“As you can see, the view is lovely. Though you can’t see the ocean from here, it is a spectacular sight when you wake up in the morning to see the swaying palm trees and a wide expanse of blue sky.”
Veronica, the manager of the apartment complex where Rome lived, was a woman in her mid-forties who spoke like someone who’d been showing real estate properties for at least a few decades.
In his apartment, Rome sat with his phone in his hand, but he wasn’t using it. He was just waiting. He knew that Ella had taken the apartment because she’d sent him a text earlier in the day, but now she was out shopping with Tim. As much as Rome wished it was him out there with her, he knew it couldn’t be. It was bad enough some paparazzi had taken his picture with her at the restaurant. It was hard to see her face in the pictures, so no one had figured out that it was her yet, but if Tim saw it, he would know. Then, Rome would be in trouble, and Ella would have some difficult decisions to make.
Her hands were trembling as Ella went to open the door. She would be alone with Rome for the first time, with no one threatening to break the door down, no one who might rush in and surprise them, and as excited as she was, she was also a little nervous. She fully trusted Rome in every way, but being around him made her distrust herself in ways she’d never considered before. Was she ready to give herself to him completely?“Hi.” His blue eyes twinkled as she pulled the door open. His smile instantly br
Rome was up before her, and when Ella walked into the kitchen, he’d already made her a huge breakfast, including her favorites, blueberry muffins. How he’d known she loved them, she didn’t ask. Instead, she just tore off a piece of muffin top and popped it into her mouth, letting it melt as she said, “Mmm.”“Glad you like it,” Rome said, flipping the bacon and then coming over to kiss her. “What would you like to do today?”
Tim’s smile beamed as Ella got into the car. She was glad he was in such a good mood. Ever since Rome had left her apartment, she’d felt like she was about to be sick to her stomach from nervousness. While she was glad she was on her way to see her dad, she certainly didn’t want to see anyone else who lived in that house.She wondered if she’d get a chance to see Mary, though. The girl had been such a good friend to her, and Ella didn’t even have her phone number. It would be great if she c
One of the servants opened the door. Her face wore an ugly grimace when she glanced at Ella, but when she looked up at Tim, the sneer faded and was replaced by a smile. “Come in,” she said, stepping aside.Ella’s dad strode to the door to embrace her. “There you are, darling. God, how I’ve missed you.” He wrapped her up and hugged her so tightly, Ella felt as if she was a little girl again, and she almost cried. But she didn’t. The sound of Teresa’s heels coming into the living room turned her sadness into anger. “
Ella stared at her father for what seemed like five or even ten minutes, with her mouth hanging open, before she could finally formulate a sentence. “You want me to do... what?”“Henry Caron comes from a good family,” Lloyd continued. “He’s smart, funny, charismatic, and quite good with money. Plus, he knows a lot about technology, just as you do. I feel the two of you will really hit it off.”
The passenger side door popped open, and Ella dove inside. Rome started driving before she even got the door shut, but he had ahold of her, and she knew he’d never let her fall.“Are you okay?” he asked, his eyes on her more than the road.“Yes! Just drive!” She managed to get the door closed and her seatbelt on as she checked
With butterflies in his stomach, Rome ran to his apartment and quickly packed a bag. He had no idea how long he’d be gone, so he grabbed three or four days’ worth of clothing. He also grabbed a few items he often wore to hide his identity from fans. When he’d been out shopping the day before, he’d picked up some for Ella as well, thinking she might need them someday when she was out with him. Now was that time.He had a feeling everything was going to come to a head sooner than later. Lloyd Sinders had to know by now where Ella lived. If he cou
Nervous energy bubbled throughout the theater. Dressed in probably the most amazing gown she’d ever seen in her life, including her wedding dress, Ella sat next to Rome holding his hand, and waiting for his award category to come up. The long red ball gown shimmered in the dim light, its full skirt moving and flowing when she walked like butterflies’ wings. If Rome’s category didn’t come up soon, she thought she might explode with anxiety. It already seemed like they’d been waiting for half a day, even though it had only been a few hours since they’d gotten into the limo and made their way to the famous theater in Hollywood where the biggest award show of the year was always held.
It was a gamble. Attending Henry’s funeral was a risk because there would be people there who knew her as Ella Sinders, and as Juliet stood on the periphery, watching the black clad mourners gather around the casket where the pastor was speaking, she spotted the one person she most needed to avoid in the whole world--her father.Of course he was there. Even though Henry’s father had disowned him after he stabbed Rome and then killed himself, refusing to even fly his son’s body back to his native France or attend the funeral himself, Lloyd Sinders had
The fuzzy feeling in his head radiated down his entire body as Rome tried to open his eyes and found it much more difficult to do so than he’d ever experienced in his life. The realization that his arms and legs were heavy, that there were tubes protruding from various body parts, and that there was a steady beeping sound in the darkened room reminded him of what had happened as his eyes finally opened a crack.“Oh, thank goodness!” His mother’s sobbing voice was not at all what he wanted to hear upon realizing he was still alive, that Henry ha
Sitting in the hospital waiting room, Ella was doing her best to keep herself together, but she was struggling. The ambulance had arrived quickly to the scene at Capressies, where Rome lay in her arms, bleeding from the wound in his back near his lung. Henry had buried a six inch steak knife to the hilt. Whether or not it had collapsed Rome’s lung, she didn’t know. No one would tell her anything.The police had arrived a few minutes after the ambulance. While the EMTs worked to stabilize Rome, the officers had asked her a slew of questions about what had h
Not seeing Henry had become nearly impossible. Juliet had absolutely no desire to see him whatsoever, but his constant calling and insisting that she go out with him was getting old. Now that he no longer had control of Rome’s contract, she decided it was time to rip off the band-aid. She’d already told Parker that they were just going to have to be friends, a realization he hadn’t taken well, but she thought he’d get over. She wasn’t sure how Henry would react.She walked into Capressies knowing he was there already. She was purposely tw
Rome walked into the sound stage building, dreading every step he took closer to another day of pretending to chase around unicorns and annihilate them. Drew’s acting was almost as atrocious as the script. The little girl wasn’t bad to work with, but she could only be there for a few hours each day. He spent most of his time listening to Guy argue with the set construction team, hating his life, and praying that the lawyers would hurry up and process the sale of his contract from Henry to Lloyd. It had been two weeks since the Montage show, and so far, nothing had changed, even though he’d only given Lloyd one week to get it done initially. Every day, he walked past the Vinune, wrapped and stored in his living room so that if and when the sale went through, he
“Well, tell me all about it!” Fae insisted as Ella came into her room at the nursing home and settled onto the couch. She had two cups of tea ready on a silver server. Ella wondered how she’d managed that without a kitchen but figured Fae had her ways. The staff absolutely adored her, for good reason. “Did you have a nice time?”Ella smiled at her, slightly amused that she was most concerned about whether or not Ella had had a pleasant experience. She honestly couldn’t say that she had, but she’d choose her words carefully for
Walking away from his wife when she clearly wanted to talk to him wasn’t the easiest thing to do, but Rome knew it was more important for Juliet to speak to Henry at the moment. She could talk to him later--at home. Besides, he wasn’t sure he wanted to speak to her considering what he’d done. The bottom line was, they’d gotten what they wanted. Or, they would, as soon as Sinders sent him the finalized contract.He stood in the back of the gallery, speaking to actress Chrissy Indiana, not hearing a damn word she was saying, despite the fact that
Schmoozing the filthy rich wasn’t something even Juliet enjoyed (Ella despised it) but it was part of her job as owner and chief executive officer of Montage, so she put her head down and did it. So far, it had made her a lot of money. After her first show, months earlier, she didn’t think it was possible to bring in much more revenue at one event, but she’d been very wrong. Even without the Vinune, she was going to make three times more money than she had at the first show, in profits alone. She was sitting in a good position to be able to buy Henry’s entire company outright if she wanted to.