Bad Boy Blues - Jessica Lemmon Page 0,29

“Why don’t I make breakfast?”

“Do you have bacon?” Her dad’s mood brightened.

“With your cholesterol, Desmond? No,” her mother said.

“I have vegetarian sausage, and I promise it’s really good.” Elli laid a consoling palm on her father’s shoulder.

He muttered a surly, “We’ll see,” as she moved to the fridge for eggs and pig-free sausage.

“How long are you visiting?”

“We thought a week or maybe two.” Her mom stood to help with breakfast prep. “We didn’t want you to be lonely, but we didn’t mean to intrude.”

Elliott nearly laughed. Her parents had totally meant to intrude.

“It’s your house, Mom. You’re paying the bills.” Even though their arrival felt like an intrusion, she couldn’t ask them to leave. “Remember, I have a summer job here, so I might not be home much.” Even less if her parents were staying.

“That’s not a real job. You can’t live on what you make at a coffee shop,” her father argued.

“Jo pays really well, actually,” Elli defended. “I like making my own money. I didn’t want to rely on your credit card the whole time I was here, even though it was a nice gesture,” she added graciously.

“Tom at the office said—”

“Dear,” her mother warned, “we have all week for that.”

Elli sighed. She knew her dad meant well. He wanted her to be successful and happy. But she hadn’t expected to enjoy her job at Jo’s so much. Hell, she hadn’t expected to enjoy Evergreen Cove so much.

That, like everything else going right, had a lot to do with Brady Hutchins. He seemed to be a big part of her happiness lately.

Chapter 16

Lou invited Elliott to girls’ night on the same Saturday Elli’s parents packed up to leave for home.

Just one week later, their departure hadn’t come a day too soon. Elli was running out of excuses not to be in the house. There was no way she was inviting Brady over with her parents hovering. She had managed to slip out and spend a few hours at his place one evening. He’d baked lasagna, which was delicious. The sex, as usual, had been even more delicious.

She’d settled in easily over the last month. Waking up to a view of the lake and enjoying her morning coffee on the deck had become a habit she wasn’t looking forward to leaving behind.

Brady was another element she wasn’t looking forward to leaving behind.

On Lou’s deck, a glass of white wine warming in her hand, Elli thought about leaving Evergreen Cove, her new friends, her job at Jo’s, and her amazing view. She loved Chicago. Loved the city vibes and the energy. But there was a different energy here—almost dreamlike. Sometimes she felt like she was on vacation, other times in suspended reality…

“Earth to Elliott.” Lou waggled a half-full wine bottle in front of Elli’s face. “Are you going to drink that wine or cradle it to your bosom all night?”

Elli swallowed the end of her wine and handed over the glass.

Lou, her friends May and Lisa, and Elli were seated on Lou’s upstairs deck enjoying the sunset. They’d already enjoyed cheese and crackers, and Devil Dogs from Sugar Hi Bakery. They’d also discussed Lou’s ex-husband, Liam. He’d cheated on Lou, which made Elli’s heart break for her new friend. May mentioned Ant, Liam’s former best friend, with a curl of her lip. According to Lou, Ant knew about the betrayal before Lou. That explained the bad blood between those two.

True to form, Lou had quickly diverted the subject and refilled her wineglass. Since then, they’d been chatting about fashion and the shoes Lisa purchased at Cobbler’s Cove. Elli hadn’t had a girls’ night in so long she was almost overwhelmed. Which might be why she’d zoned out, lost in her own thoughts.

“Is it new?” May asked as she topped off her own wineglass. From her ruby-red painted lips and puff of black curly hair, her bright patterned dress, and thick black eyelashes, May was positively beautiful.

“Is what new?” Elli looked down at her sandals, assuming they were still talking about shoes.

“Not your wardrobe.” May gave Elliott a playful nudge. “The man on your mind.”

“How did you—”

“Please, honey.” May clucked her tongue. “Only one thing will make you gaze wistfully off into the sunset. Must be new. When they’ve been around a while, we bitch about them.”

Elliott laughed at the truth in that statement. Both May and Lisa had offered up tales of their exes in camaraderie when Lou had mentioned Liam. Elli had remained silent, not wanting talk of Neil