Yours Completely (Billionaires and Brides 1)

Only if you count the part-time maid pushing seventy-five with three grand-kids, Ella thought. Instead, she said, “Yeah. She must have just gotten the two of us confused.”

For the life of her, Ella couldn't figure out why Delores would give him bad information like that. Knowing Delores, it was probably an attempt to punish Ella for taking the wedding liaison position from Allison, though Ella couldn't figure out why she would say that. Then again, her stepmother wasn't always the most logical person when it came to Ella.

Maybe it was just Delores's cruel way of telling Ella she'd never get married.

“I'm just glad to hear it's not true,” Jace said. Somehow, his forefinger and thumb were on her chin, tipping her face up to look at him. His fingers tingled against her skin and even though she knew it was wrong, she couldn't pull away. Every fiber of her being wanted to kiss him.

Luckily, her phone started to ring.

It was enough to pull her away, to bring her back to the wedding at hand. He was getting married and she needed to stay away from him. She reached for the phone, looking away and trying to clear her mind of his scent as she answered.

“This is Ella.” Her voice was breathless and sexy and she hated it.

“Ella, there's a fire in the kitchen!” The voice on the other line was pure panic. “I used the fire extinguisher, but-”

“Don't worry about it,” Ella interrupted. She sent a silent thank-you up to whichever higher being was listening that the fire hadn't triggered the fire alarms and scared the guests. She pinched her nose with her fingers and took a breath. “I'll be right there. Just make sure the fire doesn't come back and don't freak out, okay?”

She clicked the phone off and stuffed in her pocket, knowing that she had to get to the kitchen before anyone did anything stupid.

“I'm really sorry, but I have to go.” She bit her lip. Looking at Jace made it hard to move again.

“No, I should go finish getting ready anyway.” He shook himself slightly, as if clearing his head. He motioned to the upturned cart. “I just wanted to make sure the building wasn't falling down.”

“Yeah, I'll get that taken care of before the wedding,” Ella remarked, still not moving. “I really should go take care of the fire.”

“Fires should always be taken care of,” he agreed, a humored smile crossing his face. He didn't move either.

Again, she knew she should leave the very sexy, very kissable man in front of her and go take care of whatever disaster was going on in the kitchen, but it was hard. It wasn't fair that he had this kind of effect on her, especially since he was getting married to someone else in a few hours.

She forced herself to walk away. She had to. Not just for the fire, but for her own sanity. If she stayed, she'd kiss him and she knew it. She would not allow herself to be responsible for ruining the wedding. She made it all the way to the ballroom entrance.

“By the way...” Ella paused at the door, unable to leave without saying something. “You look great. The bride will be really happy, and honestly, Jason, you're lucky to be marrying someone like her.”

She didn't stay to see how he would react. Her heart couldn't take it. She ran.

Chapter Eleven

All those stupid love songs were right, Jace thought as he watched Ella flee out the ballroom door. His heart was soaring and his brain was mush. One thought kept repeating through his mind, slowly repainting the horror that had been his sorrow just hours ago.

She wasn't engaged.

Except, and this part made Jace chuckle, she thought he was this wedding's groom. Jace and Jason. It was an easy enough mistake to make, particularly since the press knew him as Xavier. Jace was only for close family and friends.

Jace sagged into an overdecorated chair, unsure if his knees were going to give out or break into happy dance. He shook his head, smiling. She thought he was the groom. That was why she pulled away every time he tried to kiss her. It wasn't that she was engaged or didn't want it- she was being honorable.

The idea that she thought she was saving him from her warmed his heart. His soon to be brother-in-law was almost as wealthy as Jace, and the two of them had often spoken about how money changed people. Any other woman in her position would have taken advantage of him. It would have been easy to blackmail money out of the situation, but that wasn't Ella. Instead of taking the easy paycheck, she pulled away.

He suddenly couldn't wait for the wedding ceremony. As soon as Ella saw his sister marrying a man that wasn't him, everything would be fixed. They could laugh about it over drinks. He's ask her for a dance at the reception, and spin her around until they were both dizzy.

He grinned, standing up to return to his room. He still needed to shave and finish dressing. His steps out of the ballroom were strong and sure, and with every step he felt closer to flying. As soon as Ella knew he wasn't Jason, they could finally have that kiss. There were no unspoken fiances hovering between them anymore.

Suddenly Delores was standing directly in front of him. He skidded to a stop, nearly bowling her over for a second time in just two days. He really needed to stop running into her like this.

“Oh, Mr. Connor,” Delores purred his name like a contented cat. She fluttered her eyelashes, but her mouth was still too pinched to be attractive. “We were just looking for you. I have another form I need you to sign.”

Jace stared blankly at her for a moment before realizing that her daughter, Allison was with her. Allison's top button was undone, giving him a heady view of cleavage as she clutched a clipboard to her chest.

“Now?” Jace asked. He wanted to go back to his room and shave and come up with the perfect thing to say to Ella while they danced.