Page 27 of True Honey
“Roommate?” Ella looked up at me, “out with it.”
“It’s just temporary, she was looking to rent a room and I had one,” I shrugged trying to downplay it. Arlo’s warning rang like a bell in my head: Don’t give the terror twins anything to run with. “It’s just a stray cat thing, promise.”
My mind wandered to her face when she saw the room. How fast my heart was to betray my rational thoughts as her shoulders relaxed in that moment. Moving all my shit to the secondary guest room was worth the look of relief. Iwanted to make sure she was close to her son but I hadn’t expected tofeelthe wave of gratitude that poured from her at her realization.
“I don’t believe you, but I also don’t have the time to press you for more information,” Ella said, not stopping as she emptied boxes into pretty bowls and serving dishes.
“Are you going to tell him you made all this?” I questioned, catching on to her plan.
“Yeah, and if you tell him, I’ll sick Josh on you,” Ella threatened.
“I’m not scared of—”
She silenced me with one sharp look from those fierce brown eyes.
“Secret is safe with me,” I said, raising my hands in surrender. “Hey you don’t mind if Drew and her son come up for dinner later?”
“Oh, she has a name?” Ella smirked and I rolled my eyes. “Of course they can,” she said. “Even if you have them hidden away in your basement apartment.”
“They’re not hidden,” I said, handing her another container. “They’re unpacking.”
“Where did you find her anyway?” Cael asked, tossing the empty bag of chocolate chips in the garbage under the sink. “She’s not a student,” he said, lifting his lanky body to the counter. He was wearing a cropped t-shirt that said‘don’t bully me I’ll cum’and a pair of jeans that were more holes than fabric.
“Hilly’s. She’s the newest waitress, but she came in looking for a job with Susanna,” I explained, snagging a piece of pasta from the bowl as Ella slid it across the counter.
“And you just happened to know she needed a place to stay?” Cael pushed and it was becoming increasingly hard to avoid getting the two of them involved. Arlo was going to kill me.
“I saw her car packed to the roof one night after Hilly’s. It didn’t sit right, so I invited her to rent the apartment.” I backed away and crossed my arms, leaning against the door frame as the back door swung open and a few players piled in.
“Where do you want this El?” Dean asked, holding up a long piece of paper with the wordsYou’re Old, Arlowritten across it in different colored paint. A Hornet staple.
“Do you guys make those with your eyes closed?” Ella asked, her face scrunching up in a funny way.
“What?” Dean looked down on it as Josh shuffled into the Nest behind him with an amused smile on his face. “I thought it was good… you said it looked good.” He turned to Josh for help but my brother couldn’t have cared less, he gave Dean a tiny shrug.
“I said it looked good for a toddler,” Josh said, moving around the kitchen. He had gotten more comfortable at home, wearing t-shirts and sometimes even tank-tops that showed off the scarring on his arms and chest. I was proud of the progress he was making.
“Hang it up over there,” Ella said, pointing to the archway over the dining room. “You—set the table,” she told Cael. “And you—living room. Now.”
All three boys turned fifteen and a course of ooooh’s rang out in the kitchen as she shuffled me away from them. I rubbed my face in my hands and knew I was about to eat whatever Ella was going to tell me. Because that’s what we did.
“If you think Arlo didn’t tell me everything,you’re wrong." Her tone flipped so suddenly I flinched. "What the hell is wrong with you?” She reached out and pinched my arm when I didn’t say anything.
“Hey!” I swatted her hand away, “listen,” I said, backing away. “It was the only option.”
“Making a deal with a stranger to be your wifeisn’tthe only option!” Ella was working hard to keep her voice down. And her hands were balled at her sides in frustration. “Are you insane?”
“Do you and Arlo know that you’re both playing bad cop?” I asked her with a tiny, exasperated laugh as I backed away and sank into the couch.
“I’m sorry,” Ella said, inhaling slowly and wandering over to take the spot beside me. “It’s just since I came to Harbor you’ve always been… you,” she said. “You’re not supposed to be the messy one. That’s for all the other boys. Notyou.”
“I’m not a saint, El,” I said. “I’m just a man.”
“Exactly, you’re a man and right now, with her moving into the basement, you are acting like an impulsive child. Do you really think you’re going to fooleveryone into thinking she’s your fiance?” Ella asked me, her tone gentler than before as she crossed her legs and laid her hands in her lap.
“I only have to fool my mother and grandfather,” I said.
“So you’re going to tell the boys the truth?” She questioned and I sighed in response, “exactly, you know that Cael was already talking about setting up family movie nights for her son? He willingly went into the storage room to find a box of PG-13 DVDs.”
