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I shrug.
She walks into the room. “You know I get to spend the day with you and your mommy,” she reminds Syd.
“I don’t care,” Syd whines.
“How about if we go get our nails done when we are finished doing what your mom has planned? We can even go for ice cream after,” Ellie suggests. Why didn’t I think of bribery?
“Can I get two scoops and sprinkles?” Syd asks from under her blankets.
Ellie’s smile is victorious. “You absolutely can.”
Bingo.
My daughter whips off her covers and walks over to her closet. Once again, I find myself thinking,What would we do without Ellie?She seems to make every moment better.
“Cool. I’m going to go get dressed,” Ellie says.
“Thank you,” I mouth to her.
She blinks and leaves the room.
I head to my room to get dressed too. This day has my stomach in knots. Sybil was busy with work when we left for Canada. She was too distracted to really care. I wonder if the distance made her heart grow fonder for Syd or if she has ulterior motives, like tricking the new fiancé into thinking she has a maternal bone in her body. I want to think the best, but Sybil has disappointed me at every turn. She’s just really good at getting what she wants.
I dress in a light blue polo and chinos, figuring I need to meet her fiancé. I also realize she may flip the heck out when she realizes the nanny I was telling her about is actually my fiancée.
When I head back out, Syd is dressed in a pair of joggers and a T-shirt and she’s sitting on the couch so Ellie can braid her hair. Ellie looks beautiful and sophisticated in a pair of off-white dress slacks and a loose cropped white blouse. Her hair is done in soft curls that flow down her back and whatever she has done with her makeup makes her light eyes pop.
“Sybil said she’ll be here in ten,” I say to the girls, feeling my muscles tense up.
“Okay,” Ellie replies. “Is she coming upstairs?”
I nod. “She wants to see the apartment.”
“She isn’t allowed in my room,” Syd says, pushing out her lower lip and crossing her arms across her chest defiantly.
This is going just great.
Sybil is going to have a fit if Syd doesn’t greet her with a smile and open arms.
A knock comes at the door. I flinch. Ellie walks up to me. “Hey, we got this. You can’t let her bully you.”
Ellie always comes across as this simple girl with simple needs, but dressed the way she is and holding herself with an air of confidence makes me feel at ease.
She leans in and presses a kiss to my lips. “Relax, Connor. Deep breaths.”
Her lips on mine ease something inside me, even if she did pull away quickly.
Syd runs up to Ellie and takes her hand. She also looks up to her like she is nervous.
“It’s going to be fine, pretty girl,” Ellie says to her. Once again, I feel myself falling for the woman who is supposed to be my fiancée.
The doorbell rings twice.
I go to open the door, sucking in a deep breath while I do. “Sybil, nice to see you.”
“Connor, always a pleasure,” she says, sounding way older than her twenty-five years.
“Come on in,” I say, waving her in as she walks past me.
