Page 45 of Catalyst

I scan the room, looking for a potential threat. Could the guy who assaulted her be here? It’s highly possible, since her parents are still friends with his family.

“Tabby!” Ellie squeals, her smile brighter than I’ve seen since we got here. A redheaded woman looks up at the sound of her name, and surprise crosses her face before she squeals in return. She sets an empty tray down on the counter and then runs over to Ellie. They embrace, both squeezing the other tightly.

“Oh, my god! How are you? You’re beautiful. It’s so good to see you!” Tabby says in a rush, making Ellie laugh.

“I’m doing great. I’m so glad I got to see you! How are you?”

The two of them catch up, volleying questions back and forth quicker than I can keep up with. It doesn’t help that they’re talking about people I don’t know.

Tabby’s eyes flick over Ellie’s shoulder at me a few times, clearly wondering why I’m still standing here. “Uh, Ellie. There’s a very hunky man behind you. Do you know him? If not, I’m about to.”

Ellie giggles, turning to look at me. “That’s Adam, and he’s mine, so you can’t have him.”

“Dammit. Of course, he’s taken. I mean, look at those baby blues. Swoon-nyyyy.” She drags out the last part of her sentence, and I shake my head.

Ellie finally comes over to me for introductions. “Adam, this is Tabby. She was my best friend growing up.”

“What she means to say is that I was the bad influence on her until I had to move to a new school, and her parents refused to let her come visit.”

“It’s nice to meet you.” I hold out my hand, and Tabby knocks it away, coming in for a hug instead.

“Anyone who looks at my girl the way you do deserves a hug,” Tabby says.

I’m not sure what to say to that, so I just return the hug.

“Good to see you haven’t changed, Elliana,” a cold voice says off to the right.

Tabby turns to look at the older woman, whose blonde hair surrounds her head like a helmet. Every strand is perfectly in place, and her pantsuit is immaculate. One guess says this is Ellie’s mother.

I wrap my arm around Ellie’s waist. She’s never going to be alone when dealing with her parents again.

Of course, Ellie’s mom notices immediately.

“And thank God for that, Mrs. Lancaster.” Tabby looks at Ellie, ignoring the glaring woman. “It was so good to see you. Give me a call, and we can finish catching up another time.” She scribbles her number on a napkin and hands it to Ellie before grabbing a full tray and escaping out of the now-frosty kitchen.

“I wasn’t aware you’d be coming today.” Ellie’s mom steps closer to us in an effort to keep our conversation quiet.

“Stephanie asked me to be here. That’s the only reason I came.” Ellie’s back is ramrod straight.

“Hmmm.” Ellie’s mom looks over at me, and her eyes grow wide when she recognizes me. Her entire demeanor shifts, her shoulders softening, and a welcoming smile pulls at her Botox-filled cheeks. “Mr. Ellis, I didn’t know you were here. I’m Helen Lancaster. It’s a pleasure to meet you. I apologize for our little spat. Wayward daughters and all that.” She laughs, waving her hand in the air.

I blink at her, at a complete loss for words. I look over at Ellie in an effort to understand what I’m supposed to say right now. She just looks at me like,I told you.

“I would love for you to meet my husband, Dennis. He’s out in the garden with a few of his colleagues.” Helen turns, effectively blocking Ellie with her back and raising her arm to lead us out of the kitchen.

I turn to look at Ellie, ignoring Helen’s huff of annoyance. “Do you want to go out there?”

Ellie’s eyes are wide as she minutely shakes her head. That’s the only confirmation I need.

“I appreciate the offer, Helen, but Ellie and I are going to take off. We have plans this evening we, unfortunately, cannot miss.” I pull Ellie tighter to my side and sidestep Helen to walk out of the kitchen.

We keep walking, ignoring Helen’s attempts to get us to stop. The one thing I can guarantee is she won’t make a scene at her daughter’s engagement party. Nor would she take a chance of pissing me off before she’s had a chance to show off that she knows me.

And I use ‘know me’ loosely because it doesn’t matter to her that we’ve barely even exchanged pleasantries. In her mind, I came to her daughter’s engagement party, which means she can brag to her friends about knowing me. Even if it’s the furthest thing from the truth.

Ellie and I make it back out to the foyer without any other run-ins, and I look down to find her holding a hand over her mouth.

“Darling, are you okay? Are you going to be sick?”

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