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Naomi paused. For effect or because she visibly trembled, Ellery didn’t know. “All of Augustine will be in your debt, Ellery.EspeciallyPrince Derek.”
Naomi gave her a significant look. She knew. She knew how gone Ellery was over Derek. What she didn’t know was that Ellery refused to act on her longings for a prince who was so far out of her league. Even with Ellery’s athletic ability and years of training, she couldn’t jump that high.
“I’ll let you know,” she managed, worn out and overloaded emotionally and physically. It was torture to fight her feelings for Derek every day. This nightmare with Hattie Ballard being in a position to hurt, maybe stab a member of his family, was horrifying. This was the farthest thing from a fairy tale.
Climbing wearily from the car, her legs felt barely able to support her. She’d done plyometric workouts that didn’t wear her out as much as this conversation had.
She shut the door and walked up to her building, using her key to get in the exterior door, then wearily climbing the stairs.
Loud female voices carried from her apartment. These walls were paper thin. Shoving in her key, she turned the door handle, said a prayer to keep a happy face on, and walked in to their humble home.
“There’s our beauty,” Aunt Elise exclaimed.
“Ellery!” her mom beamed from her easy chair. She looked happy. Today must’ve been a good day.
“Hi, Aunt Elise. Hi, Mom.” Ellery hurried over to kiss her mom’s soft cheek. She loved how real her mom was. She loved her wrinkles and her softness and her kindness. It felt like a direct contrast to Naomi Rindlesbacher. The lady had been kind and not demeaning, and it wasn’t her fault she was wealthy and perfect-looking, but Ellery preferred down-to-earth people like her mom and Aunt Elise. “You look good.”
“So do you.” Her mom’s nose wrinkled. “But you need a shower.”
Ellery straightened. She wouldn’t mind a shower. Lathering off her sweaty day would give her some time to muddle through everything in her head.
“Wait.” Aunt Elise held up her hand. “I’m working the late shift tonight, but I haven’t seen you since Sunday and you avoided telling me how the romance with you and Prince Derek is going.” Her hazel eyes glittered happily. “Let me live vicariously through you, beautiful, please.”
Ellery laughed wryly and shook her head. “I would if I could. There is no romance between us.” There were sparks and desire but no relationship so she wasn’t truly lying to her aunt.
“No,” Aunt Elise groaned. “Your mom keeps claiming that, but I pray she’s wrong and the social media sites are right. Look what popped up on my Insta feed tonight.” She hurried to Ellery’s side, holding out her phone.
Ellery didn’t want to look. Occasionally, some site got a pic of her and Derek and made a big deal out of it. With all the Derek thoughts pinging through her head right now, she couldn’t take reading or seeing speculation that was only a dream for her. But if she went to Augustine to protect him and his family …
Entertainment News had a picture of Derek pressing her against his beautiful Bugatti. He looked more beautiful than the car, and the tender look they’d captured on his face… Oh, my. Ellery’s heart threatened to burst from her chest. She loved when Derek looked at her like that.
The Ninja Warrior Prince and the Adorkable Boston Beauty spotted outside Warrior Gym. Will Ellery Monson attend the royal wedding as Prince Derek’s date or possibly as his fiancée? #theprincewarrior #dreamyprince #cinderellastory #princesselle
“Oh, my.” Ellery clutched at her own throat, unable to peel her eyes from the small screen in her aunt’s hand. The media had dubbed her and Derek the Cinderella story, but nobody had ever used #princesselle before.
Derek made the hash tag ‘dreamy prince’ seem like an understatement. She could still feel his body pressed against hers, his clean but manly scent, his blue eyes lighting her up all the way through and making her forget every worry in the world.
“Can you even imagine if he invited you to the wedding?”
Ellery backed toward her bedroom. “I need to go shower.”
“Wait a minute,” her mom all but screeched from her chair as Aunt Elise stared at her in shock. “He did invite you! It’s written all your face.”
Ellery froze and closed her eyes, letting herself relive it. When she didn’t have to fight so hard to keep up her shield, the way he’d looked, felt, and sounded was beautifully tender, inspiring, and thrilling.
“He did,” she admitted.
“Yes!”
“Yahoo!”
“Happy, happy dance!”
“You go, girl!”
“Princess Elle!”
Ellery hadn’t tried to distinguish who had said what, but the last one got her eyes to open wide. “Please don’t … I can’t ever get my hopes up like that.”
