Elly in Love (The Elly Series)

  Kim grinned. “It’s a date. Sean is talking urology with some Barnes-Jewish Hospital doctors.”

  Elly walked swiftly to the bathroom, which was hidden behind a linen curtain. She went quickly, checking herself in the mirror on her way out. She allowed a tiny smile to creep across her face. This night wasn’t so bad after all. Actually, it was kind of magical. Opening two stores was a major accomplishment for this one-time personal secretary. Even though doubting herself was a terrible habit that consumed her easily, she was seeing the truth right now, in this mirror: Elly Jordan is a good businesswoman. She was building a brand that would endure. She should let herself enjoy it. Elly grabbed an arrangement that someone had left in the bathroom and turned the corner, back into the store area. She was waving to Ms. Sunny Kepke, the most-wonderful mother of the bride she ever worked with, despite her having spawned a floozy. Sunny was now her ex-husband’s mother-in-law.

  As if in slow motion, the crowds separated in front of her. Keith was here, standing in the doorway. Their eyes met and the vase dropped swiftly and exploded with a crash at her feet. Her heels were soaking wet, vanda orchids strewn around her feet.

  Elly opened her mouth in an attempt to breathe. He just didn’t look good. He looked … like the man she loved. A gray suit she had never seen fit him perfectly, cutting impressive lines along his strong arms, neck, and back. He was wearing a cranberry tie and black shoes. His deep-blue eyes searched for her and Elly braced herself as he took a step toward her. She dropped her eyes to the ground as she started to pick up the shattered glass, her hands shaking. He’s coming, she thought, half in shock and the other half with a buoyant joy. A dark figure stepped into her line of sight. Keith was blocked out by thick, hairy legs. Who would wear shorts to this thing?

  “What are you doing here?” Dennis’s voice boomed through the crowd. Suddenly, everyone around them was talking in whispers, leaning toward them to hear the conflict. “Go home, dude. She doesn’t want to see you.”

  “Dennis,” whispered Elly, “it’s okay.”

  “No, it’s not,” he mumbled.

  Keith stepped forward. He took Elly’s breath away. “This isn’t your business, Dennis.”

  “Yes, it is. She is my sister. And she was having a good night, and now you are ruining it. Go home. She doesn’t want you here. Why did you even come?”

  Keith looked confused. “Because I was invited.”

  “By who?”

  “By … Elly?” Sadness entered his eyes. “I got an invitation in the mail.”

  Snarky Teenager was suddenly at Elly’s side. “That’s my fault. You must be on our mailing list. I sent the invites. I’m sorry.”

  Elly suspected this was no accident. Everyone was staring at them now. Elly felt her lower lip tremble. She could not lose it here, not in front of all her clients and those that would be her new clients. It was time to cowboy up. Hearing his voice for even one more minute would cause her to dissolve in front of all these people, a meltdown propelled by the desire to be his. She stood shakily. “I think you should leave,” she said, her voice sounding stronger than she felt. Elly glanced up into Keith’s wide eyes. “Please. Just go.”

  “Elly, if we could just talk….”

  “Go.”

  Dennis stepped up to Keith. “She asked you to leave. Get out of here, dude. Don’t ruin her party.”

  Sean walked up and clapped a friendly hand on Keith’s shoulder. “Hey, bud, let’s go for a walk. I’ve got a stash of cigars in the car.” Kim rolled her eyes.

  Keith gave Elly one last lingering look and bent forward to whisper in her ear, his lips brushing her hair. “You look stunning tonight.” Then he walked out the door.

  Even though Elly swore that her heart shattered outwards, the party still continued as if nothing had happened. She felt Kim’s hand, firm around her arm. “Are you going to be okay?” Kim asked. “Do you need to leave?”

  Elly shook her head and swallowed the lump rising up in her throat before letting out a long exhale. “Nope. This is my night. I’m okay.” Hands shaking, she turned to the ridiculously attractive couple on her left. “Hi, there! Are you guys enjoying Store B? Can I get you anything?”

  It was late when the last party guest left. The store was a mess—a strange combination of lily grass, orchids, and plastic wine cups littered the floor; a multidimensional collage of too much fun. Elly kicked off her heels, put her feet up on the desk, and leaned back in the chair, her own wine cup emptying rapidly. The night had been a success. Hundreds of potential new clients were wined, dined, and sent home with gorgeous arrangements and an endless supply of business cards and coupons. Snarky Teenager had been unbelievably on. Each person that had entered the door had been swept off their feet—dazzled by her beauty and charm and by the certain seductiveness of a perfect orchid. The party had raged until two a.m., when Sean and Kim finally coerced everyone out the door with tropical flower arrangements.

  Elly let out a low burp and swirled her wine around. Not to mention, she mused quietly to herself, the party guests had seen a free show! Keith, disrupting her whole night with his dapper suit, his requests to talk, and his pleading eyes. Elly gave a sigh.

  “Wine is sort of gross,” gurgled Dennis from across the room. “I’ve never had it before tonight and I would have to say it’s sort of bad.” He was leaning awkwardly over Snarky Teenager, who was drawing inappropriate pictures on the design board and giggling. Elly stomped across the room, grabbed their wine bottle, and retreated back to the desk. “You aren’t even old enough to drink. Where did you get this?”

  Dennis shrugged and Elly found herself caring less than she should have. She just wanted to go to sleep, right here, in this chair. If she didn’t think about Keith, or about Lola….

  Elly’s eyes jerked open. The pale light of dawn crept slowly through the tiny slotted windows situated in the lobby. Leaning forward, she fumbled for the clock. Five thirty-five a.m. She let out a groan.

  “Shut up,” murmured Snarky Teenager, lying in the corner with Dennis curled up at her feet like a puppy. “We’re still sleeping.”

  Elly stumbled to the bathroom and splashed water on her face before returning to the quiet room of steel and glass. The store was actually quite lovely in this gentle morning glow. Dennis let out a huge snore and Elly gave him a tender smile. She couldn’t leave without him, but she couldn’t bear to wake the slumbering pair, not quite yet. Elly booted up the store laptop and waited for her email to pop up. With all that had happened, she was surprisingly thankful for Dennis. Until Keith could give her answers, she needed to stay away from him. And if he couldn’t give her that, then there was definitely a real problem. Oh gosh, what if she was his mistress all this time? She ran her hand over her face. You’re exhausted, and that was a crazy thought right there. Everybody in this room needs to eat some fruit and take a nap.

  The white neon glow of the computer screen washed over Elly’s face. She chewed on her fingernail. There were fourteen emails in her inbox, and none of them were from Keith. Damn. There was, however, an ad for weight-loss pills which she was tempted to click on, three emails from her wholesaler—ugh, later—and one from Gemma Reynolds. Lola’s wedding would be here very soon—it was weeks away. Elly had let it fall by the wayside in the fallout of the breakup and the opening of the store. Mostly, she just wanted to eat ramen noodles, wear a blanket and no pants, and watch Lifetime movies. Dennis gave a snort in the corner as she opened the email.

  Elly,

  We need to discuss Lola Plumb’s upcoming wedding that has indeed been chosen as the finale of the BlissBride season, as you may have suspected. We will need the copies of all your wedding orders and information by the end of the week, as well as the total required supplies and glassware counts. Please see the attached vendor filming schedule and please advise me of any concerns you might have for the wedding. In addition, I need the signed security clearances and nondisclosure agreements from your staff no later than Monday. Also, it is of
the utmost importance that I look over your final flower order for Lola. It has come to my attention recently that Lola has some, how shall we say, interesting wedding flower choices. She seems keen on wildflowers. Needless to say, that is not exactly the look that I envisioned for this grand wedding. Orchids, garden roses, peonies, and exotic imports should be our focus, for both of our sakes. I would implore you to convince her to rethink her selections. This wedding must be seen as one of American royalty—a pop-culture princess marrying a hotel heir—and we simply cannot have cheap-looking flowers for our season finale. The network, and my parent company, won’t stand for it. If you cannot convince her otherwise, other decisions will be made on her behalf, and we certainly wouldn’t want to ruin the fine reputation of Posies. I have arranged a dinner for the two of you early next week to discuss the final details of everything. While Lola can be unstable, we professionals really know what is best for her and will do our best to prove it. Perhaps a muted peach palette?

  Cheers,

  Gemma Reynolds

  Associate Producer

  Elly pushed her fingers into her temples. Dennis gave a grunt and sat up, his sweaty blond hair plastered against his wide forehead. “Don’t mind the elves, they only have long swords.” He took a deep breath. “Wait, where am I?” Then he rolled over onto his stomach. “Ugh, I have a headache.”

  “Welcome to your first hangover,” mumbled Elly, still staring at the computer. “How much did you drink?”

  “Only half a glass. It didn’t taste very good.”

  “Well, it always feels like that. Even from a few sips.” That was a lie, but the good kind, Elly told herself. “We’re going home. Wake her up.”

  “I’m up,” mumbled Snarky Teenager, pushing herself off the ground. She looked radiant, even with her hair a rat’s nest and her eye makeup streaked down her cheek. Dennis gave her a wide smile, followed by a dry heave. “Did we make out?” she asked with dread.

  Dennis gave a disappointed shake of his head. “No. We didn’t.”

  “Oh, good.” She pushed herself to her feet. “Hmm, I actually feel okay. Yeah, I’m fine.” She tossed her hair and stretched her arms above her head. “Maybe I’ll go for a run this morning.”

  “I’m going to throw up,” groaned Dennis, pushing his hands against the cold wood floor and swaying to his feet.

  “You can throw up in the car,” said Elly as she snapped the laptop shut. All three of them stumbled to the door.

  Snarky Teenager gave a quick look back into the store. “Great party,” she said as she turned the silver lock.

  Elly enviously watched the two of them make their way toward the parking lot, one lurching like a zombie, the other jogging in place. They had it all—youth, excitement, promise—and all she had waiting for her outside the parking garage was a day of paperwork and an empty heart to cling to as she drifted off to sleep that night.

  Dennis darted to the left and threw up over the side of the garage, onto a parked red car. He looked at Elly with heavy eyes. “I’m sorry,” he moaned.

  “That’s okay,” she said as she patted his shoulder. “It could be worse.” You could have lost the man you loved.

  Chapter Eighteen

  This much Elly knew: shopping alone was even worse than shopping with friends, which was already awful. She needed an outfit, probably a dress, something fabulous, chic, bohemian, and retro—all those things, probably—and there wasn’t anything in her closet that would work. In fact, she wasn’t sure she had any items that would fit those categories to begin with, and thus Elly was at a department store, hopelessly wandering the halogen-lit aisles, gazing longingly from one pencil-thin mannequin to the next.

  A buoyant salesgirl approached her. Her nametag read “Megan!” Of course.

  “Can I help you?” she asked.

  Elly allowed a thin smile to stretch over her face. “I need an outfit.”

  “Okay, what’s the occasion?” Convincing a major celebrity that she has terrible taste. Do you have a section for that?

  “A party. A really nice party.”

  “Is it a birthday party?”

  Elly shook her head. “More like … an evening out, I guess.”

  “I have just the thing.” Elly dutifully followed the salesgirl’s swinging black ponytail into the women’s plus-size section, where clothes came to die. Megan stopped in front of a line of matching head-to-toe pantsuits in different neon shades—teal, yellow, and red. A bright-pink hibiscus blew out from the breast area. Elly could never understand why the makers of plus-size clothing didn’t just make cute clothing in bigger sizes. It’s not like when you hit a size sixteen, you suddenly developed an unfortunate affection for splashy floral prints and ill-fitting capris, which Elly had plenty of. Was an adorable dress that made her look like a size eight too much to ask?

  She gestured to the hideousness hanging on the wall. “This wasn’t, um, exactly what I had in mind. I need something a little more … fresh.”

  Megan’s eyes narrowed under her heavy bangs. “I totally get it. Follow me.”

  Elly trailed after her again, until they stood in front of a plain black dress with a gold chain belt. “What do you think about this?” she asked.

  Better than the first, thought Elly, but this wasn’t going to cut it, either. She glanced at her watch. She only had three hours before the limo came. The limo. “Megan,” she turned to the salesgirl, “I’m going out tonight with Lola Plumb.”

  After the screaming and the gushing subsided, Megan turned out to be very helpful, indeed.

  Turned out that even carpet was tricky in four-inch stilettos. Elly almost lost her footing twice on her way out the door. Step by careful step, she eased herself along the hallway, down the stairs and into Posies, where Anthony was busy arranging date palm pods and casablanca lilies into a narrow cylinder. “Add some billy balls,” said Elly with a smile. “They’ll punch up the color a little.”

  Anthony stepped back. “I … was about to do that, anyway.” He sighed. “Not really. Why are you so good?”

  She gave him a half hug. “Because I’m not good at anything else.” Like walking. With a sly wink, she shut the door. She was always full of gratitude for any small moments shared with Anthony. He was someone she never had to worry about. She stopped short when she stepped outside. Whoa. A long black stretch limo idled in front of the store. That’s exciting, thought Elly, as she took slow, cautious steps toward the curb. She heard someone clear his throat behind her, knowing who it was even before she shook the hair out of her eyes.

  Keith was watering his plants in the twilight, a dirty apron tied around his waist, his thick arms bulging as they misted back and forth, looking like some sort of yard god. He was unabashedly staring at Elly. Let him stare, she thought, I know I look good. Let him think I’m going on a date. It wasn’t often that Elly Jordan thought herself anything more than average, but tonight was one of those nights where she actually felt beautiful. Megan had proved herself to be a fashion wizard—she had dressed Elly head to toe in no time, and the result had been spectacular. The leather pencil skirt that hit her just above the knee hugged her curves in all the right places, and the black stilettos elongated her short legs. A coral ruffled shirt billowed softly in the breeze, belted across the ribs with a soft pink swatch of fabric that pushed her breasts up where they had no business being. A strand of long pearls dangled from her neck, and Elly had actually taken the time to spiral her normally unruly curls. And she was wearing lipstick, something that was maybe a yearly occurrence. Yup, she was hot right now, and Keith could drink her up. Elly clicked quickly toward the limo.

  “So, where are you going?” he called.

  “Out,” she answered. The sad truth was, it was actually just business.

  “Do you have a …,” his voice caught awkwardly in his throat, but he managed to choke it back, “a date?”

  Elly shrugged and tried to be graceful as she climbed into the limo. It didn’t work. Her ankle turned over th
e ridiculous heel, and she practically fell into the open leather seat. She had most certainly given Keith a show. With a groan, she shut the door behind her, thankful for the tinted windows.

  She looked up at Keith, staring at the limo, his lips pressed together in a painful grimace. There was a deep frustration in his eyes, and for a second, Elly’s hand brushed the door handle. She hesitated a second too long, and the limo pulled away from the curb, Elly watching silently as Keith faded behind her, drowning the flowers she had worked so hard to cultivate the year before. They were done, she mused, and the distance between them would only grow as time went on. Elly silently wiped a tear from her eye with the back of her hand. No more. Tonight was of the utmost importance and more importantly, she was going to have a fantastic dinner with an infamous celebrity. Who knows, maybe she would even meet someone. The thought of another man kissing her made her stomach twist painfully. Elly leaned forward and rapped on the glass dividing herself and the driver. After a comical pause, it slid down. “Yes, um….” What do I call him? “Sir driver, where are we going?”

  He gave a snort of laughter. “My name is Levi, and Ms. Plumb has you starting out the night at Pierre’s Seafood.”