Chapter 2

Ella

Whoa, that was weird. Usually when a guy bumps into me like that he wigs out at me, but that guy? He helped me up and… I actually think he might have been checking me out! I laugh to myself. No way would a guy like that think twice about me. He was so attractive and I’m just… well I’m just me. And he was way older than me anyway! He’d want a more experienced woman, the kind that owns her own house and has a job, one that sleeps in sexy satin lingerie, not over-sized joggers and a yoga top.

“Yeah, but do you know who that was?” Kat exclaims, breaking me away from my thoughts.

She stares at me from across our small table, blinking expectantly.

“Yeah, do you?” Cameron asks, almost like she’s withholding my coffee order until I answer.

“No?” I say, slowly, “Am I supposed to?” I ask, wondering what they are thinking. Honestly, I don’t have a clue who he is. Just a handsome stranger I happened to run into.

Cameron and Kat stare at me, jaws dropping to the floor.

“What?” I stare back. “Can I just have my coffee?”

Cameron places the large mug on the table, then perches on the arm of Kat’s comfy chair, eyes still fixed on mine.

It is getting a bit weird now. I empty a few sugar packets into my cappuccino and take the first sip. Embarrassingly, a little bit of the foam gets on my top lip, but I don’t think these two have noticed.

“Right. So, now we’re going to have to educate you,” Kat says, getting up to grab a few magazines.

“I don’t get it,” I say, almost annoyed at them. “He’s just some guy.”

“Just some guy?” they both shout at the same time, Kat from across the room, oblivious to the other customers, and she even drops some magazines in shock.

“Okay, seriously, stop it. You guys are being ridicul—”

“No, what’s ridiculous is that you don’t seem to know who Joe Abercrombie is,” Cameron says, shaking her head.

Kat comes back over with a few women’s magazines. I don’t ever buy them, but have seen them near the check out stands in stores. Quickly, I let my eyes flick over the collection.

Sure enough, the same guy is all over the covers, with captions like, ‘Most Eligible Bachelor,’ or the ‘Sexiest Businessman in NYC.’ I laugh to myself again, now certain he wasn’t checking me out, but staring as he wondered why the poor girl dared to even use the same sidewalk as him.

“And you touched him!” Cameron gushed.

“More than that! He tackled her to the ground!” Kat snapped, “You could probably get a sympathy date out of it, L! Pretend like he injured you and get some expensive gifts out of it at least!”

“Oh, come on, Kat, I’m not doing that.” I roll my eyes and sit back in my seat, hoping it will swallow me up.

The two of them continue to gush and gossip about Mr. Joe Abercrombie, but I don’t want to be a part of it. Cameron and Kat have been my best friends since school, even though they are a couple years older than me. They’re like my older sisters in a way. Mainly because they treat me like a little kid. Always going on about their latest boyfriends and what they get up to, then making fun of me for not having a love life myself.

I sigh to myself, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything. These girls mean the world to me.

“Ella, you have to tell me if you ever see him again. You will, won’t you?” Cameron says, looking down at me expectantly.

“Ugh. What makes you think I’ll be seeing him again?” I ask, trying to hide my blushing cheeks behind my hair.

“Oh, come on, I was watching from the window. I saw him go bright red when he helped you up, plus he kept staring after you left!”

“No, he didn’t!” I scoff. “Why would he be interested in me?”

“Sure, Ella! He was probably staring at me anyway!” Kat flicks her hair and strikes a pose, causing us both to laugh.

“I’ve got to get back to work. Enjoy your coffee girls, and let me know if you want anything else.” Cameron heads back to the counter where a customer has been waiting while we talked.

Cameron always gets herself into trouble when Kat and I are here. She probably wouldn’t have this job if her Dad weren’t the owner.

Kat’s phone rings and she gets up to answer it, leaving me alone with my thoughts.

I sip my coffee and my eyes wander to the magazines that Kat left behind. I know they’re just tabloids and no doubt contain over-exaggerated stories, but I suppose it couldn’t hurt to read a little bit of it, could it? My eyes flick around the coffee house, making sure no one will catch me reading up on my handsome stranger.

The coast is clear, so I pick up the magazine on the top of the pile and examine the cover.

There’s a picture of Joe Abercrombie on the front, standing outside a high-rise building in New York City. He’s wearing a tight fitting suit and smiling somewhat humbly. He looks so perfect. He really is quite attractive.

I flip through the pages until I find the two page spread dedicated to his interview. There are a few photos of New Rochelle included because in the interview, when asked his plans for the future, he indicated plans to move here.

I blush a little and laugh when I read the account of his response to being asked how he felt about being named the magazine’s most eligible bachelor?

Joe laughs a little shyly and his cheeks flush pink, “Was that a real thing?” he asks, “I thought my assistant was pranking me!”

Aw, I can’t help but melt a little at his shy demeanor.

Joe Abercrombie tackled me to the ground outside my local coffee house, then clumsily helped me to my feet and maybe even checked me out. Does that count as a brush with fame? Not really. Mainly because he was definitely not checking me out. I mean, why would he?

I’m Ella LeBlanc, recently fired teaching assistant who may or may not be about to lose her apartment and forced to move back in with her parents.

Yay.

I roll my eyes and pick up a different magazine. There’s another article about him in this one. ‘Billionaire Dad and Handsome Heartthrob.’

So he’s got a seven year old and he’s really sweet and sensitive. What’s so great about that? I bet he’s a complete snob in real life and never has time for his kid.

Ugh. That wasn’t very nice. I’ll just read one last bit, then put it down.

Interviewer: So is there a lucky lady in your life?

Joe: Of course there is. My daughter is my world. There is nothing I wouldn’t do for her. This move I am planning is so I can be closer to her and cut down on my workload. I’m missing out on watching her growing up.

Interviewer: What a sweet thing to say. Sorry ladies! Looks like he’s taken after all!

I roll my eyes as I throw the magazine back on the table. Dammit. He’s perfect, and now I can’t stop thinking about it. Thanks guys. I thought he was just some cute stranger that I was never gonna see again. Now I know he’s some impossibly perfect, sensitive father, hot guy… that I’ll probably never see again.

“Hey, sorry about that, L.” Kat comes back from her phone call and stands looking down at me in my comfy armchair. “You know you’re going to dissolve into that chair one day,” she laughs as she sits down and picks up her coffee.

“A girl can dream,” I reply.

“So uh, I’ve got some bad news,” she says, attempting to avoid eye contact.

“Alright,” I say, a little suspicious. “What was the phone call?”

“That was my boss. He says we’re not hiring any time soon and there’s not really anything he can do for you. I’m sorry, Ella.”

Great. I can’t even get a job at a pub, even though—not to sound pretentious or anything—I’m well over qualified for it. What was the point of getting all this training to be a teacher if nobody even needs a teacher?

“Oh, that’s okay Kat. I’m sure you tried your hardest.” I smile weakly and finish the last of my coffee. I’m gonna need another one of these if I’m going to be up all night looking for a job.

I get up and head to the counter, where Cameron finishes serving a customer, then turns to me.

“Something up, L?” she asks, “What can I get you?”

“Just the usual. I’m gonna need the energy for job hunting.”

She gives me the sympathy face before she starts my order, “Don’t worry, hon, this one’s on the house,” she says winking at me.

“Thanks, Cam.” Pausing a second, I bite my lip and try to gather some courage, “You sure your Dad doesn’t need anyone else here?”

“Sorry, L. I’m pretty sure the only reason I’m even working here is so he can get away with paying me the bare minimum.”

“Okay. Thanks anyway.” I take my coffee and go back to our table, then sit down and tear open a few more sugar packets before dumping them into my coffee. Then I pour one straight into my mouth. Brown sugar is sure to soothe my worries.

I look up and see that Kat is grinning at me like a crazy woman.

“What?” I ask, my mouth full of sugar.

She holds up the magazine. She’s been reading another article about Joe Abercrombie, and shows me a specific clip.

“Joe looks a little worried as he speaks, ‘I will still have a few days a week when I have to work at the office, so I’ll have to hire a nanny to care for Marnie when I’m not there.”

Oh God, Kat doesn’t think I could be that nanny, does she? Is this going to be another one of her crazy schemes?

“Well, what do you think?” she asks excitedly.

“About what?” I reply, pretending to ignore her and sip my coffee.

“You need a job, he needs a nanny. It’s a match made in heaven!” she shouts at me.

“What is?” Cameron comes over.

“Ella is going to be Joe Abercrombie’s new nanny!” Kat exclaims.

“Uh, no she’s not! I agreed to no such thing,” I snap. I will not let them talk me into this, no matter how much I need it, or want it.

“Oh yeah! I remember reading about that! You could totally do that, L. Kids love you,” Cameron says, her reassuring smile spreading across her face, as she tries to mask her excitement at the thought of me working with a celebrity she has a crush on. I know that if I did happen to get this job they’d mess it up by trying to date him. With my luck I’d find myself performing maid duties instead. I’d end up having to clean up after their one night stands.

“No, not going to happen,” I say. My ass is planted in this comfy chair, and will be until I find a better job.

“Come on, L. You know you’d be great at it. There would be lots of chances for bonuses, and maybe you could even move in, which would help with your apartment problem,” Kat adds.

She does have a point, and something about the look on their faces seems like they are genuinely trying to help me.

“And hey, if he finds you as attractive as it looked like he did, maybe he’ll marry you and that’ll solve all of your problems!” Cameron laughs.

I roll my eyes and laugh along with them, “Alright, I’ll try.”

“Yes!” they both shout.

“Great! Now that you’re going to be Joe Abercrombie’s nanny you’ll be earning loads right?” Cameron laughs nervously, “Cos I’m gonna have to ask you to pay for that coffee after all, because Dad says I can’t give out any more freebies. Sorry.” She bites the tip of her fingernail as I get my money out to pay.