Chapter 24

24

ELLA

Leah drags me down an alley and nerves splinter in my belly, but we come out on another street that’s more lively with couples, families pushing strollers, and people walking dogs.

“All I know about Aston, aka @QueenAston, aka Mr. Bouchelle’s new wife, is that she’ll be the only one who’ll care whether you’re wearing Dolce & Gabbana or Dior. But since you’re the new girl on the block, you can also set trends they didn’t see coming. So we’re going to skip the snobby designers and head to the local boutiques, giving you a high-end but down-home look that’s perfect for a hockey wife.”

“We’re not married.”

“Not yet,” Leah says.

Instead of going to another luxury shop or boutique, we stop at the department store the woman at the first shop mentioned. Leah gets a cart and tosses things in it, including some toothpaste.

“What’s that for?”

“Carlos said you traveled light. But don’t distract me from spending other people’s money. ”

I laugh, but it abruptly stops when we round a corner and two women block the aisle.

“Excuse us, coming through,” Leah says kindly.

They’re wearing Carolina Storm jerseys and don’t move.

One of them says, “Don’t fall for him.”

Leah asks, “Is that a direct order?”

The other shakes her head at me, “You’ve been warned.”

The first one says, “He’ll break your heart.”

Jack can’t break my heart because I haven’t given it to him. No sooner do I have the thought than I know it’s a lie, but admitting the truth of how close he is to having his hands all over it terrifies me.

“Thank you for your concern, I’ll be sure to inform the manager,” Leah deadpans.

I press my lips together to keep from laughing.

When we continue down the aisle, she says, “I take it you still haven’t been on social media.”

“I forgot my password.”

“It’s for the best. Not only did you manage to snag one of hockey’s most eligible bachelors, but you also won the heart of the billionaire’s son, whose private life is very public. As in he’s dated celebrities, pop stars, socialites …”

And now little old me, because I’m a nobody.

If I won anything, it’s his fake, pretend heart, but I keep that to myself as I fear that at some point, the puck bunny’s prophecy from aisle five will come true.

Even after we check out and go to the store’s bathroom with loads of bags, I can’t shake the women’s warning. Leah changes, swipes on some makeup, dons a pair of glasses, and then looks me over.

“Okay, we need a pumpkin, a horse, a dog, and some mice. Just remember to be back before the stroke of midnight.”

“Are you fairy godmothering me?” I ask .

“Sort of. You already look as fresh as a daisy.” She fusses with my hair and makeup, runs a de-linting roller over me, and polishes my shoes with a baby wipe.

“I don’t think this is necessary.”

“Maybe not. But revenge is. Let’s ride.”

I’m not sure whether to laugh or gird myself.

Leah adds, “Ignore those women and any others we might meet. Just follow my lead.”

As we exit the bathroom, it sounds like she says something that sounds an awful lot like “Bippity-boppity-boo.”

After leaving our department store bags in the SUV, Leah directs the driver to a series of stores where she poses as my personal assistant. When the employees speak to me, she answers. When they tell me I look great in a pair of jeans or a dress, she tells the truth. We end up walking out of there with more bags than we can comfortably carry, but instead of returning to the waiting car, she leads us to the original shop that rejected me.

Leah looks around, sticks her nose in the air, and loudly declares, “Hmm. I suppose it’s best that you didn’t spend your money here, Ella. It smells funny.”

It’s everything I can do not to die, but in a good way.

We don’t have much time to relish our victory at the sight of the aloof woman’s face, falling from its snooty height because Leah is going to be late for her flight.

On the ride there, I thank her profusely for her help and for having my back.

She gives me a side eye and says, “My brother said you genuinely didn’t know who Jack Bouchelle was before you officially met.”

That must mean they were talking about me.

“All jersey joking aside, given his playboy reputation, ordinarily, I wouldn’t defend the likes of Jack, but my brother is his manager. Although Chuck can be obnoxious, he’s a good judge of character. There has to be something good underneath all that handsome brawn.”

Yeah, and part of me wishes it were mine and not a big charade.

When we get to the airport, Leah all but throws herself out of the moving vehicle and onto the sidewalk, but then I clobber her with a big hug.

“Thank you,” I say.

“Can’t wait to see you in Cobbiton.”

Words I never thought I’d hear about a place I never knew existed from a friend I never thought I’d have. For now, my heart is full.

But it does something else entirely several hours later when I emerge from the spare bedroom in Jack’s condo, ready for dinner. He’s gazing out the floor-to-ceiling window and turns when I close the door behind me.

His mouth slackens and his eyes are on fire.

My pulse goes bippity-boppity. But it does not boo . It cheers at how attractive Jack looks in his charcoal gray tailored suit, complementing his athletic build. The white dress shirt underneath brings me back to the resort when he had a couple of buttons open. He’s confident and sophisticated.

Jack belongs. I fear that I do not.

His voice is husky when he says, “You look lovely.”

My cheeks flame and I try to hide behind my hair, but he kisses each one, making me feel, at least for now, that I’m his.

“Bark Wahlburger, you hold down the fort. Carlos will be here to take you on a walk later. Don’t bite him.”

The dog lets out a happy bark and returns to his chew toy.

Jack had meetings all day, so we catch up on the ride to the restaurant. I tell him about my shopping experience followed by Leah’s extreme makeover intervention .

His gaze hovers on me, drinking me in. “You don’t need a makeover. You’re beautiful.”

“I mean that she gave those rude salesclerks a personality makeover.”

He laughs and I almost forget to be nervous about meeting his father again. The first time, I was running on new-girl-in-a-new-place fumes, not fully understanding the reality I’d entered.

I still don’t but hope @QueenAston is nicer than the women at the stores earlier.

When we get out of the SUV, Jack’s hand lands on my lower back, guiding me inside. I’ve only seen this gesture in the movies and didn’t understand it. Was the guy operating her like a remote control car? Fearing she’d get lost in the wide maze of dining room tables? But with the warmth of his hand at the base of my spine, I get it. I can’t explain it, but I want his hand there. He could glue it on for all I care. Low back touch for the win!

Having gone out to a few of the upscale restaurants with Charity and her family to celebrate birthdays and from working at the resort, sophisticated places like this with polished wood gleaming under dim lighting aren’t entirely unfamiliar, but I still feel like an imposter. Like someone will get a transmission in their coms unit, informing the staff that the riff-raff arrived and they’ll permit me to quietly leave through the back door if I don’t make a fuss.

My guilty conscience must be a result of illegally living at the resort because I can practically hear the whispers about how I don’t belong.

A candle flickers on the table as Jack and I take a seat. He’s completely at ease in his bougie confident way. I wonder whether, if I save up enough, I can buy an ounce of it. He could get away with kicking his feet up on the table and no one would say anything. Not that he would. Jack is a gentleman despite his reputation.

The attentive server asks if we’d like something to drink while we wait, but Jack waves her off. It would be rude to request just water in a sophisticated place like this, but I probably couldn’t even afford the glass it’s poured in.

When the young woman leaves us, Jack says, “He’s late. Punctuality was one of my mother’s hallmarks. She really valued time.”

“I wish I could’ve met her.”

The look Jack gives makes me feel like I’m being poured over with warm, milky, sweet love. But it abruptly vanishes, turning to stone.