Page 60 of Arden and the Girl Downstairs

One thing I’ve learned about Ella: she gets what she wants. Even Dad couldn’t say no to her. He argued, but he eventually took the money and his own pair of unicorn slippers. What he plans to do with the money, I don’t know. I have a feeling that it will probably find its way back to us in some shape or form, though. But for now, my conscience is clear. I’ve settled the debt. And now I can start something for myself and my family.

“Ralph is setting up these meetings because he knows what he’s doing. You’ve entrusted him to look after the business while you’re at school, but it isyourname on the building.”

She has a point. Except . . .

“You realise we don’t have a building, right? And it’s your name too.”

“Yet. We don’t have a buildingyet.”

“Does that mean—wait, you just said we. Does that mean you are in?”

“As if I had a choice. You’re letting me open a unicorn slippers shop.” She flutters her eyelashes at me in the most adorable way.

“No, we’re not opening a unicorn slipper store. We’re opening a shoe store you can stock unicorn slippers in.”

“Potato, potahto. It’s a unicorn slipper store, and you know it.”

“I would love for you to turn around and tell Jerry that you’re calling it a unicorn slipper shop. You realise his shoes are custom made and one offs, right? You can’t just go into any store and buy them.”

“I know, but it’s still a unicorn slipper store.”

I pull her into my arms and gently inhale. She smells like Froot Loops. I don’t know why—she doesn’t eat them. But that’s just Ella; she’s sweet and addictive, and she’s mine. I don’t know how I got so lucky, but I’m glad I did.

“Okay, so we’ve established the fact that you are going to help me run my business—ourbusiness.”

I decide to change the topic. I don’t think I’m going to win the argument, and I’m not looking forward to the conversation with Jerry. “Will you do this with me? Together? I don’t want to do this if I’m not doing it with you.” I let go of a breath I didn’t realise I was holding. “I know you’re not the type of girl to just sit there and take my money. You want to work for it because it’s ours. We will succeed—and no doubt fail—together.”

Yasmin pipes up from the pool. “Yeah, Ella. It’s our money, so you better be taking it because you bet we’re planning the ultimate girls’ trip.”

“No. Just, no,” Chase says from beside me. “That isnothappening.”

“Yeah, it is. If you guys get to plan a boys’ trip away, why can’t we plan our own?” Yasmin huffs back at Chase.

“Because we know you,” Rhys chimes in. “Nothing good can come from you girls planning a trip away.”

Ally throws a shoe at Rhys, and it hits him square in the head. “What are you saying? You can’t trust us?”

“That’s exactly what I’m saying,” Rhys replies as he throws the shoe back at her. He misses, and it’s intentional. Rhys has good aim, but he’d never hurt Ally.

“I can’t believe you! You don’t get a say in what we do. Where’s Ashley?” Ally snarks, shutting Rhys up.

That wasn’t very nice of her, but itisa topic that we are going to have to discuss one day. If I truly want my friends to be happy, I need to get Rhys out of this arrangement that his dad has set up. He’s not happy with Ashley. She’s not the girl for him, and we all know that. It’s Ally he wants, but it’s Ally he can’t have at the moment.

Yasmin climbs out of the pool and offers more logical reasoning. “Well, technically, Ella owns half of everything Arden owns, which by default means we get to plan a girls’ trip and you get no say in the matter.”

By this point, she’s standing at the end of Chase’s lounger with her hand on her hip. There’s no way he’s saying no to her. He might put up a fight now, but he’s just as whipped as I am.

“Fine. If you girls are planning a trip away, where is it you’re going?”

At this point, Ella just giggles. “This is the first I’m hearing about a girls’ trip, but I am all for this. Now that I’m not working at Grumpy’s anymore, I have a lot more time on my hands, and I’m excited to go away and do the things I’ve never been able to do. So yeah, maybe it’s time I make the most of this money that you keep telling me to spend.”

I blow out an exasperated breath. “I didn’t tell you to spend the money so you could get away from me. If you want to go away, I will take you away.”

“I know you will. But can I at least plan a girls’ trip?” She bats her eyelashes at me again.

Damn. I’m never going to be able to say no to this girl. I’ll put up a fight, and even throw in some conditions that she’ll most likely negotiate on, but if she wants to go on a vacation with her friends, I won’t stop her.

“Of course, you can plan something, but under the condition you have to let either Ralph or Shamus accompany you, depending on who you’re going with on this trip.”

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