The metal cart crashed into the floor with her falling right behind it. The crash was loud and undignified, but at least she managed to avoid knocking over the other decorated chairs and tables in the process.
So that's how today's going to go. Awesome, she thought, pushing a hand to her bruised hip but not getting off the floor. At least the cart was mostly empty, but it was most definitely broken. The frame was bent and one wheel was now spinning down the aisle between to tables and toward the door. Delores was not going to be pleased.
The door opened, catching the spinning wheel and sending it hurtling off into another part of the room. Her eyes traveled up slowly, taking in the expensive black leather shoes, the tailored dress pants, the crisp white shirt, the strong jaw, the blue eyes, and tussled dark hair.
Jace.
Of course it was Jace. The last person in the entire world that she wanted to see, let alone find her tangled on the floor with a broken cart was of course the person who would be walking through that door.
And, of course, he looked good. Edible, wet-dream, kind of good. He wasn't wearing a tie, and he hadn't shaved or bushed his hair yet, but the tux looked spectacular on him. Ella was having difficulty breathing, and it had nothing to do with her fall.
“Are you okay?” Jace asked, dropping to his knees and his hands going to her shoulders.
Ella's mouth didn't function at first, especially with him touching her. His bride was so incredibly lucky. For a moment, she wished that Madelyn was a horrible person because it would be so much easier to hate her. Ella hated the jealous ache filling her core.
“I'm fine,” Ella finally said, pulling away from him. She stood up and brushed off her jeans, feeling completely under-dressed. She was just wearing jeans and a t-shirt while she ran around so she would get the dress Maria lent her dirty. “Just clumsy.”
“Good.” Jace quickly stood up, putting his hands in his pockets and eyes going hard. He glanced around and shrugged. “You must be getting excited. Getting any good ideas?”
Ella frowned, looking at the bows and the broken cart. “What do you mean?”
“For your wedding,” he explained. His voice sounded tight, despite the ease of his stance. “I'm assuming you'll be having it here.”
“Eventually, I guess,” Ella replied slowly, picking up an extra bow from the cart. “But I have to meet the right guy first. I'm not planning on getting married anytime soon.”
“You're not?” Jace's hands came out of his pockets. “You mean you're not engaged?”
Ella shook her head, wondering if she had fallen harder than she thought. “No. I'm not even dating anyone right now.”
Jace laughed, the sound filling the empty reception hall. His face relaxed and he grinned. The lines around his eyes were gone and a light shone from the depths of their blue green. It was a light she wished she could always see, especially since it made her heart speed up. “That's good to hear.”
Ella looked up at him, totally lost. Good to hear? Why would he be happy to know she wasn't getting married? He was the one getting married. Her martial status had nothing to do with it. He shouldn't be interested in the slightest.
“What made you think I was getting married?” Ella's voice was soft. She didn't mean to take the step toward him. She certainly didn't mean to take a deep breath and inhale the scent of his cologne.
“Delores. She said you were engaged.” He looked down at her, his eyes soft. “Is there another Ella that works here? Could she have just been confused?”
Only if you count the part-time maid pushing seventy-five with three grand-kids, Ella thought. Instead, she said, “Yeah. She must have just gotten the two of us confused.”
For the life of her, Ella couldn't figure out why Delores would give him bad information like that. Knowing Delores, it was probably an attempt to punish Ella for taking the wedding liaison position from Allison, though Ella couldn't figure out why she would say that. Then again, her stepmother wasn't always the most logical person when it came to Ella. Maybe it was just Delores's cruel way of telling Ella she'd never get married.
“I'm just glad to hear it's not true,” Jace said. Somehow, his forefinger and thumb were on her chin, tipping her face up to look at him. His fingers tingled against her skin and even though she knew it was wrong, she couldn't pull away. Every fiber of her being wanted to kiss him.
Luckily, her phone started to ring.
It was enough to pull her away, to bring her back to the wedding at hand. He was getting married and she needed to stay away from him. She reached for the phone, looking away and trying to clear her mind of his scent as she answered.
“This is Ella.” Her voice was breathless and sexy and she hated it.