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I grin. “Make that two specials, please, and I’ll have a beer.”
“Coming right up.” Simone gives me a wink and hustles off to get our orders.
I turn my gaze on Elli, who’s fiddling nervously with her napkin. “So, your best friend moved to New York? Would she be the same Harmony of Harmony Mack, the band supporting Triple Threat on their next tour?”
Elli gapes at me. “I… Yes! You know them?”
“My brother, Harrison, is a defenseman for the New York Storm hockey team, and Triple Threat are huge fans. They go to as many games as they can when they’re not touring. Harrison knows them well and arranged for me to meet them a few months back. They’re good guys. Down to earth and haven’t forgotten their roots despite their success.”
“This is unbelievable. Who would’ve thought?” Elli says, her eyes wide. “I couldn’t believe it when Mack’s manager contacted Harmony and offered to fly her to New York. It was all a bit of a whirlwind because Mack was bowled over by her, so Harmony never actually came back and I never got to say a proper goodbye, although we speak almost every day, so it’s not like we’ve lost touch or anything, but—” Elli finally pauses, and her eyes cloud over as she bites her lip.
I reach for her hand on the table, enclosing it in mine. “But you miss her,” I finish softly.
“I do,” she confesses, dropping her gaze to our linked hands. “She’s the only real family I have left. We grew up together. We’re more like sisters than friends.”
I open my mouth to ask about her stepfather when Simone returns with our drinks and food. She doesn’t linger, giving me another knowing look as she tells us to enjoy our meals before leaving us alone again.
“My dad didn’t stick around once he knew Mom was pregnant, so it was just her and me until she met Harold,” Elli continues around a mouthful of potatoes.
“Harold is your stepfather?”
“Yeah. He seemed like a decent guy when Mom married him. I was ten at the time and, being an only child, thought it would be cool to have two older brothers. Turns out, not so much. Harold lost his job a few years after he and Mom married, and Raymond and Lawrence have never even tried to find work. Then Mom was diagnosed with breast cancer, and things went from bad to worse. She died four years ago, right after I graduated. She made me promise to look after Harold and my stepbrothers.” She shakes her head. “A promise I’ve lived to regret.”
My heart aches for her, seeing the loss and loneliness in her expressive eyes. “I’m so sorry, sweetheart. I can’t imagine how rough that must’ve been.”
Elli shrugs. “Still is. It’s no fun living with three men who don’t lift a finger. My paycheck keeps us afloat each month. My stepbrothers aren’t the nicest of people. They made my life hell growing up. They thought it was great fun to hide my homework, cover my face with permanent marker while I was asleep, or stick chewing gum in my hair. One time, they put laxatives in my coffee. That was fun for the next twenty-four hours. So, I hid in my room, reading books where the heroine went on great adventures, and plotted all the places I’d like to visit on the map on my wall. If it weren’t for Harmony, I think I would’ve gone mad.”
My blood boils as I listen to Elli describe her life. Who the fuck do they think they are, using and abusing the generous nature of this amazing woman? “Why didn’t you go with her?”
Elli’s eyes whip up to mine. “With Harmony? Because I made a promise to Mom.”
“Seems a lot to ask of an eighteen-year-old, to take on responsibility for an adult man and… how old are your stepbrothers?”
“Twenty-eight and twenty-six,” she whispers.
I bite back my curse. This gets worse by the second. Three grown men taking advantage of Elli is not okay. Not fucking close. “I get that you want to honor your mom’s last wishes, but I’m sure she didn’t intend for you to be this unhappy or for that promise to dictate the course of the rest of your life.”
Elli frowns. “I… don’t know. I’ve never… a promise is a promise. Right?”
She lifts her eyes to mine, and the uncertainty in them breaks my heart. Elli took her mom’s request literally. I bet she’d still be looking after her stepfather and brothers in their eighties if no one intervened.
I push my empty plate out of the way and reach for her hand again. “Yeah, but not when it causes you harm. Have you considered that your mom was asking you to look out for them rather than literally keeping a roof over their heads and catering to their every whim?”
Elli shakes her head and gives me a sad smile. “Not until I kissed you earlier.”
