Ella’s phone beeped, and she dropped my hand to check the notification while I remained rooted in place, closing my eyes and inhaling a lungful of mountain air.
“God, this place is incredible. I never want to leave.”
When she didn’t respond, I popped my eyes open and sought her out. She stood about ten feet away with her back to me. Iknew something was wrong instantly from the way her shoulders were tense and curved inward, from how she was practically vibrating in a way that had nothing to do with the slight chill in the air.
“Ella?” I asked gently, moving closer. I came around her front and peered down at her.
Her phone was gripped tightly in her hand, bleaching her knuckles white, and shaking violently.
“Wildflower,” I tried again. Slowly, her head raised, eyes swimming with tears colliding with mine. “Baby? What’s wrong? Is everyone okay?”
“Everyone except me,” she whispered. Then, slightly louder: “Alfie texted me. I should’ve known it wouldn’t be that easy.”
“What’d he say?” I asked, my teeth gritted.
“Nothing,” she replied, turning and attempting to give me a bright smile. But I knew what her real smiles looked like, and this one was strained at the edges, her lips quivering as she attempted to hold it in place. Fake as fuck.
“What. Did. He. Say?”
Wordlessly and with a resigned sigh, Ella held out the phone, and I read her douchebag ex’s message.
In fact, I realized as I scrolled backward, the entire thread was a stream of grey bubbles, each one having gone unanswered. The last text she’d sent was in early January, telling him if he didn’t give her things back, she was sending Owen after him. I wanted to chuckle at that—I knew Owen wouldn’t hesitate to put that little shit in his place—but was too overcome with fury to spare any other emotion.
Despite her silence, he’d continued to bother her formonths, saying some incredibly shitty things that had me questioning how quickly I could get back to Michigan and beat his ass to a pulp. Finally, I scanned the most recent, and my vision went red.
You’re such a slut. Spreading your legs for the first guy that shows you some attention. And of course it’s one of your family’s employees. You’re no better than your whore sisters.
“I’ll fucking kill him,” I ground out. “How fast do you think we can get back to Apple Blossom Bay?”
Ella’s lips twitched, a real—though small—smile appearing there. But it fell quickly, eyes going glassy with unshed tears.
Stepping into her space, I pulled her against me. I notched my thumb under her chin and tilted her head back until our gazes collided. “How did he even find out where you were?”
Instead of answering me, Ella took her phone back and tapped around, then flipped it toward me, showing her Instagram feed.
The most recently posted photo was so benign, it irritated me further that the douchebag saw fit to even message her about it. After that near-kiss in that alcove in Deadwood, we’d gone to a little bar for drinks and food. The picture wasn’t anything special—an aerial view of the table, my arm splayed across it, hand gripping my pint, Ella’s more delicate one doing the same across from me. There was a basket of fries, chicken tenders, fried mushrooms, jalapeno poppers, and onion rings in the middle between us, her BLT on one side, my burger on the other.
Completely innocent and absolutely nothing to get up in arms over.
God, I fucking hated this guy.
“I’ll fucking kill him,” I repeated.
Ella shook her head. “He’s not worth it, Wills.”
“I don’t need to remind you, but that pissant never deserved you, Ella. Becauseyouare wortheverything. Youareeverything.”
“I know you’re right, but when you’ve been gaslit into thinking the opposite for so many years…it’s hard to forget that. Hard to rewire my brain to the person I was before.”
“Maybe you don’t have to go back to her. Maybe you become someone new. Someone stronger. Someone who knows her worth and won’t settle for anything less.”
“Are you offering?”
I swallowed hard around the lump of emotion suddenly lodged in my throat. “If you’ll have me.”
“Selfishly, I want you. I want us to keep going on like we have been. But…” She trailed off, expression so stricken I feared what would come out of her mouth next. “You deserve to have all my cards on the table, and I understand if you change your mind afterward.”
“Trust me when I tell you there isnothingyou could do that’ll drive me away at this point. And for what it’s worth,” I added, bending to press a kiss to her forehead, “you don’t owe me anything. But if you want to tell me, I’m always here to listen.”
