She pulled back, aghast. “I’m done talking about this. Dennis is moving in tomorrow, right after I meet my mystery celebrity bride. The last thing I needed from you tonight was this.”
Keith turned back to the photographs. “I’m sorry you feel that way. In the future, I’ll try and keep my mouth shut when you are about to make a giant mistake.”
“That would be great. I’m going home,” declared Elly. Stop me, stop me….
“Fine,” said Keith, even though his eyes begged her to stay.
“Good luck with your pictures,” she said, stepping through the doorway. She made it halfway to the store before he caught up with her.
“Look,” he said pleadingly, “I don’t want to end the day like this. I might not agree with you, but that doesn’t mean I won’t help you. Tomorrow I’ll take my truck over and help Dennis move in.”
“You have a truck?” Elly frowned. “Why would we need a truck? Dennis doesn’t own anything.”
“Oh, right.” Keith tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear and kissed her lightly under her earlobe. “You know you’re adorable when you’re upset, right? Even when you’re driving me nuts, you’re still driving me crazy.”
Elly gave his hand a squeeze. She wasn’t quite ready to let go of her righteous anger. Not quite yet. “Thanks. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.” She pecked his cheek, consciously lingering long enough to let him know that things were okay. She walked up the stairs to her apartment with weary steps. Cadbury barked in alarm, and Elly wearily petted his head. This went terribly, she thought. All I wanted tonight was to have a romantic, relaxing night with Keith, and he had to ruin it with all his … opinions. Looking out the window, she began angrily running her hands through her hair. Her heart was unsettled from their first fight, her perfect inner glow was snuffed out. She felt her chest clutch and release with each wave of self-pity. Why did you snap at him like that? You could have ruined everything! And the Dennis thing. Was she making a mistake? She knew he was her brother, but … what if? What if she was part of some really, really, really elaborate scheme? Well, the joke’s on them, she thought, because I don’t have any money, and neither does Keith. Smiling at the thought, Elly flipped on her computer screen. The geriatric machine hummed to life and Elly hesitantly pulled up the search menu, typing in “DNA testing.” A green glow filled the dark apartment. She quickly found something called a “DNA Sibling Test.” Analysis of the DNA of two separate individuals can provide information as to whether they are full siblings, half siblings, or not related….
Almost involuntarily, Elly snapped the computer shut. No. She was not that person. Elly suddenly wished she was anywhere but here, so close to Keith and yet so far from his reassuring presence, his sturdy arms. Cadbury gave a huff as he draped across her feet. Soon, he would be gone and Dennis would be here. So strange. She leaned her head against her palms, wondering what the heck she was actually doing.
Chapter Twelve
Out of the corner of her eye, Elly watched a camera operator plug in his camera, balancing the behemoth black monster on his narrow shoulder. I would drop that in a hot second. Nervously, she smoothed out the front of her sleek, dark-denim jacket (Kim had dragged her out shopping the day before) and shook out the leg of her black pants, absentmindedly fingering the long star earrings dangling from her normally naked ears.
“Ma’am?” The dashingly handsome cameraman stood in front of her.
He called me ma’am. How depressing. Elly gave him a hopeful smile. “Yes?”
“You’re standing on my cord.”
“Oh.” Elly took a step back as he uncoiled a long black cord. Snarky Teenager stood in the corner, laughing and twisting her long blond ponytail as she eyed the handsome cameraman, not listening to a word the mousy production assistant was saying. Elly was mostly concentrating on two things: trying not to look like a ma’am and avoiding Gemma Reynolds.