AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Okay.”
The day turned out to be fun, with Kiera and Aliya making Macey and Ellery laugh almost nonstop. The ladies who came to do their treatments were sweet and joined in the joking and laughing. Ellery’s favorite part was the spa therapy and swimming after. She appreciated these ladies making her feel like part of the family.
When she got back to her room, she showered and got ready for dinner. She paused, wondering if she should send a Snap to Naomi. Macey had almost admitted that Hattie was alive, but then she’d corrected herself.
Dropping the phone into a drawer, she knew there wasn’t a lot she could do. If Hattie showed up, she’d let Naomi know and see if any of the family didn’t have blinders on about the murderous billionaire heiress. She’d seen a variety of pictures of Hattie Ballard. The woman looked beautiful and fun and sassy. Most men would probably fall prey to the lady’s charms, but Macey and Aliya had to see through her. Right? Well, not Aliya. Apparently, they were soul sisters.
A chill went through Ellery.
She dressed carefully for dinner in a white summery dress that was light and airy and showed off her olive skin and toned arms and legs. Her skin and hair looked healthy from all the treatments today. Thankfully, the stylist hadn’t taken any length off her hair, only evened it and trimmed the split ends.
She curled her hair for one of the first times in her life and took extra pains with her makeup. The eyeliner and mascara made her eyes look pretty, and the lip stain outlined and showed off her lips. That was about all she dared do.
Eyeing herself in the mirror, she felt like a princess. Not because of the expensive beauty treatments or spa day, but because of the way she was being treated. Derek cared for her, and his family did as well.
She could hardly wait to see Derek. He treated her like a princess. Could she be an independent and tough woman and also a match for Derek? Could she trust him and let him help her at times?
She had no idea. But she wanted to see him, wanted to be with him.
A knock on her door made her jump. She hadn’t known if Derek would come for her or not. She hurried to slide into the high heeled shoes she’d set out and across the suite, flinging the door open.
Derek was dressed in a gray suit that set off his dark coloring and blue eyes. Those eyes feasted on her face, and he murmured, “Never has a more beautiful sight greeted me at a door.”
Ellery threw caution to the wind, wrapped her arms around his neck, arched up, and kissed him.
Because of her reluctance around men, she’d only kissed a few boys as a teenager and a few men throughout her adult years, so she didn’t have much to compare her first kiss with Derek to. It didn’t matter because Derek eagerly returned the kiss, and she knew no kiss could ever compare.
His lips were warm, insistent, and full. His arms wrapped her up tight and she was cocooned in his strength and depth of feeling for her. Nothing and nobody could hurt her with Derek holding her close. None of her past worries and insecurities mattered. In Derek’s arms, she was more than enough, and the love she felt from him and for him swirled through the interchange. She imagined if she opened her eyes, sparklers of light would be shooting around the doorway and into the hall and back into her suite.
All worries were thrown out the huge castle windows, and she was certain in that moment—she loved Derek. She wanted to keep kissing him, love him, figure out how they could be together coming from different worlds, and trust him to patiently stay by her side.
Footsteps sounded, followed by an amused, “I thought I made it clear not to make me feel worse about my single status, illustrious twin of mine.”
Ellery pulled back from the kiss and gazed into Derek’s blue eyes. He kept her close and ground out in a throaty voice, “Let me throttle my charming twin and then we’ll skip dinner and continue this.”
Grinning, Ellery said, “That sounds delightful. Who cares about food when I can kiss the ninja prince all evening?”
She was teasing but serious. To her, Derek was not some ninja prince. To her, he was everything.
“I hate to be the interrupter of incredible-looking kissing, and the bearer of bad news, but you two can’t skip dinner,” Malik said.
“Who says?” Ellery gave him an impertinent look, still clinging to Derek and encircled in his arms, exactly where she’d always wanted to be. Could it be the spot she stayed? What would that look like? Giving up her independence to love a man? Moving to Augustine and leaving her mom? Those thoughts made her cringe and she loosened her grip a bit.
“The king. It’s a mandatory family dinner, and if I’d crashed one of the Porsches, I wouldn’t want to get on his bad side.”
Ellery stiffened.
“Malik.” Derek’s voice was sharp. “Don’t.”
“I was just kidding.” Malik held up his hands. “Sorry. Skip dinner and make out. I would if I could.” He saluted them and walked on.
Derek heaved a breath. “Sometimes it’s heavy with him.”
“It’s fine. I know he was teasing.” She pulled back. “We should probably get to dinner.”
“It’s not mandatory.” He cocked an eyebrow. “But I know they’d all love to have us there. I’ve been gone for too long.”
“I know.” She smiled—bravely, she hoped.
