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Lucy blew out a breath. “Don’t make me regret being okay with it and giving you the green light, okay? So long as you do your jobs well and don’t let any outside pressures into this arena, you have my support.” She sat back and folded her arms. “Office romances happen every day. You’ve got to be on the side of love, right?”

Ella blinked rapidly, and glanced sideways at Sloane. Love? Nobody had mentioned love yet. Sloane’s cheeks went the colour of a beetroot. However, she wasn’t going to dispute what Lucy had said.

She liked Sloane.

An awful lot.

Everyone had to start somewhere.

* * *

“I think this is the one.”Ella stretched out on the blue velvet corner sofa from Heals. It was way beyond her price range, but she figured it was an investment in her future. Sloane’s words had made her think she could afford it herself if she paid for it on a credit card and dipped into her savings. That she deserved it. It was going to take six weeks to arrive, and by that time, she already knew she’d be sick of the old one. Her mum had never treated herself, always worrying about the future. That hadn’t got her very far. Ella made a promise to herself there and then that she’d live life to the full and get what she wanted and deserved. This sofa was her first big solo purchase.

“It’s got your name written all over it.” Marina sank into it. “Really comfortable, too. I reckon you could have very intimate times on here with a certain world football star.”

“Shhhh!” Ella glanced around the store. “Somebody might hear you.” However, there was nobody within earshot.

“Nobody’s interested. I still don’t get why you can’t be out and proud. Are you not expecting it to work? Is that what she thinks?”

Ella would be lying if she said that thought hadn’t crossed her mind. But she shook her head anyway. “She doesn’t want anything putting pressure on her comeback, which I get. She’s just been through the wringer with Jess. She doesn’t want new speculation. Plus, she’s trying to protect me, I think.”

“So chivalrous, or something.” Marina raised an eyebrow. “Honestly, your life is like a soap opera.”

“Try living it.”

Marina lay down and got comfy. “I’m just trying it out for when I stay over. I think this would work to sleep on.” She returned to a sitting position and gave Ella a wry grin. “You know what? Even though your start has been a little mysterious, I like that you’re with Sloane.”

“Are you buttering me up to get free tickets?”

“I assume that’s a given.” Marina flashed her perfect set of pearly whites, courtesy of a teeth whitening treatment she spent a fortune on last year. She maintained it was worth every penny. “Only, I do need to hang out with her again soon. As your closest family, I feel like I need to properly vet your future wife.”

Ella gave her cousin a withering look. “We’re not getting married.”

“Yet,” Marina qualified. “But I like the fire she’s lit behind your eyes. You seem different, more alive. I wanted you to find someone, and you have. Now I just have to sort myself out.”

“You do,” Ella agreed. “But seriously, who knows where this is going. She’s gorgeous, talented, and famous, and I can’t quite believe she’s sleeping with me.”

“I can. You’re a catch.”

“I’m not Sloane Patterson.”

“That’s good, because I doubt she wants to sleep with herself.” Marina waggled a finger in her direction. “She might be queen of the pitch, but you’re the queen of her heart.”

Ella snorted. “Do shut up, you’re making no sense.” Then she lay back on the sofa, making sure to keep her feet off the material. She wriggled, then gave a firm nod. “This is comfy. And it’s massive. Even a giant could sleep here. You definitely could, seeing as you’re a leprechaun.”

Marina slapped her in protest.

Ella smiled, and went quiet for a moment. “Do you think it will be okay, though? Me and her? You saw the necklace she bought me for Christmas. It cost a lot, I looked it up.” She sat up next to her cousin again, and pursed her lips. “Remember the issues I had around money with Reba? I worry it’s going to be the same with Sloane.”

But Marina was having none of it. “Your issues with Reba were more than money. You never seemed that happy with her. Whereas you seem smitten with Sloane, even though it’s early days. You were never like this with Reba, even after six weeks, when you reallyshouldbe. Yes, Sloane’s rich and famous, but in a good way. She earns money doing something she loves. More to the point, somethingyoulove. From what you’ve said, she’s a good person. And she has good taste in jewellery. Reba earned money as a city financier. Reba loved money for money’s sake. There’s a huge difference.”

Ella hadn’t thought about it like that. She and Sloane did have so much more in common. Plus, when Reba had bought Ella expensive jewellery, it had been for show, and not really Ella’s style. Whereas Sloane had taken the time to splash her cash on something meaningful.

“Plus, you’re older and wiser now, too.” She paused. “And if it does all go tits up, at least you can say you shagged a World Cup winner.”

Ella burst out laughing, then elbowed her cousin in the ribs. Only someone who’d known her their whole life could say that.

Marina grinned. “Where is she today?”