“Oh, wait. It gets better. Turns out this guy—this fuck-me-sideways piece of sex on legs—who insists he have Ella is none other than Derek, Crown Prince of St. Albans.”
Gasps all around. Seriously? Am I the only person who didn’t know who he was?
“Holy shit, Ella. You fucked the Prince of St. Albans?” Stacie’s eyes are so wide I think they might pop out if she’s not careful.
I nod reluctantly, not wanting to label it as just a fuck. Because it felt like so much more than that. Earth-shatteringly, life-changing more.
“That is so crazy,” she gushes. “But I can’t say I blame you. If I had the chance, I’d totally do him, too. You are so lucky.” She makes a face. “Well, except for the getting fired part. But I can totally hook you up with a new job at my club.”
“You haven’t heard the best part,” Misti cries, clapping her hands.
I frown. What else is there to say? That was the gist of it.
“He came bursting in the club two days ago looking like he was about to go crazy. Like, really. His hair was all sticking up everywhere and his eyes were kind of wild.”
My mouth drops open and I want to interrupt her, ask her what the hell she’s talking about, but she keeps right on talking, oblivious to the way I’m gaping at her.
“He says he has to find her. That he’s been calling and calling and that her number is saying it’s disconnected—obviously, because it was, but that he needs to see her again. Of course, I told him what happened.”
I’m almost speechless, trying to process everything she’s saying. Derek was looking for me? He was desperate to find me? At least, according to Misti.
I grip her arm. “Then what?” I want to shake her when she just looks at me blankly. “Misti, what happened next? Did you tell him how to find me?”
She shakes her head. “I didn’t know what to tell him. What if he was actually some psycho who had an obsession or something? I didn’t want him stalking you.”
“I get that, I guess, but you’re just now thinking to tell me?” Unbelievable.
“I guess it slipped my mind until just now.” She shrugs and gives me a little smile.
I want to scream. “You have to tell me what else happened. Did he leave a number? Say where I could find him?”
She purses her lips and squints her eyes like she’s thinking, then shakes her head slowly.
My shoulders sink with disappointment, but then perk up just as fast when she snaps her fingers like she just remembered something.
“He was mumbling something as he left.”
I look at her expectantly, and gesture get on with it with my hand.
“Something about going back to St. Albans or something like that. At least, I think that’s what he said.” Misti shrugs helplessly.
“Oh my God, Ella, you have to go there,” Stacie jumps in, her eyes full of excitement.
“I do?” My eyebrows crease as I try to process all of this. It’s all happening so fast I can barely keep up.
“Absolutely,” she says, as if it’s the most obvious thing in the world. “He’s clearly crazy about you, going out of his mind to find you.” She sighs. “God, it’s so romantic. You have to go to St. Albans and find him. He could be your soul mate!”
Normally I’d scoff at the idea, but when it comes to Derek, I’m not so sure. He’s affected me in a way no other man ever has. Am I willing to give up that chance?
I don’t think I am.
And I have plenty of money stashed away that I can do this. A grin starts to work its way across my face, and I feel lighter than I have in days.
I slam my glass down on the bar, the decision made. “Ladies, I’m going to do it. I’m going to St. Fucking Albans.”
15
Derek