done. Then we can all get back to work.” She peered up at him, her eyes soft and warm. “We’ll take that honeymoon a little later.”
“Uh … yeah,” he said, his thoughts running rampant down the path of what a honeymoon with Ellie would be like. When she was looking at him like that, he could almost believe this was real. That at the end of the day, they were heading back to a little house in the suburbs with a fence and a dog and a dinner on the stove. And more—much, much more—after the dishes were done and the lights were dimmed. “We’re, uh, planning on leaving as soon as this project is done.”
“Well, then congratulations are in order,” John said. He shook with Finn, then Ellie. “Best of luck to both of you.” The rest of the group echoed John’s sentiments. They congratulated, they shook and they beamed. And Ellie pulled the whole thing off with nary a blink.
“Okay, back to work. We have a major project ahead of us, and not a lot of time,” Ellie said. “So as much as we’d love to take time for a celebration, we need to dive in and work until we have the particulars hammered out.”
Larry, one of Ellie’s architects, grumbled under his breath, but didn’t voice any objections. The rest of the team seemed to be giving Finn’s people the benefit of the doubt. “I appreciate you bringing us in on this project, Ellie,” Finn said, rising to address the group. “I’m confident that by combining the experience of both McKenna Designs and WW Architectural Design, we can create a hospital that will outshine all others in the New England area.”
Ellie shot him a smile. “That’s our goal, too.” She opened the folder before her. “Okay, let’s get to work. Piedmont wants this design to be groundbreaking. One of the key elements that sold them on WW as the architects was our innovative approach. Rather than basing the design on existing models, WW talked about approaching the design process from the patient’s perspective, from admission through discharge. The challenge is to create an environment that creates a healing atmosphere, one that offers warmth with minimal noise, while also keeping patient safety as the top priority.”
“Excellent ideas,” Finn said, nodding to Ellie.
“Thank you. Although I have to admit that one