Page 50 of Married at Midnight

“And what about me?” Blue Elvis asked.

Viola reached out and covered Aaron’s hand with her own. “You were the unofficial guardian of our group. Your absolute devotion to your friends still shows in everything you say and do.”

Ellie smiled at all four men. “It’s nice to meet you all out of costume.”

“Those days together were the best times of our lives,” Lenny said wistfully.

“When we heard our girl was ill, we had to come see her,” George explained. “It’s not like we followed you back to Seattle or anything so that we could—”

“George!” Aaron interrupted. “What he means is that when we learned Viola was ill, we hopped the next flight out.” He shrugged. “It was the same flight you and Connor took.”

Ellie arched a brow. “It was you at The Lucky Club earlier this week.”

Color flooded George’s cheeks as he pressed his lips together, as though forcibly holding back a response. Ernie and Lenny looked away.

“We’ve been seeing the sights. Nothing more,” Aaron said.

Ellie’s gaze passed over each of the men positioned like sentinels around Viola’s bed. They appeared quite fond of the older woman. At the realization that Viola and the Elvises had a connection, Ellie’s thoughts drifted back to Las Vegas. Had she and Connor truly met by chance? Or was Ellie being far too suspicious for her own good?

As if sensing the direction of her thoughts, Aaron hurriedly turned back to Viola. “We should let you spend time with Ellie.”

Viola nodded. “My new granddaughter and I have much to discuss.”

“Bye, sugar,” Aaron said, fluttering his fingers at her.

“We’ll check in on you later,” Lenny said, reluctantly leaving Viola’s side as the others made their way to the door.

When they were gone, Viola straightened, as though tossing off the sentiment they’d brought out in her. “Have a seat, my dear. There are many things that need to be said.” Her regal tone was back.

“You’re looking well,” Ellie said, ignoring the tone as she took a chair and moved it closer to Viola. “Are you feeling better?”

“As good as I can be after two heart attacks. But that is neither here nor there. You and I have a few things to settle. Let’s start with the house.”

Ellie sat back. What could Viola demand of them now? “What did you want to discuss?”

“My people tell me things are progressing with the exterior of the house and the interior painting, but you haven’t done any actual design work yet. Should I be worried?” Viola gave her a penetrating stare.

Ellie drew an easier breath. She’d dealt with worried clients before. Viola was only one more. “Everything is on target. We needed to get the basics done first. It’s like frosting a cake. You need the base coating of frosting before you can add any decoration.”

“Grayson House is a cake now?”

“No, your house is not a cake. I was merely making the analogy that if we didn’t fix the dry rot, broken windows, leaking roof, and other disrepair, no one would see the decorations, only the sad shape of the house.” Refusing to let Viola rattle her confidence, Ellie stood. “You trusted me enough to hire me, Viola. What’s changed?”

“I’m simply keeping tabs on things.”

“I don’t blame you one bit. You’re investing a lot of money into Grayson House. You don’t really know me, and you probably haven’t had time to check my references, but if you’d like to now, they’re listed on my website.”

Viola frowned. “I’m not sure things need to go that far.”

“That’s up to you.” Ellie shrugged. “We still have four weeks to pull the refurbishment and decorating of Grayson House together. I know I can do this, but it’s your house and your choice. Do I stay or am I fired?”

To her amazement, Viola smiled. “I knew you had spirit. I can see why Connor fell for you in such a rush.”

“Was this some sort of test?” Ellie asked, slightly dazed by Viola’s shift in her emotions.

Viola nodded. “You passed, if that’s any consolation.”

Ellie shook her head, trying to clear her confusion. “Did Connor know about this?”