"She's not okay," Mia says. "Ella?"
The touch of her hand on mine snaps me out of my trance. I push up from the chair. "I need to go." I reach behind me for my coat and tug it off the back of the chair.
"Ella, wait!" Ava's trying to get out of the chair, but her swollen belly is making it hard for her to maneuver.
It's Mia who appears at my side. "I'm sorry, I thought you knew," she says. "It's not a big deal. The guys just thought that Jamie needed a little push in the right?—"
"It's a very big deal." I blink back hot tears as I take off through the busy restaurant. I rush past Jamie and the guys, their hands full of drinks on my way past.
"Ella? Where are you going?"
I don't bother turning around. The tears start streaming down my cheeks the moment I push open the heavy wooden door, out into the snowy, winter night.
Alone.
Jamie
Islam the drinks on the table with enough force that they splash over the sides onto the table. "What happened?" I demand of my sister. "Where is Ella going? What did you say? Why would?—"
"You didn't tell her!" Mia shoves my chest with both hands. "What the hell, brother? How could you not tell her that Briggs and Jaxon signed you up?"
My heart stops for a moment.
Fuck.
"I meant to... I was going to... shit!"
Without another word, I spin on my heel and take off after the love of my life. I have to fix this. I have to make things right with Ella. The alternative is unthinkable.
I burst from the door out onto the street and into the snowstorm that's starting to build in intensity. "Ella!" I scan the street in both directions.
Where the hell would she have gone? The only people she knows are inside the bar.
"Ella!" I yell again.
My eyes might be playing tricks on me, but I'm sure I see a flash of the blue jacket she borrowed down the street. Praying it's my girl, I take off running the best I can in the storm.
It's freezing, and I left my jacket inside, but I don't care. I will freeze to death out here before I let my girl walk away from me.
"Ella." I reach for her arm and spin her around. My heart breaks into a million pieces when I look into her eyes. "Shit." I move to wipe the tears off her cheek, but she pulls away. "Ella, please?—"
"No," she stops me. "You don't get to touch me right now." She pulls out of my grasp and it's all I can do not to reach for her again. "You lied to me, Jamie. You said, no lies between us. Only honesty." Her voice cracks. "And you lied. It's all a lie."
"No! None of this is a lie." The look she gives me slices through what's left of my heart. "I didn't lie," I try again. "But I didn't tell you the truth about why I was on the website in the first place. That's my fault." I speak quickly before she can stop me again. "I should have told you that Briggs and Jaxon signed me up. I should have told you right away. That's on me. I was wrong. And I'm so sorry, Ella. But once we started talking, I knew you were the one, and then..."
She sniffs and swipes her jacket sleeve across her face.
I fucking hate that I've hurt her like this. I'll spend the rest of my life making sure that nothing I do or say causes her even a second of pain. Never again.
"But just because they signed me up doesn't mean that any of this is any less real, Ella." I take a chance and grab her hands. They're ice cold. She's not wearing her gloves.
"This is so real, Ella. Everything I feel for you, it's more real than I can even tell you. I meant every single word I've ever said to you. You're mine, Ella. I'm yours. And I think you know that. No matter how it happened or came to be, we're meant to be together."
"But... it's not... we're not a match, Jamie."
"We are." I squeeze her hands so she'll look at me. "We're a perfect match."
"But don't you see?" Tears are streaming down her beautiful face again. "We can't be because you weren't the one who answered the questions." She uses her head to gesture behind me. "They were."
