Page 18 of No Rings Attached
“How can we help, sweetheart?” Glamma patted her knee and took her free hand in hers.
“You can’t. This is so embarrassing,” Ellie whispered.
“Hey, none of that. One thing you’ll learn about Ruby River is that we take care of our own. And we’ve adopted you as one of our own, right this very minute.”
Ellie sniffed and wiped at her damp cheeks. I wanted to call her mother back, reach through the phone, and strangle her.
“Thank you.” She let out a sigh. “Who knew my first twenty-four hours here would be so eventful?”
I offered a smile. “Don’t spend one minute stressing about any of it. Really. Like Glamma said, you’re Kingsley kin now.”
“It’s not right, Drew. I’m your employee. You don’t have to pretend to be my boyfriend,” she said. “I shouldn’t have lied to her to begin with. That’s on me. And if this wedding is in three months that’s an awful long time for you to keep pretending … It’s just … ”
I gave her time to decide what she wanted to share with us. She let out such a defeated groan, and I knew I’d help her regardless of how long we needed to fake it.
“Spill,” Glamma directed.
Ellie settled back into the couch and sighed. “My sister is getting married to my ex. And it’s not that I care about him—I don’t. My feelings for him died the second I knew he was cheating on me with her, but the way everyone glosses over what happened just makes me furious. And all the pitying looks from some of our mutual friends made me snap, so I told them all I was seeing someone.” Ellie rubbed at her brow.
“Your family sucks, kiddo. They’re not worth your tears or your time.” Glamma pulled a wad of tissues from her pocket and shoved them at Ellie.
She gave Glamma a sad smile. “I hear you. But my family dynamics are tough. My sister was sick as a child. We thought we were going to lose her. It was such a scary time for me and my parents.”
“She’s better now?” Glamma asked.
Ellie nodded. I tucked her into the curve of my shoulder.
Everything about holding her felt natural. Like this was where I was supposed to be and what I was supposed to be doing. Iwantedto be the one to comfort her.
“I’m sure that was a terrible time for you and your parents, but it doesn’t give your sister a free pass for the rest of her life. She can’t just take what she wants and it certainly doesn’t excuse bad behavior like cheating,” Glamma said, crossing her arms with the finality of a judge delivering a verdict.
“I know, but it’s just … ” Ellie looked so lost. “Complicated.”
The desire to uncomplicate it for her rose again, but I stuffed it down. It wasn’t what she needed from me, instead I could give her what she did need. Someone to stand by her, be her buffer, and help her get through her sister’s wedding.
Neither one of us needed to look closely at why I should be the one to do it or how easy it already felt to pretend.
Chapter Five
ELLIE
Iresisted the urge to stay snuggled up against Drew’s side. His arm, banded tightly around me, made me feel safe. Like he could keep out all the bad things in the world. But for me, that was my family, and there was no keepingthemat bay.
I needed to thank them and politely decline their offer. Reluctantly, I edged out of his embrace. “Thank you both for going along with my charade, but when they get here, I’ll have to fess up. There’s no way I can expect you to go through with any of this.”
“No.”
Drew’s sudden and emphatic response made my head turn in his direction. “What do you mean, no?”
“No, I’m not letting you face your family alone. For as long as they’re here, I’m your boyfriend.”
“But—” I protested.
“No buts.”
Except his butt. Even in dress pants, it was a sight to behold.
Stop it, Eleanor Mae!
