Three Rings and a Rose (9 page)

“You do realize that you just fucked up your career and mine, Gabriella? Right?”

What the hell?
She knew that the video probably looked bad, but it wouldn’t do that much damage. It wasn’t an unforgivable sin.

Surely people would see that. “Don’t be dramatic,” she managed to mutter. “It isn’t like I’m the first person to be at the wrong place at the wrong time.”

“Of course not,” he snapped, “but you are the one who got caught.”

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“Whatever. I didn’t do anything wrong, Caedon. It isn’t like I got high. I didn’t smoke, drink, or fight. And God knows that I kept my legs closed.” Getting to her feet, she grabbed a towel and started dabbing her body with it. “This is insane. You shouldn’t be mad. It’s in the past. Joseph and that horrible party are long forgotten.”

“Obviously not,” he replied. “Otherwise, I wouldn’t have Ted and my PR team on my ass when I can’t do a damn thing to fix this scandal. I’m on the set of a movie in England for Christ’s sake.” Ella dropped the towel to the floor then stepped out of the tub.

“First of all, this is not yours to fix. It’s my problem. Second of all, you’re being an ass. This doesn’t affect your career.”

“You cannot seriously believe that crock of shit,” he snapped. “I have been taking shit from Ted and every one of my PR guys for months about dating you. Now—”

“That’s an easy fix,” Ella interjected. “Stop listening to your asshat manager and his dipshit henchmen. They hate me, and they’ll say or do whatever they must to keep us apart. Why can’t you see that?”

Caedon ignored her, continuing on as though she’d not even spoken. “
Now
you have this…this fucking video coming out. It’s just too much right now.”

“What are you saying?” she asked as calmly as she could in her current state of shock. When the call came through and the reporter had revealed what had happened, she’d expected to deal with a lot of irate, self-righteous assholes. But she’d never thought that one of them would be Caedon. “Are you breaking up with me?” He sighed. “No. Of course not.”

“Then what?”

“I don’t know.”

As she stood in the bathroom in the nude, she’d never felt more exposed, more vulnerable. And it had nothing to do with her current state of undress and everything to do with the man on the other end of the line. She’d thought he was the man she would spend the rest of
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her life with. She’d been under the impression that he would support her and love her through whatever life threw at her, exactly like she would be for him.
Maybe I was wrong.

“Look,” he said, “we need to take a step back. I’m pissed, and you’re probably stressed out. I will fly back to New York in a couple of days after I get some things wrapped up here. We can talk then.”

“Whatever,” she muttered then hung up on him. When the phone rang seconds later, she deliberated over whether or not to answer it.

But she ended up just shutting the damn thing off. If it wasn’t Caedon calling, it was a reporter, and she didn’t want to deal with one of those vultures. And if it actually was Caedon, she was not in the mood to talk to him.

All she wanted was Micah to be here. She needed to talk to him.

She needed him to comfort her and be there for her. But he wasn’t.

Just like Caedon wasn’t. She was on her own. The one time she would freely admit to needing help, and she had no one.
My life just fucking
sucks like that. I’m not sure it could get much worse than this.
But, of course, it would. She knew that. Something this disastrous, this huge, had no chance of settling down without a major fallout. And it was heading straight for Ella.

She picked up her Egyptian cotton robe with shaking hands and pulled it around her before knotting the belt at her waist. Disregarding the ache in her chest, she went straight for the kitchen and grabbed two essentials—an overpriced box of dark chocolate truffles and a bottle of tawny port. Without missing a beat, she hauled the decadent items over to the counter and sat down then waited for the ground to open up and swallow her whole.

When it didn’t, she theatrically threw her hands up and screamed,

“What are you waiting for? Come and get me.”
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Present day…

“Caedon, this isn’t about forgiveness,” Ella said. “I forgave you a long time ago. And neither is it about how I feel about you. I love you, and I will always love you, but we can’t do this to each other again. We just can’t be together. It won’t work.” Without uttering another word, Ella spun on her heel and walked out of her office, leaving the men behind. She strode through the store and then out the front door before continuing on the path to where she’d parked on the street earlier. She didn’t stop—until she got to her car and realized that she’d forgotten something essential.

In reality, she’d forgotten several important things like her keys and her wallet. But that had nothing on the fact that she’d left behind her heart and her soul—again. And she wasn’t about to go back in there and try to get either of them. Or anything else she needed.

Looks like I’ll be walking home tonight.
She sighed and started to do just that.

* * * *

Oh hell no you don’t, Ella Embry Dawson.

By the time Ella had made it through the door leading to The G

Spot’s showroom, Micah was on his way after her. She wouldn’t get far—because he wouldn’t let her. If he allowed her the freedom to run this time, he would lose his chance to tell her how much he loved and
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wanted her. He would forsake the opportunity to share his big secret with her.

Unlike earlier, he no longer had a choice about it. When he’d tried to tell her before Caedon had showed his handsome face, he’d chosen it willingly. Even with her stubborn, overprotective sisters on his ass, he had
wanted
to finally confess everything. Now it wasn’t an option.

It was a necessity. He had to do it.

With Caedon back, Micah had only one shot at winning her over.

And it had to be right now. He had to lay his heart and pride on the line. He had to tell her the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. Otherwise, she would choose Caedon by default, and he would lose her forever. That was something he couldn’t and wouldn’t contemplate. It was one thing if she didn’t love him or want him. But it was completely another to not even try to win her hand with his undying love and unconditional commitment.

“Ella,” Micah shouted as he shot through the store then out the door behind her with the speed of a bullet. “Get your ass back here.

Now
!”

Did she listen? No. She kept moving. Only he wasn’t sure if it was that she hadn’t heard him or if she was just disregarding his command. It didn’t matter either way. He had to either get to her or get her back to him.

Since demanding her return had not worked for him, he decided to chase her. Picking up his speed, he sprinted toward Ella who had stopped by her car but didn’t get inside. Instead, she pivoted and started heading in the direction of their apartment.

When he saw where she was going, the truth dawned on him. She had left everything inside the store—her keys, her wallet, and even her purse.
Thank God.
Relief coursed through his veins, and he slowed to a jog. But he kept following her and quickly gained on her.

“Ella Embry,” he called out again. “Stop right there.” Like earlier, she ignored him. However, this time, she faltered midstep, and he knew she was purely pretending to not hear him.

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Shaking his head, Micah took those last few steps separating them. He jumped in front of her, coming face to face with her. Their gazes locked, and she attempted to step around him. But he wouldn’t allow that.

Grabbing her around the waist, he pulled her lush body against his. Surprisingly, she didn’t fight him. Instead, she sagged and snuggled into his embrace with a soft mewl of pleasure. “Thank you, Micah. I needed a hug from you.”

Are you fucking kidding me?
“You think I’m holding you to make you feel better?”
Okay maybe a little but not a lot.

Ella frowned. “Well, yeah. I figured that you followed me out here because you knew that I would be upset. Am I wrong?”

“Yes.”

Her eyebrows shot up, and her lips turned down. She looked delightfully disconcerted in the cutest way. Instantly, he felt bad for even thinking about how adorable she looked. He shouldn’t find her disbelieving expression to be sweet, not with the gravity of the moment. Hell, she’d kick him in the balls if she had a clue what he was thinking.

“Then why?” she asked before lowering her voice to a mere whisper. “It isn’t like you
want
to hold me, not the way that I want you to.”

Aha!
He had no doubt that she’d thought he couldn’t hear her.

Well, she was wrong. He’d heard her. He’d heard what he’d always hoped—she wanted him. Even if she wasn’t head-over-heels in love with him, he could work with lust. He could build on that. He would.

If she’ll give me the chance—once she knows the truth.

“Micah?” she asked hesitantly. “What’s wrong with you?” As soon as she spoke, he realized that he’d gone silent, and she was apparently worried about him.
Well you can worry no more, my
sweet snowflake
.

“Nothing is wrong with me,” he told Ella then cradled her head in his hand. The soft wisps of her hair tickled his palm, and he couldn’t
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stop a happy smile from forming on his face. “There’s not a damn thing wrong with me right now. You’re in my arms, and that’s what I need. I need you.”

Ella gasped but seemed to settle down immediately. “I need you too, Micah.”

It’s time
. Micah took a breath in hopes of calming the nerves in the pit of his stomach. He’d always heard of butterflies fluttering inside of a man in love. Now he could confirm it. They were there, and they were as annoying as hell. But he could deal with them if it meant he could have Ella for all time.

“Ella Dawson, I love you,” he murmured.

“And I love you, too,” she replied without pause, obviously still missing the heavy meaning behind his words. She pulled back enough to see his face. A thoughtful expression appeared on her face, and she seemed to contemplate everything about him—his actions, his words.

She seemed to be observing it all.

Micah smiled down at her broadly, allowing the love he felt for her to shine through his entire body. “No, Ella. I
love
you. I have always loved you. I will always love you.” Releasing her waist, he cupped her face then brushed his lips across her furrowed brow. “I’m not gay. I’m bisexual. And you’re the woman I love, the woman I want to be with.”

Clearing his throat, Micah reminded himself that his Ella was a demonstrative thing. She would want to hear that words that made him squeamish. He wasn’t saying anything he didn’t feel, but he felt awkward and girly by sharing his innermost feelings for the woman in front of him.

“You’re what?” she screeched as she stomped on one of his sneakers with her red fuck-me platforms. He cursed viciously from the sharp pain of the spike stabbing through the fabric of his shoe and connecting with the top of his foot.

Ella jerked away from Micah, nearly stumbling as she side-stepped him, before she caught herself. She teetered and tottered on
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the sky-high heels she insisted on wearing. Reaching out, he helped steady her but she swiftly stepped further away from him. “You’re not
gay
?”

Micah shook his head. “No. I’m not.”

Ella ran a noticeably trembling hand through her wavy brown locks. “Then why? Why did you not tell me? Why did you lie?” He’d known those questions were coming. He’d expected them all, but they still caused his heart to accelerate, and he paused because he didn’t know what to say or how to explain it. Even after years of practicing and planning what he’d say when he got the chance to tell her, he still found his tongue stuck to the roof of his mouth.

Eventually he found a way to move past his fears and insecurities.

Willing himself to speak, he sighed and said, “I didn’t lie to you, Ella.

I would never do that. You know better.” Pausing, he waited for her to agree. But she didn’t. Instead, she nodded. So he continued on with his explanation. “When we moved in together four years ago, I needed a place to stay. I had just lost my roommate, and you were the perfect solution for me. As I’m sure you remember, we’d known each other for a couple of months by then. I knew that I liked you as a person, and I figured that you would make the perfect roommate for me. Since I was dating Jon at the time, it didn’t cross my mind that I would fall in love with you.” Micah smiled sheepishly. “I guess I didn’t really know you that well.”

Ella’s frown deepened but she stayed quiet.

“
Anyway
,” he said. “I didn’t realize that you were under the mistaken impression that I was gay until late one night
after
I’d moved in. You told me that you loved the idea that you might be my gay girlfriend one day. You even asked me whether or not you would need to apply for the job.” He chuckled, remembering that odd night.