Yours Completely(26)

“Me?” Ella immediately thought of Jace and nearly choked on her drink. Jace was marrying Madelyn tomorrow. “No, no, no. Not falling for anyone. No.”

“Uh huh.” Madelyn sipped her drink. “You should work on that answer.”

“It's complicated. He's seeing someone else. It would never work anyway.” Ella took a bigger swig of her drink.

Madelyn watched her for a moment. “Well, I'm sure your Prince Charming is just around the corner.”

The table next to them erupted in shrieks as one of the girl's the other table threw her drink in Chris's face. Apparently his game wasn't going very smoothly tonight.

“I'm going to go out on a limb and say it's not that guy, though.” Madelyn sipped her drink and watched the mayhem as Chris stumbled away and the girl's friends consoled her.

“Aw, shucks. And here I was hoping he'd be the one,” Ella replied with a shrug. Madelyn burst into laughter.

“Is it weird that I wish my fiance were here?” she asked after a moment. “He would have thought that was hilarious.”

Ella looked at her friend's face. It shone with love as she thought about the man she was going to marry tomorrow. “I think it's sweet.”

“It's corny, I know, but he really is my best friend.” Madelyn blushed and looked down at her drink. “I can't imagine my life without him.”

“I think love like that is beautiful.” Ella took another sip of her drink. “He seems really great.”

“He is.” Madelyn's face flushed with joy. “Did you know he proposed to me twice? The first time he was so nervous he forgot to ask the question entirely. He had to start over and do it again.”

Ella tried to imagine Jace that nervous. It made her chest ache. To be that nervous meant that there was real love there. Something that could endure the ravages of time. Madelyn and Jace would be so happy together.

“He's a lucky guy to have you,” Ella replied. And she was lucky to have him.

Madelyn finished off her drink and started on Gwen's. Ella was going to have to intervene soon, or the bride would be hung over tomorrow.

“Thank you again for saving the day,” Madelyn told her. “Honestly, I can't think of a single person who would offer their wedding dress to a stranger. But you did. I could get married in a brown paper bag, and Jason wouldn't care- but....”

“But the pictures would be terrible,” Ella finished for her with a smile.

“It's not just the dress, Ella. It's the whole wedding.” Madelyn set her drink down hard enough that a little bit of liquid sloshed out, but she didn't notice. “The entire experience at your inn has been perfect. You've been perfect. I really can't thank you enough for everything you've done for us.”

“You are most welcome,” Ella said, a blush creeping into her face.

“I mean it. You're my hero. You're Jason's hero. You made tomorrow the day of my dreams.” Madelyn reached for Ella's hand and held it for a moment.

If Ella hadn't felt guilty about wanting Jace earlier, she really did now. Madelyn was so happy. It felt dirty to even think of Jace when she looked like that.

Ella held up her drink. “To you. And your love.”

Madelyn clinked her drink happily against hers and Ella quickly downed the rest. Tomorrow, it would be over. Jace would be married and happy with Madelyn. They would all go back to their old lives and she could stop having this twisting guilt and desire rolling through her belly. Tomorrow.





Chapter Ten


It was the day of the wedding and Ella had more to do than she had time. The morning was flying by and she was just glad she had stopped drinking the night before when she did. The caterers were going to be late, the seating wasn't set up like it was supposed to be, the flowers were arriving an hour early, and the gardener forgot to turn off the sprinklers to the outdoor reception area. Despite all of that, Ella was excited. Those things could be handled. The wedding would go on, and even if they weren't exactly perfect, she could fix just about anything.

She pushed the loose tendril of hair that had escaped her pony-tail as she knelt next to a chair for the bridal table. She was in the main reception hall, getting everything ready for the big party after the wedding. She pinned the bow to the back of the chair a little tighter, knowing there would be a breeze later on with the doors to the courtyard open.

Chair decorations. Who would have thought that chairs needed to be decorated? Ella asked herself as she straightened out one of the big, beautiful bows on the back of a different chair.

With a groan, she stood from the floor and admired her handiwork. It really was rather pretty, even if it was a little over-the-top. She took a step backward to get a better look at the bow, trying to decide if it was crooked or not, and promptly tripped over the cart holding the decoration supplies.