Happily Ever After: (A Cinder & Ella Novel)

by Kelly Oram

  I scoffed. “Jerk.”

  “You didn’t even think about it, Ella. I asked you to live with me—something I’ve never even come close to doing with anyone before—and you blew me off without blinking. Worse. You shot down the idea like it was a freaking warplane coming to drop nukes on you.”

  I felt like crap when I realized he was upset because he felt rejected. “Brian…” My shoulders slumped, and my anger deflated. What could I say? I wasn’t ready for what he wanted.

  “It’s not like I’d try to take advantage of you,” he muttered, pinning me with the full force of his Oscar-Award-worthy expressive eyes. “Don’t you trust me?”

  I had to look away from him. I couldn’t handle the hurt and confusion in his gaze. I sat down on the edge of my bed and wrapped my arms around myself, feeling strangely vulnerable. When I had a good grip on the whirlwind of emotions swirling inside me, I looked back up. “Of course I trust you. It’s not that I think you’ll pressure me for anything; it’s just that you’re so intense. Everything about you is intense. So is this relationship. And the fame is downright crazy. It’s overwhelming. Trying to add living together on top of everything…” I blew out a breath, beset by the very idea of it. “It’s too much all at once.”

  Brian pushed himself away from my desk and raked his hands through his hair. “I’m sorry,” he said, with a frustrated shake of his head. “I was raised with this. My father was well-known in the industry long before I was born. I’ve been famous my entire life, even before I started acting. I can’t imagine how hard getting thrown straight into all of this must be for you.”

  “No. You can’t. I can’t even grasp it. That’s why I need a little time and space. Just some breathing room where I can escape it, if I need to. Just until I get used to it. That’s all I’m asking for.”

  With another long breath, Brian sat beside me on the bed. “I’m sorry this is overwhelming you, but Ella, my life is intense. There’s no escaping that. I’ll do my best to buffer you from it when I can, but there are going to be things about this relationship that will force you out of your comfort zone. I can’t help that.”

  “Yeah, but—”

  “I know what you’re hoping for, but moving to Vivian’s would not be an escape. The insanity would follow you there, and it would only be worse because you wouldn’t be prepared for it. Plus, you’d bring it down on Vivian and her fathers, too. You would pull them into this bullshit, whether you wanted to or not.”

  I closed my eyes and sucked in a breath. That was something I hadn’t thought about. If the paparazzi was going to start hounding me at Vivian’s the way they did here, then they would doubtlessly hound Vivian and her dads, too. They didn’t need that.

  “Why do you think I never told you who I was?” Brian asked softly. “I knew this would happen, and I didn’t want this life for you. But I’m selfish, and now you’re stuck with it. You don’t have to do that to Vivian. Moving in with me might not be something you’re completely ready for, but you may just have to learn how to swim straight from the deep end. I want you to live with me, but I need you to be safe, and if that means asking you to do something you’re not fully comfortable with, then so be it. Sacrifices are going to have to be made if we’re going to work.”

  I wanted to be mad, but he was being so reasonable. It was super annoying because I couldn’t argue with him when he was thinking smartly, being rational, and, most importantly, being straight with me. He might try to protect me from his world, but he never sugarcoated things. I was glad he seemed to be of the ignorance-is-not-protection opinion.

  Things weren’t always going to be pretty or easy for us. Brian knew that. He didn’t like it, but he always warned me ahead of time. I was grateful for that. I’d read a million books where the hero kept the heroine in the dark in an attempt to shield her from bad things. Those heroes were idiots. Their lies always ended up hurting the heroine.

  Brian didn’t try to hide the bad things. He wanted me to be prepared so that we could face them together. He trusted that I could handle it. For that alone, I owed him the courtesy of trying my best to make good on that trust. For him, I would find a way to handle the things that came at us.

  “All right,” I said, quietly letting out another breath. “We don’t have a solution to this yet, but I acknowledge that it is important, and in the future, I will take your suggestions much more seriously. I promise, no more blowing off anything you say just because it makes me uncomfortable.”

  Brian frowned. “That’s not a promise to move in with me.”

  “No, it’s not,” I agreed with a wry smile. “But it’s an I’m-willing-to-sit-down-and-discuss-the-issue-to-try-to-find-a-reasonable-compromise.”

  Brian didn’t respond right away. He studied me with a searching gaze that I decided was him trying to figure out why I was so hesitant to live with him. I figured he needed some reassurance even if he’d never admit to feeling insecure, so I stood up, pulling him with me, and slipped my arms around his waist. “I love you, Brian Oliver.”

  As if my words were magical keys that unlocked the tension in his body, he sucked in a breath and wrapped his arms around me, melding his body to mine. “I love you, too, Ellamara Rodriguez.”

  “Good,” I said, snuggling into his embrace as much as possible. “Then, could you do me a favor and not try to use my family against me to get your way in the future?”

  Brian sighed, but he chuckled, too. “I was unhappy that I didn’t get my way—I’m definitely not used to being told no—but I swear I didn’t mean to do that.”

  “Liar.”

  “Fine. I didn’t only mean to do that. It was for your father’s benefit as much as yours.”

  “Nice.”

  He groaned and hugged me tighter. “I’m sorry. Your dad just gets to me.”

  “I know.” I sighed in full understanding and placed a small kiss to his neck. “I’m sorry he’s been a jerk to you. I think he’s overwhelmed, too, and nervous about what this could do to our family, but that’s not an excuse to treat you so horribly. He doesn’t deserve your patience, but would you try to play nice as much as possible? He’s frustrating, but he’s the only parent I have left. Please? For me?”

  Brian pulled back and lifted my chin so that he could see my face. I managed my best puppy-dog pout, and he cracked instantly. “Wicked woman,” he said as he lowered his mouth to mine. “You are not allowed to give me that look ever again.” He moved his lips to my neck. “It’s not fair.”

  “You use your audiobook voice on me constantly.” He kissed me beneath my ear, and I shivered. “Talk about unfair.”

  The dangerous, low chuckle that escaped him set my insides on fire. “Oh no. We are not doing this right now,” I said, though I made no attempt to escape his attention. “Not while my whole family is out there and knows we’re back here fighting.”

  “We were fighting,” Brian murmured, as he continued to rain kisses on my neck. “Now we’re making up.”

  His mouth finally reconnected with mine in a tender kiss that left me unable to do anything except melt in his arms.

  “I’m sorry, Ella,” he whispered between kisses.

  “Me too,” I gasped.

  Truth be told, I couldn’t remember what we were fighting about.

  We gave it a minute or two longer, but then forced ourselves to rejoin my family. Dad and Jennifer were still cooking, and both Juliette and Anastasia were at the table, with omelets in front of them. Both girls smirked the second they saw us. “All finished with your lovers’ spat?” Ana teased.

  I didn’t think I was particularly flushed or anything, but Juliette scanned my face and snorted. “Looks like they worked it out just fine.”

  I was dying, but Brian seemed to enjoy the attention, and being the stupid actor that he was, he hammed it up for his audience. He walked between the two of them, resting an arm on the backs of each of their chairs, and ducked his head down near theirs. “We worked things out, all right,” he murmure
d, low enough that my dad and Jennifer couldn’t hear him. “You remember the make-up scene in my movie Senior Trip? It was like that but hotter.” With a slow, provocative wink, he added, “It’s okay to be jealous.”

  Ana nearly snorted juice out of her nose while Juliette inhaled her omelet and started hacking up a storm. Their reactions were justified. How that movie got a PG-13 rating with that scene in it was beyond me. “Oh my gosh. Brian!” I hissed, slapping a hand over my face. “Shut up! We did not!”

  All three of them laughed at my mortification. “Yeah, you wish,” Ana told Brian. “You’re dating Ella. I’m sure it was closer to something out of your movie V is for Virgin.”

  Brian frowned, but the corners of his lips twitched. “Burn,” he admitted with a grudging nod. “Well played.”

  Juliette, finally done choking on her breakfast, dissolved into a fit of giggles and held up a hand to Ana for a high five. “Nice one, sis.”

  “You’re all idiots.”

  I rolled my eyes and headed into the kitchen, needing some juice and to escape the three stooges.

  Brian wrapped his arms around me from behind just as I reached the kitchen counter and placed a small, soft kiss to side of my neck. As far as apologies went, it was pretty nice. I suppressed a shudder and leaned back against his chest. “Smells good,” I said.

  Jennifer and my dad looked up from their places near the stove, and Dad said, “Well, you kids sit down, if you’re hungry. How do you like your omelets, Brian?”

  Brian and I were both surprised by the invitation. Either my father had been lectured by Jennifer while we were gone—Jennifer, as most women did, had a major soft spot for Brian—or Dad actually felt bad for losing his temper at my boyfriend. It was probably the former, but either way, I’d take it.

  Brian glanced at me and then shook his head. “That’s okay. I didn’t mean to intrude on your family time. I only came to make sure the girls were okay after I saw that video.”

  Judging by Jennifer’s smile and Dad’s soft grunt, Brian earned a few brownie points by including the twins in his concern. I’m not sure it was genuine in Ana’s case—he wasn’t her biggest fan—but I was sure he felt bad for Jules, and that was enough for the worry to come across as sincere.

  “Well, you’re here,” Dad said gruffly. “May as well eat.”

  Brian looked down at himself and then shook his head again. “Thank you, but I suppose if the fire’s out, I should run home and shower and put some real clothes on or something.”

  I realized for the first time that he was in pajamas and slippers and had bed hair, having sped straight over here when I refused to answer my phone this morning.

  “What?” he asked, noticing the grin on my face.

  “Nothing. Just…thanks for coming over this morning.”

  He matched my smile and kissed my cheek. “Thanks for not picking up your phone so I had an excuse to come over.”

  “Gag,” Juliette said, as she walked past us to put her empty plate in the sink. “I’m going to get out of here and go shower before the lovebirds make me puke.”

  Laughing, I smoothed down the side of Brian’s hair that was sticking up. “Come on, I’ll walk you out.”

  As we reached Brian’s car, he slid his arms around my waist and pulled me against him. “You could come with me,” he murmured, ducking his head to my ear. “My shower’s plenty big enough for two.”

  He was teasing, and he wasn’t. He knew I would say no, but at the same time, the offer was real. With his mouth so close to my skin like that, his invitation was a lot more tempting than he knew. Suppressing a shiver, I swatted him on the chest. Unfortunately, my hand clung to his shirt when I hit him, which didn’t help much in convincing him I wasn’t interested. “That’s not happening.”

  His mouth moved down my neck, raising goose bumps on my skin. “Forget the shower, then. How about a nice, long drive up the coast? Maybe we can find a deserted overlook to relax and…talk.”

  I laughed, but it quickly morphed into a groan. “You have no idea how good that sounds. Go home now, before you convince me and I ditch my family all day, making my father disapprove of our relationship even more.”

  Brian’s mood flipped like someone had thrown a switch. “Who cares what he thinks about it? As soon as you move, it’ll be none of his business anyway.”

  His frown turned to a dark glare, so I wrapped my arms around his neck and forced his lips down to mine. The kiss put a smile back on his face. “Just hurry back,” I said.

  Laughing, Brian found my lips again. “Are you sure I should? With all the Erik Clarke drama, I don’t know if I could keep from fighting with your father if I spent the whole day here.”

  “I don’t care. With all the Erik Clarke drama, you’re the one I want to spend the day with. Not him. You’re the one who makes me feel better. Please come back soon.”

  I used that face he warned me not to use again, and he sighed. “As you wish.”

  Yes, he was totally quoting The Princess Bride.

  As he opened the car door and climbed behind the wheel, he shot me a grin and said, “You won’t even have time to miss me.”

  I tried to keep quiet. I tried to swallow the words wanting to tumble out of my mouth. I really, really tried. But I couldn’t do it. After he closed his door, I gestured for him to roll down his window, and then said, “I miss you already.”

  His chest shook with laughter as he turned on the car. “Now who’s the dork?” he called over the roar of the engine. “Love you, woman. I’ll be back soon.”

  Brian kept his word and was back within an hour. Thankfully, no more arguments arose. We spent the day playing board games. Unbelievably, Brian had never done that before. He’d been an only child, and with no siblings to play with, had never had the opportunity. He’d also been auditioning for parts on TV by the time he was ten, and essentially missed out on a normal childhood of any kind, so things like Sorry! and Monopoly were a new experience. It was surreal watching him turn almost childlike every time he took his turn.

  My personal favorite was watching him play The Game of Life. It’s like the stupidest game ever, but he was thrilled with every turn. He joked about finally having the time to go to college and kept landing on the baby spaces. He ended up needing two of those little cars to carry all his people around. The dork actually named them all and gave them each positions on the family football team.

  Not even my dad could resist the charm of Brian Oliver getting to be a kid for the first time in his life, and the two of them teamed up together against us girls for a few rounds of Battle of the Sexes. Then they played a few hands of poker with each other while Jennifer and I cooked Christmas Eve dinner.

  It was a perfect day. Well, it was—until we turned on the TV after dinner. Jennifer and Dad shooed us kids all off while they did the dishes. We migrated back to the family room and turned on the TV. Ana plopped down into Dad’s armchair, and Juliette sat on the end of the couch nearest her, while Brian and I claimed the other end. We’d just snuggled up together when Ana turned on Celebrity Gossip. I used to love the show, but it was quickly losing its appeal. The show was more of a tabloid rag than a respectable entertainment news show. Brian wasn’t a fan, but he didn’t protest, and Ana didn’t offer to change the channel.

  As soon as the opening credits were over, my picture filled the screen. “Cinder and Ella are making headlines again tonight, and we’ve got the full scoop,” the show’s bubbly blonde host announced. “Erik Clarke of the website Get Real Hollywood is here with us to dish the dirt on the reclusive couple.”

  Brian’s grip on me tightened, and my stomach rolled. “We’ll change it,” Juliette said quickly.

  Unfortunately, Ana was the one holding the remote, and she had a different idea. “No way. I want to see what the jerk has to say.”

  “Ana,” Juliette hissed, glancing in my direction.

  I was with Juliette. I had no desire to see what was coming, but Brian said, “No, it’s bet
ter to hear it so we know what we’re going to have to deal with.” His jaw clenched, and he muttered, “And so I know how much to kick his ass the next time our paths cross.”

  We all sat quietly, mentally cursing Erik Clarke—Okay, Ana and Brian cursed him out loud—while the commercials played. When the show returned and Erik was sitting on a couch with the blonde host, my whole body tensed up. “I’m right here,” Brian whispered in my ear as he rubbed my arms. “It’ll be okay.”

  I wanted to believe him, but it was pretty hard to do with Erik’s smug smile staring at me from the TV, as if he had a giant secret he was about to share.

  “Erik!” The host was so excited she could hardly contain her excitement. “Welcome to Celebrity Gossip! Thanks for coming in today. You managed to get the scoop of the century, and we’re all dying to know how you did it. Brian Oliver’s not known for being very friendly with the media, and so far, his new girlfriend, Ella, has proven to be even more elusive. Not a single press statement or interview has come from the couple since their relationship was made public. How on earth did you manage to get this interview with Ella, and how did you get her to open up like that?”

  Erik shot the woman a sly grin. “I have my ways.”

  Juliette, Ana, and I all scoffed while Brian muttered more words best not repeated.

  “All right. Keep your secrets,” the host teased. “But tell us…how was she in person? That interview was so heartbreaking and real. Was she like that off camera, too? What are your thoughts after having met her?”

  I scoffed again. “Of course it was real. I didn’t know I was being filmed. How can that lady possibly believe that footage was an actual interview?”

  “She knows it wasn’t,” Brian grumbled.

  “But it’s too good a story to ignore, and it’d be too tacky to admit the truth on camera, so she’s playing dumb,” Juliette said.

  Judging from the way Brian’s teeth ground inside his head, I guessed he’d been thinking along the same lines.