Page 195 of Love Unwritten
“Beatrice! I need your help carrying the drinks!” Burt calls from the kitchen.
“One second.” Mrs. Sinclair rushes out of the room.
Ellie’s ears tint pink, matching the flower she still has in her hair. “You really don’t need to stay for a drink.”
“Trying to get rid of me already?” I smirk.
“I’m trying to save you.”
“More like you’re trying to save yourself.” I tuck my index finger under her chin and lift it. “Did you really think I was going to pass on the opportunity to see your baby photos?”
Her mom pops her head out of the kitchen. “Did someone say baby photos?”
“I’d love to see some if you have them lying around.” I grin while Ellie groans.
“Of course! Let me get you that drink first.”
I wink at Ellie. “I’d love that.”
Joining the Sinclairs for drinks put a few things into perspective, and I spend my quiet drive back to the farmhouse thinking about tonight.
One, Burt and Beatrice are madly in love with one another despite being married for fifteen years—a fact that Ellie pointed out on two separate occasions when they were caught whispering to each other and giggling to themselves.
Two, Ellie pretends to be annoyed by her parents’ antics, but there was a special glimmer in her eyes whenever she looked at them, only for it to fade a bit when she glanced over at me.
I didn’t need to read her mind to know what she was thinking. The answer was written all over her face, and it absolutely cut me up inside.
She mentioned wanting to get married, and after hanging out with her parents, I understand why. They really are a storybook example of what it means to find the right person when you least expect it. Of what it is like to choose a partner who can love someone else’s child, like Burt does Ellie.
Knowing Ellie’s mom, who went through hell during her first marriage, learned to love again hits too close to home for me. The similarities between our lives and past relationships make me reconsider the future I thought I wanted.
I swore off marriage a long time ago, but then again, I said the same thing about falling in love, yet here I am, slowly doing exactly that with Ellie.
Maybe I am more open to the idea than I originally thought, and it is all because of the woman who is putting my heart back together, piece by fragmented piece, like notes in one of her songs, transforming my never-ending sad one into a hopeful symphony.
CHAPTER FIFTY-THREE
Rafael
“When are you bringing Ellie to Sunday lunch?” Julian grips his shovel before tossing a pile of dirt behind him.
“I’m waiting.” I stick to my task of digging a hole big enough for the plants I bought.
“For?”
“The right moment.”
“You can’t hide her forever. Ma is going to corner her whether you want it to happen or not.” Julian wipes the sweat from his brow.
“I’m not hiding her.” I’m savoring her without my nosy family meddling in our business.
“Do you have an idea of when you’re telling Nico?”
I grind my teeth together. “Okay. What’s this inquisition really about?”
Julian motions to the potted hibiscus plants around us. “If you haven’t noticed, you asked me to come over and help you with a shit-ton of plants without any explanation. Forgive me for being curious.”
“I knew I should have hired help.” When I went to a plant nursery a few towns over, I was only planning on buying one, but then I thought it would be better to have a selection to choose from for Ellie’s hair. Next thing I knew, I had purchased the whole store’s stock.