Page 111 of Change My Mind
“But then, who is the one? Jesse has two brothers, so which one does he pick? Will that make the other brother sad? If they go up to two, then who are the two that Clo picks? Shecan’t choose like that. So, the only solution is: Jesse needs a fourth.”
This line of conversation was starting to make sense. “…okay?” I said, drawing out the word like I was still confused.
She rolled her eyes. “For fuck’s sake, Elijah, I am telling you that Jesse is going to ask, and I am trying to ascertain if you would do it.”
I laughed. “In my defence, Ads, you heavily inferred. You weren’t exactly explicit about it.”
She huffed. “Fine. Anyway, Jesse is going to officially ask you tomorrow. There might be balloons and white doves or some shit. You can act like you’re surprised if you want, but that isn’t a requirement. He won’t be surprised you found out. He knows what he’s marrying into.”
“A group of people who don’t like surprises?” I joked.
“In a lot of ways, they are overrated.” Her eyes widened. “Wait, do you like surprises?”
“No, I fucking hate them.”
“I will endeavour to surprise you as little as possible then. Are you going to say yes to Jesse, though?”
“I’d be honoured to be part of his wedding party.”
Addie smiled and kissed my nose again.
“Hurry up and wipe that counter down. I have an idea that I finally want to make a reality, and despite my desire to make it come to fruition in this kitchen, it is a code violation waiting to happen. I don’t want to stress my dad out like that.”
She dropped her arms and stepped away from me. I let her go and went back to cleaning.
“Do I get an insight into this idea of yours?” I asked.
“Yeah, it involves you being in those chef blacks and a kitchen. But our kitchen, where it’s only us that has to deal with the implications.”
I paused my wiping and walked over to Addie. I cupped her face with both my hands and kissed her.
“How long have you been harbouring this idea?” I asked as I pulled away.
“It’s been simmering in the background since I covered the pass. But I’ve spent the whole night watching you work, and it’s come to a boil. I need to make it a reality.”
I huffed a laugh and pressed another kiss to her mouth. “Fuck, I love you,” I said when I pulled away.
A bright smile and shimmering emerald eyes looked at me. “I love you, too, Eli.”
Epilogue
ADDIE - THIRTEEN MONTHS LATER
There was glitter on the floor.
How, no one knew. Clara and Jesse weren’t exactly a ‘glitter’ couple, and none had been present at the wedding or the reception.
A reception that, like the engagement party, was taking place at Vivi’s.
Mostly because there was a whole area that no one was allowed to enter, so we could get away from all the other guests.
The kitchen.
Which made the glitter even more confusing, but that was a future problem.
Right now, we were waiting for Eli to finish frying some chips so we could add them to the spread of food we had snuck in from the dining area.
A platter of roast chicken thighs, some cornbread, a bunch of quiches and a whole plate of wedding cake were waiting to be decimated by the eight of us.
