Instead, I smiled. "Good morning, ladies."
Molly jumped to her feet and ran to hug me. I held my daughter and kept looking at Ella.
She looked so sad. The thought that I might be responsible for putting that sadness there broke my heart.
"Morning," she finally said and managed a small smile.
Seeing her smile made me feel as if color had been splashed into my world again. "Is Penelope coming today?" I asked Ella.
Her smile faded and a haunted look came over her features. The change was drastic… I knew then that whatever had made her change had something to do with Penelope. Anger coursed through me. Had she said something to Ella? I needed to find out.
"She said she'll come the day after tomorrow," Ella said stiffly, confirming my fears.
I felt desperate to know but now was not the time. Not when Molly was in the room. Reluctantly, I withdrew and went downstairs. I asked Paul to serve my breakfast in the library and as I headed there, a glimmer of hope grew in me.
If it was about Penelope, I felt sure we could solve it. Penelope wasn’t in my life and I had no feelings for her whatsoever.
I got the opportunity to speak to Ella in the afternoon while Molly napped. She came into the library to let me know she would be in the backyard.
"Can I speak to you for a moment?" I asked.
She looked hesitant, but stepped in and shut the door. She wore a dress that showed off her shapely legs. My eyes greedily devoured her, wishing the dress were shorter, so I could see more of her creamy thighs.
She stood far away from me as though I might hurt her. My heart squeezed. This was the woman who’d been comfortable sitting on my lap whenever we found ourselves alone. Now, she couldn’t even stand to be close to me.
"What is it,” she asked.
I took a deep breath. "Ella, my sweet Ella."
At my words, her lower lip trembled and she bit it.
Taking advantage of her vulnerability, I stood up and went to her. I made sure to get close but not to touch her. "Talk to me, I need to know what happened," I said.
Her eyes filled up. "I know about you and Penelope."
I narrowed my eyes. Damnit, I was right. "Did she say something to you?"
"She didn't have to. I saw it with my own eyes."
I was puzzled. "Saw what?"
Anger flashed in her eyes. "If you want me to spell it out for you, I will. I saw Penelope leave your room at night and she was stark naked. You’ve been sleeping with Penelope. That wasn’t part of our agreement.”
My heart felt like it was shrinking. I thought we had trust between us. That we understood each other and Ella knew me well enough to know I kept my word. “Is that what you think of me?”
She blinked rapidly. “What other explanation would there be of a woman leaving your room at midnight without clothes on? What was I expected to think? Please don’t play games with me Luke. I’m fine with you wanting your ex-wife back, but don’t lie to me.”
I stared at her incredulously. If Ella didn’t know me then I had no hope that any woman would ever know me. She had penetrated my walls. Become closer to me than any other woman ever had. And she thought I was fucking Penelope.
"So, you're going to stand there and tell me that I was hallucinating?" she asked, her tone sarcastic.
"Penelope was in my room. And yes, she was naked but I didn’t sleep with her and I've never slept with her. I have never looked at another woman since you and I got together.
I could see the battle going on in Ella. She wanted to believe me but she was frightened. I put myself in her shoes and imagined seeing a naked man tiptoeing out of her room at night. The conclusion would be that they were sleeping together.
Except that I'd gone through enough things in life to know things weren’t always what they looked like.
"Then what was she doing leaving your room naked at that time?" Ella asked, her voice trembling.
I wanted to take her into my arms and kiss her insecurity away. But I needed to give Ella a permanent sense of security. Penelope would be in my life for a long time and if our affair were to continue, Ella needed to learn to trust me. "She had come to seduce me. I told her that nothing would make me sleep with her or get together with her again. Ella, I'm with you now, and I don't cheat! I told you that before."
She shuddered as she inhaled.
"You have to trust me Ella, or she will play mind games with you until you are broken," I said. "Will we have a fight every time Penelope says something to you? Come to me, ask me and I promise I'll always tell you the truth. Can you do that?"
Tears streaked down her cheeks. She nodded.
I opened my arms. "Come here."
Ella came to me and buried her face in my chest.
Ella
That night, I burrowed deeper into Luke's chest unable to believe we were back together again. Tears sprung to my eyes when I thought how close I had come to losing him. And all because I had jumped to conclusions and believed Penelope rather than go straight to Luke and ask him.
"Are you asleep?" Luke murmured.
"No," I said, a smile in my voice.
It probably was way past midnight but time had lost all meaning from the moment we locked ourselves in Luke’s room and stripped off our clothes. Our lovemaking had been different too. More tender, slower. And we'd made love
