Yours Completely: A Cinderella Love Story (Billionaires and Brides #1) (10 page)

“Me?” Ella immediately thought of Jace and nearly choked on her drink. Jace was marrying Madelyn tomorrow. “No, no, no. Not falling for anyone. No.”

“Uh huh.” Madelyn sipped her drink. “You should work on that answer.”

“It's complicated. He's seeing someone else. It would never work anyway.” Ella took a bigger swig of her drink.

Madelyn watched her for a moment. “Well, I'm sure your Prince Charming is just around the corner.”

The table next to them erupted in shrieks as one of the girl's the other table threw her drink in Chris's face. Apparently his game wasn't going very smoothly tonight.

“I'm going to go out on a limb and say it's not that guy, though.” Madelyn sipped her drink and watched the mayhem as Chris stumbled away and the girl's friends consoled her.

“Aw, shucks. And here I was hoping he'd be the one,” Ella replied with a shrug. Madelyn burst into laughter.

“Is it weird that I wish my fiance were here?” she asked after a moment. “He would have thought that was hilarious.”

Ella looked at her friend's face. It shone with love as she thought about the man she was going to marry tomorrow. “I think it's sweet.”

“It's corny, I know, but he really is my best friend.” Madelyn blushed and looked down at her drink. “I can't imagine my life without him.”

“I think love like that is beautiful.” Ella took another sip of her drink. “He seems really great.”

“He is.” Madelyn's face flushed with joy. “Did you know he proposed to me twice? The first time he was so nervous he forgot to ask the question entirely. He had to start over and do it again.”

Ella tried to imagine Jace that nervous. It made her chest ache. To be that nervous meant that there was real love there. Something that could endure the ravages of time. Madelyn and Jace would be so happy together.

“He's a lucky guy to have you,” Ella replied. And she was lucky to have him.

Madelyn finished off her drink and started on Gwen's. Ella was going to have to intervene soon, or the bride would be hung over tomorrow.

“Thank you again for saving the day,” Madelyn told her. “Honestly, I can't think of a single person who would offer their wedding dress to a stranger. But you did. I could get married in a brown paper bag, and Jason wouldn't care- but....”

“But the pictures would be terrible,” Ella finished for her with a smile.

“It's not just the dress, Ella. It's the whole wedding.” Madelyn set her drink down hard enough that a little bit of liquid sloshed out, but she didn't notice. “The entire experience at your inn has been perfect. You've been perfect. I really can't thank you enough for everything you've done for us.”

“You are most welcome,” Ella said, a blush creeping into her face.

“I mean it. You're my hero. You're Jason's hero. You made tomorrow the day of my dreams.” Madelyn reached for Ella's hand and held it for a moment.

If Ella hadn't felt guilty about wanting Jace earlier, she really did now. Madelyn was so happy. It felt dirty to even think of Jace when she looked like that.

Ella held up her drink. “To you. And your love.”

Madelyn clinked her drink happily against hers and Ella quickly downed the rest. Tomorrow, it would be over. Jace would be married and happy with Madelyn. They would all go back to their old lives and she could stop having this twisting guilt and desire rolling through her belly. Tomorrow.

I
t was the day of the wedding and Ella had more to do than she had time. The morning was flying by and she was just glad she had stopped drinking the night before when she did. The caterers were going to be late, the seating wasn't set up like it was supposed to be, the flowers were arriving an hour early, and the gardener forgot to turn off the sprinklers to the outdoor reception area. Despite all of that,  Ella was excited. Those things could be handled. The wedding would go on, and even if they weren't exactly perfect, she could fix just about anything.

She pushed the loose tendril of hair that had escaped her pony-tail as she knelt next to a chair for the bridal table. She was in the main reception hall, getting everything ready for the big party after the wedding. She pinned the bow to the back of the chair a little tighter, knowing there would be a breeze later on with the doors to the courtyard open.

Chair decorations. Who would have thought that chairs needed to be decorated?
Ella asked herself as she straightened out one of the big, beautiful bows on the back of a different chair.

With a groan, she stood from the floor and admired her handiwork. It really was rather pretty, even if it was a little over-the-top. She took a step backward to get a better look at the bow, trying to decide if it was crooked or not, and promptly tripped over the cart holding the decoration supplies.

The metal cart crashed into the floor with her falling right behind it. The crash was loud and undignified, but at least she managed to avoid knocking over the other decorated chairs and tables in the process.

So that's how today's going to go. Awesome
, she thought, pushing a hand to her bruised hip but not getting off the floor. At least the cart was mostly empty, but it was most definitely broken. The frame was bent and one wheel was now spinning down the aisle between to tables and toward the door. Delores was not going to be pleased.

The door opened, catching the spinning wheel and sending it hurtling off into another part of the room. Her eyes traveled up slowly, taking in the expensive black leather shoes, the tailored dress pants, the crisp white shirt, the strong jaw, the blue eyes, and tussled dark hair.

Jace.

Of course it was Jace. The last person in the entire world that she wanted to see, let alone find her tangled on the floor with a broken cart was of course the person who would be walking through that door.

And, of course, he looked good. Edible, wet-dream, kind of good. He wasn't wearing a tie, and he hadn't shaved or bushed his hair yet, but the tux looked spectacular on him. Ella was having difficulty breathing, and it had nothing to do with her fall.

“Are you okay?” Jace asked, dropping to his knees and his hands going to her shoulders.

Ella's mouth didn't function at first, especially with him touching her. His bride was so incredibly lucky. For a moment, she wished that Madelyn was a horrible person because it would be so much easier to hate her. Ella hated the jealous ache filling her core.

“I'm fine,” Ella finally said, pulling away from him. She stood up and brushed off her jeans, feeling completely under-dressed. She was just wearing jeans and a t-shirt while she ran around so she would get the dress Maria lent her dirty. “Just clumsy.”

“Good.” Jace quickly stood up, putting his hands in his pockets and eyes going hard. He glanced around and shrugged. “You must be getting excited. Getting any good ideas?”

Ella frowned, looking at the bows and the broken cart. “What do you mean?”

“For your wedding,” he explained. His voice sounded tight, despite the ease of his stance. “I'm assuming you'll be having it here.”

“Eventually, I guess,” Ella replied slowly, picking up an extra bow from the cart. “But I have to meet the right guy first. I'm not planning on getting married anytime soon.”

“You're not?” Jace's hands came out of his pockets. “You mean you're not engaged?”

Ella shook her head, wondering if she had fallen harder than she thought. “No. I'm not even dating anyone right now.”

Jace laughed, the sound filling the empty reception hall. His face relaxed and he grinned. The lines around his eyes were gone and a light shone from the depths of their blue green. It was a light she wished she could always see, especially since it made her heart speed up. “That's good to hear.”

Ella looked up at him, totally lost.
Good to hear
? Why would he be happy to know she wasn't getting married?
He
was the one getting married. Her martial status had nothing to do with it. He shouldn't be interested in the slightest.

“What made you think I was getting married?” Ella's voice was soft. She didn't mean to take the step toward him. She certainly didn't mean to take a deep breath and inhale the scent of his cologne.

“Delores. She said you were engaged.” He looked down at her, his eyes soft. “Is there another Ella that works here? Could she have just been confused?”

Only if you count the part-time maid pushing seventy-five with three grand-kids
, Ella thought. Instead, she said, “Yeah. She must have just gotten the two of us confused.”

For the life of her, Ella couldn't figure out why Delores would give him bad information like that. Knowing Delores, it was probably an attempt to punish Ella for taking the wedding liaison position from Allison, though Ella couldn't figure out why she would say that. Then again, her stepmother wasn't always the most logical person when it came to Ella. Maybe it was just Delores's cruel way of telling Ella she'd never get married.

“I'm just glad to hear it's not true,” Jace said. Somehow, his forefinger and thumb were on her chin, tipping her face up to look at him. His fingers tingled against her skin and even though she knew it was wrong, she couldn't pull away. Every fiber of her being wanted to kiss him.

Luckily, her phone started to ring.

It was enough to pull her away, to bring her back to the wedding at hand. He was getting married and she needed to stay away from him. She reached for the phone, looking away and trying to clear her mind of his scent as she answered.

“This is Ella.” Her voice was breathless and sexy and she hated it.

“Ella, there's a fire in the kitchen!” The voice on the other line was pure panic. “I used the fire extinguisher, but-”

“Don't worry about it,” Ella interrupted. She sent a silent thank-you up to whichever higher being was listening that the fire hadn't triggered the fire alarms and scared the guests. She pinched her nose with her fingers and took a breath. “I'll be right there. Just make sure the fire doesn't come back and don't freak out, okay?”

She clicked the phone off and stuffed in her pocket, knowing that she had to get to the kitchen before anyone did anything stupid.

“I'm really sorry, but I have to go.” She bit her lip. Looking at Jace made it hard to move again.

“No, I should go finish getting ready anyway.” He shook himself slightly, as if clearing his head. He motioned to the upturned cart. “I just wanted to make sure the building wasn't falling down.”

“Yeah, I'll get that taken care of before the wedding,” Ella remarked, still not moving. “I really should go take care of the fire.”

“Fires should always be taken care of,” he agreed, a humored smile crossing his face. He didn't move either.

Again, she knew she should leave the very sexy, very kissable man in front of her and go take care of whatever disaster was going on in the kitchen, but it was hard. It wasn't fair that he had this kind of effect on her, especially since he was getting married to someone else in a few hours.

She forced herself to walk away. She had to. Not just for the fire, but for her own sanity. If she stayed, she'd kiss him and she knew it. She would not allow herself to be responsible for ruining the wedding. She made it all the way to the ballroom entrance.

“By the way...” Ella paused at the door, unable to leave without saying something. “You look great. The bride will be really happy, and honestly, Jason, you're lucky to be marrying someone like her.”

She didn't stay to see how he would react. Her heart couldn't take it. She ran.

A
ll those stupid love songs were right
, Jace thought as he watched Ella flee out the ballroom door. His heart was soaring and his brain was mush. One thought kept repeating through his mind, slowly repainting the horror that had been his sorrow just hours ago.

She wasn't engaged.

Except, and this part made Jace chuckle, she thought he was this wedding's groom. Jace and Jason. It was an easy enough mistake to make, particularly since the press knew him as Xavier. Jace was only for close family and friends.

Jace sagged into an overdecorated chair, unsure if his knees were going to give out or break into happy dance. He shook his head, smiling. She thought he was the groom.
That
was why she pulled away every time he tried to kiss her. It wasn't that she was engaged or didn't want it- she was being honorable.

The idea that she thought she was saving him from her warmed his heart. His soon to be brother-in-law was almost as wealthy as Jace, and the two of them had often spoken about how money changed people. Any other woman in her position would have taken advantage of him. It would have been easy to blackmail money out of the situation, but that wasn't Ella. Instead of taking the easy paycheck, she pulled away.

He suddenly couldn't wait for the wedding ceremony. As soon as Ella saw his sister marrying a man that wasn't him, everything would be fixed. They could laugh about it over drinks. He's ask her for a dance at the reception, and spin her around until they were both dizzy.

He grinned, standing up to return to his room. He still needed to shave and finish dressing. His steps out of the ballroom were strong and sure, and with every step he felt closer to flying. As soon as Ella knew he wasn't Jason, they could finally have that kiss. There were no unspoken fiances hovering between them anymore.

Suddenly Delores was standing directly in front of him. He skidded to a stop, nearly bowling her over for a second time in just two days. He really needed to stop running into her like this.

“Oh, Mr. Connor,” Delores purred his name like a contented cat. She fluttered her eyelashes, but her mouth was still too pinched to be attractive. “We were just looking for you. I have another form I need you to sign.”

Jace stared blankly at her for a moment before realizing that her daughter, Allison was with her. Allison's top button was undone, giving him a heady view of cleavage as she clutched a clipboard to her chest.

“Now?” Jace asked. He wanted to go back to his room and shave and come up with the perfect thing to say to Ella while they danced.