A week passed by since Rachel made the decision to work on herself, choosing to be a better person and have a purpose in life. She felt great despite not having Ethan beside her. Not once did he contact her or passed a message to Gabriel to let her know what he wanted. She figured an assertive man like Ethan would have made a move by now. The only conclusion she could come up with is that he was giving her space before they’d make things official. It was fine by her since it gave her time to focus on Emma’s Haven. Emma made her feel like she mattered, letting her experiment and take charge. The shop was doing great, it reminded her she still had to thank Ryan for his efforts. She knew the guy would pretend he had no clue what she was talking about, but she wouldn’t let him brush this off as if it meant nothing at all. Her eyes wandered to the door, knowing that any minute now Ryan would walk through that door with a smile spread across his face, brightening the entire room with his mere presence. She was looking forward to it.
“I’ll be in the back.” Emma called to her, the teasing tone not going unnoticed by Rachel, “Say hi to Ryan for me.”
“Sure,” Rachel called back, shaking her head at her partner.
Partner, that was who she was to Emma. It was insane, Rachel would never have dared to imagine she’d be capable of running a business. But here she was doing just that together with Emma. She ran her fingers through her short locks, not being able to contain her smile. New hair, new job, the next step she had to take was to look into finding herself a new apartment. Gabriel reassured her that it was no bother to the couple at all if she stayed a while. She didn’t want to intrude though. She was aware that her sister was pushing Gabriel to connect with his family. She wanted to be out of their way so they could focus on their new life. A sigh left her lips, she turned her back to the door and reached for the tray filled with chocolate muffins.
“That was one long sigh, I’m pretty sure your soul escaped.”
“It did not.” Rachel turned around, meeting Ryan’s amused gaze, “I can assure you that I’m still the same old Rachel.”
“But you’re really not.” Ryan reminded her, “In just a week the whole air around you changed. I can feel the confidence radiating from you.” He pointed at her when a smile spread across her face, “The most important thing of all is that you’re smiling all the time. You seem more at ease.”
She nodded, “I made some drastic changes which helped me create a more positive environment for myself.”
He frowned at her being vague, she knew he wouldn’t understand unless she told him the truth.
“I broke up with Ethan.” She told him, “Well, not officially I suppose.” She shrugged a shoulder, “We argued about you being my ride to Gabriel and Valerie’s, then I realized that no matter what I do Ethan will never fully trust me. So I made the decision to end it because it’s tiring to try and make something work which was doomed to fail in the first place.”
“You broke up with Ethan?” Ryan asked, “But not officially.” He continued, “What does that even mean?”
“Well, it means that I left the apartment to stay at my sister’s, knowing that Ethan got the hint. I mean he hasn’t contacted me once. So I assumed the feeling was mutual.”
Ryan reached for the paper cup which she pushed toward him, “Thanks. So you’re unofficially single again?” He asked her.
The fluttering in her stomach got worse when he smirked at her. She got the hint and she had to admit that she didn’t dislike the idea. Ryan was a good guy, charming and handsome. Not to mention that his suits were always on point. He was close to Gabriel and Valerie. The thought of seeing where things could lead was very appealing. But then there was the little fact that Ryan Parker was in the same league as Ethan and Gabriel. She made a promise never to make her world revolve around such a guy again. So going down that path was going against everything she promised herself when she cried her eyes out that one night.
“Actually-”
Rachel and Ryan glanced at the door when it closed rather loudly, someone wanting to grab their attention. Her mouth then got dry as her eyes locked with Ethan’s. He stormed up to the counter and trailed his eyes to Ryan, his eyes distant and cold. The hostility around him was palpable. She knew she was supposed to diffuse the situation, yet all she could do was stare at him and wonder why the hell he showed up at Emma’s Haven.
“Parker.” Ethan greeted through his teeth.
Ryan wasn’t bothered by the hostility and instead took a calming sip from the coffee she prepared for him, the sides of his lips curling up.
“Hunter.” Ryan greeted back, lowering his cup.
“Aren’t there coffee places around your office which you could go to?” Ethan mockingly asked him.
Ryan’s confidence didn’t falter once which was something to be admired considering how intense Ethan’s glare was.
“There are.” Ryan agreed, “But this is the place Rachel is at, so you know.”
“Excuse me?”
Rachel didn’t want them to continue their polite taunting, she placed a hand on Ryan’s arm which didn’t go unnoticed by Ethan. It angered him more, but he kept it reeled in. Instead, he clenched his jaw and turned to face her.
“Rache, you seriously still going to keep up with the story that nothing is going on between you two?” He asked her, his voice quiet yet the fire in his eyes causing her to flinch.
She pulled away from Ryan, even though she did nothing wrong she didn’t want to agitate Ethan even more. He was probably still pissed from the argument they had before she left him. It might have been a week ago, but she knew Ethan hated Ryan’s guts. The anger would forever linger because he couldn’t forgive the man for whatever he thought Ryan did wrong. Even Gabriel couldn’t tell her what exactly made Ethan hate Ryan this much.
“What are you doing here, Ethan?” She asked him.
For the first time, he actually looked at her. When he walked in he only had eyes for Ryan and let his emotions get the best of him, now he was looking at her and she could tell that he liked what he saw. He wasn’t supposed to though, he didn’t have the right anymore.
“I gave you space because I figured you needed it to calm down, but don’t you think it’s been long enough? I think it’s time you come home again, Rache.”
“Excuse me?” She asked, trying to keep her voice down so no one would notice their little argument, “I’m not coming home, I thought we were both clear on things ending that night.”
He placed his hands on the counter, narrowing his eyes on her, “We have one fight and you assume things are over between us without us even talking about it?”
“It’s more than just one fight, Ethan.” She quietly reminded him, “I told you I could no longer do it. That I was tired of it and then I packed up my things left the apartment and left you a message saying that I was leaving you. How could I not assume you agreeing with me that things are over? You never once responded back.”
“You took my silence as me agreeing to things being over? I was giving you space.” Ethan told her, “Why would you assume things are over between us when we didn’t make it official and why the hell are you flirting with the guy who would have done your sister if he had the chance?”
That shut her up, not because she had been wrong thinking that Ethan was on the same page as her about their relationship ending. She trailed her eyes to Ryan, confused as to what Ethan just told her. Ryan and Valerie were good friends not to mention Gabriel was also taken by the guy. If he indeed wanted to hook up with her sister there was no way Gabriel and Valerie would still be friendly with Ryan.
“He is putting it out of context.” Ryan rolled his eyes at Ethan who glared at him, “If I did meet Valerie before Gabriel then I would have made a move. But I didn’t so I never went there. Because unlike to what you believe I care about Starr.” Ryan put his cup down and leaned closer to Ethan, “Or maybe you do understand and you’re expressing yourself this way out of jealousy?”
Despite it being amusing seeing Ethan struggle with his words, Rachel couldn’t have this when they were still open for business. Lunchtime was approaching, she couldn’t afford to have Ethan and Ryan taunting each other while people wanted to grab a coffee and something to eat. She was going to take charge, she was the new Rachel and she’d no longer give into a hot guy with millions on his bank account because she liked to live a life of luxury.
“Ethan, it doesn’t matter. I was wrong for assuming we were on the same page.” She told him, “But since we weren’t I’ll say it now, we’re over. We just weren’t working out with the constant arguments about the same thing. It was tiring and even though I agree a relationship is something you need to work on when it makes you physically ill it’s not healthy anymore and it’s better to end it.”
The hostility left him and disbelieve was then clear in his eyes. For a second she regretted saying those words, she had to be strong though. She knew she was right about them not working out anymore. She couldn’t let go of the fact that Ethan didn’t trust her nor that he ever had her back while she was sure that Ethan would never agree with her friendship with Ryan. They weren’t good for each other despite the hot, steamy sex.
“So you’re breaking up with me?” Ethan asked to clarify things.
“Yes, we’re not compatible at all. We should both focus on things which are actually going to make us happy. Anyway, I’ll talk to Gabriel about getting the rest of my things.”
“Sure.” Ethan didn’t sound hostile like he did when he accused her of cheating, he did, however, look defeated as he quietly agreed with her, “I’ll make the arrangements with Gabe.”
When he left the shop again she focused on Ryan. He had finished his coffee but he wasn’t leaving her side. He stayed long enough to let her vent. She didn’t cry nor did she get angry. She just told him about everything which had been bothering her. He listened and kept his words to himself. Not once did he tell her she made the right decision nor did he tell her she made a mistake. He was a good person and she made sure to let him know. Ryan was her friend and she wouldn’t mess it up. He was reliable and honest, there weren’t many people out there to whom she felt that connected. Since things were officially over between Ethan and her she needed to respect what they had. For now, she’d only focus on her friendship with Ryan. If things were going to happen they would happen, if things would stay the same she wouldn’t mind that either.
***