Chapter 13 #3
“I would do this Sunday, but I have my tennis club competition and they’re hopeless without me.
Not to brag, but this boy gets all his athletic skill from his mama,” she says, making Elly laugh.
“But next Sunday will be good, too. Maybe even better. We might finally have a cool afternoon by then, and a cool afternoon is always best for spicy gumbo.”
“She makes the best gumbo in Louisiana,” I confirm. “The first time I tried gumbo at a restaurant, I was so disappointed.”
“It’s true,” Beanie says proudly. “Mine is the very best.” She pulls a face. “Well, except for my friend, Adelaide, but she cheats. She uses store-bought roux and some fancy French sausage you can’t get in Louisiana, but you didn’t hear that from me.”
“Uh-oh, shots fired,” I tease from across the table, where Mimi and I are trying to decide which two desserts we want to share so we can try more of the goodness Midnight Melody has to offer .
“Not at all,” Beanie says sweetly. “It’s only shots fired if I said something I wouldn’t say to Adelaide’s face.
She knows exactly how I feel about her cheating.
I’m an open book, chère , you know that.
” Shifting Elly’s way, she adds, “Speaking of open books, I went back to school when Grammercy was a little boy. That’s when I got my nursing degree.
It isn’t easy, but I’m sure you could do it.
And I can help. I’ve cutting back to three days a week at work, and I’ll be retiring completely soon.
That’ll give me extra time to help out with babysitting. ”
“That is so kind, but I… I haven’t even decided which school or if I’m really going to apply yet,” Elly says, seeming flustered by how quickly all of this is moving.
But that’s what my mother does. She’s the sweetest steamroller in the world, but she’s still a steamroller.
Time to step in and put some protections in place.
“ Donne-la de l’air, maman ,” I warn in a gentle voice.
“She has room to breathe,” Beanie says, glancing Elly’s way. “Don’t you, sweetheart? You have all the room to breathe, and I want to help you have even more.” Back to me, she adds with a sniff, “And don’t talk French in front of people who don’t speak the language. It’s rude, mon bébé .”
I fight the urge to roll my eyes. This from the queen of speaking French in front of English speakers when it suits her agenda.
“It’s fine,” Elly mouths from across the table.
A beat later, I feel her shoe rest gently on mine, a subtle sign that everything is okay that I appreciate.
The rest of the dessert passes with easy conversation and even easier eating. Mimi works her way through half of each of our shared ice cream desserts with enthusiasm. But by the time my mama and I have fought for the check, Mimi is fighting to keep her eyes open.
Outside by the valet stand, she’s swaying on her feet until Beanie takes her hand, pointing toward the water feature bubbling in the restaurant’s front garden.
“Let’s go look at the big fancy fish,” Beanie says, leading her toward the glowing water. “The best way to stay awake until the car comes. We’ll see how many orange ones we can find. The orange ones are my favorite.”
Mimi goes willingly, groggy but still clearly a Beanie fan. “We should give them names. I bet they don’t have names.”
“Excellent idea,” Beanie says with her usual enthusiasm. “Let’s look for a big one to call Blue, after Grammercy’s big handsome teammate with the pretty blue eyes.”
I laugh, muttering to Elly as they wander toward the pond, “She has a shameless crush on Blue. Keeps calling him her boyfriend.”
Elly grins. “I love her. She’s the best.”
“And exhausting,” I add. “It’s okay, you can say it, chère . We roommates have to keep it real.”
She giggles as she leans closer, whispering, “Okay, fine, a little exhausting, but she’s great.
I wish I had that much energy at twenty-three, let alone fifty-three.
” She nods, her gaze warming as she watches Beanie and Mimi name the fish.
“But yeah, she’s a force, Grammercy. And so kind.
It’s so nice to meet someone so pure. And Mimi’s totally in love. ”
“So is Beanie,” I say. “We’ll have to keep them in touch even if… Well, you know, when… ”
And there it is. The elephant in the room. This deal. Arrangement. Whatever it is. This thing that feels less like a business transaction with every passing day.
Elly holds my gaze. “Yeah, we will. When…”
She says “when,” but I swear I hear “if” beneath it. And when I tip my head closer to hers to murmur my agreement, she doesn’t move away. No, she sways closer, her chin tipping up until her lips are a whisper away from mine, and the urge to kiss her is killing me.
Killing me and giving me life and growing so strong, I know we can’t put that conversation off much longer.
I have to tell her that I want more than roommates.
That I want her , and I hope like hell she wants me, too.
“Twelve!” Mimi shouts, startling us apart. “There are twelve orange ones!”
“That’s great,” Elly calls back with a breathy laugh. “Did you find one big enough to be Blue?”
“Yeah, but not one big and good-looking,” Mimi says matter-of-factly. “We’re still looking for one that’s sexy.”
“My words, not hers,” Beanie adds quickly, mischief in her glittering eyes.
This time, Elly’s laugh is startled. “Oh yeah, is that right?”
“Mama, please,” I say, fighting a smile. “Behave.”
“Never,” she promises, blowing me a kiss.
The valet pulls up a moment later, saving us all from more talk of sexy fish or my “sexy” teammate. I drop Mama by her car near the arena, and then we’re on our way home to put the sleepy little girl in the backseat to bed.
Home…
The word hits differently than it used to. In just a few days, Elly and Mimi have changed everything for the better.
Am I ready to put that at risk for something more?
And should that even be my decision? After all, Elly’s the one with so much to lose. She needs this break, this safety and space. How can I even think about putting her in a position where she has to give that up?
Or, even worse, pretend to feel something she doesn’t in the name of staying in that safe space… The thought sickens me. I would never want anyone to fake feelings for me, but especially not Elly. She’s been through too much already.
So, I should keep my mouth shut and my hands to myself. It’s the only honorable option.
Except…
God, every time she looks at me with those big, soft eyes—trusting me, letting me in, letting me be a part of her little family—my chest cracks open even wider.
Every time she laughs at one of my jokes or teases me in that playful, but clever way of hers, all I want is to pull her closer and see if she tastes as good as I remember.
I want her pressed up against me in the kitchen again, only this time with no rainbow sweatpants emergency to save me. I want her head tipped back, her lips parted, her breath catching when I finally stop being a coward and kiss her the way I’ve been dying to since the courthouse.
So yeah. I should keep my mouth shut. I should be patient. But the truth is, I’m already so far gone, I don’t know how to walk this line much longer.
A man can’t control his dreams, and mine after hugging Elly before waving her off to bed are…filthy.
Filthy and sweet and so good, morning comes way too soon.