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He waited until she opened her eyes before he spoke again. “Ella, I need you to listen to me. I would have never said anything like that. And I would have never been okay with my friends saying something like that in front of me.” He had to dig deep to retrieve the memories of what he used to joke about with his friends. A hint of something stood out and his eyes widened. “I remember now. You said you were reading a book.”
She nodded. “Yeah, why?”
“Thatissomething I made fun of. Ella, when I was a teenager, I only went to school because I got free lunch. I nearly failed all my classes. If I saw a kid actually trying hard andsucceeding in school, that struck a nerve with me. I couldn’t afford to study. I was too busy trying to keep my little brothers and sister alive.”
Ella blinked faster a few times. “What?”
“I swear. I would have never in a million years joked about anyone’s appearance—especially not yours. I’ll be the first to admit my friends were absolute… jerks.” He grimaced. “I guess it says a lot about me that I called them friends, huh? I’m so sorry.” What more could he say? He couldn’t change the past. He could only hope she’d accept his apology and forgive him.
“I’m sorry, too,” she whispered. “I can’t believe I held onto that for so long. It’s so…embarrassing.”
“We make quite a pair, don’t we?” Lucas murmured.
“Yeah. I suppose we do.”
14
Ella
Ella felt like she’d made the biggest mistake of her life.
She’d prided herself on being tolerant of others her entire life, and suddenly she realized just how much prejudice she’d shown to Lucas over something he hadn’t actually done. While there was no way to go back in time and figure out if he was telling her the truth, in this very moment, she was choosing to believe him.
There hadn’t been a single instance she could think of since working with him where she felt she should doubt his conviction.
Perhaps her view was clouded by the attraction she’d developed for him. Then again, perhaps there was nothing to judge. She’d been the villain in her own story, and she despised it.
It was dark now. Neither one of them could see beyond the sliver of light that the open door allowed. It was getting colder,too, so Lucas had cut open the haybale and they were now huddled together on it. She rested her cheek on his shoulder while his arm was around hers. Their combined body heat would likely be the one thing to help them survive the night, and they had plans for the door in the morning.
The way she was positioned, she could hear the steady rhythm of his heart, the even tempo of his breathing.
In. Out. In. Out.
Her hand rested on his chest and her thoughts raced in her head. There were so many questions she wanted answered.
Were they on their way to being in a relationship? Or was his kiss just a way for him to make a statement? Would she turn out to be just one of the flavors of the month?
She sure hoped not.
“I hear you,” he mumbled sleepily.
He wasn’t asleep yet, though his breathing had become a bit more regular.
Ella lifted her head and stared at him. Lucas’s eyes were hidden by the hat he’d covered his face with. She picked up the brim only to have him peek at her with one eye. “What do you mean, you can hear me?” she asked. “I’m not saying anything.”
“Your thoughts are incredibly loud.”
She snorted and dropped the hat. “Yeah. Whateverthatmeans.”
This time he moved the hat when he peeked at her. “You can’t tell me you’re not asking yourself a million questions.”
“Nope,” she said simply.
“Really?” he said doubtfully.
“Nope,” Ella repeated. “It’s a million and one.”
His mouth curled into a grin. “Funny,” he murmured dryly.
