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She dropped her shoulders. “Fine. I’ll give her the option.”
An option I was almost positive she would take. Hell, I didn’t blame Ellie. I wouldn’t want to live with Gloria either. I shivered just thinking about it. The woman was like a dragon.
When Gloria got sucked into another conversation, I continued on to the bar. Savannah waved to me from the dance floor where she was tearing it up with River, Aiden, and Maddox. I grabbed a drink and watched them from a high-top table, Asher coming to stand next to me.
“Gloria give you a little ‘friendly advice’?” Asher asked, and I wondered what had happened with Sydney.
I chuckled. “Does she ever not?” The woman stuck her nose in everyone’s business. Though I supposed as the mayor of Alondra Valley, it was her job. Sort of. “She always has an opinion to offer.”
“Mm.” He tipped his head back, downing the contents of his glass.
I sipped my drink before resting my arms on the table. “Ellie’s moving home.”
“Really?” Asher asked. “Since when?”
“There was a mix-up with her student visa.” I had a feeling there was more to the story. Or at least, I wanted to give Ellie the benefit of the doubt.
His eyes went wide. “Oh shit. That sucks.”
“Yeah.” I nodded, smiling when Maddox spun so fast he nearly fell on his butt. I was glad he was having so much fun. “I offered to let her to stay with us in the meantime.”
He started laughing, and I glanced over at him. “What’s so funny?”
“Ellie? Stay with you?”
“Yeah. Why?” I lifted a shoulder. “She’s been working as a nanny, so it’ll be like having another kid around. One who’s actually helpful.”
He chuckled. “Right. Another kid.”
“What? Ellie’s practically a child. She’s not even twenty-one.”
“When was the last time you saw her?”
I had to think about it. She hadn’t been able to make it home for the funeral, and before that, Tessa had visited Ellie with the kids while I’d been in the middle of a big launch. It was the Christmas before Tessa’s diagnosis, and now I wished I’d gone too.
Otherwise, Ellie hadn’t come home to the AV since moving to Melbourne. Flights were expensive, and Ellie wasn’t exactly motivated to come home. Not that I could say I blamed her, considering who her mother was.
“Probably her high school graduation,” I said. Maddox had just been born, and that time period was all a bit of a blur.
But Tessa had always kept me updated on Ellie’s adventures and successes. And before Ellie had left for Australia, she’d been part of our lives.
“So, it’s been a few years, then,” Asher mused.
What was he so smug about?
“Clearly.” I took a sip of my drink, ready to drop the matter.
Asher pulled out his phone and typed something on the screen before setting it on the table in front of me. My eyes widened, and I had to lean closer just to make sure I was seeing things correctly. Image after image of Ellie. At least…I thought it was her.
She was such a chameleon, changing her look in almost every photo. Ellie with pink hair in a matching hot-pink bikini on a beach. I tried to ignore the way my body reacted to the sight of hers. Ellie brushing her hair with a big smile and blue eye shadow that made her violet eyes pop. Ellie in a formfitting sequined dress that left little to the imagination, a mysterious smile playing at her full pink lips.
My mouth went dry, my cock stirring in my pants. Oh shit. She was hot.
And she’s your wife’s younger sister.
Asher patted me on the shoulder. “Still think it’s a good idea?”
THREE
