Page 42 of No Rings Attached
She had me there.
I tapped on the steering wheel. She was right. And if we were going to make this work between us, I couldn’t lie, even if my intentions were good. “You’re right. There’s no doctor’s appointment.”
The triumph in her gaze mixed with undisguised hurt had me wishing I’d been truthful from the beginning. I attempted to explain and hoped she’d forgive me. “I wanted to give you the chance to take a second and breathe. Tomorrow your mom and sister will be here and I thought you might need to decompress before that happens. I sure would. And I know if we go back to the office, you’ll get lost in work and not let yourself deal with whatever it’s bringing up for you.”
Her shoulders slumped the tiniest bit. “That’s the best way for me to forget how hard it is to love them,” she said in a broken whisper. “For so long now, I’ve buried my head in the sand and pretended that I was fine with how they treated me. Throwing myself into work is a way to forget they don’t like me as I am. They prefer the version they can boss around and not respect.”
“I’m sorry you have to deal with that,” I said.
She shrugged. “It sucks, but I’m starting to realize that I don’t deserve it. It’s just hard for me to stand up to them after all this time of being their doormat.”
I wanted to offer to do it for her, to battle her family, but I knew that wouldn’t help Ellie long-term. Especially once her sister’s wedding was over and we went back to our previous relationship as boss and assistant. My gut churned at the thought.
“What can I do to help?” For now, the least I could do was my part as her fake boyfriend.
She gave me a small, tired smile. “Keep doing what you’re doing. Just be there for me.”
Being there for her was the easy part. But I wanted to help in ways that were bigger than that.
I just didn’t know how yet.
Ellie let out a sigh. “Maybe you’re right. I should probably mentally prepare myself for their visit.” She put her hand on the door handle.
“Wait a second.” I lifted my foot off the break and eased the car further along the driveway to the front of the entrance. Her eyes softened when I jumped out to open the door for her and held out my hand for her to take. After a slight hesitation, her fingers slipped into mine and once again I marveled at how right it felt.
“Drew! You’re being ridiculous. We’re not really dating, so you don’t need to do stuff like this.” But a soft smile played on her lips, telling me that what she was saying didn’t line up with how she actually felt.
Judging by her reactions over the last couple of days, I was fairly certain she loved when I did boyfriend things like this.
Which only made me want to do more of it.
But our moment was interrupted all too soon.
“Oh thank goodness you’re here!” Glamma bounded across the porch and down the front steps of the B&B with Martha right behind her. They were both dressed in neon track suits with rhinestones bedazzled over at least half of the fabric.
“Nice to see you too.” I hugged her when she reached us, wincing as a sparkly gem scratched at my cheek. “What’s going on?”
My grandmother ignored me and took Ellie’s hands in hers. “Now Ellie, please know that wetriedto come up with another solution.”
“Okaaaaay.” Worry lines appeared around Ellie’s eyes, She drew in a deep breath and glanced my way. I didn’t like the way her chest barely moved on the exhale. It was like she was bracing herself for a physical and mental blow.
It made me want to wrap my arms around her and tell Glamma she could keep whatever it was to herself. Before I could give in to my base instinct, though, my logical side reminded me that I couldn’t keep Ellie free from pain. What I could do for her was to be there and help her through whatever Glamma had to share.
“Your mother called, dear.”
Four words had never sounded so menacing.
Ellie’s shoulders lost their tenseness. “Oh, that’s alright. I already spoke with her. She mentioned reserving a room so that she and my sister would have a place to stay when they arrived.”
Glamma winced.
“But you knew that,” Ellie said softly. “So it’s something else.” Her shoulders popped back up by her ears.
I shifted so I was standing behind Ellie in case she needed me for emotional support. Glamma was naturally dramatic, but the look in her eyes told me that it was warranted this time.
“Theyarestaying here, but so are a few people to film your sister’s wedding planning,” Martha answered. When she and Glamma exchanged a look I knew instinctively that there was more to this story.
Ellie shrugged. “I’m not sure why that matters. Mother didn’t mention a crew was coming, but knowing my sister I guess I should have expected it. I’ll be sure not to step out of my room without a bra,” Ellie quipped.
