Chapter Four #2
Her mother cleared her throat. “Well, I guess you do have a boyfriend. I still don’t like the fact that he’s your boss. Please tell me this isn’t so you can get a better position in the company.”
What the hell was wrong with this woman?
Ellie’s face paled. A tremble ran through her body, making me want to throw her over my shoulder and take her away from this horrible conversation. Just from the little I heard from this woman solidified that she didn’t deserve to have such a sweet, tender-hearted daughter.
Glamma pursed her lips and drew in a deep breath through her nose. All signs that she was about to explode in anger.
She kept her cool, but didn’t miss the chance to land a well-deserved scolding. “Mrs. Remington. Now that we’ve had the chance to meet, it’s hard to believe that you and Ellie are related. I can clearly see how stark the differences are.”
Ellie’s mom snapped her mouth shut, then opened and closed it again. Her eyes narrowed as she likely tried to determine if Glamma’s observation was a compliment.
My lovely assistant’s gaze met mine and I said what was on my mind.
“Ellie is sunshine personified and the most intelligent person I know. I’m insulted on both our behalf that you would dare accuse her of sleeping with me to get a promotion.
Your daughter would never compromise her job like that and I’m lucky she even allowed me to pursue her. ”
Ellie’s eyes were watering, so I gave her another squeeze. Had anyone ever defended her from the sharp tongue of her mother? Likely not, from her reaction.
“I call it like I see it,” the woman replied in a patronizing, singsong voice. “And when someone—”
“Is there anything else you need?” Ellie cut in. I hated the resigned, defeated sound of her voice.
“The wedding location, Eleanor. There’s been an issue with the place your sister chose and we need to reschedule or find another venue. They had a water leak in the rooms we reserved.” Her mother somehow was able to make the damage sound like it was a personal attack by her displeased tone.
Ellie opened her mouth to respond but her mother kept going.
“We had to change the original date. Your sister’s sponsors and her fans are expecting to see a wedding within three months now. And we had the most brilliant idea.” Her mother paused, and I had a feeling that when she needed to, Mrs. Remington could rival Glamma in the theatrics department.
“Oh?” Ellie answered weakly.
Her mother smiled. It was the complete opposite of the wide one Ellie used when she was genuinely happy.
Her mother’s seemed forced, cold, calculating even.
“Yes! Celia said small-town, country weddings are all the rage. And when she heard you’d be in Ruby River, she decided it was kismet.
It’ll be quaint and exactly what she needs to satisfy her fans. ”
“Ruby River.” Ellie repeated her voice going flat. I squeezed her to me, as though I could protect her in some way. “Here? Where I am right now?”
“Yes, Eleanor. Honestly, keep up. And since you are there, you can do the legwork for us. There’s got to be a place there dying to make a little extra money. And you can run point for us before we arrive in two days to find vendors and plan everything.”
“In two days?”
Ellie’s mom harrumphed her displeasure at the luke-warm response she was getting.
“Mother, I’m working. I can’t—”
“Clearly, you can get time off, if you’re actually dating your boss.” Her gaze flicked over to me and a second later dismissed me.
Wow, this woman was an asshole.
“Mother! This is my job. I can’t expect Drew to give me time off because you’re demanding it.” Ellie’s blue eyes glimmered with an unspoken apology.
“I’ll email the requirements for you to consider when you look at locations. I have to go. I’ll touch base with you later, Eleanor.” And with that, her face disappeared from the screen.
“I … I don’t even know what to say right now.” Ellie’s whole body sagged. If I hadn’t been holding her, she’d likely have ended up on the floor.
I gently guided her toward the couch on the far wall, keeping her by my side as we sat down. Glamma took the chair next to us and handed Ellie her phone.
“Well, she’s a piece of work,” Glamma said dryly.
Ellie shrugged. “I’m so sorry you had to hear that.”
“How can we help, sweetheart?” Glamma patted her knee and took her free hand in hers.
“You can’t. This is so embarrassing,” Ellie whispered.
“Hey, none of that. One thing you’ll learn about Ruby River is that we take care of our own. And we’ve adopted you as one of our own, right this very minute.”
Ellie sniffed and wiped at her damp cheeks. I wanted to call her mother back, reach through the phone, and strangle her.
“Thank you.” She let out a sigh. “Who knew my first twenty-four hours here would be so eventful?”
I offered a smile. “Don’t spend one minute stressing about any of it. Really. Like Glamma said, you’re Kingsley kin now.”
“It’s not right, Drew. I’m your employee. You don’t have to pretend to be my boyfriend,” she said. “I shouldn’t have lied to her to begin with. That’s on me. And if this wedding is in three months that’s an awful long time for you to keep pretending … It’s just … ”
I gave her time to decide what she wanted to share with us. She let out such a defeated groan, and I knew I’d help her regardless of how long we needed to fake it.
“Spill,” Glamma directed.
Ellie settled back into the couch and sighed.
“My sister is getting married to my ex. And it’s not that I care about him—I don’t.
My feelings for him died the second I knew he was cheating on me with her, but the way everyone glosses over what happened just makes me furious.
And all the pitying looks from some of our mutual friends made me snap, so I told them all I was seeing someone. ” Ellie rubbed at her brow.
“Your family sucks, kiddo. They’re not worth your tears or your time.” Glamma pulled a wad of tissues from her pocket and shoved them at Ellie.
She gave Glamma a sad smile. “I hear you. But my family dynamics are tough. My sister was sick as a child. We thought we were going to lose her. It was such a scary time for me and my parents.”
“She’s better now?” Glamma asked.
Ellie nodded. I tucked her into the curve of my shoulder.
Everything about holding her felt natural. Like this was where I was supposed to be and what I was supposed to be doing. I wanted to be the one to comfort her.
“I’m sure that was a terrible time for you and your parents, but it doesn’t give your sister a free pass for the rest of her life.
She can’t just take what she wants and it certainly doesn’t excuse bad behavior like cheating,” Glamma said, crossing her arms with the finality of a judge delivering a verdict.
“I know, but it’s just … ” Ellie looked so lost. “Complicated.”
The desire to uncomplicate it for her rose again, but I stuffed it down. It wasn’t what she needed from me, instead I could give her what she did need. Someone to stand by her, be her buffer, and help her get through her sister’s wedding.
Neither one of us needed to look closely at why I should be the one to do it or how easy it already felt to pretend.