"Damon did offer to come with me," started Ella, a little unsure whether she had to tell him the truth. It would be very embarrassing indeed to acknowledge that she had a friend who pretended to be her boyfriend. She was not sure she could bear him knowing. She would die if she saw him giving her a mocking smile or any snide remark. Although she would soon leave his company, she wanted to leave with her dignity remain intact. "But I do not want to trouble him."
Javier frowned. A few lines formed on his forehead as his eyebrows joined in the middle. "Why not? He is your boyfriend. If I were him, I would insist on coming."
"He-" Ella swallowed convulsively. "Well, Damon is a dear friend and I am sure he is busy with work. It is Monday after all."
"Friend?" Her boss's face looked every bit confused. His brows shot up, and his eyes widened. He almost looked lost. "Did you two break up?"
C H A P T E R 1 6 : H E R D E N I A L Scarlet invaded Ella's face. Her eyes widened, then her lids dropped, hiding herexpression. She moved quickly into the kitchen and without thinking picked up ice cream from the fridge.She carried it into the sitting room and placed it on a mat in the center of thetable. Damon was finding bowls while Tanner was looking for cutleries.In less than five minutes, the ice cream was served. “No comment, then?" Damon asked at last. "Your imagination runs riot," Ella said without looking at him or Tanner. "Darling, just because you yourself have never noticed your sensitivity to Javier Freaking Summers it does notmean you have learned to hide it from everyone else," Damon told her frankly. "I knew the firsttime I saw you together. You admitted years ago that he liked you." "I di
"Darling, you simply must show me your dress! I know it is my wedding but I want to see yours anyway," said Damon cheerfully as he clapped his hands, showing how impatient he truly was. Ella took a deep breath then put her hands up. "First of all, please do not be mad." "Oh, I do not like the sound of this," commented Damon under his breath. "Just think of it like this, it is your wedding so you should be the focus. All eyes should be on you. The spotlight is yours so it is only right if I wear whatever dress that fits regardless of how they look. It is not important," dismissed Ella with a shrug. "It is important when Javier Freaking Summers will be there with you!" protested Damon, eyes widened in disbelief. "Could you please stop calling him that?" She lowered her body and sat on the edge of her bed. "He is still my boss." Then she recalled he
C H A P T E R 1 8 : H I S R E Q U E S T With everyone in happy spirits, time went by quickly. The guests were chatting and renewing old acquaintances until it was time for the meal and the speeches. But at no time did it seem the right time for Ella to have a private conversation with the man who was supposedly her boyfriend today. Javier had been placed in between Ella and her mother at the meal table, and Ella had to give him top marks that he saw to it that her mother was not neglected. He was attentive to her too, pleasant and affable. Sometimes it surprised her how her boss, who was cold and distant, could be so caring. "So," said Damon who had pulled her to the side once he managed to escape after being surrounded by families and friends congratulating him for the whole day. "How is it with you and Javier? Are you two getting chummy?" He wiggled his eyebrows teasingly,
C H A P T E R 1 9 :H I S F A M I L Y Ella decided that it was quite easy to see where this party was heading. She snatched a glass of champagne off the table as Javier and she walked past it and gave a vapid smile in return for the scowl one of his uncles had given when she was being introduced. Although Javier seemed oblivious, it was easy to recognize the disdainful expression of snooty contempt. She knew full well that she was not the same as the rest of the people here, and they clearly realized it. She did not have money or own a company or even have expensive jewelry other than the ring Javier had given her while the rest of the women were wearing pearls, diamonds, and other precious gems. She was a hard-working woman who had to scrape some months just to paythe exorbitant rent on her apartment. Shestood out like a sore thumb. And they knew it just as well as she d
C H A P T E R 2 0 : T H E T E N S I O N The chilly night air always made goosebumps rise on her arms however as she stepped outside the balcony, the cold was like a slap on the face, driving away some of the fog that the champagne had started to create around her head. She leaned on the balcony, putting the two full glasses and one empty glass on the small, wooden table beside her then looked out over the grounds.They were magnificent and seeing them like this, he could see just how well her boss took care of his home or rather, how well he had paid for it to be looked after. The flowers glittered in the fairy lights and the white stone path snaked around the garden, winding through blooming plants and circling softly glowing fountains. It was sad that all of this was just for one person. It made her wonder how lonely she would feel if she lived in a place like this by herself. She
C H A P T E R 2 1 : S E X U A L T E N S I O N E L L A S T A N F O R D Ella watched him as her boss looked around her apartment. Albeit it was less luxurious than other places her boss had probably gone to, she was not ashamed of it. It was warm and cozy and most importantly, she had paid for it with each dime she had earned. All by herself. She was proud of it. This was the place where she could curl up at the end of a long day. “Nice place,” said Javier after a while. “T-thanks.” She was a little taken aback by his comment and realized that he was being nice. Unsure whether that would mean he would stay the night or not, she put her bag on the small table by coat hanger and walked further into her apartment. “Do you want any drink?” sh
C H A P T E R 2 2 : T O C O N V I N C E O N E S E L F E L L A S T A N F O R D After Washington D.C. intermittent sunshine and rain, Trapani, Sicily looked so unreal and beautiful — just like a coloured postcard. The streets lined with palm trees whose leaves were green and lustrous, the hotels dazzling white and glinting in the sun, the layered rows of houses softly washed in pastel colours, over all of the town the brilliant azure sky making it look more like a film set than anything Ella could remember. They drove from the airport in a hired car which she had booked from Rome. Javier knew the route well from previous visits, his long hands capable on the wheel, his hard profile abstracted in thought. “Your older brother lives here, doesn’t he?” asked Ella. Oddly enough, she felt slightly irritated by his apparent u
C H A P T E R 2 3 : H E R D E S I R E E L L A S T A N F O R D His hands came around her, enclosing her, his palms laid flat against her back, one long thumb beginning to move in sensual massage along the exposed skin above her edge of her blouse. Ella suddenly felt breathless, she was unable to pull herself away. The moment elongated, leaving her curiously weak and intensely conscious of the firm muscles of his thighs against her legs. A sick sensation came up into her throat and she pulled herself together and managed to move away from him, her eyes lowered in self-disgust, shuddering as she realised how she had felt from merely a touch. Previously, Javier had been apt to make one of his barbed comments on such occasions, finding things to mock about her yet he made no remark on what had happened and this left her puzzled and surprised. He then shock her even fu