He glanced out the large opening, where accordion doors had been pushed aside to make for a true indoor-outdoor living space. From Elliott’s vantage point, he could clearly see my brothers practicing their shots. It was a place he desperately wanted to be.
“Right, I get that,” Elliott said. “But it’s upstairs and on the other side of the house. The schoolyard pick is about to start.”
“Oh.” I cast my eyes down. “Okay. Never mind.”
Elliott shifted his feet, deciding. “No. I’ll do it. Where is this lip balm you speak of?”
“In my bathroom. The cabinet to the right when you first walk in. Left side of the double vanity. Second drawer down. You might need to rummage a bit.”
A flash of irritation passed over his features before he steadied his reaction and set the tray of cheese and fruit back down.
“Actually, Elliott”—I made a whole show of grimacing—“my mom wanted that tray right away. Can you take it outside to her first, and then go get me the bear with the cleaver… I mean, clover?”
He sucked in a breath before responding with a bow and all the gallantry his British accent afforded him. “As you wish.”
“Ah, thanks, Pooh bear.” I matched his game and raised him one.
Emma waited for Elliott to walk out to the back patio before she threw a chunk of bread at my chest. “You diabolical bitch.”
I laughed, throwing the chunk back at her. After a quick scan for spies, I lowered my voice and addressed the only member of the family who knew the truth. “Hey, this isn’t my fault. I broke up with him. He’s free to go at any time.”
“That’s not usually how breakups work. You say bye, and then…” Emma waved her hand. “He goes bye-bye.”
“But, Emma, he has”—I changed my voice to mimic Elliott’s oft-used line—“a nonrefundable, unchangeable plane ticket.”
“Yes, I know. But there’s this thing called a hotel. It’s where ex-boyfriends go when they’re waiting out their visas. This is not a democracy, Grace. He doesn’t get a vote. Unless…”
Just by the hesitation in her voice, I knew what she was going to say.
“No,” I stopped her. “Don’t say it.”
“You don’t want Elliott to leave.”
She said it. I dropped my head onto the kitchen island and rolled it around. “Emma,” I whined.
“What? It has to be said, Grace. The dude’s likeable. I mean, even I like him, and I hardly like anyone.”
“Ugghhh, stop making me feel bad.”
“I’m not trying to. But I think maybe with all that’s happened in the past two months, you’re struggling with your emotions, and this could be a decision you regret later. If you take a step back, you’ll see that Elliott’s a catch.”
“I know he’s a catch.” I sighed. “Don’t you think I wanted this to work? Here, let me put it a different way. How do you feel when Finn walks in the room?”
She thought for a second. “Like I can’t believe he wanted me.”
I lifted my head and blinked. “I was thinking more along the lines of you wanting to push him into the pantry and have your way with him, but we’ll go with your very sad self-reflection instead.”
Emma laughed, pushing me. “Sex in the pantry? Are you crazy? What if any items inside were to get misaligned, or worse, soiled?”
That was where my sister and I differed. She needed sterility and candles and soft music and gentle foreplay. I’d started my sexual explorations with Rory Higgins. We went right for the action, so for me, any old car or shed would do.
I sighed. “Now I don’t even remember what I was asking.”
“You wanted to know how I felt about Finn walking into a room, and my new answer is—I can’t imagine loving anyone more.”
“Bingo. That’s the problem, Em. I’d love to be friends with Elliott, but as far as the love part, I don’t.”
“Well, I love Elliott,” Emma said. “And so does the rest of the family.”
