The Ugly Stepsister (9 page)

When Gregory and Teresa disappeared inside, Lauren shook Ellie’s arm. “You didn’t recognise him?”

Sam rolled his eyes. “Not you.”

Tom laughed. “I bet Ellie doesn’t have anything at all to do with cooking, other than eating the finished product.”

Ellie looked from one to the other. “None of you are making sense.”

“Gregory Wallace has his own cooking show,” Lauren squealed.

“As in, on TV?” When Lauren nodded, Ellie asked, “What are you doing watching cooking shows?”

Lauren shook her head. “Sometimes you worry me.” She pointed at Tom and Sam. “Their Dad is on TV.”

“Guess that’d be why me asking if he’s camera shy was amusing.” Ellie met Tom’s eyes.

Tom grinned. “Yep.”

“Ellie!”

She turned to Lauren. “What?”

“He’s famous.” Lauren pointed towards the upper level of the house.

“He can’t be too famous. I didn’t recognise him,” Ellie said.

“Hello? You wouldn’t recognise an apron, you have so little to do with cooking. He has books out and everything.”

Ellie tilted her head thoughtfully. “That makes sense.”

Lauren frowned. “That he has books out?”

Ellie shook her head. “No. Why Sam can cook so well.”

“It doesn’t bother you Dad’s on TV?” Sam asked.

“He cooks. How famous can he be? Lauren’s mum watches every cooking and gardening show on TV. Even ones that might be on late at night because no one’s interested in watching them.” She nearly groaned at how much like an insult that sounded. “Ah… I didn’t mean to insinuate no one watches your dad’s show. So… uhm… are we going to get back in the pool? I’m getting cold standing around here talking.” Ellie looked from Sam to Tom.

Tom grinned and jumped towards the pool, tucking his legs up. Ellie turned her head at the last second before the splash reached her. She quickly followed him. When he swam towards the shallow end, she swam after him, wondering what he was up to. He stopped and waited for her when the water was just over his shoulders. It was still a little deep for Ellie. She held onto Tom so she didn’t have to tread water to keep her head above the surface.

“Have you never seen Dad on TV?” Tom wrapped his arms around her.

“I don’t have any secret fantasy to be a brilliant chef. I have a terrible habit of setting kitchens on fire. Why would I bother watching cooking shows?”

Tom laughed. “Some people can’t watch his shows enough.”

“Who? Bored housewives and little old grannies?”

Tom continued to grin. “Yeah, something like that. Want to do another few laps?”

“No way. The only way I’m doing another lap of the pool is if someone either tows me or gives me a ride.”

Tom’s lips met Ellie’s. “Sure I can’t convince you?” He kissed her again.

“Nope. I’m going to laze on the steps and you can show me how fast you can swim. I know you can go faster than Sam and you can definitely swim faster than me.”

“It won’t bother you?”

Ellie grinned. “What won’t bother me?”

“Me leaving you on your own while I do a few laps.”

“Me lazing in the shallows so I can drool over your body as you swim back and forth?”

Tom kissed her again. “Need a ride to those shallows?”

“Yep.” Ellie moved to Tom’s back when he tapped it and held on. She took a deep breath when Tom slid beneath the water and watched as the end of the pool rapidly came closer.

A few minutes after Tom left her on the steps, Lauren joined her. Ellie grinned at her. “Did you get an autograph yet?”

“He’s famous,” Lauren insisted.

“Yep.”

“Oh stop humouring me. You’re completely uncultured.”

“Because I don’t watch cooking shows?”

Lauren giggled. “Okay. Fine. But he’s still famous.”

Ellie shrugged. “Now if he was in a band and played lead guitar I might think about asking for his autograph, but a cook?” She shook her head. “I’ll be right.” She frowned. “Maybe I better stay away from him. What if setting kitchens on fire is contagious? Although it might make his shows more interesting.”

Lauren hit Ellie lightly on the arm. “You’re a lost cause.”

“Yep.”

“I’ve got to head soon. Are you set for the night?”

Ellie nodded. “Yeah. I’m here the entire weekend.”

Lauren glanced towards Tom. “It looks like our planning didn’t turn out too bad after all. I swear if you fell in an industrial bin you’d probably find a suitcase of money.”

“As long as it wasn’t a kitchen I fell into. Then it’d probably go up in flames.”

Lauren giggled. “Hopeless.”

“Yep. Absolutely.”

They fell quiet as Sam swum over to them. He looked at Ellie. “You don’t mind if I ride home with Lauren?”

“Not at all. But I’d suggest you pack a snack. She’s always starved after a long ride.”

Sam nodded. “I know. She asked for something to eat almost the moment she stepped inside this morning.”

“Only because I’m madly in love with your cooking,” Lauren said.

Sam blushed. “Do you want to use the bathroom first?”

Lauren shook her head. “Nah, you go ahead. I want to finish talking to Ellie.”

Sam nodded and climbed out of the pool. Lauren watched him walk away. She sighed when he disappeared around the corner of the house.

“So what’s your verdict?”

Lauren looked confused. “Huh?”

“The kiss?”

Lauren smiled slowly. “Not bad. Not bad at all.”

“Do I take it there’ll be more?”

“Maybe.” Lauren’s smile became a grin.

“Your mum’s going to ground you for life before she let’s a boy in the house.”

“I’ve got the perfect plan.”

“Then hurry up and tell me,” Ellie said.

“Sam is getting a couple of signed pictures of his dad. She’ll welcome him like a long lost son. She thinks Gregory Wallace is better than any lead guitar player.”

Ellie rolled her eyes. “Only because she doesn’t think a guitar is an instrument.”

Lauren giggled. “Okay, better than anybody in any orchestra you could name.”

“Well that wouldn’t be hard since I couldn’t name a single orchestra.”

“Didn’t I say you were uncultured?”

“I’ll agree now. But cooking shows aren’t culture.”

“Okay. Fine. But my mum does love them.”

Ellie looked thoughtful. “Did you decide Sam had potential before or after you learned who his father is?”

“Before.”

Ellie nodded. “That’s good. He’s odd, but nice. Even though you’re my best friend I wouldn’t be able to sit back and let you use him.”

“You aren’t using Tom just for a place to stay on weekends?”

Ellie shook her head. “Nope. I’m only here because I can’t keep my hands off him.”

“That’s nice to know.”

Ellie and Lauren both turned to see that Tom had quietly surfaced not far from them. Lauren quickly stood up, hopping out of the pool. “I’ve got to go. Thanks for putting up with me.” She was gone before either of them could say goodbye.

“I think I just embarrassed your friend.” Tom sat on the step beside Ellie.

“Ah… yeah… I guess.”

“And you?”

Ellie half smiled and shrugged. “Maybe. A little. We didn’t hear you. How long were you listening?”

“Not long.”

“Exactly how long?”

“From just before you were calling my brother odd again.”

Ellie frowned as she tried to think back over what they’d said. She couldn’t recall anything drastic. Her frown disappeared when Tom kissed her.

“There was nothing for you to be worried about. So what do you want to do now? We’re about to have all of downstairs to ourselves.”

Ellie grinned. “Behave.”

“That doesn’t sound like much fun.”

Ellie sat quietly in the car beside Tom. The weekend had gone by too quickly. They pulled up in front of her house and Tom started to unbuckle his seatbelt.

Ellie placed her hand over his. “Don’t come in, Tom.”

“More secrets?”

Ellie shook her head. “There’s been a weekend long party. I don’t want you to see that mess.”

“Who cleans up after it?”

“I do.”

Tom undid his seatbelt.

“Tom-”

“I’ll give you a hand.”

Ellie sighed. She knew how stubborn Tom could be. Especially when he had that expression. “Fine. Don’t complain. Remember I told you not to come in.” She grabbed her schoolbag and overnight bag, that were at her feet, and got out of the car. She was just past the gate when Tom reached her side, taking her bags. Getting out her key, she unlocked the front door. As she let it swing open she watched Tom’s face. His expression didn’t change. She grinned. “You’re good, I’ll give you that much.”

Tom dragged his eyes back to Ellie. “Good?”

“At neutral expressions.”

Tom chuckled. “What were you expecting? That I’d run screaming to my car?”

Ellie shook her head. “Nah, you’re too stubborn for that.” She picked her way through the mess to her bedroom door. Unlocking it, she dumped her bags inside then closed the door again. Before she could move away from her door, Tom put his arms around her and pulled her close.

“Is this what you come home to every Sunday evening?”

“We’re not having this discussion.”

“One question only.” Tom stared at her, waiting.

“Fine. One question. No more.”

Tom nodded. “Is it?”

“Yeah.”

Tom’s lips brushed against hers. “Where do we start?”

Ellie grinned. “I hope that question was meant to be about cleaning up.”

Tom laughed. “Yeah. I know exactly where I plan to start when it comes to-”

Ellie placed her fingers against his lips. “Don’t get me distracted. It’ll take hours to clean this mess up.” She stepped out of Tom’s arms and headed for the kitchen. She pulled out two garbage bags and handed one to Tom.

Ellie was surprised that Tom stuck around until the house was spotless, even helping her clean the bathroom. She put the last dish back in the kitchen cupboard before she turned to him. “Thanks.”

Tom shrugged. “What do you plan to have for dinner? The place is empty again.”

“I’ve got some packet soup in my bedroom.”

“You’ve got to be kidding.”

Ellie grinned. “And now you lose your neutral expression.”

“What can I say? My father’s a chef. We’ve been raised to think food is the meaning of life.” He returned her grin.

“You won’t get any arguments from me. Not about the food your family cooks. Well, your brother and father. I haven’t tasted anything you’ve cooked yet.”

“I rarely cook.”

“Because?”

“There are people who like to do it more than I do.”

“As good as it’ll get around here is a cup of soup. You interested?”

“I’ll put the kettle on if you get the soup.” Tom filled the kettle at the sink.

Ellie grabbed the box of soup from her room and took it back to the kitchen. Tom had placed two mugs on the bench while she’d been gone. Opening the box, she took out two packets and tipped the contents into the mugs. Tom wrapped his arms around her, nuzzling her neck as they waited for the kettle to boil.

“How long have you been home?”

Ellie turned, Tom’s arms falling away from her. “Couple of hours, I guess.” She grabbed the Panadol off the top of the fridge, handing them to her mum. She was relieved to see her mum wore a dress rather than her ratty dressing gown and overly short nightie.

Sharon swallowed three and dropped the card of tablets onto the island bench. “Who are you?”

Tom stepped forward, holding out his hand. “Tom Wallace.”

Sharon shook his hand. “You Ellie’s boyfriend?”

“Ahh…” he glanced over to Ellie who grinned at his discomfort. He turned back to Sharon. “I guess.”

“I didn’t think it was that difficult a question. How did she meet you?”

“We go to the same school.”

“I didn’t know they had a special education unit there.” Sharon spied the packet of soup. “Make me one, Ellie?”

Ellie took out another mug. “He’s a swimmer, Mum. People that do sports aren’t expected to do as well at school.”

“I-” Tom began but stopped when both Ellie and Sharon burst out laughing. He shook his head instead. “So do I get a pass or a fail?”

Sharon shrugged. “It’s only the first test. I don’t start marking until they’re all completed.”

Tom nodded. “Fair enough.”

Sharon took the mug Ellie handed her. “I don’t mind this one, Ellie. He’s actually got a sense of humour.” She headed to the sofa and dropped onto it. “Turn the TV on will you, Ellie?”

Ellie handed Tom a mug and picked up the other mug before she headed over to turn on the television. “Leave your keycard out for me in the morning? I need to go shopping.”

Sharon nodded. “Grab toilet paper too. We’re down to the last roll.”

Ellie nodded and then looked over to Tom. “Coming?” She headed to her room.

Tom glanced towards Sharon before he followed her. When Ellie closed and locked the door behind them, he said, “Should I ask why you’re locking us in?”

Ellie grinned. “Because Mum is likely to come bursting in here in the hope of embarrassing you.”

“Do you always go shopping Monday afternoon?”

Ellie nodded, then took a sip of her soup. “Yeah. I only get a week’s worth of groceries.”

“How do you normally get it home?”

“Walk.”

“You carry it all at once?”

Ellie shook her head. “What do I look like? Superwoman? I do several trips.”

“Do you want a lift?”

“Only if you’re not doing anything else. I’ve been taking care of myself for years, Tom.”

He put his mug on the duchess and placed hers next to his. “I know.” He wrapped his arms around her. “I’m not asking if you need my help, I’m asking if you mind me tagging along with you.”

“Oh you’re good. What are you planning to be? A diplomat?”

Tom shook his head. “Nah, I’ll leave that to my mother. I’m planning on doing a Bachelor of Exercise Science/Bachelor of Business focused on sport management.”

“That’s a mouthful. How long will that take you to finish?”

“Four years.”

“That’s not too bad. Have you figured out which uni and what grades you need?”

Tom nodded. “How did we get onto this conversation?”

Ellie laughed. “It happens. What I want to know about is your comment about your mother and being a diplomat.”

“She’s currently on leave or whatever they call it. But she’s worked for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade for a long time. When we were younger we stayed in a couple of different countries. She’s currently deciding if she wants to continue with the work. Now that Dad’s career has taken off, he’d like to stay in Australia for a while.”

“I didn’t know diplomats still existed. I thought it was a job that ceased to exist decades ago. I was only joking when I asked if you were going to be one.

“Nah, they’re not extinct yet.” Tom yawned.

Ellie rested her head against his shoulder. “I guess you should go home soon.”

“I could probably be convinced to stay a little longer.”

Ellie laughed, looking up at him. “I bet you could.”

Tom grinned. “I take it that’s a no?”

Ellie kissed him. “Are you giving me a lift to school tomorrow?”

Tom nodded. “Yeah. Why?”

“Can I please sleep in? Pick me up at quarter past?”

“That’ll only give you another fifteen minutes.”

“Please?”

“Okay.” Tom kissed her and the conversation ended temporarily. He drew back reluctantly. “Still no?”

Ellie smiled. “Still no.” She moved away to unlock the door, walking out to the car with him. Sharon was no longer in the lounge room.

Tom leaned against his car, his arms wrapped loosely around her waist. “What’ve you got for breakfast tomorrow? More soup?”

“Breakfast bar. Stop worrying about me. I’ve been-”

Tom interrupted. “I know, taking care of yourself for years.” He kissed her before she could comment. “I’ll see you tomorrow.” He let her go, turned her and gently pushed her towards the house before he got into his car.

Striding to the house, Ellie stopped when she reached the doorway, turning to watch Tom drive away. Smiling, she locked the door and got ready for bed.