Chapter 4

CHAPTER

FOUR

There had been no disasters with the wedding or the reception.

No bad-guy kinds, no kinds where anybody had to draw a weapon, no near-drowning kinds—all of which had happened at past weddings with people from Oak Creek.

But Ella was most happy about there being no dessert-related disasters.

Honestly, she would've been okay with someone having to draw a weapon—she knew for a fact Lilah was wearing a .38 Special strapped to her thigh, and had no doubt some of her other friends were armed as well—as long as no treats were harmed in the process of defending the world against threats and tyranny.

"You know Eva's going to come kick your ass if you don't leave stuff alone and go have fun."

Ella didn't have to turn around to know it was Lilah behind her.

"I know. I know." Although the bride didn't have a violent bone in her body. "I just want to rearrange how these are displayed then I'll be done."

Theo and Eva had insisted over an hour ago that Ella's job was finished, that she'd gone above and beyond what they'd expected. That they just wanted her to enjoy herself .

And Ella was enjoying herself. Keeping busy and making sure everything flowed nicely and tasted wonderful kept her happy.

Even if she had no idea why every time she'd looked up for the past hour, she'd found Colton Harrison's eyes on her.

"We're all already mad that you missed the bouquet toss."

Ella laughed. "I'm not. I thought it was hilarious that you caught it." Lilah was the least likely person on earth to be the next one married.

Actually, that wasn't true. Ella most definitely claimed that honor since Lilah generally had men fawning all over her.

Ella finished arranging the last display plate and held up her hands. There, that was it. That was all she was going to do. The reception was winding down, maybe an hour left, but Ella knew she could make her escape early. She'd chat with everyone for a few minutes before sneaking out and heading up to her hotel room.

"You know that none of us wanted to catch that bouquet out of anything more than competition. There's only one person who'd want it— you ." The beautiful bunch of flowers landed on the table next to the plates Ella was working on. "You should've joined us for the catch, Elly-Belly. I would've made sure you got it."

Ella picked up the blooms, stargazer lilies mixed with jasmine and gardenias, and touched them softly, but she still didn't turn around to face her friend. "I know you would've. But I didn't want the bouquet. If I had ended up with it, everybody would've been staring at me, and we both know what they would've been thinking. It would've been awkward for both me and…" She trailed off.

She hadn't wanted anyone looking at her, and she especially hadn't wanted their glances to have made their way over to Colton. Her one saving grace was that Colton didn't know about her crush, even if everyone else from Oak Creek did. Her catching the bouquet and a hundred people turning in his direction probably would've been a tip-off.

Even though she was done, she started rearranging plates again with one hand, holding the bouquet in the other. She should just stick with what she knew: food. Food, she understood. Food didn't require flirtations or batting eyelashes. Food was understandable. She would stick with food and not worry about Colton Harrison.

And if she had the extra pounds to show for it, then so be it.

Or maybe Lilah could start training her like how she'd worked with Becky. It was different—Becky had needed to learn self-defense to protect herself—but maybe Ella could work out with Lilah a couple times a week. That would be pretty painful, but it would at least help with the extra pounds.

She stopped moving the plates around. Lilah was right. Eva and Theo would come over here and fuss at her if she didn't stop. She didn't want them to even be thinking about her at all on their special day.

"Do you think you could start training me? Or maybe we could start working out together sometime?" she said to Lilah without looking at her.

"I'm always down for a workout."

Ella froze. That wasn't Lilah . That wasn't a female voice at all.

It was the one person who Lilah would make herself scarce for so Ella could talk to him privately, damn her hide.

She spun around, hoping her ears were deceiving her through the music, but knowing they weren't. Sure enough, all that filled her vision were deep brown eyes, a granite jaw, and a smile made for sin.

"Hey, Colton." It was all she could manage to get out.

"You've been over here by the desserts all night."

Oh God, did he think she'd been over here eating the whole night? She could feel heat creeping up into her face.

"I was…uh…in charge of the desserts this week." She forced the brightest smile she could, bringing her hands up to punctuate the words. "The cakes and the cupcakes and the gift baskets. It's because of Fancy Pants. My bakery. Eva asked if I would provide sweets for them."

Holy hell, was she really swinging the bouquet in her hand around in the air to make her point? She looked like a damned lunatic. The flowers caught him on the chest, and he took a slight step backward, eyebrow raised.

Grimacing, she set the flowers down on the table beside her before she accosted him further. "Yeah. So, I wasn't just sitting over here eating."

Yep, definitely sounded like a lunatic.

"Everybody's been raving about how good your… treats are. I decided tonight I had to try them for myself."

Ella froze, feeling like some sort of prey that had caught scent of a predator, but wasn't sure. Colton's smile hadn't changed, his eyes were still as deep and clear as they always were, but his words…

Was she crazy, or did it seem like he was flirting with her?

She caught a glimpse of Lilah over Colton's shoulder, now standing next to Becky. They were both watching and nodding enthusiastically, gesturing with their hands for Ella to get closer to Colton.

She ignored them. Colton wasn't flirting with her. Of course he wasn't. He was being friendly. It was what Colton Harrison did—was a huge part of his charm. It was why he had literally millions of fans.

When he talked about trying her treats for himself, it was not a euphemism for something else. No matter what obnoxious gestures Lilah was now making.

Ella deliberately turned away from her friends and shot a friendly smile at Colton. "I hope you liked whatever you tried."

He nodded. "Very much so. I hope to try more soon."

Damn it, there it was again. That hint of flirtation. "High praise, indeed."

He tilted his head to the side. "You headed out to the dance floor now?"

She ignored how his voice affected her. No need to announce that she sometimes listened to his audio clips at night while she was lying in bed just so she could hear his voice.

Patheticity . Definitely needed to be a word.

"No, I think I'm going to head up to my hotel suite. It's been a long week." She didn't want to sound like she was complaining. "A good week, but a long one."

Although she didn't really want to leave. Not with Colton being close by and them having a sort of moment where he was flirting with her, at least in her mind.

How often had she imagined this? She wanted to stay here and talk to him, to enjoy being close enough to smell the subtle scent of his cologne and appreciate how good he looked in a suit.

Colton Harrison wasn't spotted in a suit very often. Any number of survival or adventure outfits? Yes. Fitted T-shirts that showed off his well-developed chest and shoulders? Absolutely. But she didn't think she'd ever seen him in a suit.

It did not disappoint. Perfectly fitted but not snug, it spoke to another, more sophisticated, side of Colton. A very appealing side. As if all sides of him weren't appealing.

But staying here talking to Colton wasn't going to do anything but lead to more stares and whispers. It was only Becky and Lilah watching them now, but it wouldn't stay that way.

Plus, he was just being friendly. Ella knew better than to let her imagination run away with it.

"It's good to see you, Colton." She forced the words out when he didn't say anything. "I hope you're doing well. Good luck with the stunt tomorrow. I'll see you next time you're in Oak Creek."

"Thank you." He picked up a plate with a miniature cupcake, studying it intensely. "Can I ask you something before you go?"

The way he was examining the baked good, she prepped herself for an ingredient question. Did he have a food allergy she didn't know about? "Sure."

His eyes left the cupcake and met hers, and her breath hitched as his face morphed into a slow, sexy grin.

"I'm wondering if you'd like any company up in your hotel suite?"