Chapter 22
The next morning Ella sat at a table at The Local Bean with Cami and Krissy, catching them up on her drama filled life. She hadn’t heard from Lucas since she’d slapped him and walked away.
She had no idea if he still believed she was the one who made those flyers, but since he hadn’t sought her out, she assumed he did.
She missed him.
It’d been a day and she missed him. She’d feel pathetic if she wasn’t so overwhelmed by sadness.
If only he would’ve listened to her, believed they could be together right now. Her lips tingled just thinking about his kiss, his hands roaming her body, and that adorable dimple that popped up at the most unexpected times.
“Why don’t you go talk to him?” Krissy asked, eyeing her over her cup of ginger lemon tea.
Ella ran her finger along her red ceramic mug and shrugged. “What’s the point?”
She tried to explain herself yesterday, and he didn’t want to hear it. The things he said…
“The point is you are Ella Moretti. You don’t sit around sulking about some guy,” Cami said.
“I also don’t make it a habit of hitting men either, and yet I did.”
“He deserved it,” Cami said, tucking her platinum blonde hair behind her ears before taking a sip of her latte. “I wouldn’t feel bad about it.”
Ella would’ve laughed if she had it in her. “This coming from the girl who could make slapping an Olympic sport.”
“What can I say? I’ve encountered a lot of assholes in my life.”
“Why do I have a feeling some liked to be slapped?” Krissy asked, pushing her glasses back into place.
“Nothing wrong with a little kink,” Cami said with a flutter of her eyelashes.
Krissy rolled her eyes before giving into laughter. “What are we going to do with you.”
“Love me,” Cami said, flashing a big fake smile.
“Already do.”
Cami and Krissy were total opposites in every sense of the word, and Ella usually found amusement in their banter, but today she couldn’t get her mind off of Lucas—the anger in his eyes when he was accusing her of a crime she didn’t commit, the utter betrayal she felt as his words cut her in two…
To think that he honestly thought she slept with him as a way to sabotage his grandfather’s restaurant was absurd and, quite frankly, insulting. She thought what they’d shared on the beach that night and then in his bed was something magical.
She’d never experienced pleasure like that. It had consumed her completely, and in the process, he snuck into her heart. And now that he was gone, there was a large gaping hole that longed to feel his touch and to hear his voice.
While he might’ve regretted their time together, she would always cherish it. He helped her realize there was no point in trying to make others happy when she wasn’t. It was time she started working on her. She’d given so much of herself over the years and let herself take a backseat, but she was done being a passenger. She was ready to take the wheel and steer herself toward a future she could be proud of.
“Earth to Ella,” Cami said, snapping her fingers in front of her face.
Ella shook the thoughts from her mind and looked up to see Cami and Krissy staring at her. “Sorry. What?” she asked.
“My point exactly,” Cami said.
Ella was about to ask her what she was talking about when Martha walked in and waved to the girls. She was in a pretty turquoise shirt that flowed behind her as she moved. “Morning, ladies,” she said, coming over to their table in a cloud of patchouli oil. Her salt and pepper hair was a mess of curls and as free as her spirit.
“What are we talking about this morning?” Martha asked, she was always up on the town gossip, and Ella wouldn’t be surprised if she already knew every last dirty detail about what happened between her and Lucas.
“I’m trying to convince Ella here to go over and talk to Lucas,” Krissy said.
“She’s in love with him,” Cami added, and Ella shifted in her seat toward her friend.
“Cami!”
“What?” Cami asked, holding her hands up. “I’m just telling the truth.”
“Oh dear,” Martha said.
“It doesn’t matter how I feel. He made it perfectly clear that he thinks I’m a liar. If he wants to talk then he can come find me. I’m not going to him. I have nothing to say. I’m sure Martha will agree with me.”
“Sweetie—” Martha said.
“You’re so full of it,” Cami chimed in. “Do you not hear the way you sigh when you say his name?”
“I do not sigh. There is no sighing,” she said, glancing up at Martha. She turned back in her chair, looking down at her coffee with a splash of half and half and a sprinkle of cinnamon. Dammit, even her coffee reminded her of him. “I don’t care that he has the most gorgeous blue eyes, or that his laugh is contagious, and he’s weird and likes black jelly beans as much as I do. I don’t care that he made me happier in the past week than I’ve ever been in my whole life. I’m not going to talk to him, and Martha”—she looked up at her—“you’re a strong independent woman. I’m sure you understand, right? I shouldn’t have to be the one to go to him.”
Martha shook her head, and Ella deflated.
“No, that’s not it,” Martha said, waving her hand, her bracelets clacking together. “I’m sorry to tell you this, but he left for California with his father first thing this morning. He’s gone.”