"I'm not trying to be stubborn or morose. It's just really disorienting to know I really have nowhere to go that's actually mine anymore. Can't you understand that?"
"Yes. It's understandable. But it's one thing you really don't need to consider right now. You'll get better, and then you can take on the world."
Ellie sat back in the seat, knowing she was going to have to accept her temporary home with Zane. Obviously his family was in agreement with his plan, and had cooperated so he could get what he wanted. Although she was angry because Zane was so highhanded, she was still grateful that he cared enough to open his home to her. How many busy, rich guys would make the time for her that Zane had? Why he was taking so much time and effort for her she still didn't understand, but she couldn't just discard his kindness. "Thank you."
"It's no trouble. I have to be here for the rest of the holidays, and I have a small lab here where I can work."
"You work here, too?"
"Yeah. Mostly personal projects, things that are going to take ongoing study and replication."
"Like what?" she asked curiously. "Do you like what you're doing? I know you were obsessed with changing the world with science when we were younger. Are you still?"
Zane shrugged. "Pretty much. But I was pretty naïve, even when I was in college. I didn't realize how much crap can go along with science."
"What?" Scientific study had always been Zane's life. Ellie had never heard him talk about the downside.
"Irresponsible studies. Bullshit reports. Some places putting out supposed scientific studies without enough evidence and no replication. No real control groups and not big enough groups to even be accurate. So many scientific studies are badly conducted just for sensationalism or monetary gain. Just because a single test on mice or rats shows something that's a possibility doesn't mean it's always true for humans, but the media will blow it up until everything is skewed to be taken as the truth."
"But businesses want to be profitable, I suppose," Ellie mused, touched by how seriously Zane took his profession.
"My lab is very profitable, but it can be profitable and ethical at the same time," Zane said adamantly.
"So my being at your home won't really make you wish you could be at your main lab because you have one set up at home?"
"Even if I didn't, my priority is to see you recover. Nobody deserves what happened to you. And you were completely faultless. Wrong place at the wrong damn time."
"Why are you doing all of this? I don't understand," she finally asked. "It's not like we've seen much of each other since you graduated from high school. We really aren't friends."
"Because I want to," he answered enigmatically.
"Why?" She leaned her head back against the headrest, feeling both emotionally and physically tired.
"You may not consider me your friend, but I've never stopped thinking of you as mine. You've helped me in the past. You never treated me differently in high school even though I was a weird science nerd. You helped me organize some of my high school research projects, and you were always nice to me. I never stopped being your friend just because I moved away," he said huskily.
Ellie's heart melted as she sensed the insecurity in his words. Zane had been a loner when he was a teen, mostly because he was more interested in science than people. But not many of the kids at school had really gotten to know him. Deep inside, Zane had been a kind, quirky, intelligent adolescent, and as he matured, he obviously hadn't changed. Granted, he'd become a lot bossier and determined to have his way. But the heart of the young man she'd known hadn't really altered.
"I never stopped thinking of you as a friend, either," she admitted, knowing she had thought about him a lot more than she should have over the years. "You were always nice to me, too, even though I was overweight and not very popular in high school. It meant a lot to me."
Actually, all of Chloe's brothers had been nice. But since Marcus and Blake were older, they'd been graduating when she and Chloe were just starting high school. Tate had always been sweet, but the girls had always been drawn to him, and he'd practically had his own harem, even in high school. Since Chloe, Tate, and Zane were so close in age, Ellie had always wondered how Chloe's mom could have survived being constantly pregnant for well over two years.
Tate was younger, closer in age to her and Chloe, but she'd never had more than a casual acquaintance with him. It was Zane who had caught her attention back then, probably because he was so much more approachable, so much more like her. He was almost always alone, and probably felt like he didn't fit in. They'd struck up a friendship when she'd seen his frustration at the tediousness of organizing his research. She'd offered to help put everything in a likely order after questioning him about the different portions of his notes. Even though the material was way over her head, she had put things in a logical order, which didn't take a genius.
He shrugged. "I liked you. And I don't like all that many people."
Ellie laughed at his bluntness, a part of Zane she secretly adored. He wasn't much for small talk. If he appeared socially awkward sometimes, she attributed that to his intelligence. He didn't communicate on the same level as most people did. It wasn't that he couldn't; he just didn't, probably because most people were too intimidated to have a conversation with him. If she didn't know him, Ellie wondered how daunting it might be to approach a man who had one of the smartest scientific brains in the country. Fortunately, she knew there was so much more to him than just the geeky science nerd he claimed to be.
As Ellie thought about all of the things Chloe had shared with her about her brothers over the years, she suddenly remembered something, a fact that had eluded her until today. "Don't you have a girlfriend who'll be upset if I'm staying with you? Isn't she coming here for the holidays?" she asked curiously.
"No. I'm not interested in a woman who just pretends to like me for my money or Colter status."
Her heart sank as she thought about the fact that women probably did pursue him just because he was a billionaire Colter. "Not all women are like that, Zane. Haven't you met somebody you just connected with on another level?"
"No," he said simply.
"But you've dated. Chloe told me you had a girlfriend at one time." Ellie could still remember how she'd felt when she knew Zane was getting serious with a woman from Denver. Even though she hadn't seen him in a long time, Ellie had still felt an odd sense of … loss.
"I did. But it didn't last long. She got bored and moved on to someone else. She found out I didn't live a glamorous life full of endless parties and exotic vacations. After a while, she figured out I actually worked. A lot. I gave her all of the material things and money she wanted, but not the lifestyle she'd dreamed about."
Ellie crossed her arms angrily. "Then she wasn't worthy of you. Good riddance, I say." She hesitated before asking, "Did she hurt you?"
He was silent for a moment, as though he was considering her question. Finally, he said, "Not really. That was when I figured out I was better off without a relationship. Now I just fuck and forget about anything long-term."
He tried to sound nonchalant, but Ellie could hear the underlying sadness in his voice. The girlfriend had hurt him, and she'd made him cautious and wary. "I'm sorry she hurt you," Ellie said quietly.
"She didn't hurt me," he argued huskily.
"Yes, she did. But she just wasn't the right woman. I think there's someone for everybody if you're lucky enough to find them," Ellie replied wistfully.
"Then why are you still single?" he grunted.
"I was waiting. Someday I'm hoping somebody will really see me, and not just what I look like on the outside."
"You're fucking beautiful. If anybody sees you any differently, they're an idiot."
"I'm plain, I was chubby, and now I'm too skinny. I'm not much for going to bars or parties. I'd rather be reading a good book or making candles most of the time. Does that sound exciting to you?" she asked drily.
"There's nothing wrong with being different, Ell," Zane replied gruffly.
"I could say the same thing to you," she answered lightly, but her heart was smiling from his words.
He didn't answer as he pulled up to the entrance of his enormous home. The iron gates were incredibly high and the posts along the top looked sharp. Nobody sane was going over one of the walls of his fortress.
She watched as he punched in a code and the iron gates began to swing open.
"Paranoid much?" she asked curiously.
"I have to be. I've had people try to steal my research too many times. I can't use electric fences because of the wildlife, but it's as safe here as possible."