Carrie pulls back to frame his face between her palms. “Gabby said to look out for the hottest guy around. It was pretty obvious.”
Ellis is going to have words with his boyfriend. “I see.”
Carrie pats his cheek. “Damn, my boy has good taste. I’m almost jealous.”
“Um…” Oh god. This is what Gabriel warned him about, isn’t it?
“He did say you’re shy.”
“I…”
Carrie grabs Ellis’ bicep, plastering herself to his side. “How about you show me your sweet ride?”
“Yeah, I… This way.” What is it about this family that makes him lose the ability to articulate? “Can I take that for you?”
Carrie peruses her suitcase with pursed lips. “As an independent woman, I should say no. As a tired old lady…” She thrusts the handle at him. “Yes, please.”
Ellis snorts. “You’re not old, Carrie.”
She makes an unhappy sound. “Tell that to my varicose veins.”
Ellis smothers a smile and leads them to the parking lot.
Carrie compliments his car, then slides right into the passenger seat. Ellis puts her case in the trunk, before opening the door at the driver’s side. He chokes on his tongue as Carrie hikes her long skirt way up, then braces a foot against the glove compartment and starts pulling down her knee-high socks.
“Finally, I can take off these hideous compression socks.” She turns her head to give Ellis a serious look. “DVT is no joke at my age.”
“Right.” Stunned, Ellis gets in and starts the car.
“You okay, sweetie? You look a little spooked,” Carrie asks when they merge onto the motorway.
Ellis checks his expression in the mirror. Sure enough, he looks like a disheveled ferret. “Gabriel told me you’re intense. I thought I was prepared.”
“Aww.” She strokes his arm. “Don’t you worry. Gabby ordered me to take it easy on you.”
“Will you?”
“What are you talking about? I am.”
Ellis is not religious, but he starts to pray.
He’s saved from replying by his phone going off with a text. He checks it discreetly so as not to trigger the cameras.
“Gabriel says he’s finished for the day,” he tells Carrie.
Carrie hums, looking out of the window as they drive along Palm Beach. “It’s beautiful here, isn’t it?”
“It is.” Now that the past isn’t haunting him as much as it used to—before Gabriel—he can finally admit that the Coast is pretty spectacular. Even if he still prefers Sydney’s climate. “Do you visit often?”
“Not much. Usually, Gabby visits me to celebrate our birthday—we’re only a month apart—and I come down for Christmas. I catch up with Ash too.” She turns to him. “You’ve met Ash, right?”
“I have.”
She lets out a wistful sigh. “Such a wonderful man.”
Not how Ellis would describe him, but then again, they’ve only met once. Plus, he’s biased because Gabriel keeps bitching about his cousin.
“I’m so happy he turned out the way he did, considering,” Carrie says, almost absentmindedly.
