Ella hung up the phone and then went over to the dress she’d been working on all week. She had no idea how this would work. If Tim came to get her, and she was locked in the attic, she’d be screwed. Her stepmom would just tell him that she wasn’t there. If he didn’t come to get her, she’d look ridiculous coming to dinner in her dress. But… she didn’t really have a choice. She needed to put it on now in anticipation of her stepmom coming to let her out. Would she just shove her back into the attic and lock the door when she realized Ella intended to go to the party?
In the half-bath, Ella hung the bag Tim had handed her on a hook on the back of the door and unzipped it. She gasped at what she saw hanging there. The gown was gorgeous. A crystal blue color, with lovely gem embellishments all down the bodice, the skirt was full and flowy, and she knew it would look lovely on anyone--even her.Quickly, she took her soup-covered gown off and tossed it in the garbage, thinking there was nothing anyone could do to get that stain out. As carefully as possible, she slipped into the blue gown, which fit her like a glove. He’d even go
Rome stepped out of the shadows once he was certain they were alone. There she was, standing by the fountain, her gown flowing around her, the moonlight casting a silver hue around her dark hair and making her skin glow in a soft light. She had spoken as if she were ordinary, perhaps even ugly, but even with the mask on her face, he could tell that Ella was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen.They’d spoken to each other several times over the phone; he almost felt as if he knew her. Yet, as he approached, the ordinary words that would’ve normall
Tim’s fingers seemed cold compared to Rome’s warm ones, and even though her cousin was a graceful dancer, Ella couldn't help but think about what it would be like if it were Rome twirling her around the dance floor.She’d stolen his phone. She hadn’t meant to. Well, that wasn’t exactly true. She had meant to. But only because she didn’t want Tim to see it. And also because it had occurred to her that if she could sneak the phone into the attic, her stepmother wouldn’t know she had it. Then, Rome could call her whenever he want
Blinding light had Ella covering her face and blinking. “Where is it!” her stepmother screeched, pulling the chain to the bare bulb above Ella’s bed but continuing to shine the flashlight in Ella’s face. “Where the hell is that gown?” she demanded.Ella hadn’t fallen asleep yet, but she had been on her way. Her thoughts had been on Rome, of how peaceful it had been to stand in the garden with him, to hold his hand, to kiss his lips. She’d been so relaxed; it had been like floating on a cloud, in the world’s best dr
Everyone in LA knew where the Sinders’s house was located, but Rome didn’t know for certain that’s where Ella lived until he borrowed Bart’s phone and tracked his own to that location. “You’re crazy,” Bart said, pulling his car over behind Rome’s and getting out.“Why do you say that?”
Ella couldn’t believe Rome was crossing her yard. How brave must he be to dare climb over the tall barrier in the wall and make his way through rows of hedges and bushes as well. She muttered to herself, “My goodness!” watching him cross toward the yard.Resting her head on her hand, she considered what she should do. If she opened the window, she’d have to shout to him, but that wasn’t feasible. She could wake up everyone in the house doing that.
The sound of someone banging on her door, shouting at her to wake up, came too soon for Ella. “Are you awake! Don’t make me come in there!” the servant shouted.“Yes, I’m awake!” Her voice sounded much more clear than it actually was. Ella got up and remembered she was still wearing the clothes she’d tossed on the night before. Footsteps started to echo away from the door, so she darted out of bed. “Wait! I need to go to the bathroom!”
The phone was ringing, but Ella wasn’t answering, and Rome started to get nervous. He had gotten to Mark’s apartment just after sun up because he hadn’t been able to sleep anyway. Mark was passed out in bed in his underwear. Rome only knew that because he went into his room to find his phone.Finally, he heard her sweet voice in his ear. It was a whisper, as if she was trying not to be discovered, when she said, “Hello?”
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.