Elly in Love (The Elly Series) (41 page)

Elly found her awkward voice. “Of course. Yes.”

“Thanks.” Chloe dropped her cigarette on the pavement and ground it out with an impossibly thin teal heel. Then she reached into her clutch and handed Elly an embossed business card. “I’ll be getting married next year. I haven’t found the man yet, but it’s already on the calendar. I’d love you to do my flowers. I’ve never seen anything like that aisle before. You could maybe even do the flowers for my show.”

Elly cleared her throat. “Uh, that’s nice. But don’t you live in LA?”

Chloe sized her up with wide hazel eyes. “I do. And so should you.” With that, the party girl who won an Emmy turned and walked toward her idling limo. “I’ll be in touch.”

The car pulled away from the curb. Elly looked down at the card and pondered what Chloe had said
. Los Angeles?
Hollywood people were so weird.
Unsure of why she was doing it at the moment, Elly tucked the card into her purse, instead of dropping it into a nearby trash can. Tabloid drama be damned—it was time to party.

Almost three hours later, Elly was enjoying her view of the entire reception, complete with wasted film stars and a dozen moving cameras that were capturing their every move. Her view was even more fantastic because she was seated at the farthest possible table away from the wedding party. She held in a chuckle as she squinted at the dance floor, which was sitting on a raised mirrored platform that overlooked the empty seats of the theater. Joe was kissing Lola to the cheers of everyone around them, as they swirled and moved across the floor. Joe was a horrible dancer, but Lola was lithe and jazzy, absolutely entrancing. The stage at the Fabulous Fox, a monstrosity that used to host Broadway shows and orchestras, was covered with twenty-five ornate round tables. Mood lighting bathed the entire room in light blues and lavenders, while a projected monogram blazed across the glossy floor. The golden deities that hovered above the stage took on an extra-creepy vibe when bathed in the shimmery light, as if the gods themselves were attending a disco. Somehow, between her flowers and Gemma’s vision, this wedding had absolutely lived up to its finale status. From the gold filigree six-layered wedding cake to Lola’s Marchesa form-hugging reception dress, everything was perfection. Elly’s table had been designed within an inch of its life, and while her tablemates (four extras, one makeup girl, a stuntman, and two strangely quiet children) exclaimed amazement over the intricate details, all Elly could think was,
I did that. I put that there.
The white tablecloths were covered with a navy and champagne overlay. Across the table, under a draping of birch branch, about thirty small gold vases all clustered together to create a virtual forest of pink, blue, and white wildflowers. Green-seeded foliage exploded out from underneath the lush blooms. Zinnias with their showy pinks, dahlias with their creamy petals, and delphiniums with their deep blues all collided into each other in an ornate cluster of color. Viewed up close, it was intimate and vintage, when viewed all together from the stage, it was simply astounding. And she had placed each bloom.
She was so tired.

The food had been delicious, and the speeches awkward, showing that even when celebrities got married, the best man’s speech would still be embarrassing. Sitting back in her custom-ordered chair, Elly gulped from her signature Joe Keats cocktail and did her best to hide her shoes underneath the table as everyone joined the newlyweds on the dance floor. The crowd raised their hands above their heads and swayed in unison, clapping and leaping to the live DJ that threw out his hands over his worshippers with abandon. It was, without a doubt, the best wedding that Elly had ever been to, but she was having a hard time keeping her eyes open. Exhaustion, from everything—from three hours of sleep the night before, from chasing down Dennis, and from the thought of an emotional goodbye with Keith tomorrow—had robbed Elly of every ounce of energy. She fantasized about laying her head down on the table, but, like, who did that? People would assume that she was utterly wasted, but was that so bad? It looked so cozy, that pile of mashed potatoes suddenly looking a lot like a pillow.

One of her favorite songs came on over the speakers, and Elly pushed herself up from the table, her feet screaming out that it was time to go.
Maybe she could stop by the cookies and milk station on her way out.
As she went to push out her chair, she felt a hand wrap around her elbow. Elly looked up and almost didn’t recognize the man standing in front of her. His blond hair was combed back from his head, a slight hint of facial hair growing around his chin. He was wearing a tuxedo that was bursting at the seams, but he was so handsome that Elly almost dissolved into tears. “Dennis!”

He grinned. “Nice, right? Sean loaned this to me. It’s way too small and my pants aren’t really buttoned, but it worked!” He spun around and Elly clasped her hands to her mouth.

“How did you get here? And they let you in?”

“I took a taxi. I’m getting pretty good at it. And I convinced the bouncer that I was playing the drug dealer in her next movie!”

Elly cringed. “Lola needs better security.”

“Oh, no joke.” Dennis looked at her dress. “Elly, you look really pretty. I like your dress.”

Then he squinted at her shoes. “Uh, are those … Crocs?”

“Let’s not talk about it.” They both laughed. Blushing, Dennis pulled out a flat, square box from his pocket. “Here. I have a present for you.”

Elly felt tears blur her eyes. “You don’t need to get me anything.”

“Well, it’s almost more a present for me than for you.”

She pulled open the string and unwrapped the box, slipped open the top, and turned it over. Two small items fell into her hand. One was a jade necklace in the shape of a pineapple and the other was a computer disk.

Dennis leaned over her. “That necklace was my mom’s. I want you to have it. It’s from Japan. She wore it almost every day.”

“Oh, Dennis.” Elly immediately slipped it over her hair. The pineapple hit right at the base of her neck, a perfect fit. “Thank you. This means … so much. And, um….” She held up the disk. “Is this a mix CD? That’s so very nineties of you.”

“No.” He moved his foot in a small circle. “It’s
World of MageCraft
.”

“Oh Dennis, I’m not sure that’s really my thing, but thank you.”

“No. It’s my copy. I’m giving it up.”

“What? You don’t have to, I promise. I know that your online friends are like your family.”

“I don’t need them anymore. It’s not good for me anyway, at least not right now. It’s time for my life to start. Besides,” he looked up at the ceiling, avoiding her eyes, “I have family now. A real one.”

Elly bit her lip as her eyes filled with tears. She put her hand on his arm. “Oh, Dennis, I….”

“Elly.”

She sniffed. “Yeah?”

“Don’t get all sobby on me. I want to party at Lola Plumb’s wedding. C’mon.” He put his hand out. “Dance with me?”

Elly was still trying not to cry as Dennis led her out to the dance floor. “Dennis, I don’t dance. I….”

The music stopped, and Joe and Lola stepped out onto a balcony overlooking their guests, wearing their third outfit of the night. They waved to their family and friends before wrapping themselves completely up in a gratuitous kiss. The crowd burst into cheers. Lola dramatically raised her toss bouquet up into the air before flinging it into the crowd. It arched up and sideways and then….

“Elly, watch out!”

Elly looked up just in time to see the bouquet collide with her face. She stumbled backward and the bouquet exploded onto the floor. The crowd laughed and Elly felt her face flush in embarrassment as all the cameras closed in around her. But then she laughed.
What else could she do?

Dennis bent over to help her pick it up off the ground, his pants giving a painful stretch. “Well, that was hilarious. I guess you are
next to get married
.” He paled, suddenly realizing the pain his words probably caused.

Elly shrugged. “Don’t feel bad. I don’t think it counts if you make it yourself.” She looked down at the toss bouquet, now strewn over the dance floor.

But she hadn’t made it. This was Snarky Teenager’s work
.

Elly wasn’t sure what she was feeling as a popular, jazzy song burst out of the speakers. Then everything went dark in the theater. Elly grabbed Dennis’s shoulder, feeling the momentary intake of breath from the crowd as they wondered what was happening. Had the power gone out? Then the music crescendoed and suddenly, a huge line of swirling stage lights rose up and out from the orchestra pit. Thousands of tiny twinkling lights lit up the ceiling and the walls, and bounced off the mirrored floor. In a moment worthy of the theater that housed them, the entire wedding was now dancing under, in, and on the stars.

“Wow. Wow, wow, wow,” breathed Elly, her tiredness forgotten. She thought she had seen it all, every sort of wedding, but she hadn’t seen this. This was … magic.

Dennis let out a huge laugh. “This is ridiculous! Let’s go!”

Deciding to leave her insecurities about dancing behind, Elly kicked off her terrible shoes and grinned at him. Dennis pulled Elly out into a big twirl in the middle of the dance floor. They raised their hands above their heads, shoulder to shoulder with famous celebrities, and took it all in, feeling the beauty of the night pulse all around them. Elly’s dress twirled around her as she spun, totally losing herself in the moment. As if there hadn’t been enough miracles for one day, chubby Dennis Trager was somehow a totally magnificent dancer, and Elly let him swing her under the stars for at least an hour, happier than she had any right to be as she leaned her head against her brother’s strong shoulder.

It was the next day. The cicadas were out early, Elly noted as she made her way to “their” park, as a purple evening sky above her practically burst with life. Dusk was settling in, and all around her, the lavender light and bursts of blue flowers and green grass begged to be painted. It was a bit cloudy, enough that she’d had the foresight to wear a long-sleeved shirt. The wind gusted around her and she was suddenly glad that something—even a shirt—was wrapping her up in its arms.
Tonight was going to be painful.
A knot in her stomach tightened with each step, and a permanent lump had formed at the back of her throat. Tonight, she would finally say goodbye to Keith, the man she considered to be the love of her life, though that fact was unspoken. This would be like when Aaron left her, only worse. With Aaron, she had seen the outcome, and that she was better off without him and his graceless heart. With Keith, it would be the opposite. She would never know what could have been. He would take his place in her life as a bright star that had dimmed too soon, leaving her in the dark and cold. She believed that Keith had loved her—maybe even still did, though perhaps she was just comforting herself at this point—but that he didn’t love her enough to tell her the truth. As long as he had secrets—whatever he was keeping from her at his home—they could never be together. At least, Elly thought, as she huffed up the final hill toward their secret park, at least she had come to love herself enough that she knew she didn’t deserve that. She deserved a lot of things right now—a water bottle, a trophy for wedding flowers of the year, maybe a piece of cake—and truth from the man she loved was one of them.

Her heart gave a painful clutch.
Doing the right thing didn’t make it hurt any less.

She came up through a trail in the sparse trees that Keith had showed her months ago, the one that wound through the underbrush that was covered with yellow feverfew. The night insects chirped through the dusky air still, and Elly let a deep sadness sink into her heart. There was a longing that would never be filled, and even though inside she was ripping apart, she told herself to be grateful. Grateful for her friends, for her beautiful little life in St. Louis, for a brother that she had never known, and for her time with Keith. It was short and the best she ever had, and at least she had known the taste of his lips on hers, the pull of his arms around her waist, and the kindness in his eyes that told her he believed in everything she ever could and would be. She wiped a tear away from her once starry eyes and pushed out through the foliage to the garden
. At least she would be getting her dog back today. Dennis had finally agreed to give Cadbury a try.

Keith was standing by the broken cherub statue. Once, it had been littered with weeds and mold, but with Elly’s care, it had transformed into a whimsical flower garden. The statue was still broken and decrepit, but now sprigs of forsythia, diamond-frost euphorbia, and pink lantana burst out from its base with reckless beauty. Elly sucked in her breath when she saw Keith and had to refrain from bursting out into tears. His naturally olive skin was set off by the white polo that he was wearing. Dusty gray cargo shorts showed off his stocky legs. His bald head shone in the waning light. He was holding Cadbury’s leash and, at the sight of Elly, Cadbury wrenched away from him, barking joyfully.

Elly knelt on the ground and received a big sloppy kiss that somehow revived her broken heart, just a little. “I missed you!” she cried. “Hi, babes!” She buried her face in his soft fur, noting that he must have been groomed lately. Cadbury never smelled this good. He circled around her a few times before flopping down in the grass and staring at Elly with anticipation. She looked over at Keith and gave him a sad smile, but a determined one. Reaching her hand out, she touched the side of his shoulder and let it linger for a second before reaching for the leash. “Thanks, Keith. I guess that’s it….”

And that’s when Keith caught her hand, his dark-blue eyes meeting with hers in a steady gaze. “Elly.”

In an involuntary gesture, Elly turned her head up to his, as natural as breathing.

He looked down at her. “Can you stay? Just a minute? Just give me ten minutes, and then if you walk away from me again, I won’t … well, I’ll try not to chase you.”

As hurt as she had been, as broken as her trust had been in his imagined infidelities, Elly found herself curling down onto the soft and damp grass, Keith still holding her hand.