Page 153 of Christmas off Script
Vivienne pulled away, her hands on Ella’s upper arms and her expression soft. ‘Honey, you’vealwaysbeen one of us.’
Ella’s eyes pricked with tears. No matter how the media portrayed Leo’s family, they’d always been there for her. Loved her. Accepted her no matter who her family was.
‘Come here,’ Vivienne said, drawing Ella back into her arms.
Ella felt Leo hugging her from behind and the vibrations in his chest as he murmured, ‘Thank you’, to his mom.
‘Cuddles?’ came Dervla’s voice. ‘I want in!’
They disengaged with a laugh, and Dervla lifted Ella into the air. ‘You know we’re never letting you go now?’
She sniffed her tears away, smiling. ‘There’s nowhere else I’d rather be.’
Dervla exchanged a look with Vivienne, then turned back to Ella. ‘You sure you and your handsome prince don’t want some private time? Just the two of you?’
Ella felt heat bloom in her cheeks. ‘Er—’
‘Just remember to put a sock on the door handle,’ Dervla continued. ‘Then we’ll know to leave you alone.’
‘Thank you, Mammy.’ Leo steered Ella to the side of the stage behind a flat and held her close.
Wrapping her arms around his back, Ella rested her head on his chest and listened to the steady beat of his heart. She had the deep sense that she was finally home. Leo was her safe place. Her harbour. The destination that every road in her life had led to. She was protected by him. Loved by him. And this love flowed through her like a warm golden light, filling every cell with happiness and contentment.
‘I love you,’ he whispered, kissing the top of her head.
‘I love you too,’ she murmured, the words sending a thrill of excitement through her.
‘Do you want to stay for the party? Or…’
Ella’s heart skipped a beat. Right now, all she wanted was to be alone with Leo.
‘What do you want to do?’ she asked.
He drew back and raised an eyebrow, his gaze incendiary. ‘I’ve just found out the woman I love loves me back. So much as I would enjoy partying with these reprobates, I’d much rather be alone with you. I need to make sure there’s no doubt left in your mind as to how much I love you.’
She reached up and pressed a soft kiss to his lips. ‘Let’s go.’
28
‘Our room, or ours?’ Leo asked as they stood in the corridor outside their bedrooms.
Ella’s heart leapt. This was real. Her and Leo. A few weeks ago, she’d been single and homeless. Now she was with the man of her dreams and living in a fantasy home where she didn’t even have to cook or wash up if she didn’t want to.
‘Because now I’ve won the princess’s heart, I never want us to be apart again,’ Leo continued. ‘The room on the left has the Christmas tree, but the room on the right has a century-appropriate bed.’ He frowned. ‘I suppose we could just knock through?’
She attempted a stern expression. ‘Leo…’
‘Yes, Princess Ella?’
A flicker of uncertainty shivered through her heart. How could such happiness be real?
She swallowed. ‘Are you sure about me? About us? Last month—’
Holding her hands, he waited patiently. Somehow knowing she needed to voice her deepest fears.
‘You went on a date,’ she finished.
‘A date where I talked non-stop about you, and at the end of the night, Ellie, who I kept callingEllaby the way, told me I should be looking to makeyoumy girlfriend, not her.’
