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Felix still had his eyes fixed on the i else Hector had said the other day, aside froht around the age group of his er bunch at tih to land his ass in jail if he gave into the on Ella’s mind

For someone Hector considered typical, she hadn’t done even one of the flirtatious things he was so used to frohs, or even the twirling of her hair in her fingers She’d looked Felix square in the eyes without losing her poise even for a second Well, there was that , but he was sure that had nothing to do with him, more so the unexpected reminder of the harsh reality

Still, another reality, afterso coo when he iined she was far less mature, she hadn’t bothered to try and o when she’d ducked out, knowing Nellie was bringing hiht Clearly, she had s on her list of priorities Felix frowned, re her cop friend Maybe the ansas that sioing out of her way to uy--famous or not--if she was already in a relationship

Felix continued to watch her until she disappeared into the ladies’ rooardless of what the reason had been that it took hi to meet her, she was a different one That was for sure

Chapter 4

Ella

The moment she closed the bathrooing one hand over her eyes and the other over her chest She hout the years, but one thing she’d never have any control of was her heartbeat It’d been pounding away in her chest from the moment she spotted Felix at the front desk with Nellie Nellie calling her over had only doubled the speed and strength in which it pounded

"You’re th, Mom," she whispered barely audibly so that no one in the other stalls could hear "Reether"

Ella had never been very religious All she re attention to in church when she was a kid hen it ca "Peace be with you," and when the collection baskets were passed around so they could drop the change their iven thes were the highlights of going to Mass

She knew at ti to God, but talking to herShe wasn’t sure why she needed her ht then to help her calh school and then her relationship with Grayson Dealing with guys wasn’t new to her She’d also had plenty of crushes on guys she knew she didn’t stand a chance with Even then she didn’t allow herself to indulge in the fantasy too much, but this took the cake She couldn’t ever re her heart beat like this, not even when she’d experienced her first kiss And if there was ever so of a chance with, it wasGod! She couldn’t even bring herself to say his naly ridiculous it th again "He’s a major celebrity"--she squeezed her eyes shut--"a very attractive celebrity who s" She stopped to scold herself mentally before she opened her eyes and continued with her whispered pep talk "This is what all those screairls who actually pass out feel when they’re watching their idol froot to talk to him up close and in person He looked at me as if he were very impressed, and then he admitted he was"

She breathed in and out and then it passed Just like that she was good to go again She sh, and she felt ready to conquer

As long as she didn’t run into hiain

Ella took a fewto understand what had co to fall all over yourself over a celebrity you were a huge fan of, but she’d never held Felix in such high esteeeles had adopted hi at best Okay, sure, when they watched hi for hi fan, and as an East Los Angeles native herself, she was a fan by default

Since then she’d pretty much lost all respect for hi excuses for hiry with him; she just didn’t think he’d appreciated the hand he’d been dealt He wasn’t alone There werecelebrities out there who obviously couldn’t handle the fa this kind of reaction tohim

All she could hope for noas the power of her th--the one her mother had promised her on her deathbed would always be with her It had been enough to , and her indifference had come across as just that Not bitchiness Just because she didn’t want hi all over herself for him, didn’t mean she wanted him to think she was a snob either