Page 11 of Blindsided

“Wow, I’ve never been anywhere outside the US.” Ellie’s smile is wistful.

“Then we’ll plan a trip, darling,” Adam says, kissing the side of her head. They are too freaking cute. Throughout our entire lunch, they haven’t stopped stealing glances at each other. Adam is constantly touching some part of Ellie, as if he can’t get enough. It makes me both jealous and ecstatic for them at the same time.

“I don’t usually get much time to sightsee when I’m traveling. I’m too busy doing my job, and then when it’s over, I fly somewhere else. I do try to do one touristy thing when I’m visiting a new city, though.” I take my plate to the sink to help clean up.

“That sucks. I always thought you got some time in between to see the sights,” Matthew says.

I shake my head. “Nope, the life of a model isn’t as glamorous as everyone thinks it is.”

“I can’t imagine how hard it is on you. They put you in some weird poses.” Ellie widens her eyes at me, and I laugh.

“Yes, they can be tough, but I don’t mind. I’ve had a great career so far.”

“But do you love it?” Matthew’s question is asked softly, as if my answer matters more than anything else.

I open my mouth to say yes, but something stops me. A couple of years ago, my answer would’ve been an immediate yes. Now, I’m not so sure. “It’s all I know.” I shrug.

“Which isn’t the same thing, but we won’t push.” Ellie’s comment is more for Matthew than for me. He opens his mouth to say something else but closes it just as quickly with a nod.

“Okay, our options for distractions are a bit limited since it’s a Sunday. However, we still have plenty to do,” Adam says to change the subject. “We’ve got Cards Against Humanity, regular cards, or we can all gang up on Matthew inMario Kart.”

“Mario Kart,” Ellie and I say at the same time, making us giggle.

“Hey, wait a minute,” Matthew tries to protest, but Ellie links her arm with mine and leads me down to the basement. There’s a huge flat-screen TV mounted on the wall, with built-ins surrounding it. A massive dark grey sectional that could fit about eight people sits in the middle of the room, with fluffy blankets draped across the arms. There’s also a fully stocked bar on the other side of the room, with four barstools tucked under the counter, and between the sectional and the bar is a green felt card table that sits six.

This room is the epitome of a man cave that has just enough soft touches to make any woman feel comfortable down here.

“When’s the last time you played, Tilly?” Matthew asks as he grabs the TV remote.

“It’s been a while.” I don’t mention that I play with Desmond and his hockey buddies regularly when they’ve got time off, though I haven’t played with them in a few weeks since they’ve been traveling so much. But what is the definition of “a while”?

“Should we start on the easier levels?” Adam asks.

“Don’t hold back on my account,” I say.

“You know I can keep up,” Ellie taunts. It makes me like her even more.

With those words, the competition begins. I don’t do my best in the first round because it really has been a couple of weeks, and Matthew and Adam are phenomenal. Ellie is also very good, which makes my competitiveness grow.

Once I get into my groove, I start to win every race. Matthew gets more and more desperate with every game, and Adam only makes it worse. He taunts Matthew until he starts to get pissed.

Ellie and I just giggle the whole time, and she helps me whenever she can. She’s nowhere near as competitive as Adam and Matthew. She’s also good enough to give them a little push when they need it.

The whole afternoon is a blast, and when Matthew finally gives up after my fifteenth win, we decide to play cards instead. It takes Matthew a few hands of poker to stop grumbling about losing so many times in a row, and none of us help the situation with our teasing.

“I’d love to see you play against Tucker,” Adam says after he deals.

“Who’s Tucker?” I ask.

“You know Natalie Carlisle?” Matthew asks.

“The gorgeous redhead that was like another sister to you guys?” If I’m remembering correctly, Natalie started hanging out with the Ellis family after her dad died. I didn’t spend a lot of time at the Ellis house, but when we got invited to parties, she was always there, too.

“Yeah. She married a firefighter named Tucker James. He’s one of the bestMario Kartracers I’ve ever seen,” Matthew tells me. “I don’t know how he does it.”

“I think it’s because he’s so calm. He doesn’t let the noise get to him.” Ellie bets one of her chips.

“And there’s a lot of noise during those games,” Adam jokes.

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