So Into You [The Jane Austen Academy Series #2] (18 page)

Ellie shook her head, gulping in air. "It’s not about the adoption—it’s not about a new baby."

"Then what is this about?"

"It’s about . . . me," she said. "This is about me!" She flew off the bed, pulled open her laptop and clicked on the media link to her interview. She waited as her parents watched.

Her mom’s eyes grew wide. Her dad’s fingers rested at his bottom lip in contemplation.

"I wish there was a way I could do both," Ellie said. "I wish I could live with you and go to school here and be with my friends and live with my new baby brother or sister, but I can’t. You taught me that desiring more than the universe gave me was a bad thing. That it would always make me unhappy."

Her mother hiccupped and smiled. "I have said that more than once."

"I just want to be me—and I’m the most me when I’m here." Her father buried his face in his hands and Ellie felt a knot in her throat. "Dad?"

He looked up, eyes shimmering, but he was smiling. "I’m just so proud of you, Ellie."

"You are?"

"I don’t suppose we could at least talk you into a Guatemalan Thanksgiving?"

Ellie threw herself at both her parents, wrapping them into a hug.

* * *

Ellie walked toward the headmistress’s cottage with the papers her parents had signed in hand. She had to hurry, since her mom and dad were loading the car with her bags and booking a return flight for her after Thanksgiving break. They’d promised she could pick out the wall colors for the baby’s room in their new home, and she was excited to be a part of it and to meet her new sister over Christmas, once the adoption was finalized.

"Ellie!" she heard behind her, with the scrape of running shoes against the ground. "Ellie!"

She froze and turned at Edward’s voice. He sprinted toward her like he was running away from something. He skittered to a stop when he reached her, kicking up dirt and branches beneath his feet.

"Edward!" Ellie looked him over, taking in his wild eyes. "Is everything okay?"

Edward heaved over, catching his breath with his hands on his knees. He straightened, hands on his hips, breathing hard. "No," he said. "Nothing is okay."

"What is it?"

"Me—I was . . . I screwed up. I screwed up so much, Ellie."

Ellie wasn’t sure what to say. He seemed scared—but of what? "Edward—please."

"Let me say this, Ellie. Please. I just need to say this."

Ellie looked down at the papers in her hand and thought of her parents waiting for her at the car. "I’m sorry, Edward. I have to go."

She ran—from him—to the cottage. But her mind kept going back to him.

To their entire relationship. How they’d met the first day when he’d gone from room to room introducing himself. How he always found a way to be funny and sweet. How he seemed to gravitate to her, only to pull away.

She gave the papers back to Bergie in a daze and was equally shocked when Bergie pulled her into a quick hug, only to push her away again and wish her a good Thanksgiving.

She wondered who Bergie spent her Thanksgivings with.

Then she wandered back to school.

She had stopped in her room to grab her backpack when she heard someone yelling her name. "Ellie! Ellie Dvorak."

Ellie frowned—the sound was distant—so she glanced into the courtyard.

Edward was standing at the top of the tree—of their tree. He cupped his hands around his mouth. "Ellie!"

She ran to the window and pushed it open. So did half a dozen other students who hadn’t left for vacation yet. Their heads were stuck out the window, staring, and a couple who were in the courtyard craned their necks to look up into the tree.

"Ellie!" he shouted at the top of his lungs. "I need to be heard!"

"Just . . . wait there," Ellie yelled as she spun and ran for the courtyard. "Crazy guy," she mumbled.

By the time she reached him, he was climbing back down. He jumped the last few feet and turned around, still breathless.

"What are you doing?" she asked, glancing around at the students watching them. "You’re making a scene."

"I know," he said. "I know—and I should have made a scene before. Made a scene over you."

"What are you talking about?"

"Ellie . . . I . . . from the second I saw you—I mean the exact second—it was like my insides were doing backflips. And that was before I realized what a funny, cool, nice girl you are. And you’re smart. My God, you are so genius."

Ellie couldn’t help but smile.

"I like you so much, Ellie."

Her breath caught—it was everything she wanted to hear—it was everything she’d been waiting for, and it suddenly felt like sunshine was pouring through every inch of her skin. And if he’d stopped there it would have been enough.

But he didn’t.

"It was like nothing existed that didn’t have you in it," Edward said, grabbing her shoulders. "Every song I heard on the radio reminded me of you. Anything anyone said made me think of something you’d said. And I kind of forgot about Lucy."

Ellie felt a small stab at her heart. Even she’d forgotten about Lucy.

"Lucy was my friend growing up. And we started dating and we kept dating and when I moved here I just assumed we’d keep dating and then there was you. I knew I had to end things with Lucy—that I loved her—but like a friend. Like I didn’t know I could feel this way about someone, the way I feel about you. But then she showed up here, and I felt like it was my fault because she’d changed her life for me. I couldn’t break up with her." His face scrunched up like he was going to cry. "I couldn’t, Ellie."

"Edward, I understand." Ellie shrugged his hands off her shoulders, the sunshine dissipating. "It’s fine."

"It’s not fine," he insisted, this time taking her hands. "It’s not. I was a jerk to both of you. It wasn’t fair to her and it’s not to you and the worst is, I couldn’t even make a decision. So Lucy made it for me."

"What are you saying?" Ellie asked. "Slow down."

"Lucy dumped me."

"What?" Ellie’s heart thumped in her chest. "When?"

"After we got back from Anne’s beach house. She said I was clearly in love with you and she said something about losing the magic and that I was a bad guy and she dumped me. I couldn’t . . . I felt so bad about it because I felt so relieved and I wanted to come be with you, but I thought if I did, then she’d feel even worse about what I’d done. So I stayed away, even though I wanted to be with you. It was like I didn’t deserve you because I’d screwed up everything."

"Well . . . you did screw up everything."

Edward blinked in surprise this time. "You’re right."

"I know," Ellie said, pushing him away gently. "You screwed up. I liked you so much—all you had to do was tell the truth from the beginning. Be honest about how you felt from the beginning." She stopped—because she realized that’s exactly what she hadn’t done.

She’d hidden her feelings, buried them so deep beneath what she thought she should do that no one knew how she felt—not her parents, not her friends, and not Edward.

"I screwed up," he repeated. "And I’ll never forgive myself for that. But remember how you owe me a favor? From that night I walked you back to your room?"

Ellie nodded—how could she forget that night—she wished she could forget that night.

"Well this is what I want. We only have ten seconds together. Ten seconds before you’re gone, but I have to spend them with you. With you, Ellie."

Time stopped. The whole world stopped. Instead of the world spinning, Ellie was spinning. She felt her insides tilt.

Ellie lunged at him before she realized it, her mouth finding his.

His eyes widened in surprise, as did his lips.

And it was so uncharacteristically Ellie and yet just like her.

Ellie put her heart and soul into kissing him. Her fingers threaded through his hair. His hands found her waist, the pads of his fingers slipping along the bare skin between her tank top and her board shorts.

The kiss seemed to go on for hours, but when he pulled away he rested his forehead against hers. "Best ten seconds ever," he said. "Totally worth it."

She kissed him again, this time biting his lower lip into hers so that he hissed in a breath.

"How many seconds do we have left?" he asked.

Ellie smiled against his mouth. "About that . . . I have something to tell you."

Epilogue

Kat was used to being the center of attention. Used to being the star onstage. Used to being the brightest presence in the crowd. Her rich auburn hair stood out in a sea of blondes and brunettes. Her naturally charismatic smile lit the room.

But she felt worse than invisible today—the first day back from Thanksgiving break.

It was Lizzie and her friends who held court in their spot in the center of the courtyard during lunch. It was their fault.

Lizzie and her friends had been stealing a lot of the spotlight.

First Lizzie had nabbed Dante, one of the hottest, richest guys in school.

Then Ellie had squeezed a romantic, public declaration out of Edward after stealing him from Lucy.

They’d all been on television after staging a huge protest and forcing Dante’s parents to out themselves as the new owners.

Kat didn’t begrudge them any of these things. Everyone deserved their moment in the sun. She loved that Lizzie and Dante were a couple. She loved that Edward had screamed his love for Ellie from the courtyard.

But what she didn’t love was that instead of making things better at Jasta, they were making them worse. Dante’s parents had announced they weren’t cut out for the field of education and they were selling the school—again.

And what hurt most was that her best friend and roommate, Fanny, seemed to be entering their inner circle. Even now, Fanny was sitting under the tree with them instead of at the picnic table with her.

"Use it."

Kat looked up from her lunch toward the voice—it was Josh. She immediately flashed him her best smile. Josh was a famous actor—not as famous as she expected to be some day, but he was still worth knowing. "Use what?"

"This feeling. Of being on the outside." Josh nodded toward Lizzie and her friends. "Of being an outcast. Use it. When you act, I mean."

Kat stared back at the group, swallowing her composure. "I’m not on the outside," she insisted.

Josh shrugged. "Believe what you want. But I could use someone on the outside."

"Yeah?" Kat said. "For what?"

"I’m filming a movie over Christmas break. I could use some company."

The End

* * *

WIN A BRAND NEW KINDLE FIRE HD (16GB) IN TIME FOR THE HOLIDAYS!

Happy (early) Holidays from Cecilia Gray!

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Here's how you enter:

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* * *

Don’t miss Book #1 in The Jane Austen Academy Series—

Lizzie’s story in a Pride & Prejudice retelling.

FALL FOR YOU
is available now.

To say Lizzie and Dante are polar opposites is the understatement of the century. He’s a snooty Exeter transfer with more money than Google. She’s a driven study-a-holic just barely keeping up with tuition. It’s obvious that Dante thinks he’s way too good for Lizzie. And Lizzie
knows
Dante is a snob with a gift for pressing her buttons.

But things are changing fast this year at the Academy. And when Lizzie’s quest to stop those changes blows up in her face, taking her oldest friendship with it, she has nowhere else to turn but to Dante, with his killer blue eyes, his crazy-sexy smile, and his secrets… Secrets Lizzie can’t seem to leave alone, no matter how hard she tries…

* * *

A unique twist on a classic… A compelling mix of action, drama and love. – Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

There are no words to describe just how MUCH I HEART Fall for You. ~ Tumbling In Books