“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?”
Viola waved Ellie back to her seat. “Oh, no. He’d be upset if he knew.”
Her frown deepening, Ellie sat. “Okay, so now that that’s out of the way, what did you really want to talk to me about?”
“A wedding.”
“Connor and I are already married,” Ellie said, even as her heart jumped. Did Viola’s people have something to report there as well?
The older woman’s face lightened. “Not your wedding, dearie. Mine.”
Ellie’s jaw dropped. “To who?”
Viola smiled. “That’s my little secret, but I’ll give you a hint. He’s one of the four men who left this room earlier.”
Ellie was stunned. “Why tell me this and not Connor?”
“He’ll know soon enough. We want to get married at Grayson House the day after Thanksgiving, with everyone there. That includes your family, as well as your and Connor’s friends.”
Still struggling with the whole concept, Ellie replied, “You want me to add planning a wedding on top of the Holiday Street of Dreams?”
“How much more work can it be? You’ll already have the house decorated. We don’t need anything special—maybe a cake, some flowers, and if you’ll choose one of the dresses in my closet for me to wear.” Viola’s cheeks flushed pink, making her look ten years younger. “I’ll make it worth your while financially. You and Connor will have all the money you need to start your new life.”
Ellie’s breath faltered. “Shouldn’t you talk to Connor or your son about all this?”
“Not them.” Viola sighed. “I don’t think Connor or Clark will be too happy about me marrying again even though I lost my dear Spencer over forty years ago.”
“Connor told me your husband died after you were married for thirteen years.”
Viola nodded. “I had a perfect marriage. To think I deserve that twice in one lifetime will not go over so well with my son or grandson. But I can count on you, Ellie. You believe in true love. I can see it in your eyes every time you look at Connor.”
The older woman turned to her bedside and retrieved a small wooden box. “It’s because of that love that I wanted you to have this.” She placed the box in Ellie’s hands.
Ellie snapped the hinged lid open to reveal a silver necklace with filigreed edges that circled a large aquamarine stone. “It’s beautiful, Viola, but I can’t accept this.”
“The pendant is a family heirloom. The stone was mined in the Cairngorms in Scotland, and handed down through five generations of Graysons.”
“No.” Ellie handed the heirloom back. “It should stay with you.”
Viola crossed her arms over her chest, refusing to take the heirloom back. “You are Connor’s wife and the future of this family. What better person to keep the tradition alive but you?”
Left holding the box, Ellie curled her fingers around the wood. She would accept the gift for now even though she’d never be able to keep it, even if a small part of her wished otherwise.
A deep-seated ache settled in Ellie’s chest. “I’ll plan your wedding, Viola. But I won’t accept any more money from you. You’ve already offered Connor and me a small fortune to refurbish the house.”
Viola frowned. “I have more than enough to spare.”
“No money or no deal.”
“Agreed,” Viola said, the word filled with capitulation.
Ellie had won that battle for now, but something else beat at the back of her brain. “Why get married now?”
Viola’s face paled. “Because I’m in love.”
“With which man?” Ellie asked, scooting closer as a thought occurred to her. Maybe this sudden marriage had less to do with any one of the Elvises and more to do with Viola herself. “Are you sure you should be getting married?” She and Connor were proof that even marriage didn’t shield a person from feeling alone.
Fear flared in the older woman’s eyes. “I’m dying.”
“We’re all dying, Viola.”
“My heart could go at any minute,” she whispered in a strained voice.
Ellie reached for Viola’s small, withered hand. “You aren’t alone. Connor and I are here for you for the rest of your life.” Even as the words left her lips, Ellie cringed. Why was she making promises she couldn’t keep?
Ellie felt like such a fraud. If Viola wanted to hold fast to a commitment to another human being in the last days of her life, who was she to convince her otherwise?
She’d found contentment with Connor again in only one week. If she died today, would she die happy?
Yes, the answer whispered across Ellie’s heart.
Viola released a heavy breath. “I’m not worried about being alone. I know you and Connor will be there for me. It’s just that I really do love him,” she told her. “You know what love feels like . . .” Viola watched her expectantly. “I want more warmth, more security, and a little less uncertainty for my last days.”
The weight of Viola’s words settled on Ellie’s shoulders. She did know that feeling. And she’d be lying if she didn’t admit she wanted more of it in her life. “I’m sorry, Viola. I didn’t mean to doubt your love. When will we get to know who the lucky man is?”
A radiant smile lit Viola’s face. “As soon as I tell him.”
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
“How did your day with Viola go? Was it as treacherous as mine?” Connor asked when Ellie came home. He didn’t have the strength to get up from the couch in the family room, nor did he want to disturb the ice pack on his head or the one behind his neck.
Concern turned her face pale as she came to his side, kneeling on the floor beside him. “What happened to you?”
“Your dad tried to kill me.”
“What?” She grabbed the ice pack from him and flinched at the wounds on his head. “Did you come across a bear?”
“No.” Connor wished he had a better story to tell. “These are all self-inflicted wounds.”
Ellie sat back and pressed her lips together, no doubt fighting a smile. “It was that bad?”
“Terrible. Your dad was very patient. Though the sixth or seventh time helping me get the fly out of my head, he wasn’t as gentle as the first.”
“Well, at least that’s over. You did your duty as the new son-in-law. We’ll be divorced before he can invite you to go fishing with him in the spring.”
At her words, heaviness descended over him. For an insane moment, he considered fishing again if it kept Ellie in his life.
Any further thoughts died as the front door slammed open and footsteps sounded down the hallway. “Connor!” A moment later, his father appeared in the living room. His eyes snapped fire, and his jaw twitched. “What
the hell is going on with Viola and your wife?”
Clark Grayson turned to Ellie, his six-foot frame towering over her. He looked like hell. His clothes were rumpled, and dark shadows were smudged beneath his eyes.
His injuries forgotten, Connor jumped off the couch and helped Ellie to her feet, standing beside her. “What’s going on?” He’d never seen his father so fired up.
Suspicion clouded Clark’s expression. “Ask her,” he said, pointing his finger. He continued to swear under his breath.
Ellie’s face was pale, but her chin was tipped up. She met his father’s heated gaze with a spark in her own. “I can see that you’re upset, and I’m sorry about that. I’m only doing what Viola asked of me.”
“Which is?” Connor prompted.
“She wants to get married the day after Thanksgiving.”
“To who?” Both men asked at the same time.
Ellie shrugged. “She’s keeping it to herself for now, but she did say it was one of the Elvises.”
Connor looked at her in surprise. “One of the Elvises? What are you talking about?”
“The men we met in Las Vegas. They’re here in Seattle. I only learned this afternoon that those same men are friends of Viola’s.”
“Lenny, George, Aaron, and Ernie?” Clark Grayson scowled, and pain and confusion laced his voice. “The men she used to sing with? That was a lifetime ago.”
“Looks like they’ve kept in touch,” Connor replied, not knowing how else to respond. “And that one of them might have touched Grandmother’s heart in a way no one has since Grandfather.”
Clark’s features darkened even more, his anger palpable. “I forbid such nonsense. We have to stop her.”
“Why?” Connor asked, suddenly curious why his father was so upset at the prospect of Viola finding love again.
“The man will break her heart.”
“How do you know that?” Ellie asked, her face turning speculative. “He might make her final days even happier.”
Clark snorted. “I doubt that. More like a living hell. Marriage is for fools who believe in ideals that don’t exist.”
A week ago, Connor might have agreed. Now he wasn’t so certain. But he’d never convince his father of that. His father was skeptical about things like love and forever. Mary Grayson had proved that giving your love to another could only end in disaster. And that’s what Clark would continue to believe for the rest of his days.
“I don’t know,” Connor said. “Maybe . . .”
Getting nowhere with his son, Clark rounded on Ellie. “This is your fault. You put that idea into her head.”
“Dad—”
Ellie stiffened. “I did nothing of the sort. Have you met Viola? No one can put anything into that hard head of hers that she doesn’t want to be there. She’s as stubborn as they come.”
His father frowned, but Connor saw a light of understanding in his father’s eyes. The man wasn’t unaware of Viola’s true nature.
Ellie’s features softened. “Viola is Viola. Whether any of us like it or not, if she wants to get married, that’s exactly what she’ll do.”
Clark’s face hardened again. “Unacceptable. We have to do something.”
“What are you worried about, Dad? Because this has to be more than Viola getting her heart broken. Are you worried about her will?”
“I don’t want my mother’s money. I want her to be happy.”
Connor frowned. “What if getting married again makes her happy?”
“That’s impossible,” his father scoffed. “Don’t you know by now that no Grayson can be happy when we put our trust in someone else? It’s our destiny to be miserable and alone.”
“That’s not true,” Ellie interjected. More gently she said, “We’re all biologically inclined to be coupled for life.”
Clark rolled his eyes. “Good grief. You really believe that?”
“Yes.” Ellie stood her ground, her shoulders going back. “Haven’t you ever heard the phrase ‘Love makes the world go round’?”
“You’re ridiculous—”
“Dad,” Connor interrupted, “don’t talk to her that way. Ellie can believe whatever she wants to. As for staying away from Viola, that’s not going to happen. Ellie’s my wife.”
Some of the fire left his father’s eyes as he shook his head. “Has my life taught you nothing?”
Ellie looked at Connor with uncertainty in her eyes, as though waiting for him to either agree with his father or defend their marriage. With his next heartbeat he knew his answer. He’d never do anything to hurt the woman who’d agreed to help him save his grandmother. “Your life and your mistakes are yours and Mom’s. I deserve a chance to make my own, or not.”
“But your grandmother could be hurt because of your wife’s interference.”
“Viola’s an adult. She can make her own choices. And if Ellie wants to help Viola get married again at her own request, then I’ll support them both.”
“I’m trying to spare everyone eventual pain. Why won’t you listen to me?” his father asked with a sigh.
“Because pain is sometimes the risk a person takes in order to experience the greatest of joys,” Ellie said.
Clark set his jaw and turned to Connor. “You won’t help me stop this foolishness?”
“No, I won’t,” Connor replied.
“Then I can’t wait for the day I can say, ‘I told you so.’” A moment later Clark stomped back down the hallway and slammed the door shut.
They stood there for a long moment, letting the silence surround them until Ellie finally said, “What just happened?”
“You finally got to meet my dad,” Connor said with a self-deprecating laugh.
“That’s what you had to grow up with?” she asked, her voice strained.
He nodded.
“Then it’s no wonder why you don’t trust people with your heart. You’ve been told all your life that women will only hurt you.”
He wanted to argue, but her assumption was true. The women he’d trusted had only confirmed that truth—that no woman could ever love him fully. “Viola really wants to get married again?” he asked, changing the subject—a sign he wanted to steer the conversation from himself.
Ellie arched a brow. “Yes, and if that’s what she wants, who are we to stop her?”
“No idea about the bridegroom?”
She shook her head. “I suspect we’ll find out soon enough.” Ellie then filled him in about meeting the other Elvises and about what Viola had told her about each one.
“She’s in love with one of the Elvises?” Connor asked, surprised and a little baffled by these new men, or old men, who’d reappeared in his grandmother’s life.
“Seems so,” Ellie agreed.
“Viola is always full of surprises.”
“She’s not the only one . . . you surprised me when you defended me to your dad.”
Connor shrugged, trying to keep things light.
She studied him as if she was trying to figure him out. “You do believe in love, don’t you?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know. I’ve seen little evidence that true love exists in my own friends and family.” He paused. “Well, except maybe with Max and Olivia. But for most people it’s an unattainable goal.”
“You don’t really believe that, do you?”
“What if I do?” he asked irritably.
When she reached for his hand, he dodged her touch.
Her face fell, and he knew he’d hurt her by pulling away. “No one knows what’s in your heart but you, though your actions over the past week tell me a story that doesn’t quite live up to your words.”
“And what story is that?”
“That you care about me more than you’re willing to admit.”
Connor had no answer for her. All he could do was return her steady gaze, fighting the turmoil inside him as he stared at her full, moist lips.
She broke eye contact with him. “When you’re ready to talk about that, y
ou know where to find me.” She scooped up his ice pack and placed it in his hands before walking away.
Blood pounded through his veins as he watched her go, as did a craving for her that was hard to deny. She’d awakened something in him that he’d tried to ignore for years. The need for a home. For family. For love.
Ellie deserved those things, but not with him. He would only bring her heartache and pain when he couldn’t give her that part of himself he’d always kept hidden.
She could never be his.
When their agreement was over, she could go back to the family who loved her and to her old life, where she could find a man who would give her everything she needed to be happy.
He clenched his fists around the ice pack in his hands, as his heart suddenly hurt worse than his head.
The conversation with his father had thrown Connor off balance, bringing back memories of the first woman to hurt him—his mother.
Leaving Ellie behind, he stepped out the front door and headed down the street.
For the first time in a long while, Connor allowed his thoughts to turn to his mother without fighting the questions that were always there. What made a woman leave her husband and child? Had she been unhappy or unfulfilled? But how could that be, when every memory Connor had of his mother was of her smile, a true wrinkles-around-her-eyes, joy-reflecting-from-her-soul kind of smile?
He and his parents had spent every moment they could together: playing Frisbee in the backyard, taking long walks through the nearby park, and watching scary movies while huddled together as they tried to comfort each other during the really scary parts. His mother leaving behind what had seemed like a happy family had never made any sense to Connor, but he had accepted that she’d gone.
Connor suddenly understood that this was the difference between his father and himself. He had accepted his mother’s absence in his life. His father had not. Instead, he’d allowed himself to be engulfed by pain and loss. Those emotions poisoned his every interaction with anyone he cared about. That was why he objected to Connor’s marriage to Ellie. It was why he didn’t want Viola to remarry. He didn’t want his mother or son to have the same potential for pain.
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