C H A P T E R  3 0  :  H E R  W O R S T  F E A R  A N D  B R U I S E D  A N K L E  J A V I E R  S U M M E R S  “Jiev.” That nickname seemed to be his undone. Her smoky voice rippled over him, obliterating any remote possibility that he could think clearly. His brains simply refused to function for the time being. Not when the only thought running through his brain was that she had murmured his name in that same way while lying naked in his arms, her body joined intimately with his. And as though Ella had been caught under the same sensual spell as he had, she suddenly scrambled beneath the covers. The difference was that she cried out in pain. “What is it?” Javier demanded, rushing to her side. “M-my ankle,” she finally answered. Her voice was shaky and her eyes were in pain. “I must have tw

C H A P T E R  3 2  -  A  F L A S H  O F  M E M O R Y E L L A  S T A N F O R D At first, Javier seemed to be surprised at her odd request however his shock turned to curiosity shortly after. Yet his self restraint held him from asking her the reason behind her adjuration.  “I think it was in your luggage from the hospital. They had to remove all of your pieces of jewelry while you were under intensive care and put them in a sealed plastic bag.” He pushed his chair back and stood. “Let me get it for you.” Ella nodded and offered him a smile. “Thank you.” It did not take him longer than five minutes to get the luggage and grabbed the engagement ring in his palm. But most of the time, at least one full minute was spent staring at the ring. The ring had once belonged to his mother however she had promised him, a long time ago, that

C H A P T E R  3 4  :  S H O P P I N G  A N D  W A L K I N G  D O W N  M E M O R Y  L A N E E L L A  S T A N F O R D “Do you think Javier is a good guy?” Ella suddenly blurted out the question. Even though her heart had told her numerous times that he was good and she had seen him being super patient with her, there was a part of her that felt that he was hiding something from her. That was the only thing that caused her not to be able to trust him completely.  Damon's eyes once again widened in surprise. “Of course, he is! I would not let you date him, let alone get engaged to him if he is not.” Upon realizing that he had come too strong, her best friend backed away and explained further, “Look. I know you did not remember this and I believe Javier could not even tell you this since he has no idea about it but we dressed you up real good at his last birthday party.”

J A V I E R S U M M E R S Two days later, sitting behind his desk at the Summers Entertainment headquarters, Javier kept telling himself for the last two hours that it might be enough that Ella wanted him. Even though his inbox was full of emails from various departments, demanding his attention, he ignored it all and stared blankly ahead. His desire fisted in his gut as he recalled her taste and her touch. Every cell in his being had screamed for him to lead her back to the bedroom or bring her over to the couch, to tumble with her, and feed the hunger that had held them both in its grip. Damon’s arrival two days ago had come in the nick of time, because he had been dangerously close to doing just that, and had he done so, it would have been a mistake. Because he wanted more from her than for her to feel desire for him. He wanted her to trust him which was why he had been waking up earlier than usual and dashed off to the office because he knew, one more look at her in her nightgo

C H A P T E R  3 8  :  M E M O R Y  A N D  T R A G E D Y E L L A  S T A N F O R D  In all honesty, it made him nervous. This Ella was unpredictable. Not that the old Ella was predictable but at least he was rest assured that she loved him. This Ella however acted like a complete stranger and the look she kept giving him showed how little she actually trusted him.  “What is it?” he dared himself to ask.  “Tell me about that day.” She took a deep, calming breath then locked her eyes with his as she sat on the couch next to him. “Tell me what happened on the day I had an accident. And please, keep your promise in mind while you are at it.” “It was my fault,” he started with a gloom note. “Growing up, you seemed to hate your father and blame him for everything so I decided to