Chapter 13
CHAPTER 13
E lla
“It’s a perfect fit.” Jenni grinned. “You look beautiful in this dress. Lily, go try yours on.”
I followed Lily into the dressing room and changed out of my dress while she changed into hers.
“You need to tell Jenni,” I said.
“I’ll tell her tomorrow at the party. Shaun helped Adrien find a building for his art gallery.”
“That’s great.” I smiled.
“God, Ella. I love that man so much.”
“I know you do. I can’t wait to see the beautiful baby you two created.”
“Lily, are you ready?” Jenni shouted.
“Coming, Aunt Jenni. Can you zip me up?”
I grabbed the zipper and tried to zip it, but it only would go up halfway.”
“Shit,” Lily said. “It’s too tight.”
Lily stepped up on the platform, and Jenni furrowed her brows. “Why is it only half-zipped.” She grabbed the zipper and tried to pull it up. “I see the dress is a bit too tight now.” She cocked her head at Lily.
“I guess I ate too many French pastries. I should have known better.”
“Or you’re pregnant,” Jenni said. “Are you pregnant, Lily?”
Lily stood there momentarily and stared at her. “Please don’t tell anyone. The only person who knows is Ella and Georgia.”
“Ah!” Jenni grinned, hugging her tight. “I knew it. It all clicked when I saw how tight this dress is on you. Congratulations, sweetheart.”
“Thanks, Aunt Jenni. I’m going to announce it to the family tomorrow.”
“Wow. The first grandchild in the family. Your mom and dad are going to be so happy.”
“I hope so.” Lily smiled.
“Sorry, I’m late.” Riley walked in. “Traffic was a bitch. What’s going on?” Her brows furrowed.
“You better tell her,” I said to Lily.
“Tell me what?”
Lily walked over and took hold of Riley’s hands. “I’m pregnant, but you can’t tell anyone. I’m announcing it tomorrow.”
“Oh my God.” Riley jumped up and down. “Congrats, cousin.” She hugged her.
“Thank you. Adrien and I are so excited.”
Later that evening, I grabbed a glass of wine and took it to the bonfire, where some of my family members had gathered.
“Hey, sweetheart.” My Uncle Conner grinned. “Sit next to your favorite uncle.” He patted the seat next to his.
“I heard you helped Adrien find a space for his art gallery,” I said to Shaun.
“I did. It’s a great space, and I think it’ll do well there.” He smiled.
“I don’t trust that guy,” Stefan said.
“Oh, come on, bro.” Sam sighed. “He seems nice.”
“You don’t even know him,” Stefan said. “He could be a serial killer for all we know.”
“He’s not, bro,” Simon said. “Grace and I did a full background check on him. He’s as clean as a whistle and comes from a good family. It would be in your best interest to accept the fact that he’s in love with your daughter. For fuck’s sake. He left his family and life behind in France to be with her.”
I looked over Shaun’s shoulder and saw Nora approaching us with some guy.
“Hey, fam.” She smiled. “I’d like you to meet Jack. Jack, these are my brothers: Sam, Shaun, Stefan, and Simon. And my cousins Ella, Conner, and Jackson.”
“Hey.” Jack gave a small wave and smile. “It’s nice to meet you.”
Simon stood up and flashed his gun. “It’s Detective Simon Kind.”
“Oh, my God. Stop it, Simon. Ignore him. We’re going out.” She kissed Simon’s cheek.
“Curfew, Nora,” Simon shouted as they walked away.
“I’m almost eighteen, brother!”
Simon sighed as he sat down.
“Good job, bro.” Sam grinned.
“Poor guy. Did you see the look on his face?” Shaun laughed.
“Epic.” Jackson laughed.
“Graham is coming to the barbecue tomorrow, and you all better behave.” I stood up and pointed at them. “Simon, don’t even think about wearing that gun tomorrow either. I mean it.”
“Yes, ma’am.” He winked.
On the way back to my house, my mom stepped out on the patio and asked me to come over.
“Hi, Mom.” I hugged her.
“Hi, sweetheart. Where are you off to?”
“I’m heading back to the house.”
“Don’t forget that Willow and I are leaving on Sunday for the ballet competition in Chicago. We’ll be gone for three days. I need you to keep an eye on your dad and brother.”
“I will.” I smiled.
She hooked her arm around me as we stepped off the patio and headed down the beach toward my house.
“So, tell me all about Dr. Graham Malone.”
“There’s not much to tell. We had dinner last night. He’s so handsome, Mom.” I grinned.
“I can’t wait to meet him. Charleigh told me that Christian invited him to the barbecue tomorrow.”
“Yeah. I wonder why?” My brows furrowed.
We reached my house, and I opened the sliding door.
“Wine?” I asked, setting my glass on the island and picking up the bottle.
“Just a small glass.” A smile crossed her lips. “What’s his story? I know he moved here from New York.”
“Yeah. But something is bothering me.” I poured some wine into a glass and handed it to her.
“What’s bothering you?”
“Christian told me his father was a surgeon at Cedars, but Graham never mentioned that nor did he say that he ever lived here. The way he talked, I assumed he grew up in New York.”
“Did you specifically ask him?” she asked.
“I guess not. When he told me his father passed away from a heart attack, I didn’t think to ask anything else because I saw the look on his face when he told me.”
“How old was he when his father died?” my mom asked.
“He said he was thirteen, and his mom passed away when he was six. He said his aunt in New York took care of him after his father died. That’s why I assumed he was from New York.”
“Well, if his father cared for him until he was thirteen and was a surgeon at Cedars, that would mean he lived in Los Angeles.”
“Yeah.” I twisted my face. “I just wonder why he didn’t mention that he was from here.”
“I’m sure he’ll get around to telling you. You only had one date. Do you foresee more in the future?” A soft smile crossed her lips.
“I think so.” I grinned. “He’s really sweet, Mom. And Uncle Christian really seems to like him.”
“You know the men in this family are good judges of characters. Not to rub salt into an open wound, but you knew we weren’t fans of Landon.”
“I know.” I sighed, finishing the last of my wine. “And trust me. It’s not an open wound.”
“Have you seen him since Christian fired him?”
“Yeah. He was brought into the ER when he was mugged outside his apartment building.”
“Oh. Is he okay?”
“As okay as that jackass can be.”
“Did the police catch the guy?”
“No. Landon told me it was a woman.” I pursed my lips as I stared at her.
“Oh!” Her brows raised. “Gotcha.” She smiled.
“Don’t tell anyone in the family. Ava doesn’t know.”
“You know I won’t. I have to get home.” She hugged me. “Thanks for the wine. I’ll see you tomorrow. I love you, Ella.”
“I love you too, Mom.”
After a hot bath, I slipped on my nightshirt, grabbed my phone and laptop, and climbed into bed. I hadn’t heard from Graham, but I understood because he was working late. As I was doing some research and reading medical journal articles, my phone pinged. Grabbing it from the nightstand, I smiled when I saw I had a text from him.
“I hope I didn’t wake you. If I did, I’m sorry.”
“I’m up. Just doing some research.”
“Is it too late to call?”
“Not at all.”
My phone rang, and I answered it.
“Hi.” A smile crossed my lips.
“Hi. I just left the hospital and on my way home. How are you?”
“I’m good. How did your shift go?”
“Exhausting, but worth it. How was your day?”
“It was good. No complaints.”
“I’m happy to hear that. Should I just come to your house tomorrow?”
“Yeah. Park in my driveway and walk in. The door will be unlocked.”
“Okay. I won’t lie and say I’m not a little nervous about meeting your entire family.”
“Trust me, Graham. There’s nothing to be nervous about. You’ll love my family and have a good time. I will warn you there might be a little drama.”
“Why?”
“My cousin Lily is announcing she’s pregnant.”
“Is she the one who just got back from Paris and brought that French guy back with her?”
“Yep.” I laughed.
“She’s an adult. Why would there be drama?”
“The men in my family are very protective.”
“So, I should be worried?” he asked.
“No. Not at all.”
“Okay. I’m trusting you, Dr. Kind. I just pulled up to my apartment building. I’ll see you tomorrow. Sweet dreams, Ella.”
“Sweet dreams, Graham.”
I set my phone on the nightstand, closed my laptop, and snuggled under the covers. The smile never left my face from our conversation, and I couldn’t wait to see him tomorrow.