His wife looked at him and they both smiled before he quickly locked the door and they both sprinted to his vehicle.
“They’re late. Do you think they’re okay?” Ellie asked nervously as she looked out the window for the fifth time in the last two minutes, waiting for Chloe and Gabe to come down the driveway.
“Ellie, stop!” Zane insisted from his seat on the living room couch. “Come sit with me. Watching for them won’t make them get here any faster.”
“I’m fine,” she reassured him, knowing she couldn’t sit down. Every nerve in her body was jittery with excitement. “I just hope she’s not mad about me keeping my rescue a secret. Now I’m not sure if I did the right thing.”
Zane rose and grabbed Ellie by the shoulders. “You had the right to do whatever the hell you wanted to do. You were the one who was recovering from an acute traumatic incident. It was your call, and none of anybody else’s business, Ell. You had a right to do whatever made you comfortable then.”
“But she’s my best friend,” she answered woefully. “Maybe it was selfish, but I didn’t want anyone to see me that way. I needed some time. And I didn’t want her to come rushing back because of me.”
“So you had the right to recover in peace,” Zane answered reasonably. “You needed to just worry about yourself. For God’s sake, you almost died.”
“You didn’t let me recover in peace,” she reminded him with a small smile. “You were stubborn, manipulating, and bossy.”
“Only about you staying safe,” he grumbled. “I wanted you to be happy again. Just because you had the right to be alone doesn’t mean that you should have been.”
“I needed you,” Ellie relented as she put her arms around him. “I just didn’t want to admit it. You saved me in more ways than one, you know. I really had nobody with Chloe gone. Yeah, I’ve lived in Rocky Springs all my life, but I guess I never realized how few real friends I really had. Not that it matters, because Chloe makes up for that. She’s as real as they get.”
“You. Have. Me.” Zane wrapped his arms around her waist. “And really good friends are hard to find, especially when somebody works as much as you do. When you aren’t doing things for me, you’re working to build your online business. I spent so much time in the lab that I never developed a ton of great friends either. I have work associates, but when it comes right down to people who would stand beside me if I needed them, there’s pretty much just my family.”
“You have me now.” Ellie repeated his words back to him.
“Believe me, I know how damn lucky I am to have you,” Zane answered sincerely, his eyes heated.
Ellie blinked back tears, something she did often when one of Zane’s honest confessions about her touched her soul. Really, was he that lucky to have a woman like her, a female who had caused him more work than joy?
She thought for a moment, stopping herself and her negative thoughts. Despite her remembered pain, there was so much joy in her life with Zane, and both of them were happy. The hard times were still difficult to deal with, but the good things outweighed the bad now. In fact, sometimes Ellie thought her life couldn’t be more perfect. Yes, sometimes an occasional nightmare or old habits still plagued her, but for the most part, Zane had helped set her free.
Her life was different. She was different, all because Zane Colter had come into her life. Even before her kidnapping, her world had been very small. He’d helped her widen her universe, and no matter what happened between them in the future, she’d always be grateful to him.
I love you!
Although Ellie desperately wanted to say those words as she looked into his tempestuous gray gaze, she hesitated. They were a couple for now, but Zane had never talked about being in love. Did he even believe in love, or just monogamy? Frankly, Ellie believed Zane was her soulmate, the man she was always meant to be with. But she accepted a man of science was probably not going to agree with a theory like hers.
The doorbell chimed suddenly, dragging Ellie from her thoughts.
“Chloe,” she whispered reverently, like her best friend was a superstar.
“I’ll get it,” Zane offered.
“No. I’m fine. We’ll go together.”
Zane twined his fingers around hers, offering his silent support as they strolled to the front door. He flipped the deadbolt open, and the heavy wooden door swung open.
There in front of her was a smiling, happy Chloe, looking more amazing than she ever had before. Not that Chloe had ever looked bad, but she seemed to have a glow to her that had always been missing.
Ellie stared at her incredulously, and then…she lost it.
Reaching out, she wrapped an arm around Chloe’s neck and pulled her inside the door with a sob. “Oh, God. I didn’t think I’d ever see you again.”
Ellie’s tears flowed freely as the women became locked in a hug so exuberant that they both dropped to their knees.
“I’m so sorry, Ellie. I’m so damn sorry,” Chloe choked out through her tears.
She hugged her best friend harder. “It’s over now. I’m here. It doesn’t matter.”
Now, Ellie was glad she hadn’t told Chloe she was alive. She could only imagine her reaction if she’d seen her during her walking-skeleton days when she couldn’t even walk by herself. With her huge heart, the images would have haunted Chloe forever.
“I was so afraid I’d never see you again,” Chloe muttered in between her heavy sobs of relief.