****
Following his directions, Ella stepped though the slider into a beautifully furnished, but obviously masculine, bedroom. She laughed at the requisite big screen television mounted on the wall across from the king-size bed. The adjoining bathroom was also gorgeously appointed with white and black tile, a walk-in shower, and a huge soaking tub.
“I’m definitely rocking the wind-blown look,” Ella thought, as she glanced in the huge mirror about the double vanity. She applied a light swipe of lip-gloss and just laughed at her short, wildly spiked hair. She was more than accustomed to it by now and really loved it. Walking back into Levi’s bedroom, she half-expected to see him sprawled naked across his massive bed. The room was empty, though. She could hear him talking to his lovable dog out on the patio. A pile of books on his nightstand drew her attention. It was quite a high to-be-read pile. She wondered if, like her, he ever stayed up all night, lost in a book he just couldn’t put down. Lifting the folded newspaper TV Guide from the top of the book pile, she gasped.
Her face stared back at her. Her old face. E. L. Levin’s face with its dramatic make-up, rounded cheeks and loosely piled dark blonde hair. Long blonde hair. He knew. Levi knew it was her. She recalled, with growing anger, his pointed question about whether she had written any other books, his near slip-up moments ago when he asked her about long hair. She threw her most recent book down on his bed and reached for the rest of the pile. All of her Bloody Murder novels were on his nightstand. She shoved several onto his bed and looked around. Her first novel, about a female district attorney, was on the other nightstand.
How long has he known? Why hasn’t he said anything? Is he another of those stupid men who are only interested in me because of my stature as a best-selling author and my bulging bank account? A sob escaped her lips. She had planned to tell him about her prior career once she had sold her current manuscript. He had seemed so interested in her efforts to craft a beautiful love story. Now it was all ruined. How could she have thought she was falling for him?
Ella ran out of the room, her small purse in hand. She grabbed her shoes from the door by the kitchen. She could see Levi in the back yard, sitting at the patio table, rubbing Hersch’s head, like a king surveying his kingdom. She couldn’t face him again. She was a fool. Dashing out the front door, she scrambled down the steps of the porch and climbed into her Mustang. The engine leaped to life. Crushed shells flew up behind her as her tires spun for a moment before taking hold. She sped down the long drive without a backward glance.
Chapter Thirteen
The sound of a car peeling out of his driveway jerked Levi out of his chair. What the hell? He dashed through the patio doors into the kitchen and looked around. Ella’s shoes no longer rested next to his on the floor mat. He called her name. No answer. Hersch ran down the hall to Levi’s bedroom and came back almost immediately, whining, running back and forth down the long hallway. Levi followed him, a sinking feeling in his stomach.
The first thing he saw was the pile of books strewn across his bed. One had fallen on the floor. He bent to pick it up, staring into the other face of the woman he loved which embellished the back cover of the book. How could I have been so stupid? Why did I send Ella into my room to use my bathroom when I knew all her books were there in plain sight on my damn nightstand?
He should have told her he had figured out she was E. L. Levin. He had several opportunities. But part of him wanted her to tell him. When he shared his guilt over his broken marriage, she talked about her own divorce. But when he spoke to her of his dreams, of what he had accomplished in his life and what he hoped still to do, she could have opened up and told him about her alter-ego. Why had she chosen to evade his almost pointed questions? It’s not like she should be ashamed of having written so many best-selling books. It wasn’t like she wrote porn, for God’s sake. Now he was getting angry.
Levi grabbed his cellphone and dialed her number. No answer. He walked quickly down the hall and opened the front door, hoping against hope she had returned. The driveway was empty. He called her phone again. Still no answer.
Hersch was barking. Maybe he’s found something. Levi made his way around the house to the carport. Hersch was perched on the seat of the ATV, barking and whining.
“I’ve got no time to take you for a ride, boy. I’ve got to track down a troublesome woman who is major league pissed at me!” Levi went back into the house to grab the keys for the SUV. He could hear Hersch’s increasingly urgent barking. He’d have to get him back in the house before he left. Grabbing a doggie treat from the jar on the kitchen counter, Levi headed back out, whistling for his dog. The Lab ran to him, then ran back to the ATV, continuing to whine and bark.
“Hersch! Come. Come, boy. We’re not taking that now. C’mon, boy. I’ve gotta find Ella and explain. Come.”
His normally obedient dog just kept running back and forth to the ATV, his agitation increasing with each loop between Levi and the small vehicle.
Levi finally followed the dog over to the ATV, thinking to grab him by the collar and haul him back into the house. Hersch jumped up into the passenger seat and looked at Levi expectantly. When Levi got close, the dog put out his paw and rested it on Levi’s forearm, then pulled him closer. Two licks on Levi’s face, then Hersch yipped, still pulling on Levi’s arm.
“I know you want to go down on the beach, boy, but I can’t right now. I have to find Ella.” At the sound of Ella’s name, Hersch yipped again, turning his head to look at the driver’s seat then back at Levi.
“What? What, you think she’s on the beach?” The dog barked and removed his paw from Levi’s arm, sitting up straight in the passenger seat, his tail thumping, his body quivering with excitement.
Realization dawned on Levi. The secluded piece of beach where he had found Ella walking that day was not far south of his own property. Maybe she had driven there to kick at the sand and curse him out. Giving in to his dog’s frantic urging, Levi climbed into the driver’s seat and started up the bright orange ATV. As they drove over the lawn toward the beach, Hersch licked his hand and barked.
“I hope you’re right about this, Hersch. I just wish she’d answer her damn phone! She’s really starting to worry me.”
Chapter Fourteen
Ella was getting seriously worried. The sun was still hanging in the sky but the breeze from the Gulf was getting decidedly cooler. She wrapped her arms around her midriff as a shiver rippled through her. Even that slight movement brought an exclamation of pain from her lips. Her right ankle was already swollen to twice its normal size.
Damn. Levi had warned her about walking on the beach and not paying attention. Not that she needed his warnings, not that she needed him for anything, her mind raged. But, in her anger and hurt, she had pulled out of his yard without much thought. She had not made it very far down the eastern coast of the island before tears had totally blurred her vision. Spying the little beach turnout where she had first encountered Levi outside the office all those weeks ago, she pulled the Mustang off the road. Digging in her purse, she found some tissue and wiped the tears from her eyes and the streaks of mascara from her cheeks.
Damn. She hit the steering wheel hard with both hands. She was furious with him for hiding what he knew. She was even more furious with herself for hiding what she was from him. He’d given her plenty of opportunities to tell him she was known in another world, another life as E.L. Levin, multi-millionaire, best-selling author of bloody mysteries. Why had she been so adamant about keeping her identity hidden from him? It was not as though he was interested in her for her money—he obviously had plenty of his own. And she was extremely proud of her writing career and the movies that had brought her stories to millions around the world. Hiding out from tabloids and nosy gossips, like Charity, was one thing, but Levi—well, Levi was something entirely different.
The phone rang again. Levi. Ella was in no way prepared to talk to him right now. She was a mess and she needed to calm down a little mo
re before she drove back to his house to have it out with him. She threw the phone and her small clutch in the glove compartment and locked it. Grabbing her keys from the ignition, she jumped out of the car and headed down the over-grown path to the beach. When she got to the sandy shoreline, she shoved the keys in her pocket and kicked off her espadrilles, leaving them in the shade of the palm trees. After dipping her toes in the warm water, she stomped along the packed sand, head down, but not focused on where she was going. Too many thoughts and emotions were vying for her attention.
She wanted him to care about her on her own terms, as Ella Anderson, retired lawyer, novice romance writer. Not as the tough, ambitious, hard-shelled, divorced, mega-author. She wanted him to care.
That brought her up short. She stopped and let her gaze play over the soft waves, the turquoise water lapping at her feet. It was so beautiful here, softer, slower, easier than New York. She was happy here. And she’d be happy here even without Levi. But, Levi—with his kind eyes, sexy smile, talented hands, and soft heart—made her feel more than she had ever felt before. More than merely happy. She felt complete with him. Ella laughed at the line from the movie that popped into her head, but it was totally right. She could not have said it better. He was her beshert, her soulmate.
Well, girl, you better suck up your wounded pride and go tell him how you feel. He knows your secret and he seems to care about you anyway.
Turning from the water’s edge, she laughed out loud. “I’m still gonna make him grovel for not coming clean that he knows who I really am. For, maybe, a minute.”
Two strides back toward the path and she stumbled on a partially buried piece of driftwood and went down. Pain shot up from her ankle but nothing else seemed to be damaged. Ella shook out both her shoulders and brushed off the sand that covered her torso. But, when she attempted to stand her right ankle gave way. She plopped back down, throbbing pain momentarily stealing her breath.
It didn’t look or feel broken, justly badly wrenched. “Idiot,” she thought, as she reached for the phone that should have been in her pocket. No phone. No way to call for help. This stretch of the beach and the road that ran along it were virtually deserted. Major real estate development had not reached this part of the island yet, Levi had explained to her earlier during their walk on the beach.
“You’re not an invalid.” Scolding herself, Ella determined to crawl back to the path and then to her car. She might even find a stick along the path she could use as a makeshift cane. I can do this. Rolling onto her belly, she began to crawl, propelling herself forward with her elbows and her left foot. Sand was sliding into her waistband and sweat was starting to drip down her forehead, but she was making progress. Then she heard the dog.
Looking up the beach, she saw the big brown Lab loping toward her, barking his crazy head off. Ella had just managed to sit up when Hersch came crashing into her, knocking her onto her back as he covered her face with doggie kisses. With a delighted yip, he turned and ran back up the shore to the bright orange ATV just coming into view from behind dense tropical foliage jutting out onto the beach. Levi swerved as the dog ran past then looped around him to head back to Ella.
She knew the exact moment Levi spotted her. He slammed on the ATV’s brakes, causing it to slide in the wet sand when he killed the ignition. He was off the vehicle and running to her, almost catching up to Hersch, who now sat protectively to her side, licking her face and making very satisfied doggie sounds.
Levi dropped to his knees in front of her, taking her face in his hands. “Are you alright? What hurts? Is anything broken? Don’t move.”
Ella covered his hands with her own. “I’m okay. Now. I twisted my ankle.”
He immediately eased back and ran his hands down her legs until he reached the swollen flesh. His eyes were wide when he looked back up at her, concern darkening the whiskey gold to almost chocolate brown. “Yeah, you did a number on it. What were you doing, kicking at seashells pretending they were my heart?”
“No, I did that when I first got here, without injury.” She looked at him then, a small secretive smile playing across her lips. “It was only once I realized I was in love with you and started back to tell you that I tripped on some damn buried driftwood and went down.”
“You’re lucky you didn’t break your foolish neck, or re-injure your shoulder. Before you had a chance to tell me.” Levi now had a goofy grin on his face.
“I’m not an invalid,” She retorted. “Well, I might be temporarily disabled with this ankle, but I’m healed. I’m whole. I’m strong. I was commando crawling up the beach to the path when Hersch found me. I could have gotten to my car and driven home. Or back to you.” She stuck her tongue out at him, satisfied by his sharp intake of breath.
“Right, you could have driven your sports car and shifted gears with a wrenched, probably severely strained, right foot. You’re not an invalid but you’re not superwoman either.” He paused, adding. “Well, maybe you are a superwoman, kick-ass author but Ella—or should I call you El—you are kind of a klutz. It’s a good thing for you I have a soft spot in my heart for klutzes, misfits, and stray dogs.”
“Only my agent calls me El. Most of my friends call me Elizabeth or Liz. But, I like it when you call me Ella, that’s who I am now.” She gave him what she hoped was an almost forgiving smile.
They stared at each other. Hersch whined and tried to get between them.
“Sorry, boy, but I’ve got this,” Levi said, and lowered his mouth to hers. His kiss made everything all right. His kiss promised everything she wanted but never knew she needed. Levi finally pulled his lips away from hers, but he rested his forehead on hers. “I’m in love with you, too, Ella. I want to give you your own happy ever after, whatever that may be. Wherever that may be. Here or in New York or anywhere else.”
She was full-on grinning at him now. She looked down the pink sand beach, taking in the dark green leaves and red flowers edging the path. Then her gaze turned to the deep blue sky and azure waves breaking softly on the shore. The air was a quiet breeze around them, disturbed only by the sound of the surf and the cry of a lone seabird.
“I think maybe here, Doc. I think this is the perfect place to write about romance and happily ever after.”
Levi kissed her again. “You’re right. You know what they say about Casa Blanca Resorts? ‘Kick off your shoes and fall in love in Barefoot Bay!’”
He stood, brushing sand from his legs and hands. Then, he helped her stand. As soon as Ella was upright, Levi scooped her into his arms and strode up the beach to the ATV. Only after he placed her gently in the front seat, did Hersch jump in the back, her shoes dangling from his wide mouth.
By the time they returned to Levi’s house, Missy was waiting on the porch. Don was sitting on one of the chairs next to her. They rose as Levi pulled into the carport and jumped out. Coming around the side, Levi lifted Ella out of the ATV and cradled her in his arms.
“Is she all right? Do you need help?” Don stepped toward them. Missy lay a hand on his arm as Levi answered, “No, thanks, I’ve got her.”
Chuckling, Missy held the front door open. Hersch dashed in first. As Levi carried Ella over the threshold, Missy observed, “Looks like Dr. Stray Dog Magnet has found another heart to heal.”
Levi started laughing. “That’s what you call me? Dr. Stray Dog Magnet? I like it. Way better than Dr. Hottie Rock Star.”
Ella leaned over and nipped his ear, before she whispered, “I’m no stray. And you’ll always be Dr. Hottie Rock Star to me.”
Chapter Fifteen
Her foot resting on a pillow, Ella sat on the couch in her villa typing on her laptop. The sprained ankle was tightly wrapped. She needed a cane to get around and she couldn’t drive for a week. That was really making her crazy. Fortunately, between Levi, Missy, and Perky, she wanted for nothing. Even Charity had sent her a bag of candy and the New York tabloids as a get-well gift. Life was pretty darn good.
Being housebound had given he
r enough time to finish a rough draft of her final Bloody Murder book. She looked over the words she had written early that morning, right after Levi had left for the clinic.
Joe pulled his police car into the No Parking zone in front of the Dubliner Pub and turned on the flashers. Pocketing the keys, he exited the cruiser and hurried around the front to where Barb was struggling to climb out of the passenger seat. He reached to help her stand but she pushed him away.
“I’m no damn invalid!” she snapped. Then quickly apologized. “Sorry, I can do it but this damn cane tripped me.”
His arm around her, they made their way to the bright green door on the side of the building. Barb’s uncle owned the bar and years ago he had leased the apartment above to his young niece, fresh out of the Academy. Even though she could afford much better now, he knew Barb held onto the modest rooms above the pub more out of sentimentality than location or rent. Climbing the stairs to the second floor left her winded and leaning against the wall next to her door. Joe took the keys from her shaking hand and opened the lock. Before she could lever herself off the wall, he had scooped her into his arms.
“What are you doing, you damn fool? Your back is gonna pop out again like when you dragged me out of that theatre near Times Square. Remember? You were out on sick leave longer than me and I’m the one who got burned!”
Joe silently kicked the door closed behind them. He’d been here once or twice over the years, but had never gone past the entry. Spying her bedroom through the open door at the end of the hall, he tightened his grip on her and moved as swiftly as his aging knees would allow. Her arms were wrapped around his neck and her green eyes were glued on his face.
Shoulder to Lean On Page 10
