“If I’d known my mom and sister were going to be there, I would’ve given you a heads up. I asked Abel why he hadn’t mentioned it sooner, but I guess his mom called my mom this morning without mentioning it to anyone. And I hadn’t talked to my mom since yesterday.”

He asked what they’d talked about, and she told him about the cooking, the babies, and the tabloid warnings, but she refused to tell him just how zapped they all made him out to be.

“I don’t live far from here,” he said, staring straight ahead at the road. “You wanna check my place out?” He turned to her now, looking a little unsure. “We don’t have to be there long if you’d prefer not to be. I just figured since we’re out this way we could. But I don’t want you to think that just because you said—”

She touched his hand. “I’m fine with that.” She smiled. “I’d love to see your place.”

So far he’d done everything right. He’d told her he was willing to wait however long it took her to decide whether or not she was going to give this a chance without pressure, and he had. They’d spent almost every night on the phone since that first day in the stairwell. So she knew he hadn’t been spending his evenings with anyone else. As far as she could remember, she’d been the one to cut the calls at the end of the night every time or they would’ve stayed on longer.

His sister had brought up the fact that he’d been in town—stayed put longer than he ever did. There was no denying now that he was feeling for her the very thing she was feeling for him too.

Ella was done feeling scared or that this was too good to be true. If his friends, sister, and own mother were convinced he was serious, then it was time Ella started believing it too. Why wouldn’t one of the hottest young celebrities out there who could have any girl he desired in the world choose her?

Just as that thought jump-started the doubt that was still so impossible to squash completely, they came to a stop and Felix turned to her. He lifted her hand to his mouth and kissed it. “You look beautiful tonight,” he said. “I mean you always do, but tonight”—he shook his head—“I don’t know what it is. Maybe it’s just that the more I’m around you the more amazing I think you are.”

Almost too choked up to respond, she somehow found the words. “Thank you,” she whispered.

He leaned over to kiss her softly and sweetly, and as cliché as she knew it was, Ella literally felt the earth move around her.

~*~

Felix

If Ella hadn’t proven to be the most down-to-earth and easiest girl to talk to Felix had ever met, he might still be worried about overwhelming her with his wealth. Since he’d first given her a ride in his Bentley, she’d now been privy to a few of his other expensive cars. He’d also taken her to a few restaurants in Hollywood only A-listers were allowed in and were all over-the-top posh. He explained it was necessary if there was any hope of not being interrupted by eager fans or bombarded by the paparazzi that these restaurants were the ones to go for the ultimate in privacy. There were only a few places he frequented where photos of him arriving or leaving were never leaked, and these were the ones he knew of in the Los Angeles area.

Otherwise, they’d be looking at another experience like the pizza place where photos of him arriving and leaving with Ella and Carmen had already been circulating. If she’d seen them, she hadn’t mentioned it, and he wasn’t going to ask. The gossip stories of his love life were rarely positive ones, and these had been no exception. The headlines he’d seen suggested he’d be enjoying the company of both girls that night, but that wasn’t the worst part. Abel, of all people, had pointed out a story on an online gossip site where along with the photos of him, Ella, and Carmen, they’d put together a collaboration of all the photos where’d he’d been seen out with more than one woman at once. Since the media had a way of twisting things around, some were pretty bad.

Felix knew that Ella was aware of his past and that she’d still agreed to give him a chance regardless. He’d always said he’d live his life to the fullest without looking back and having no regrets, but now he was beginning to think there were a few things he wished he could take back.

The drive up his half-mile driveway was a silent one as Ella stared out the window at the elaborate landscaping alongside of it. Since he hadn’t planned on bringing her here until she agreed to an official relationship and he had no idea today would be the day, he racked his brain now to try and remember if he’d left anything inappropriate out. He hadn’t done anything inappropriate in the last few weeks, but he couldn’t remember if he had any photos out that might be embarrassing or awkward for her to see. He couldn’t think of anything, but it still it made him uneasy.

They walked into his place as Ella took in everything a little wide-eyed. It was a bit showier than Abel’s house. Felix fixed the crystal vase and candle stick on the entrance table that looked as if they’d tipped over, frowning about the difference between his over-the-top home and Abel’s. When Abel had bought his house, he’d already had his family in mind. Felix had bought this house in the prime of his bachelor days. So there were some other major differences as well. Even though he preferred taking women back to his penthouse hotel rooms rather than bringing them here, he’d still bought it and decorated with the intention of having a good time in it. And he had hosted some pretty awesome parties here a few times.