Charming Mr Stewart

19. Go Fish

It was with a sense of relief Elle pulled out of the driveway the next morning. She glanced in the rear-view mirror and saw Harry, James, Mitch, and Maya watching them drive off. The kids waved goodbye with smiles on their faces. Elle felt a stab in her heart. Was this what Harry wanted? The four of them as family, and Elle out of the picture? The sudden mix of envy, hatred, and yearning lassoed her heart, and she turned her focus back on the road, to Bonnie's sing-along and to the week ahead.

An hour later, after countless loops trying to figure out where Dean's apartment was, Elle felt exhausted and pulled into a fifteen-minute parking spot.

"What's the point of having bloody GPS if they keep telling you to turn right into a No Right Turn road?" She clutched angrily at the steering wheel, wanting to hurl the stupid machine out the window into oncoming traffic.

"Just call Dean. Maybe he can come out and stand on the road or something," Bonnie suggested.

"Should have never come back," Elle muttered. She fished out her mobile phone and tried Dean's number. She hung up the phone, her frustration mounting.

"Try the home line."

What would I do without you, Bonnie?! Elle thought, bringing up Dean's contact again. Her nerves felt all prickly as the phone connected and started to ring.

"For the last time, Kim! I can't talk right now," Dean's stern voice jarred Elle. Not because he was almost shouting, but because on some crude level she was surprised by her jealousy. Why was Kim calling him incessantly?

"It's me... Ellenor," she managed, trying not to sound riled up.

"Elle. I'm so sorry. I thought you were..."

"Kim."

He chuckled. "She's been pestering me all morning."

"Shall I call back?"

"God, no," came his urgent reply. "I'm glad it's you. Are you on your way?" he asked with eagerness he hoped Elle wouldn't find offensive.

"We can't find your place."

"You're already here?"

"We are somewhere in the city. Close to your place or not, I can't tell," she answered. "We're slightly lost."

"Tell me where you are and I'll pop down." He sounded so much like James that it caught Elle off guard.

"Have you girls had breakfast?" His voice broke into her thought.

"Yes, but we could do with a snack," she replied. She had barely touched the toast Harry had made earlier that morning. "It was too early for proper breakfast."

"Which road did you say you were on?"

"I didn't," Elle said, peering into the tiny screen of the GPS. "Sussex Street in front of a big building."

Dean laughed. Obviously, Elle didn't know where she was exactly beside Sussex Street. "Right, I'll come find you. Be there soon."

Elle turned to Bonnie, who was ogling passers by. "They dress so much better in the city, don't they?" Bonnie breathed dreamily.

"Who?"

"The men."

"Bonnie!" Elle lightly smacked the younger woman's arm.

"What? I'm just saying." Bonnie winked. "Anyway, what did he say?"

"Who?"

"Dean."

Suddenly, a knock sounded on Elle's window, making her jump. As she wound down the window, she could barely contain her smile.

"You two aren't planning on spending all day on the side of the road arguing, are you?" The crooked smile lifted a corner of Dean's mouth.