by Lisa Bilbrey
“Mmhmm,” she hummed. “So, listen, funny story. I went by your apartment, but you don’t seem to live there anymore.”
“Yeah, about that,” she murmured. “Sadie and I moved in with Derek and Callum.”
“Oh,” was all Ivy said.
“Our lease was up, and it was too late to sign a new one, so when they asked us to move in, we agreed,” she explained.
“I see.” Once again, her vague answer had Elle on edge.
“What were you doing there anyway?” she asked.
“I got you something in Hawaii.” Ivy made it so matter-of-fact that Elle couldn’t stop from laughing. “What’s so funny?”
“Nothing. It’s just that you got me a present on your honeymoon?”
“Yep,” she chirped. “But since you moved without telling me, I should keep it for myself.”
“You were busy being Mrs. Nick Fisher and, well, I’ve … I’ve had a lot going on,” she mumbled.
“Everything okay? With you, Sadie, Derek, and Callum, I mean?” There was an unspoken accusation hidden in her question, and Elle smiled as she thought about how Ivy had threatened Derek and Callum the first time she met them.
“Of course. It’s … it’s nothing. Don’t worry about it.”
“Hmm,” she hummed. “Okay, if you insist. So, when do Nick and I get to come see your new place? Please say tonight!”
“Why tonight?” Elle laughed.
“Because we don’t have any food, and I really, really do not want to go to the grocery store,” she whined. “I know, I know; I’ll have to go at some point, but I hate it so much. Please, can we come for dinner? We’ll bring food with us.”
“Well, since you’re bringing food,” she quipped. “Seven sound good?”
“Yeah, Nick’s not getting off work until six, so that gives him time to get home, change, and for us to pick up dinner on the way. Just text me your address.”
“Okay,” she murmured, biting her lips. “Hey, Ivy?”
“What?”
“Have you talked to Mom or Dad?” The words tumbled out of her mouth before she could stop them, and tears flooded her eyes, though she managed to keep them from falling.
“She called a couple times while we were in Hawaii, but I refused to talk to her,” she mumbled. “You?”
“No,” she whimpered. “Did she … did she say anything after we left that night?”
“Um, no. She cried a lot, but …”
“Oh.”
Ivy sighed. “She’ll come around, Elle. Just … just give her time. You know how she is with change.”
She frowned. “Yeah. I have to go, but I’ll see you tonight, okay?”
“Okay. Love you, sis,” she replied.
“Love you, too.” Ending the call, Elle set her phone on her desk, and leaned her forehead the palm of her hand.
“You all right, beautiful?” Derek asked, and when she looked over at him, she saw him, Callum, and Sadie watching her intensely.
“No,” she admitted. “But that’s not any different, right?”
He frowned. “Guess not.”
Elle took a deep breath and put a smile on her face. “I’ll be fine. It’s just hard sometimes.”
“Oh, we’re hard all the time,” he scoffed, winking at her.
Elle’s mouth flopped open as she gasped.
“I’d be happy to fill that mouth,” Derek offered, standing up and grabbing the front of his pants, toying with the silver buckle on his belt.
“I’m sure you would,” Elle murmured, her skin warming under her blush. “But we have rules, remember?”
“Fuck the rules,” he growled, unclasping his belt and popping the button on his pants. His hand gripped the zipper. “What do you say?”
But before she could scream “Yes” and fall to her knees, begging him to fuck her mouth, someone knocked on their office door.
“Motherfucking, douche-bitches,” he swore under his breath, causing Elle to howl with laughter. “What?”
“Douche-bitches?” she chortled.
He smirked as he did up his pants. “I couldn’t decide between douchebag and bitches, so I combined them: douche-bitches.”
“I seriously worry about you sometimes,” Elle murmured as she pushed away from her desk and walked over to the door. When she opened it, she found Kenny, one of the guys from the mailroom, standing there with a manila envelope in his hands.
“This is for you, Ms. Reid,” he said, his voice cracking. Kenny was just out of high school, and was preparing to start his freshman year at UC Berkeley. His father ran the mail room, and had asked Samuel if Kenny could work there during the summer, and then part-time once the semester started. Samuel, of course, said yes, and Kenny had proven to be a dedicated employee.
“Thanks, Kenny. Are you ready for classes to start?” she asked, taking the package and tucking it under her arm.
He shrugged his shoulders, his dirty-blond hair flopping in his face and falling over the thin rims of his glasses. “Kind of nervous.”
“Why?”
“New school, new people,” he mumbled, nervously.
“Yeah, I guess I can understand that, but you know what?”
He shifted his blue eyes up to hers. “What?”
“College is awesome. It’s where you find yourself, where you start to live. If you embrace it, your college years could be pretty fun.”
“Yeah?”
Elle nodded. “They were for me.”
“Thanks, Ms. Reid,” he beamed before turning and pushing his cart of mail down the hallway.
Elle smiled and shut the door. When she turned around, she found Derek, Callum, and Sadie standing in front of their desks, each of them with smirks on their faces. “What?”
“He has a crush,” Sadie teased. “I think he’s in love with you.”
She rolled her eyes and walked over to her desk, tossing the envelope on top. “He’s just a kid.”
“So? I bet he had a hard-on when he walked away.” Callum snorted. “Poor guy. Never stood a chance.”
“Never stood a chance at what?” Elle asked.
Shaking his head, he walked over to her, wrapping his arms around her waist and leaning so that his lips were pressed against her ear. “Resisting your charm. You’re the kindest, most generous person I’ve ever met, Elle.”
“I am?” she whispered, her hands automatically clutching his hips.
He nodded. “Good thing you’re already taken, though. I’d fight to the death for you.”
She smiled and ducked her head into his neck. “You’ll never have to.”
“I hope not.” Though, he spoke so softly, Elle wasn’t sure he meant for her to hear him.
—FA—
Ivy and Nick arrived fifteen minutes to seven with three bags of Chinese food in their hands and huge smiles on their faces. The sound of Elle and Ivy squealing as they threw their arms around each other echoed through the house.
“You look so beautiful,” Elle mused, placing her hands on Ivy’s face. “And tan!”
“I know, right?” She laughed, covering her hands. The gold diamond engagement ring and matching wedding band sparkled, which just reminded Elle of the showdown with her parents. “Hey, why are you frowning?”
“Huh? Oh, I’m not,” she groused, and released her sister. “Come in, come in. I’ll go get some plates and forks.”
Without making eye contact with anyone, Elle turned and walked into the kitchen, releasing a deep breath as she grabbed half a dozen plates, forks, tucked two bottles of wine under her arm, and hooked her fingers around six wine glasses. When she walked back into the living room, she found Ivy and Nick sitting on the smaller of the two couches while Derek and Callum were on the bigger couch, and Sadie was unpacking the food.
“Here, let me help,” Ivy offered, scrambling to her feet and rushing over to relieve Elle of the two bottles of wine.
“Thanks.”
Ivy smiled. “You’re welcome.”
Elle
followed her over the coffee table, setting the plates and fork down next to the cartons of food before placing the glasses next to them. Taking the bottles of wine from Ivy, she turned and held them out to Callum and Derek.
“Be a sweetheart?” she asked, batting her lashes at them.
Derek laughed as they took them. “Sure thing, beautiful.”
Her cheeks warmed as she turned back to Ivy and Nick, both of whom were watching her. “What?”
“Nothing,” they said together.
Ivy reached over and picked up two of the plates, handing one of them to Nick before picking up a carton of chicken curry. “Want some, babe?”
“Please,” Nick said, holding his plate out to her.
While they fixed their plates, Elle poured them each a glass of wine and then settled on the couch between Sadie, who was sitting next to Derek, and Callum. They ate in near silence, only a handful of questions about Hawaii were asked.
Elle could feel Ivy and Nick watching them, feel their penetrating stares and unasked questions. It was annoying, but she knew they were just trying to get a feel of how far her and Sadie’s relationship with Derek and Callum had progressed. After all, in seventeen days’ time they’d made the leap by moving in together.
When they had eaten their shares, and finished the first bottle of wine, Elle stood up to start packing away the trash, but Ivy grabbed her hands and pulled her onto the couch between her and Nick.
“Clean up can wait,” she said. Then, reaching into her purse that was on the floor by her feet, she pulled out a small, square box. “This is for you.”
“What is it?” she asked, handling the box like it was made out of glass and would shatter at any moment.
“Open it and find out, silly goose,” Ivy teased.
Tenderly, Elle peeled the baby-pink wrapping off and tossed it onto the table. Then, she pried the lid off, and pulled the white tissue paper back. An airy gasp reverberated from her chest. Nestled inside the box was an elegant silver chain with a fishhook-shaped charm made from, what looked like, pearl. It was delicate and beautiful.
“In Hawaii, they call this a makau, which means fishhook. It’s the symbol of everything good and promises the wearer prosperity, strength, and good luck.” Ivy lifted it out of the box, and displayed the pearl fishhook charm on the palm of her hand. “We were visiting the island of Molokai, and found this in one of the little shops. It’s made from mother of pearl, and as soon as I saw it, I knew I had to buy it for you.”
Tears flooded Elle’s eyes and poured down her cheeks before she could stop them.
“I … I didn’t mean to make you cry, Elle,” Ivy mumbled, placing her hand on her shoulder.
Shrugging her touch off, Elle scrambled to her feet and walked over to the front window, trying in vain to get some type of control over herself, but in that moment, every ounce of control over her feelings crumbled away.
“Elle,” Ivy whispered.
“Everything is so fucked up,” she whimpered, turning back to everyone, but looking at Nick. “Did you know that Sadie and I were contracted to work on your uncle’s new housing development through Davis Architecture and Design?”
Nick’s eyes widened as he shook his head. “No, he never said anything, but I just handle the books. Payroll, invoices, and stuff like that.”
Elle nodded. “Figures, I guess.”
“What figures?” Nick asked.
She shook her head. “The Monday after your wedding, your uncle voided the contract we had with him and took his project away from the company.”
Nick stood up. “What? Why?”
“Why do you think?” Sadie scoffed, causing them to look at her. “Because of us, me and Elle. Our relationship with each other, and with Derek and Callum. He all but accused us of being dirty little sluts.”
Nick’s jaw clenched shut, and his nostrils flared. “Are you shitting me?”
“Nope,” she chirped, leaning back on the couch and crossing her legs. “Said that we’d ruined your wedding and that he wasn’t about to entrust his precious project with people like us, or a firm that would dare hire people with such low moral standards. Gave Callum’s father two options: fire us and keep the contract, or keep us and lose his business. Samuel, Callum’s father, chose us.”
“That son of a …” Nick trailed off as he dug his cell phone out of his back pocket. He tapped his fingers on the screen with malice before placing the device against his ear and began to pace. “Gabe, it’s Nick … Yes, I know it’s late, but you and I need to talk … About you being an asshole and taking your project away from Elle Reid and Sadie Williams … No, you shut the fuck up and listen to me. I’ve put up with your narrow-minded opinions of what’s right and what’s wrong for too long, and I won’t do it anymore. If you had any idea how amazing those two women are, you wouldn’t have done something so fucking stupid!”
Nick slammed his hand against the wall next to the entrance to the living room. “I don’t care if I’m being disrespectful. You will go to them first thing tomorrow morning and make this right … Do not test me, Uncle Gabe!” he snarled, and it was the first time Elle had ever heard him so angry. “I’ll quit … I am very serious. You will go and make this right, give them back the project, or I will quit. And if you think going to Momma will make me stay, you got another thing coming. She’d be appalled by your behavior.”
Shifting his eyes over to Elle, Nick nodded. “She’s family, Gabe … she’s my family now, and she’s been hurt enough by assholes, I will not sit by and let you hurt her even more … Fine … Okay … I’ll see you in the morning then … Yep.”
Blowing out a heavy breath, Nick ended the call, but immediately began to text someone. Elle waited until he was done before she cleared her throat, drawing his attention to her.
“Why did you do that?” she asked.
“Why?” He looked confused. “Because you’re my sister now, Elle. And nobody, and I do mean nobody,” he shifted his eyes to Derek and Callum, “hurts my sister and gets away with it.”
Elle brought her arms up, wrapping them around her torso. “I don’t … I don’t understand.”
Nick shifted his attention back to her. “Gabe is my mother’s brother, the one whose approval my mother has forced me to receive over the years. I work for him because it’s a steady paycheck, and he was there when my dad couldn’t be, but I won’t sit back as he ruins your career, as he makes a spectacle out of our family name just because he’s a bigoted, asshole.”
“But your mom —”
“My mother will stand by our side and tell him to go to hell. She was livid that your mom and dad treated you like they did at the wedding. I had to hold her back to keep her from bitch-slapping your mother and cursing your father to into the fiery pits of Hell. Her words, not mine.”
“He’s telling the truth,” Ivy said, causing them to look at her. “Regina was furious. She kept mouthing off about how Mom and Dad were idiots for speaking to you like that, for not being accepting of you and Sadie. To be honest, I thought she was going to hit Mom.”
“Maybe you should have let her,” Elle grumbled, walking over and sitting on the couch between Sadie and Callum again, both of whom wrapped their arms around her. “I knew I’d lose them when we told them the truth, when we were finally honest about who we were. We never meant for it come out at your wedding. You both have to know how sorry we are for making a scene, for pulling the attention away from you two.”
“Of course we do,” Ivy said, smiling. “Was I expecting it? No, but you shouldn’t have had to hide who you are, or who you love, from them.”
Elle nodded, and looked around the room, her attention landing on the two cardboard boxes in the far corner. She hadn’t had the strength to go through them yet, so instead, Derek had moved them out of the way, but they were still there, still haunting her, still tormenting her with the knowledge that her parents had let her go.
“Well, we should be going.” Ivy stood up and placed the necklace s
he’d bought Elle on the coffee table. “Call me tomorrow?”
With a nod, she stood up and walked around the table and hugged her sister. “I love you, Ivy.”
“Love you, too, sis,” she whispered.
As Ivy reached for Sadie, Elle turned her attention to Nick. “You didn’t have to do that.”
“I know, but I’ve let that man control my life for too long. Someone had to stand up to him, and better me than you.” Nick placed his hands on her shoulder and pulled her in for a hug. “I meant what I said: you’re my sister now. And I won’t let anyone hurt you. Not my uncle, not your parents, and not Derek, Callum, or Sadie.”
Elle smiled and looked up at him. “They won’t hurt me, Nick. Unlike my parents, and your uncle, they see the real me. I love them, they love me, and we’re going to be okay.”
“Yeah, I think you will be, too,” he murmured, leaning up and kissing her forehead. “Still, it’s my brotherly duty to threaten the boyfriends, and in this case girlfriend.”
“You’re a good brother,” she laughed.
After she walked Ivy and Nick out, waiting on the porch until the rear lights of Nick’s car faded away into the darkness, Elle locked the front door and leaned against it.
“Hey, aren’t you going to help us clean up?” Derek hollered.
Elle smiled as she looked over at him. “Maybe, maybe not.”
He narrowed his eyes at her. “You’re up to something.”
“Am I?” she asked, pushing herself away from the door and walking toward the stairs. Slipping her shirt off, she dropped it on the floor, and slid her hands to the top of her cotton shorts.
In a heartbeat, Derek had her in his arms, and Callum and Sadie were following them upstairs to their bedroom. Flinging their clothes in every direction, their bodies tangled with each other, a light sheen of sweat covering each of them, and their cries of passion were drowned out by the sound of their love making.
Twenty-three
“Oh, fuck, don’t stop,” Sadie moaned, pulling Elle out of a deep sleep. Groaning, she rolled from her side onto her back and looked over. The sight before her had her breath catching in her chest. Sadie was laying on her back and Derek was nestled in between her legs, his tongue snaking out and lapping at her pussy.
