Giving Ben a wink, Heidi replied, “Ask loverboy here.He has a big announcement.”
“Loverboy?At this table, I am the only one known as that,” quipped Jack.
“Settle down, stud.Your time will come, but this is the man of the moment,” replied Heidi, as she pointed to Ben.
At Heidi’s words, everyone turned and looked at him.Standing up and shrugging, Ben said, “Ella and I have something to share with y’all.”For a moment, Ella froze.He had promised not to tell them about the baby.She was almost paralyzed with fear.Taking one of the champagne flutes that Heidi had filled, Ben raised it and said, “Ella has agreed to make an honest man of me.We are getting married!”
Whatever his friends had been expecting, that was not it.After all, Ben had only introduced her as his girlfriend a few hours before.Now, they were getting married?There was a long pregnant pause.No one said a word.Finally, Davy recovered enough to say, “Congratulations!Mia and I are so happy for you.That is great news.Welcome to the old ball-and- chain club!”
After that, all Ben’s friends repeated similar sentiments.Ella took a glass of the bubbly liquid but only pretended to take a sip.She hoped no one noticed, but given the looks Fran was giving her, she was not so sure.
As they left the restaurant, the group made plans to meet for breakfast in the morning.After that, some planned to spend the day on the slopes if the snowfall predicted for that night fell.Mia and Fran both planned to go shopping and asked Ella if she would like to join them.Ella was not sure if she actually wanted to go, but she could not think of any good way to get out of it, so she agreed.
The next morning, a fresh mound of white snow covered everything.Everyone was in high spirits thinking about hitting the slopes.That was all the guys could talk about at breakfast.Ella was more focused on how relieved she was at not feeling nauseated.She ordered the French toast plate and was amazed at how wonderful it tasted.
When it came time for the skiers to leave, Ben offered to stay back with Ella and spend the day with her.Ella knew how much Ben had been looking forward to skiing with his buddies.She appreciated his thinking of her, but she hated to keep him from doing something he really wanted to do.She told him not to worry.She would tag along with Fran and Mia on their shopping trip.Ella could see in Ben’s eyes how happy her response had made him.He gave her a quick kiss and told her to buy herself something, spending whatever she wanted.Ella nodded.They both knew she still struggled with frivolous spending.
As Ben left to go with his buddies, he turned back one last time.Giving Ella an uncertain look, he said to call him if she changed her mind.He promised to come back immediately.Ella knew she would not do that.Instead, she told him to go and have a great time.She would be fine.
Ella’s optimistic outlook lasted right up until the first store that Mia and Fran took her to.Knowing she could use a coat because all she had was the one Ben had loaned her, Ella decided to look for one—until she got a look at the prices.She nearly fell over.She could not believe her eyes.A simple T-shirt cost more than $500, and the jacket that she liked was close to $2,000.She had never spent that much on her entire wardrobe.She considered asking Mia and Fran if they had ever heard of Target but decided not to after she saw Fran quickly scoop up what had to be at least $5,000 worth of items in less than an hour.Both Mia and Fran spent money like it was air.
By the end of the day, Ella had resorted to finding a chair and reading on her phone while the other two shopped boutique after boutique.She just could not bring herself to even look at, much less try on, clothes that cost that much.It might be how they lived, but it was not who she was.The only thing she purchased was a pair of gloves from a clearance bin.She made sure to check out while the others were in the dressing room.The gloves cost much more than she would have normally spent, but her hands were freezing.
Later that afternoon, Ella was resting on the coach at the condo when Ben returned.Asking what she brought, Ella showed him her gloves and then proceeded to tell him about the day.He laughed at her disbelief at the high cost of shopping in Aspen, saying that was what people did there.Her only response to that was to say she thought it was ridiculous and wasteful.
It made no difference to Ben if Ella bought designer clothes or not.He thought she looked better than all the other girls he knew put together.He told her as much as he rained kisses down her neck.Ben’s words quieted something raw inside of Ella and gave her another reason to love him.
Later that night, after they were back from yet another long dinner with guys talking about sports and girls talking about all the things they had bought, Ella fell asleep, promising herself she would not spend another day shopping at high-end stores pretending she belonged there when she knew perfectly well she did not.
Chapter 15
Aspen, Colorado
The next two days were a blur for Ella.Determined not to spend any more time shopping, she got up early and signed up for a walking tour of the city.At breakfast, she told the others of her plans, and to her surprise, all the other women expressed interest in joining her.Frankly, Ella was shocked.She was even more shocked at how much fun the four of them had walking around the city, touring the Wheeler Opera House and the Hotel Jerome and seeing the historic downtown up close.After the tour, they had a delightful lunch at the French Alpine Bistro.They finished their day visiting the Aspen Art Museum.
Ella was wiped out by the time they got back to the condo.She laid down, intending to take a quick nap before dinner but ended up sleeping through it.Ben stayed back with her and ordered in.When she woke up around 9:30 pm, she was starving.The two of them sat in front of the massive television in the living room in their pjs and watched a movie as they devoured their dinner.
On Tuesday, Ella decided to stay in the condo and rest.The only way she was able to get Ben to go skiing with his buddies was by telling him she wanted to stay back to prepare a traditional Mexican dinner for everyone.Everyone seemed excited about that, so Ben agreed and spent the day on the slopes.
Ella had told everyone to come over around 6:00 pm.She made enchiladas, and everyone raved about them.Jack made a crack about now understanding why Ben was in such a hurry to marry her.His comment was met by a long silence.It only ended with Davy jumping in, saying there were a thousand reasons Ben would want to marry Ella, but no one could think of a single reason why Ella would want to marry Ben.Everyone laughed at that, and the moment was saved.Ella knew then the group must have figured out that she was pregnant, but they had the good graces not to say anything about it.Later as she was cleaning the kitchen, Mia quietly said, “I am sorry about what Jack said earlier.I know that was a bit awkward.”
Ella shrugged and said, “So I guess everyone knows huh?”
Mia nodded and added softly, “Well, not for sure, but yeah, we figured it out when you never drank any alcohol, no matter how much wine or beer the others did.You did not even drink the champagne at your own wedding toast.”
“Was it that obvious?”asked Ella.“Thought I had faked that.Guess not so much.So I suppose you all think I trapped him?”asked Ella, looking like she was about to cry.
“Absolutely not!”replied Mia.“It only takes one look at Ben’s face to see how much that boy loves you.He is smitten something bad.”
“Thank you for saying that.I could tell that first night that Fran and Dalaney were trying to figure out how someone like me ended up with someone like Ben.”
“Don’t worry about what those two think.They are okay to hang out with, but at the end of the day, they both have a lot of growing up to do.Fran is a spoiled brat, and Dalaney just follows her lead.That sounds harsh, doesn’t it?Oh well, it is the truth.And while we are sharing truth bombs, I love that you are your own person.You are five years younger than them but so much more together.Besides, your relationship is no one’s business but yours and Ben’s.And for what it is worth, I think you are awesome.You two make a fabulous couple.You are going to be incredible parents.”
Without saying a word, Ella wrapped Mia in her arms and gave her a huge hug.After a moment, she stepped back and said, “Thank you for saying that.All of this has been so unexpected and hard.My parents practically kicked me out, and I miss them so much.It is nice to have someone on my side other than Ben.”
Hugging Ella, Mia said, “Gurl, I got you.You got a friend in me.”Patting her flat stomach, Mia added, “We aren’t telling anyone yet, but I love that our babies are going to grow up best friends.”
Ella’s eyebrows shot up in shock and said, “Wow!That was fast.Congratulations.When are you due?”
