Solace

“I don’t understand,” Rome said, sinking down on the bed next to her. Ella had taken a shower and washed the night club off of herself before she put on an oversized T-shirt and joined him in the bedroom. He had been pacing as she recounted most of the night’s events to him, but now, when she told him that she’d given Parker Thompson permission to call her, he was confused. She couldn’t blame him. She was a little confused herself. “What exactly is bringing a third guy into this supposed to accomplish? I’m not willing to be part of one of those weird reverse harem trendy things people have going on now.”
Ella stifled a giggle and rolled her eyes. “That just happens in books.”
“As long as you know that,” he countered.
She tossed a pillow at him as he scooted closer to her, laying down on his stomach and balancing on his elbows. He was only wearing his boxers and looked so yummy, she didn’t even want to talk about Henry or Parker or anyone else, but she had a duty to tell him what had transpired. “I am hoping to make Henry jealous.”
“Are you hoping to make me jealous? Because it’s working.” He sounded as if he were trying to come off as playful, but she knew he wasn’t entirely joking.
“No. Juliet doesn’t care about you, remember?” She ran a hand through his hair. “Luckily for you, I’m Ella.”
“I can’t keep the two of you straight,” he said, grasping her wrist and pulling her closer.
“Join the club,” Ella muttered, again, more truth to the comment than humor.
Rome pounced on that. “See, this is what I mean.” He wrapped his arms around her, flipping over onto his back so that her head was nestled against his bicep. “I’m afraid you’re starting to lose who you are, Ella.”
“Rome, I was joking.” She swatted at his chest, but she knew he was right to be afraid. Not that she thought she'd lose herself completely in Juliet, but the fact that she could feel herself changing was alarming to her. It wasn’t a matter of keeping Juliet’s mission straight from Ella’s life. To the outside world, it might appear as if Juliet had feelings for Henry, that she wanted to flirt with hot guys like Parker. Ella didn’t want any of that. She never would. She was perfectly content being Rome Verona’s wife for the rest of forever. It wasn’t the blurring of the lines between her self-appointed vengeance and Ella’s marriage that bothered her, it was something else, something she wasn’t sure she was ready to admit, even to herself.
Her husband didn’t seem to mind articulating it, though. Reaching up with his right hand so that it was extended around her chest, he gently tugged on loose locks of her still damp hair on the far side of her face from where he lay, his voice soft. “Ella… Juliet is nothing like the woman I first met last year. You were so sweet and innocent. At the time, you were afraid to leave the attic. While I hated that your family had made you so scared of the world, I loved how you saw everything. I loved how pure, how kind you were. Always. Juliet isn’t like that.”
Ella knew exactly what he was getting at, but she couldn’t blame all of that on Juliet. “I’m not the same person I was then, Rome. How could I be?” As much as she loved the feel of his fingers sifting through her hair, she turned onto her side so she could look him directly in the face, propping her head on one hand. He rested his palm on her hip. “I was like a lost little child then. I had to grow up. I had to learn that the world can be a scary place, but we can’t hide from it. Sometimes we have to face our monsters.”
His blue eyes held her gaze for a few moments, shifting quickly back and forth as he contemplated how to respond. “I just don’t want you to get hurt, Ella. And I don’t want you to be so consumed with Juliet’s life that you forget who Ella is.”
She tipped her head down, and he moved forward so that her forehead was resting against his chest. “I won’t forget,” she promised him. “I just need to get this over with--quickly--so Juliet can focus on Montage and stop being a manipulative bitch.”
That made him chuckle. But then he asked a serious question. “Are you planning to continue to be Juliet after this situation with Henry is resolved then?”
Nodding, she looked up into his face again. “Of course. I have to. She’s the only version of myself that the world knows about. It’s not as if Ella Verona can do graphic design, paint, or sell art.”
“Okay, but… you had been thinking about talking to your dad. Are you not anymore?”
Ella’s eyes widened as she remembered the other pertinent thing that had happened at the club. There had been two, and she’d intended to tell him both, but she’d been so focused on the possibility of Parker being a blessing in disguise, she hadn’t gotten a chance to tell him the rest.
Reading her expression, Rome asked, “What is it, Ella? You didn’t… do that already did you?”
A loud half-laugh, half-whimper escaped her lips before she could stop it, making his eyebrows raise as he instinctively leaned back. “No,” she said, “do you think I’d do that without consulting you?”
“No, I don’t think you would, but I don’t know about Juliet.”
She rolled her eyes, wishing she could easily access another pillow to hit him with. “No, I didn’t tell my dad I’m alive. But I did see a couple of people who might have recognized me if they weren’t so self-centered they can’t see past the ends of their own noses.”
She didn’t even have to tell him. Based on that bit of information, Rome asked, “You saw your stepsisters? At the club?” His mouth hung agape for a few seconds as she nodded. “How could they not recognize you?”
“I have no idea,” she admitted. “Granted, I was in their attic most of the time I lived at their house, but I had dinner with them almost every night for months. I guess the changes I’ve made to my appearance really are that drastic.”
“Huh.” He processed that for a long time, but even then, he was still surprised. “Did they see you from a distance, or…?”
“No, they came over to speak to Henry. They were about as close to me as you are now. I thought Anna recognized me at first because she thought I looked familiar, but then when Henry told them I owned Montage, she accepted that the only reason I looked like someone she knew was because of the company. I didn’t stick around long after that because I didn’t want to give them more chances to put two and two together.”
“Something tells me if you gave them that math problem, they’d come up with five. Or maybe three,” Rome interjected.
Ella snickered. “So true. Anyway, they saw me. We spoke. I left. I hope they won’t go say anything to my stepmother or dad about how much Juliet Montague looks like their dead sister. They might not recognize me after the changes I’ve made, but my face is structurally still exactly the same. You’d think a father would recognize his own daughter. Maybe not from a photograph, but certainly if he saw me in person, don’t you think?”
Rome nodded. “I would think so. I doubt your dad’s going to show up at the club, but what are you going to do if he tries to come to Montage’s next show?”
“I don’t know. Make sure he’s not on the list?”
“He’s a pretty influential person with a lot of money. I bet he could convince whoever’s at the door to let him in.”
Rome had a point. “I guess I need to make a list of people who aren’t allowed in, then,” she said, wishing life would stop being so complicated. With a groan, she leaned her head back onto his chest, and he wrapped her up, both of them surrendering to the pillows.
“We’ll figure it out, El. We always do.”
“Yeah,” she said, but the more complicated this game became, the more likely she was to misstep, and as much as Rome would be there to support her and offer advice, she was the one who had to pick her way through the landmines.
The feel of her husband’s strong arms around her, the steady beat of his heart beneath her ear, and the intoxicating scent of his aftershave had those thoughts slipping away. Rome’s fingertips brushed lightly against her arm, the feel of his soft warm breath against her forehead reminding her that she didn’t have to think about Henry or Parker or anyone else at the moment.
Ella shifted so that she was on her side. He turned as well and found her lips with his, his tongue darting against hers as one hand tugged up her T-shirt so that he could better access her skin. As the kiss intensified, so did his roaming hands until her shirt was off and his mouth was moving lower and lower down her body. Thoughts of Juliet and her problems all faded away as Rome carried Ella away to another place, one where they were the only ones that existed, where their love was a passionate flame that would never die, a fire that could never turn to ash.