Chapter Seventeen
Every nerve in Alex’s body was aware of Ellie lying next to him, in a cute and revealing pyjama set.
Man, he was an idiot sometimes. So much for respecting her boundaries – the first thing he’d done was jump straight in her bed.
In his defence, he’d got so used to her company that it was beginning to feel like they were dating for real.
They’d slept next to each other on the plane, followed by hours chatting happily together, and it wasn’t just the journey here.
Recently, they’d got into the habit of calling or texting each other daily.
The only thing they hadn’t done since the awards ceremony was kiss. He’d almost broken their Disney rule that night. How on earth was he going to make their relationship look real in front of his family, while also not breaking Ellie’s boundaries?
That kiss had ruined him. The way she’d melted in his arms and opened up for him with careless abandon, proving without a shadow of doubt that their attraction was mutual.
The realisation was both devastating and euphoric.
Ellie wanted him, possibly not emotionally, but physically she couldn’t deny it, and he longed to break their stupid rules – but he couldn’t. He wouldn’t.
‘I’m sorry, that punch cocktail has wiped me out,’ she said through a yawn. ‘Wow, these sheets are heavenly. Eddie did well!’
He couldn’t help but laugh, relieved to be distracted from his spiralling by her delight at the simplest things.
Maybe he should appreciate his life and privileges a little more. The fact that he could come to places like this, and had a butler who unpacked and folded his underwear… She must think him a pampered idiot. He’d never thought it strange until she’d pointed it out.
‘Are you okay after seeing them?’ Ellie’s gentle voice cut through his distracted thoughts, and it took him a second to realise what she meant.
He fiddled with his glasses, pushing them higher on his nose. ‘It wasn’t so bad, I guess – I’m glad it’s done.’
She turned on her side to face him and he did the same, as if they were teenagers at a sleepover. ‘That’s why I suggested doing it straight away – like with injections, sometimes it’s best to do it quickly. No time to overthink.’
He nodded. They were only inches away from one another, and the intimacy of their position was not lost on him. She was so cute, he wanted to wrap his arms around her and hold her tight. Take comfort in her presence.
If he was being honest with himself, he wanted to do more than hug her. Even after travelling for hours, he couldn’t get enough of her. He could have lain on the couch or gone for a walk, given her some privacy, but instead he’d refused to part from her for even a moment.
Why could he never keep his distance? He was like a moth to a flame, hypnotised by her even when she looked tired and jet-lagged. She stifled a yawn, and he could tell it wouldn’t be long before she was fast asleep.
‘You’re right, and I thought it would be a lot worse. I mean, Holly’s as annoying as ever, but don’t let her get to you.’ He was relieved when Ellie gave an unbothered shrug. He’d been worried that Holly’s nasty teasing had hurt her.
‘What about Liam and Savannah?’
He took a deep breath. Strangely, with Ellie by his side he’d not minded the confrontation as much as he’d thought. ‘Seeing them together doesn’t hurt like it used to. I mean, I didn’t punch him again – so that’s an improvement.’
Ellie winced. ‘I can’t imagine you punching anyone.’
‘I’m not proud of it. I let my anger get the better of me.’ His stomach rolled just remembering the way his fist had crunched into Liam’s jaw. ‘Tonight when I saw them, I was still angry and bitter, but the initial heartache and pain? That’s no longer there.’
‘That’s good, right?’ A small wrinkle appeared between her brows and he longed to kiss it smooth.
‘Today was the first time I’ve seen them since New York.
They ambushed me in my apartment. Sat me down and explained that the rumours in the tabloids, for once, were true.
They were sorry. Their on-screen love affair had developed into something real.
’ The betrayal had been a white-hot poker straight through his heart.
‘Savannah got upset and Liam told her to leave. That’s when he asked me if I wanted to hit him – as if that would make everything right between us. But I did hit him. Hard.’
Ellie’s hand reached out to rub his shoulder, fingers pressing into muscle he hadn’t noticed growing tight.
That day had been the first and only time he’d punched someone, and it had hurt like hell, both physically and emotionally.
Because seeing his brother’s split lip and feeling the ache of his knuckles hadn’t helped.
Nothing would ever make things right between them.
His brother had lied to him, and broken the one thing he’d thought he could always rely on: his family.
‘I told Liam I never wanted to see him again. My family have always had one rule. To put the family first. Above jobs, money, friends, girlfriends… Liam broke that rule, and I stupidly thought my parents would take my side. But they wanted me to forgive Liam and move on, and now they think I should pretend I’m delighted my brother is marrying my ex.
I’m beginning to realise that, when they said family should come first, they only meant their golden boy Liam.
’ Rolling onto his back, he stared up at the ceiling.
‘Maybe they’re right. Maybe I am overreacting, and I should let go of all this anger and bitterness.
After all, it’s making me unhappy. I just don’t know how. ’
Ellie raised herself onto her elbow. ‘Just because they want you to move on doesn’t mean you can or should. You need time.’
‘But I want to. I don’t want to feel this way any more, every time I look at them…
’ His words died. He was unsure of how to voice his anger, jealousy and bitterness – and it wasn’t all directed at Liam and Savannah either.
Seeing his parents today had also been difficult.
He couldn’t understand why they never supported him, never took his side in anything.
Ellie’s face was filled with sympathetic understanding.
‘They broke your trust, and I know exactly how that feels. I faced something similar once, and I found it— No, I still find it difficult to talk about.’ She couldn’t meet his eyes.
‘I should have told you about it sooner. But honestly, I’m still ashamed, even though I know now it wasn’t my fault. ’
He shifted a little, so that he could catch her eye. She looked so vulnerable. As if she were afraid he wouldn’t be able to handle her secret. ‘Go on.’
She blew out a breath. ‘I haven’t had many serious relationships, except one.
David. I met him at the gym – that’s relevant, by the way.
He was a proper gym rat, obsessed with body-building and his image.
That should have been the first red flag.
Anyway, we got talking one night – I was there late because of my shifts, and he said he preferred the quieter times.
We exchanged numbers, texted every day and started dating pretty quickly.
David was pretty intense, but incredibly romantic – he told me he loved me within a couple of weeks.
Honestly, I was flattered by all his attention and fell for him quickly.
I was stupidly desperate to fall in love and start my happily-ever-after. I was an idiot.’
‘Why? You sound brave!’ Alex had always been cautious and slow to trust in relationships. But he’d still ended up hurt, hadn’t he?
‘I ignored all of my doubts – all the red flags. The fact that he didn’t want me to meet his family and friends, or talk to me in the gym during the day.
I gave excuses to Hannah every time she pointed out how weird his behaviour was, that he was busy with work or wanted to concentrate on his training. ’
Ellie laughed, and the sound was so bitter that Alex’s hands twitched with the urge to gather her close.
‘Turns out,’ she continued, ‘he had a fiancée. She came storming into the gym when she found our texts. She was the complete physical opposite of me and I think David cheating on her with someone who looked like me—’
‘There is nothing wrong with you,’ snapped Alex, his rage threatening to boil over.
‘Well, rightly or wrongly, seeing me humiliated her. She didn’t take it very well.
Started screaming at me and chasing me around the gym.
David had to drag her out eventually, all while trying to explain that I didn’t mean anything to him.
All of his friends were laughing and filming the whole thing.
They couldn’t believe he was a secret chubby-chaser. ’
Alex’s stomach flipped at the casual way she’d said such a cruel and derogatory phrase. But he’d worked long enough in Hollywood to understand about unrealistic beauty standards and the horrors they inflicted on people.
‘I think I went viral on TikTok for a couple of weeks. Thankfully you couldn’t see my face too clearly, and the video was mocking David more than me—’
‘Fucking assholes,’ Alex growled.
Ellie took a deep breath. ‘Anyway, that was over a year ago, and I’m only just getting over it. So, don’t be tough on yourself, it’s still early. Give yourself time.’
Alex knew he was opening himself up for another brutal rejection, but he couldn’t allow Ellie not to know the truth. ‘You’re gorgeous, Ellie. Anyone who can’t see that must be blind.’