The road flew by out the window, streets and cars turning into green pastures and mountains in the distance. Ella loved the feel of Rome’s hand in hers and the thump of the bass from the song playing on the radio. It was so hard to believe she was running off to Las Vegas to get married, but she was smiling so wide, her face hurt. It would be impossible for her father to make her marry that guy from Paris if she was already married to Rome. Hopefully, her dad would see how serious she was about the fact that she loved him and would accept him into the family, despite his last name.
Las Vegas was unlike anything Ella had ever seen before. The bright, vibrant lights twinkled everywhere she looked. The themes of the hotels and the archaeological wonder of it all was exciting. She couldn’t help but look out the window with her mouth hanging open.“It’s pretty amazing, isn’t it?” Rome asked, both hands on the wheel since they were in heavy traffic now.
The sound of his phone ringing--again--had Rome turning over and reaching for it. He pulled his jeans up off of the floor with one hand, trying not to wake Ella up, but she stirred and rolled over, freeing his other arm. It was Bart on the phone. Rome slid out of bed and went into the living room to answer, not caring that he was nude. “Hey. What’s up?”“Glad to know you’re alive,” Bart said, making it obvious he’d tried calling before. “Did you make it to your destination?”
Walking down the Strip made Ella feel like a little kid at an amusement park--or a big kid at an amusement park. She couldn’t help but gawk at everything. From the beautiful lights to the dancing fountains to the statues, it was so vivid and alive. She wanted to go into every hotel, look at every building, say hello to everyone that she met.They had disguises on again, but this time, they were better. They’d taken their time trying to make sure neither of them were recognizable, but especially Rome since he was a celebrity, and it was only a problem for h
The chapel Rome had picked was in a secluded part of town, if there was such a thing as a secluded part of Vegas. With their certificate in hand, Rome and Ella approached the chapel. Her heart was pounding in her chest because she was so excited. It was still unbelievable that she was getting married, but she’d never been more sure about anything in her life that this is what she wanted to do.The woman at the desk greeted them and said it would be just a moment, that the pastor was still with the couple before them. She had a friendly smile, and it seemed as if
Speculation was all over the Internet. Rome didn’t want to spoil their time in Vegas by constantly checking his phone, but he was nervous. If anyone figured out who Ella was, that could be a huge problem.He saw the pictures, and there was no way to identify her unless someone knew her really well, but the fact that she’d lost her shoe alarmed him. One of the entertainment sites was reporting that a member of the paparazzi had taken her shoe and was doing his best to trace it back to where and when it had been purchased and by whom. It was just a matter of
Ella and Rome stayed in Vegas a few more days but had to get back to LA because of Rome’s get-together with the rest of the movie cast. They spent every waking moment together, and Ella couldn’t remember ever being happier in her entire life. While it would’ve been nice to go on a honeymoon to a tropical island, he had work to do, and Ella was still working on her assignments from her father’s business, too.It was difficult, working for him when they weren’t getting along, and every moment that they spent at odds with one another ate awa
The sun beat down on Rome’s head and shoulders, the blue ocean in front of him twinkling as the waves rolled against the yacht. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair, not sure what to do.It was evident Tim was not in a compromising mood, nor was he feeling friendly. Rome had attempted to speak to him, to congratulate him on getting the role, but Tim blew him off and walked away. While almost everyone else was wearing swim trunks and T-shirts that could come off once they reached the point in the ocean where Wynnie had mentioned stopping the yacht for some t
Rome sprinted around the edge of the boat, the fury inside blinding him to everything else except for catching up to Tim and making sure he paid for what he’d just done. He grabbed ahold of Tim’s arm, shoving off one of the men who was escorting him away from the scene, away from where Mark’s bleeding body still lay.“Come back, Tim Bolt! Come back and see what you’ve done! Mark Hutio’s body still hovers just above us, and yet you walk away!”&
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.