Page 82 of Falling for Them

But Idocare what Ella thinks.And she’s going to think we’re assholes for waiting outside her home like this.

Shrugging, Bash says, “Well, you are an asshole.”

“You’ve always been so tactful,” I say, staring past him.Where the fuck is Ella?I need to see her, reassure myself that she’s all right.

We should never have let so many days go by since the gala.I’m never going to forgive myself for this.

Bash taps out a rhythm on the door’s armrest.He’s probably singing a song in his head.He does this all the time, even when he doesn’t realize it.

“Dude, stop it,” I say.

He frowns, but he stops tapping.

Several people walk past Ella’s building.Every time I see a woman with long, brown hair, my heart gives a funny leap in my chest.

“How long are we going to wait for?”Sebastian asks.

“I don’t know,” I say through gritted teeth.“Forever?”

“Yeah,” he says.“Sounds about right.I’d wait that long for her, anyway.”

Luckily, we don’t have to.“There she is,” I say.

“She looks like she’s freezing,” he says.“She needs a better coat.”

“We’ll get her one, then,” I say absently.

Bash nods, because of course.She’s ours, so she’ll be taken care of.Whatever she needs, it’ll be hers.For as long as she’ll let us pamper her, that’s what we’ll do.

We climb out of the car and cross the street.

“Ella,” I call.

She doesn’t turn—she probably can’t hear me over the loud music blaring from a car that cruises past.

“Ella!”I shout, cupping a hand to the side of my mouth.

She turns.Her brown eyes widen in shock and she freezes in place.“Mr.Tyler?”

I know I should tell her to call me Kingston, but if she can’t call meDaddyin public, well, Mr.Tyler is a close second.

She registers Bash next to me and says, “What are you two doing here?”

“Looking for you,” I say.

She gives a little laugh.“Well, um, here I am.”

“What happened to your phone?”Bash asks her.

“Oh,” she says.“Sorry.It’s not working right now.”

Not an answer.I want to press for more information, but that’s not the main goal of this conversation.

“You left my place in a hurry,” I say.

She looks down.“Yeah, well, Joel—”

“Has nothing to do with us,” I say.