Chapter 9
Chapter Nine
Henry
I arrived at my parents’ house around one o’clock because I wanted to spend some time with Addison before everyone else came over. When I walked into the house, she was coming down the stairs.
“Henry!” She smiled as she ran to me.
“There she is.” I hugged her tight. “How are you?”
“I’m good. How’s my big brother?”
“I’m good.” I hooked my arm around her, and we walked into the kitchen where my mother was.
“Look who’s here,” Addison said.
“Hello, darling.”
“Hello, Mother.” I kissed her cheek and grabbed a piece of watermelon she was cutting up. “Where’s Dad?”
“He’s upstairs. He’ll be down in a minute. Addison, can you go outside and tell that man to move the table over to the left more?”
“Sure, Mom.”
“So, how was your evening last night?” she asked.
“It was good.”
“Did you have fun with your friends?”
“Yeah.” I furrowed my brows at her because I noticed disapproval in the tone of her voice.
She set the knife down on the counter and gripped the edge of the marble top as she looked directly at me.
“Who is the woman you were with last night, Henry?”
My heart started pounding as I stared at her.
“Ron and Linda Gables were walking past Pepito’s last night and saw you with a blonde-haired woman through the window. Linda said the two of you were using sign language.”
Shit. Shit. Shit.
I let out a sigh.
“Her name is Ellie Scott. We were communicating via sign language because she’s deaf.”
“No shit, Henry. What were you doing with her?”
“We were just having dinner, mother.”
“You’re cheating on your fiancée?”
“No. She’s a friend. She’s a freelance website designer, and I took her to meet Frankie because he’s looking for someone to design his site for the gallery. That’s all.”
We could hear my father coming down the stairs.
“I haven’t told your father about this yet, but we will finish this discussion later.”
“There’s nothing to discuss.”
I walked out of the kitchen and into the living room, where I poured myself a scotch.
“Hello, son.” My dad smiled as he walked over and placed his hand on my shoulder.
“Hey, Dad. Scotch?”
“Of course. It’s five o’clock somewhere, right?”
“I investigated that company and think it’ll be a good investment. I ran all the projections, and there’s definitely a lot of profit to be made with some restructuring.”
“Excellent. That’s what I thought as well, but I wanted your opinion. Get the ball rolling on that as soon as possible.” He patted my back. “It’s too bad Kirsten couldn’t be here with us today. When is she coming back?”
“Tomorrow night.”
“Good. Good. The four of us will have to get together next week.”
Addison entered the living room and my father walked over and kissed her cheek.
“Don’t forget you start work at the office on Monday.”
“I know, Dad.”
When he walked out of the room, she threw herself on the couch and sighed.
“What’s going on, little sister?” I asked as I took a seat on the couch and hooked my arm around her.
“Mom and Dad told me last night they invited someone over for lunch tomorrow they want me to meet and that I better be here.”
“Who?” I asked as I narrowed my eye.
“I don’t know. Some guy named Carter Colson.”
“Ah. Good ole Carter Colson.”
“You know him?” She laid her head on my shoulder.
“Yep. He’s a big douchebag in the making.”
She let out a laugh.
“I just got out of a relationship, and I’m not looking to get into another one. Especially with someone mom and dad want me to be with.”
“You broke up with Garrett?”
“Yeah. It wasn’t working out. There just wasn’t anything there. You know?” She lifted her head and looked at me.
“Yeah, Addy. I know.” I sighed as I thought about Kirsten. “You never told the parents about Garrett, did you?”
“No. How could I? You know they don’t approve of anyone unless they pick them.”
The barbeque went off without a hitch, and I stayed until everyone left.
“I’m going to head out, Mom,” I spoke as I kissed her cheek.
As I was heading towards the door, she called my name.
“Henry?”
“Yes?” I turned and looked at her.
“If you do anything to screw up your relationship with Kirsten, you will not be happy with the consequences.”
I stared at her for a moment before turning my head and walking out the door.
I stood in front of Ellie’s door. I’d come straight to her place from my parent’s house because I desperately needed to see her. Hell, I didn’t even know if she was home. We’d been texting throughout the day, and she didn’t mention anything about having plans tonight. Holding my phone in my hand, I sent her a text message.
“Are you home?”
“Yes. Why?”
“I’m standing at your door.”
Within seconds, the door opened, and a bright smile graced her face. She looked beautiful with her hair up in a messy bun and her baggy sweatpants.
“Hi,” she spoke. “Come in. Had I known you were going to drop by, I would have freshened up.”
“You look beautiful exactly as you are,” I signed before wrapping my arms around her and pulling her into me.
“Is everything okay?” she asked.
I broke our embrace.
“Everything is fine. I just wanted to see you,” I signed. “Is it okay that I dropped by unannounced?”
The corners of her mouth curved upward.
“Yes. I wanted to see you too,” she spoke as she signed.
I could sit and listen to her speak to me all day and night.
“Have you eaten? I ordered a pizza, and it’ll be here soon.”
“I ate at my parents’ house earlier, but maybe I’ll have a piece,” I signed with a smile. “It doesn’t have any type of fruit on it, does it?” I arched my brow.
She let out a laugh.
“No. I don’t like pineapple on my pizza. Fruit doesn’t belong there.”
“You’re my kind of girl.” I grinned.