Jace“Sir, it's time to go.”Jace sighed and glanced around the empty hotel lobby. He checked his watch, even though he knew it was long past when Ella should have arrived. Especially after all those text messages. Yet, still, he had hoped she would show up. The time was only two minutes and fifteen seconds different than the last time he had checked.This isn't going to work out.I can't lie to you anymore. I have someone else.You aren't special.You were going to find out eventually, so I'll just spare you now. I don't want this.I'm not coming tomorrow.You need to leave.The text messages still burned on his phone. There were more, but just looking at them made him want to cry. They seared into his soul. He had missed the first two he was so busy working. He'd immediately messaged her back, begging her to let him come see her. She'd said no, that it would only hurt them both.This weekend was magical. But magic isn't real. I don't want to hurt you. Please, just leave me alone. Go
EllaElla pounded on the cellar door. Her hands ached from the repeated blows on the door that clearly wasn't moving. She'd tried screaming, but she knew that no one would hear her. Just last week, one of the kitchen staff had been stuck in here for hours before someone came to look for her.Except no one was coming to look for Ella. The only person who would notice she was missing was probably on a plane back to his real life already.She couldn't believe Delores would do this to her.A sob choked Ella's throat and made it hard to breathe. Her knees buckled as she checked her watch and knew he was gone. She had wanted to say goodbye. She had wanted to see him one more time, to tell him how she felt and that she couldn't wait to see him again.But now she couldn't.She tried banging on a different wall, but the sturdy ancient cellar walls absorbed everything. She was trapped and had no way to tell Jace goodbye. No way to tell him that he was all she thought about all night.Despite sp
JaceJace stared at the log-on screen to his laptop for the third time. Outside, the clouds hummed past the streamlined jet, but inside, he was stuck. He'd opened and shut his computer at least three times. Each time he tried to get work done, Ella's face would pop into his head and he'd lose his concentration.His phone burned as if on fire. He'd already read the messages four times, in between each open and closing of his laptop. Something about it bothered him. It wasn't right. The words sounded enough like Ella, but she would have told him in person. She never would have missed saying goodbye.This wasn't how things were supposed to happen. This wasn't how the story was supposed to play out and Jace knew it.He was wrong to have left without looking for her further. He should know better than to follow in his father's bitter footsteps.Jace needed to see her. He needed a real goodbye, and if she really did want to push him away, then... well, he could deal with it. But he needed t
Ella“Well, I see you have met my son.” Charles's voice broke into their private moment.“Hi, Dad.” Jace didn't let her go, he just pulled back enough to glare at his father. “Maybe we could chat later.”Charles chuckled. “Don't mind me.” He leaned up against the limo, crossed his arms and grinned at them.Ella and Jace looked at one another. It felt strange to have an audience.“What can I do for you, Dad?” Jace asked. He kept his arms protectively around Ella as if he were afraid she would disappear on him.He didn't need to worry about that. Ella was never leaving him.“I told you, don't mind me.” He grinned, obviously enjoying their discomfort in the most paternal way possible. “I'm just happy to see you with someone I approve of.”Jace rolled his eyes.“I'm glad you approve of me,” Ella said diplomatically. “But, would you mind doing it from inside the limo. Or the inn. Or just not where we can see you. I'd like to kiss him some more and it feels weird with his father watching.”
One year later...Everything was ready. Or as ready as it was going to be.It felt different being on this end of the preparations.“Okay, the caterer is set up and on time, here's your bouquet, the DJ is already set, the photographer is just finishing up the boys shots, and the only thing that seems to be an issue is your lack of smile,” Mia said, peering over her clipboard at the bride.Ella forced a weak smile. “Better?”Mia, Ella's new assistant, shook her head. “No. Seriously, I have this under control. I have since day one. That's why you hired me.”“I know.” Ella sighed and smoothed her hair again. It was hair-sprayed so well that a hurricane wouldn't undo it, yet she kept feeling like it was going to tumble all around her. “I'm just nervous. It wasn't like this for the other weddings.”“The other weddings weren't your wedding,” Mia reminded her with a gentle smile. “Now, put on a smile, go have a drink of champagne with your bridesmaids, and let me handle everything. That's wh
EllaElla curled her fingers into a ball, holding them tight in front of her in a way that she hoped looked demure and repentant. Her fingernails dug into her palms. She tried her best to remain calm as the woman in front of her continued the nasty tirade.“The guests are reporting that the rooms are unsatisfactory.” Delores's hand came down hard on the big oak desk, shaking the smiling pictures of Delores and her biological daughter with various celebrities. Her green eyes blazed at Ella as if the failings of the entire inn and resort were all Ella's fault. “They say that the air conditioning isn't working correctly and no one is doing anything about it.”“I'll have maintenance look into the air conditioning,” Ella replied slowly, once she was sure she was supposed to reply at all. She kept her tone calm and respectful. Delores was her stepmother and her boss, after all. “We need new ones. These should have been replaced last year.”“New ones?” Delores squawked, holding a hand to her
EllaElla hurried out of the stuffy office. She grabbed the door, finding that it had once again swung open on it’s own again. Not much, just a couple of inches. The latch needed to be reset. Ella put it on her mental list of things to fix. Once outside and down the hallway, Ella took in a deep, relaxing breath.Hopefully, Delores would be busy with schmoozing her wealthy patrons for the next few hours and wouldn't find ways to make Ella's life more of a living hell.Not that even a billionaire and his sister would be able to stop her, Ella thought bitterly. She shook her head as she walked quickly past the main entrance with the marble entryway that Delores had insisted on and the inn was still paying for. She nearly ran into a man in a black suit with a thin black tie. Ella assumed he was part of the billionaire's security team and simply apologized and kept walking.As soon as Ella turned twenty-two, her father's will stipulated that the inn would go to Ella as long as she had work
Ella“I’m sorry, please-” the man moved slightly and she nearly lost her nerve. He was gorgeous. Perhaps the most beautiful man she’d ever seen. He had defined cheekbones, dark flowing hair, and blue-green eyes that reminded her of the ocean on a calm day. And that was just his face.“You can't be in here, sir,” she amended, remembering that he was probably one of the billionaire's guests and that she should at least be a little polite. He was wearing a very nice, pale blue dress shirt and slacks that probably cost more than she saved in a year.“Please, don't make me leave.” The man's beautiful eyes darted toward the open barn door and he crouched a little lower behind the stall. “I just need five minutes.”“For what?” The words came out sharper than she intended, especially if he was one of the billionaire wedding guests. She couldn't take her frustration with Delores out on them, so she crossed her arms, hoping that the man didn't have some sort of strange horse fetish.The man blu