Ellie found Vivian in the backyard, sitting on the concrete deck surrounding the swimming pool. Viv’s bare feet dangled over the edge, making absent circles in the water. As Ellie stepped closer a pang of guilt tugged at her stomach. If someone ever wanted to know what the word dejected meant, all they had to do was look at Vivian right now.
“Viv?” she said cautiously, stepping onto the deck.
A look of relief flooded the older blonde’s features as she caught sight of her. “Hey! I’m so glad you came by.”
“Josh just dropped me off.”
“So he finally decided to step out of the shadows and face you.”
“Yeah.” Ellie lowered herself on the concrete and sat next to Vivian. After a moment, she kicked off her flip-flops and dipped her bare feet into the water.
She tilted her head to look up at the clear blue sky, and then glanced around Vivian’s enclosed backyard. Viv was an avid gardener, she’d spent a lot of time planting all the colorful flowers on the perimeter of the yard, and there was something about being surrounded by flowers that soothed Ellie’s nerves.
“I’m sorry I lied to you,” Vivian said softly.
“Josh put you in an awkward position, I get that now.” Ellie wiggled her toes in the cold water. “And Luke confessed he was the one who convinced you to fire me, so you don’t need to cover his ass anymore.”
“I still think I did the right thing,” Viv answered without hesitation. “You don’t belong here, honey.”
“I think you’re right.” She breathed in the sweet scent of the flowers. “Why didn’t you tell me you had a thing for Josh?”
Vivian gave an uncomfortable laugh. “I guess I didn’t want to admit it to myself, let alone share the embarrassment with someone else.”
“Embarrassment? What do you mean?”
“I’m forty-four years old, Ellie. I have no business dating a guy Josh’s age.”
Ellie wrinkled her forehead. “Viv, you have the right to go out with anyone you choose. If you have feelings for Josh, you can’t let his age stop you from exploring them.”
“You’re honestly telling me you’d want your brother to be with me?”
“Why not?” Ellie shrugged and offered a tiny smile. “You might even be good for him. Josh is so uptight, so determined to take care of everyone. I don’t think he even knows the meaning of the word relax. You, on the other hand, have mastered it.”
Vivian chuckled. “So you want me to loosen him up?”
“Well, God knows he needs it.”
Vivian was quiet for a moment, and then she let out a sigh that sounded heavy to Ellie’s ears. “Someone else will have to do it then. I’m not the woman for the job, honey.”
“Why don’t you give it a chance? You might find out you are that woman.”
Vivian shook her head. “After last night I’m more than certain Josh needs to be with someone else.”
Ellie opened her mouth to object but she never got the chance as Viv swiftly changed the subject to ask, “What about you and Luke? Who won the game of seduction?”
“Me? Him? Both of us? Who knows.”
Vivian nodded knowingly. “You slept with him.”
“Yes.”
“And?”
“And what?”
“Will there be a future for the two of you?”
Ellie lifted her head and let the warm breeze caress her face, remembering what Luke had said before Josh stormed in. Did you ever think maybe I wanted to be with you?
Biting her lip, she turned to her friend. “I don’t know. I’m too messed up to think about having a relationship with Luke. Or anyone, for that matter.”
“Then clean up your internal mess.”
“How?”
“Well, first of all, you can stop thinking your life is over just because you can’t dance. Like I said before, teaching is always an option.”
“I know.” She sighed. “I just can’t imagine not dancing. For so long, ballet was my entire life. And then, when I got pregnant, the baby became my entire life. Now…” Her voice drifted. “I don’t even know who I am anymore. I can’t be a dancer, I’ll never be able to give birth to my own child, so who can I be?”
“You can be Ellie.” Vivian smiled. “You can be a teacher, a wife, a mother to a child who might not be biologically yours but who you’ll love just as much. You can be anything you want, hon.”
“I can’t enter a relationship until I figure it out, Viv. What if Luke doesn’t get that?”
“Then he’s an ass.”
Ellie grinned. “Takes one to know one.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means you should stop being so insecure and give Josh a chance.”
“I’ll think about it,” Vivian said noncommittally.
“Ah, so now you’re an ass and a liar.”