Page 61 of Arden and the Girl Downstairs

“Wait, you mean we can take Julia with us?” Her excitement is already building.

“I assumed you were taking Julia and Millie with you. As if you were planning a girl’s trip and not taking the sisters,” I deadpan.

“Oh, I know! We should take Mumma Nat too,” Yasmin chimes in.

Chase groans at her suggestion. “No. Please don’t be taking my mum on your girl’s trip.”

“Why not? She loves us. We’re like the daughters she never had,” Yasmin argues.

“Yes, but mum does not need you girls corrupting her.”

“As if we would corrupt her. Have you met your mum? She’s a MILF,” Ally says.

“Please do not describe my mum as a MILF.”

“You know it’s true. Your mum’s a catch.”

“Right. Okay. Change of topic. When are you planning on going?”

“I don’t know. We need to talk to Mady first and find out what her guys are up to. And whether they’re gonna let her go on a trip with us.”

Now it’s my turn to laugh. I have been catching up with Chad regularly, since I technically own Grumpy’s now, and from what I’ve heard, there is no way those guys are letting Mady go away. But it’ll be fun to watch the girls try.

“If we’re taking Mady, chances are we’re going to have to take Shamus instead of Ralph,” Ella says. “Because although Shamus is very gay and incredibly happy with Sterling, at the moment he is one of Mady’s ‘not boyfriends.’ We’ll have to go in there guns blazing if we’re going to get those guys to agree. So, I think it’ll be in our best interest to get Shamus onside.”

Ella snuggles closer to me, and I can tell the wheels in her head are still spinning—or plotting, in her case.

“Oh, I know. Let’s bring Jarred too,” Ally suggests.

“Hang on a minute. It’s supposed to be a girls’ trip and now you’re planning to bring Jarred the Lawn Boy?”

“Yeah. But Jarred is for—” Ella clams up suddenly.

“What were you going to say?”

“Nothing.”

“Spill the beans.”

“I can’t.”

“What do you mean, you can’t?”

“I just can’t.”

“Why are you bringing Jarred? Who is Jarred for?”

I do the math in my head. If Ella is with me, Yasmin’s with Chase Ally’s technically destined to be with Rhys, even though they’re not yet together. Millie and Hayden have this on again off again thing happening.

That leaves...

“No.Nope. Over my dead body. You are not seriously telling me that Julia is talking to Jarred as well?”

“I didn’t say that,” Ella argues.

“You implied it.”

“No, I didn’t, you assumed.”

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