Following Her (Unexpected Heroes #2.5)(29)

“And though we’ve only been around both of you together a few times, the way he looks at you makes it more than obvious that he’s pretty infatuated with you as well,” Reese said.

“But it’s always that way in the beginning. What if the attraction fades? What if now that the trial is over, he decides to go on his merry way? I trusted Felix and look how that turned out. The man just got locked up for twenty-five years.”

“We can either live our lives by what-ifs or we can live our lives to the fullest. We never know what’s going to happen tomorrow, so we need to live for today. You like him, he likes you. As a matter of fact, I think you know how much you like each other and that’s why you are making all of these excuses up,” Maycie said, dropping her pen and resuming the massacre of her giant sundae.

“I hate men. They’re insane, cause all sorts of crazy emotions, and make our lives too chaotic. I have plans and goals. I’m in no way ready for a serious relationship. I’m just getting off the ground with my career . . .”

“And life has a way of flipping upside down and altering our plans without our permission. We either roll with it or get washed out to sea,” Reese said.

Ella smiled at her friends and finally said the one thing she’d been afraid to say. “If I let down my guard, I’m going to fall in love with this man.” She waited for them to tell her that was foolish.

“Oh, honey, love isn’t the enemy. And not everyone is so lucky as to find it. If you fall in love with him, then good for you,” Maycie said, tears in her eyes.

“But what if that happens and he breaks my heart?”

“Then you can say you once loved him,” Reese added.

“Love sucks,” Ella said, then decided to fill her mouth with ice cream so she wouldn’t keep repeating herself.

Though she still didn’t know what she wanted to do, having her friends there and talking about it did help. Just because she wasn’t deciding her entire future on this one day didn’t mean her life was going to flip upside down.

The three women stayed together all night, and though Ella didn’t get all the answers she needed, she knew what she was going to do next.





What was she doing at his hotel? He most likely didn’t want to speak to her. Why would he? The last time they were together, she’d told him to go away, yet here she was pacing in front of his room like a fool.

It was a hotel, for goodness’ sake. That more than anything said that his stay was temporary. Maybe she should just leave things as they were and let him slip away into the night. But instead, she was pacing in the hallway, probably being watched by the security crew who were eating popcorn and taking bets on whether she was a prostitute.

Why else would a woman show up at a hotel in the middle of the night? No, she wasn’t dressed like Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman, but she was loitering in the nice hallway of the better-than-average hotel.


It was now or never. Screwing up her courage, she banged on his door, cringing when the sound echoed up and down the hallway. She knew he left his phone on. Wouldn’t it have been better to just call him?

But what if he hadn’t answered? That would have been worse than embarrassing herself by pounding away on his door. When a door across the hall opened and a scowling woman glared at her, Ella gave her a don’t-mess-with-me look and turned her back, satisfied when the door clicked shut.

When Axel didn’t come to the door quickly enough to suit her, she knocked again in time with the pounding of her heart, and then let out a relieved breath when she heard noise on the other side of the door.

The door thrust open, and a very irritated Axel stood before her in nothing but a pair of low-riding jeans. Her stomach dipped, but she pushed him aside and rushed in before she could lose her courage.

“What’s the matter? Are you being followed?” He looked out the door, his eyes instantly clear as he searched for danger.

“Nothing’s wrong. I just wanted to see you,” she said, moving to his minifridge and praying there was something strong inside of it.

“At midnight?” Now he looked confused as he let the door shut, automatically setting the extra locks on it.

“I was out,” she replied vaguely as she found what she was looking for in his fridge and then found a bucket with ice. Miracles did happen.

“This isn’t like you, Ella. You’re still having a rough time from the trial, aren’t you?” he asked, though he kept his distance. She wished he’d just grab her, make her mind stop whirling, and make her forget all about her day. But she wasn’t going to ask him to do that.

“I had my friends over. We spoke and I feel much better now,” she said, hoping she was coming off breezy instead of scared to death.

Finally she met his gaze and those beautiful hazel eyes narrowed. “I don’t buy it, Ella. What’s going on?”

“Nothing. Maybe I shouldn’t have come,” she said, downing her vodka and making a move toward the door.

Axel was now fully alert and she didn’t make it two steps before he blocked her path. “I don’t think so. You can’t show up here in the middle of the night, act all flippant, and then just turn around and walk back out the door.”

He backed her up until she was pressed against the wall, his body heat instantly warming her without their bodies even touching. His hands rested on either side of her head, caging her in, making her heart race.