The Charmer in Chaps by Julia London

Author:Julia London
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
Published: 2019-05-06T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Seventeen

This was exactly what Ella feared would happen if she came to town with Luca. Someone would see them, probably someone with a big mouth (Mariah), and knowing Mariah as well as she did, Ella was certain the whole town would have heard about their “date” by tomorrow afternoon.

And then, days or weeks from now, Luca would move on, and people would whisper, Who does she think she is?

That was really nothing she could control, and she understood that it shouldn’t influence her feelings for Luca in the least, but Ella did not want to look like an idiot. She did not want to be the poor girl who thought she had a chance with one of the Princes. She knew better.

“So when did this start?” Mariah whispered excitedly as Luca and Randy talked.

“Nothing has started,” Ella said. “He helped me with something at the house, and we had some tacos. That’s it, the whole enchilada.”

“The whole enchilada my ass,” Mariah said. “How do you expect me to believe that?” she leaned across the table and whispered, “Do you know how many times I had to listen to you pine for Prince Luca when we were in high school?”

Ella stole a quick look at Luca to assure herself he hadn’t heard Mariah. “Will you stop?” she whispered back. “That was a very long time ago.”

Mariah leaned even closer and whispered, “So, what, you aren’t into him anymore? What’s the matter, did he get too good-looking for you? Because he’s only gotten better looking—”

“Mariah, stop,” Ella said, laughing.

Mariah snorted. “I’m your friend. Why won’t you tell me?”

“If I’m your friend, why won’t you give me your business?” Ella countered.

“Not fair,” Mariah said, and leaned back. She indicated Randy with her chin. “I have that one breathing down my neck.” She grunted, took a swig of beer. “Okay, so don’t tell me. But I thought we were friends. Speaking of friends,” she said, sounding a tiny bit surly, “remember the day you and Stacy came to my shop?”

That caught Randy’s attention. He suddenly turned toward Ella and Mariah. “Yeah, Stacy,” he said.

“Who is Stacy?” Luca asked.

“Oh, you remember, Luca,” Mariah said with a flick of her wrist. “Stacy Perry. Blond hair. School choir.”

“Oh, right,” he said.

Well, great. Stacy, he remembered. “What about her?” Ella asked.

“Did you remember seeing a yellow dress with white trim?” Mariah asked.

Something tipped in Ella. She had a sudden vision of Stacy coming out of the sheriff’s office in a cute yellow dress. Ella blinked. She lifted her bottle and drank.

Mariah’s eyes narrowed. “Have you seen it, by any chance?”

Everyone was looking at Ella. She could feel the heat in her cheeks. Guilt by association all over again. “Umm . . . where was it?” Ella asked as she frantically tried to think of what to say.

“It was on the seventy-five-percent-off rack.”

“I didn’t go back to that rack, remember?”

“I know. But I’m asking, have you seen it?” Mariah asked pointedly.

Ella’s stomach was suddenly churning. She wanted to throttle Stacy.

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