Page 43

Eliana

“ S o did I do a good job?” Jake’s soothing voice echoes off the thin glass walls of the star-gazing room.

Because of course this hotel had everything I could ever want all in one place.

When Jake opened the door and pulled me inside, I nearly burst into tears at the sheer magnitude of beauty in front of me.

“I can’t even remember the last time I was able to see this many stars. I could lay here forever.” I give his hand a squeeze while I rest my head on his chest, the two of us spread out on the padded floor.

He extends his other arm to point out more constellations. “That right there is Orion’s Belt.”

“It’s stunning.” I let out a content breath. Pointing to the three stars to the left, I ask, “What’s that one?”

“Umm…his helmet?” Jake’s uncertainty draws a laugh from me.

“Mmm, something tells me that’s not quite right.”

“Well, I never claimed to be an astrologer.”

“Astronomer,” I correc t

“Same difference.”

“You’re right, they’re practically interchangeable careers,” I laugh.

Jake winks, “I’m an Aries and you’re a Gemini.”

“Interesting. Do you know what that means? I barely know what my big three are.”

Jake purses his lips. “When we first started dating, or technically fake-dating, Sienna mentioned to me that Aries and Gemini are historically very compatible.”

“Oh. Well, that’s good to know.” Heat rises to my cheeks. “So Sienna’s really into astrology?”

“Yeah, she went through a whole phase last summer. Made star charts for all of us and even spent hours on the phone haggling with some poor admin hospital staff trying to get my exact birth time because it wasn’t printed on my birth certificate.”

“Damn. Now that’s some dedication.”

“She was determined to get mine right because she was quote, ‘Tired of my whoreish ways and wanted me to find a match that would get me in line and also love me.’”

I struggle to hold back my laugh. “Sienna never holds back, does she?”

“Not for a second. She may be the youngest, but she is the loudest. And maybe the biggest hot head.”

“That’s funny. I would’ve guessed that position belonged to you, but you managed to keep your temper in check during the Bolton game.”

Jake tenses slightly under me while he clenching his hand into a fist. He refused to tell me what was said, which does little to appease my suspicions that it was about me.

“Can you tell me what the Bolton player said to you?”

“Just a bunch of bullshit. Nothing you need to be concerned with. ”

“I think if it was about me, which I suspect it was, then it is my concern.”

He lets out a long sigh before bringing us into a seated position and pulling me onto his lap.

Jake takes a loose strand of my hair in between his fingers to toy with, avoiding my eyes.

“Any chirps I get on the ice that are about me go in one ear and out the other. Comments about my loved ones however… get under my skin. If the Bolton player had come at me a few years ago, I definitely would have gotten to him before Tristan did.”

“I’m glad you didn’t go after him. He’s not worth risking your health over.”

Jake takes a deep breath and gives me a tight smile before whispering, “The Bolton player who fought with Tristan, was basically running his mouth about us. He insinuated the only reason you would be into me is because of my money, and said he would pay you later to sleep with him.”

My heart drops to my stomach. Though I knew Jake’s family was better off financially than mine was, I never actually thought about how much more money they had.

I knew once I agreed to fake date, and then real date, Jake, it would be an uphill battle of handling other people’s perceptions of me, especially once I officially started working for Katherine this summer.

No doubt I’ll run into people who think the only reason I was hired was because I was dating her son.

It was going to be a struggle not to let those comments get to me, but I’d been slowly preparing myself (largely due to my therapist pushing me to do so).

Looks like Stephanie and I should add “How to not care what other people think when they know nothing about you” to our list of things I need to work on.

“Ellie?” Jake’s apprehensive voice brings me back.

“Sorry. Just had a little moment. That guy’s a dick, who cares what he says.”

Jake doesn’t seem too convinced by my attempt to come off as unbothered. “I love you, Eliana. And I would do anything for you.”

“I know you would Jake...” While his words are meant to comfort me, the frown on my face only deepens.

I didn’t want him to feel like he had to fix all of my problems in order to show his love for me.

Not only is that an impossible ask, but I can handle myself.

I can admit I have a bad habit of neglecting my own needs, and I may have sent him some mixed messages when I accepted his groceries or let him cook dinner for me when I was feeling lazy.

But I wanted him to know he didn’t have to do any of those things for me to love him.

“What is it?”

“I don’t want this to come off as ungrateful or unappreciative because I love how thoughtful and caring you are, but there’s been a few times now where you’ve mentioned wanting to remove all of the stress in my life and that’s just not realistic.

There’s going to be things you can’t protect me from, and that’s okay.

And just because I had some rough moments growing up, doesn’t mean it’s on you to fix them.

That would be incredibly unfair to you.”

“But I like doing those things for you.”

I lift my hand and place it on his heart. “I know you do. Trust me, you’re preaching to the choir here. Which is why I want to have this conversation. From one person who loves taking care of people, to another, I don’t want you to burn yourself out taking care of me.”

He places a hand on top of mine. “I hear you Ellie, I do.”

I give him a soft kiss, and shift back to stargazing.

We sit content in each other’s arms, laughing at our failed attempts at pointing out constellations in the night sky, until Jake’s phone vibrates and brings us back to reality.

“It’s Sienna. She said we should probably head back and start getting ready for dinner. ”

“I thought we were just grabbing dinner in the hotel's restaurant?”

“We are, but they have a dress code that’s a bit strict.”

“Strict?” Shit. I had a feeling strict was code for “really formal” and the nicest thing I brought on this trip were my extra thermal LL Bean boots.

“Don’t worry Sienna and Charlotte brought a bunch of extra clothes you can borrow. And a surprise for Josie.”

I try my hardest to let Jake’s words comfort me and silence the voice in my head that’s screaming and wondering, what the hell did I get myself into coming on this trip?

“Eliana, you have to see this. It's the cutest thing ever.” Sienna drags me inside her and Charlotte’s room inside the massive suite. Josie is posing in front of a full-length mirror, decked out in a sparkly plaid pink jacket and skirt combo.

When she notices me, she breaks out into a massive smile and gives me a spin. “Ellie! Look at the outfit Sienna got me. I feel like I’m ready to rock a red carpet.” She poses in front of the mirror as I try to stifle my laugh.

“Sienna, you really didn’t have to?—”

“It’s a Christmas gift! Santa just came a few days early. Now, let’s get big sis sorted. Josie and I thought long and hard about this, and we landed on evergreen being your color. Not that you don’t look incredible in other colors, but we really think this one is absolutely meant for you.”

Sienna slides open the closet door and pulls out the most stunning velvet dress I’ve seen in my life.

The soft material goes on for days, and from the shape of the dress, I can tell it would hug me in all the right places.

I can’t even stop myself from taking the hanger from Sienna’s hands and holding it in front of me as I face the mirror. “It’s stunning.”

“And it’ll go perfectly with these shoes.” Josie peaks her head in and lays down a pair of black heels with red bottoms in front of me.

My heart squeezes as I take in her excitement.

We didn’t have a lot of moments where we could do simple things like dress up and just be sisters.

So much of our relationship was me stepping up to serve as the responsible mom, and sometimes it was hard to step back and enjoy the moments where I could be a normal older sister.

“It’s perfect. This is all perfect.” I beam while turning around to bring Josie and Sienna into a massive hug.

“Then go get dressed so I can do your makeup. Time is money!”

I lay the outfit on the bed and walk into the bathroom so Sienna can apply my makeup.

If I spent this long on my makeup, I know I’d look like a clown.

Before I can say as much to Sienna, she’s hitting me with the setting spray.

She refuses to let me look in the mirror until I have the dress on.

Jake stumbles in a moment later with a wicked smile on his face, as his eyes wander down the length of my body.

“Sienna drew a mustache on my face didn’t she?”

“You’re so beautiful,” he whispers, cradling my face in his hands. His words and besotted expression make me feel like the most special person in the whole world. Even with my heels on, I still need to stretch a bit as I lean in to kiss him.

I’m yanked away by Sienna before our lips can connect. “Oh no, you’re not ruining all my hard work. Plus, we’re already running late.”

Jake lets out an annoyed noise and sends me a wink as we all shuffle out the room and to the restaurant.