Chapter 23

CHAPTER

TWENTY-THREE

Ella knew this was a fake date, but it still felt real.

They'd driven back from Fairytale earlier this afternoon, Colton calling the team and setting everything up as they drove. They decided that going back to the Eagle's Nest would probably make the most sense—that was where Colton would take a date here in town.

She'd gone home and dressed in her cutest little sundress. She figured that was probably stupid, pretend date and all, but when Colton had shown up at her door, he was wearing a nice sweater and khaki pants. Also a little dressy. He hadn't needed to make the effort, but it meant a lot to her that he had.

It meant a lot that he'd ordered a bottle of wine for their table as if this were a completely real date too.

At the very least, they were fooling everyone in town, if all the knowing looks and smiles were anything to go by. Nobody was bold enough to come up to them and ask outright what was going on, but Ella had no doubt they would be the subject of much gossip.

She'd already been ignoring all of Lilah's suggestive texts. The woman was sitting at the far side of the Eagle's Nest, and Ella didn't dare make eye contact with her since she was sure it would lead to rude sexual gestures. Lilah was Lilah .

The rest of the team was here again just like they had been last night. Callum and Lincoln were outside; Lilah, Derek, and Theo were here inside.

So, yeah, a date with Colton, but it didn't really count when all your friends were surveilling you.

Colton reached over and took her hand in his. "You look a little nervous. Because of the stalker? I promise you're not in any danger."

She gave a shrug. "No, that's not it. I'm not worried about that."

"Then what? Talk to me, Butter?—"

He broke off in the middle of the endearment and pointed at his ear, reminding both of them that he was on the comms unit with the rest of the team. And that was the problem, wasn't it?

"Tell me what you're thinking," he began again.

"This is our first date," she finally said.

She wasn't sure exactly what she'd been expecting, but it definitely wasn't him tilting his head to study her and then nodding. He touched something on his ear. "I'm going off comms. You guys can handle this. Right?"

Whatever response he got had him slipping the small device out of his ear and into his pants pocket.

"Why did you do that?"

"You're right. This is our first date. I don't want to have everyone listening. I want to be with you. The team can handle it if any stranger shows up who fits the profile. Being with you is more important to me."

She couldn't stop the smile that crept up over her face. This wasn't some ruse. He wasn't acting.

Colton Harrison really wanted to be here with her on a date. Nothing could have made her feel more special.

They ordered food, and soon, Ella was forgetting anyone else was around except the two of them. They talked about their favorite memories from high school and different places they both traveled since they both had celebrity fathers. Their food was delivered as they talked .

"Are you ready for our wilderness adventure tomorrow?"

Ella took a bite of her chicken and let out a groan. "I guess so. Although my role is to show the kids that even non-outdoorsy people can do wilderness survival stuff too."

Colton chuckled. "Those kids are a unique blend, aren't they? Some of them would rather be inside on a computer with Lincoln, and some of them we'll have to drag out of the wilderness because they want to stay."

"I can't believe the camp is almost over. I met a baking buddy. Her name is Ashley. She wants to know if she can come back when she's in high school and do an internship at Fancy Pants. She's definitely got the skills for it."

"Yeah, I've seen her. I've been spending a lot of time with Marshall, and I think he has a little crush on her."

A smile tugged at Ella's lips. "I think the feeling is mutual, although both of them are so guarded that camp will be over and they won't do anything about it. But I'll bet they'll stay in touch afterward. Maybe we can help them spend some time together while we're camping."

He laughed as he took a bite of his steak. "Look at you, the little matchmaker."

"I just like watching their eyes light up when they see each other and then pretend like neither of them really cares. It's cute."

Colton kept her entertained and laughing as they finished their meal. There had been no word from anybody on the team, so she assumed nothing was going on that they needed to know about concerning the stalker.

"Do you think this is another dead end?" she whispered when their meal was over and the waitress had cleared away their plates.

"Hell no."

"But surely the team would've told us if anybody was around who fit the bill."

"Yeah, I mean the chances that we're going to catch the stalker tonight are probably slim, but that definitely does not mean this night has been a dead end. The opposite, in fact. "

She could feel herself blushing. "Good, I'm glad you feel that way. And I'm hoping maybe we can have another date at some point that doesn't involve most of our closest friends keeping an eye on us."

"Bet on it."

"Should we pack it in? Do you want us to hang out here longer? I'm good either way."

Colton looked out toward the middle of the bar where some couples were dancing. "How about a dance?"

"Do you think that will help with the stalker?"

He winked at her. "Probably not. But if having a stalker gives me an excuse to dance with you, then I'm thankful for every letter that psycho has sent me."

She wanted nothing more than to believe he was telling the truth. "Okay, you have a debrief with the team. I'm going to go to the restroom really quickly."

"Hurry back."

She was walking on air as she headed to the bathroom, so caught up in her own happiness that she forgot she was walking by Lilah, who was sitting at the bar. The other woman smacked her discreetly on the ass and winked when Ella jumped and looked over. "Looks like you're having a good time. I'm so happy for you, Elly-Belly."

Even the dreaded nickname couldn't pull Ella from her happiness. "Anything happening on your guys' end?"

"Nothing so far. But if you two are having a good time, we're happy to merely be along for the ride. Now, get out of here before you blow my cover. Although it would probably be more suspicious if we hadn't stopped to talk."

Ella wanted to tell her friend all about what she was feeling, how much fun she was having—despite potential stalker issues—but it would have to wait. Not only were they in the middle of an op, Lilah would need at least a couple of hours to congratulate herself on getting Ella and Colton together.

Ella chuckled to herself as she left Lilah and continued to the bathroom, glancing at herself in the mirror as she walked in. God, she was flushed, but it looked good on her.

It felt good on her too.

Yes, she wished this date were under different circumstances, but she was having the most wonderful time. Most people didn't spend the day making love in an isolated cabin and then go out on their first date, but she couldn't bring herself to care. And the biggest thrill of all was that the night wasn't over yet.

She went into the stall to use the bathroom, and a few moments later, two other women walked in. Ella was about to flush the toilet when their words stopped her.

"I mean, that is Colton Harrison, right?"

Ella froze. Could this possibly be the stalker? She peeked through the crack in the stall. One of the women she recognized as a local. Susan or Sarah—something like that. Ella didn't know her well. She was younger, maybe twenty-one or twenty-two, and worked part time at the grocery store. The other woman who brought up Colton's name was the same age. Ella didn't recognize her at all.

"Yeah," Susan/Sarah said. "He grew up here, but he's not around very often."

"He's super hot."

Maybe this woman was the stalker. She was definitely honed in on Colton. Maybe she had befriended Samantha —yeah, that was the grocery clerk's name—to have a legitimate reason for being at the Eagle's Nest.

Ella squinted at her through the crack in the stall, trying to force her brain to remember if this could've been the person in the black hoodie. It was possible. Ella tried to memorize as many of the woman's features as she could this time. Brown hair, freckles, wide-set eyes.

"Yeah, he's hot," Samantha agreed. "But he always hangs out with his group of Linear Tactical friends, so I wouldn't get your hopes up about anything happening."

"Who's that woman he's eating with? His sister? "

Samantha chuckled. "You wish. That's his date. Her name is Ella."

The other woman's eyes got wide. "Really? That's his date ? That woman—all plus-size of her—is not who I expected Colton Harrison to be taking on a date."

Samantha smacked at her arm. "Jesus, Crystal, be nice."

Crystal. Ella tried to focus on getting as many details of Crystal's appearance as possible and not on the woman's unkind words. That wasn't what was important.

"Don't tell me that everybody out there wasn't thinking the same thing."

Samantha shrugged. "From what I've heard, Ella has had a crush on him, like, forever."

Ella could feel her face heating for an entirely different reason now.

Crystal pulled out some lipstick and dotted it on her lips. "It's so nice of him to take the time to go out with someone like her. I mean, I guess it makes sense while he's here in this tiny town to give the ordinary girls some attention too."

"It looked like they were having fun."

"Oh, I can imagine she was having fun. But Colton? I mean, he's basically an actor, right? So maybe he's using this as practice for facial expressions in future stunts. You never know when the I need to pretend like I'm interested in this not super-attractive person look is going to be needed for a stunt."

"Jesus, Crystal, you're such a bitch."

Ella watched Crystal put her lipstick away. "I just call them as I see them. Colton's being nice to that woman now, but I'm sure he'll be back to his normal caliber of dating as soon as he is out of this town and has more options. That Ella person won't keep his attention long."

The women finished their makeup touch-ups then left.

Ella stayed where she was long after they were gone, even when other women came in and out.

Was this what people thought about her and Colton ?

Even more importantly, was it the truth and she was just blinding herself to it? Would he be back to dating his normal "type" as soon as he was gone from Oak Creek?

It was only the thought that Crystal could possibly be the stalker that finally had Ella leaving the bathroom. She washed her hands then immediately went to find Lilah.

"Damn, girl. Are you okay? You were in there a long time."

Ella spotted Samantha and Crystal then twisted around until her back was to them and Lilah would be able to see them over her shoulder. "Do you see those two women behind me? I'm wondering if one of them, her name is Crystal something, could be the stalker. She was talking about Colton in the bathroom."

Lilah pressed the comms unit at her ear. "Lincoln, are we sure that the Crystal woman you ran earlier is clean? She was talking about Colton in the bathroom."

Ella couldn't hear Lincoln's response, but Lilah shook her head. "We'll dig into her more deeply, but Lincoln is fairly certain she's clean."

Lilah made a face at something that was said in her ear. "Lincoln would like to state for the record that Crystal is not the stalker. Evidently, his software is God and knows all things."

Lincoln obviously had something to say to that in Lilah's ear because she rolled her eyes.

"Okay. I just wanted to make sure," Ella said. Her shoulders slumped. She couldn't help it. If Crystal had been the stalker, then maybe she could've written off what the other woman had said.

"You okay, honey?" Lilah asked.

No . "Yeah. I think I'll be wanting to turn in soon, so we might have to wrap up the search for tonight."

"Oh, I thought Colton said you guys were going to dance."

She couldn't stand thought of eyes on her right now and what everyone might be thinking if they were dancing together. "I'm tired, and I'm a terrible dancer anyway."

"Elly-Belly… "

God, she hated that name. "I'll catch you later, Li. Thanks for being here tonight and helping Colton out."

She didn't see Colton at their table and wasn't sure where he'd gone. She let out a surprised yelp when an arm wrapped around her waist and pulled her against a hard body. "Dance with me, Butterscotch."

She couldn't seem to find the words to say no, so she let him pull her onto the dance floor. It was a slow dance, so he tucked her against him.

She could feel eyes on her. Knew everyone was looking and wondering and judging.

"Hey. You okay?" he asked.

"I…" She had no idea what to say.

"Whatever it is, just tell me. It's better for us to talk it out than let?—"

She wasn't sure what he was going to say because Theo rushed up to them.

"Colton, Callum just caught someone putting something on your truck. It's a foot chase outside."

"I'm coming." Colton squeezed her waist. "Stay here. I'll be back soon."

With that, he was gone, walking as fast as he could out the door without causing a huge scene.

Leaving Ella alone on the dance floor with everyone looking at her.