Chapter twenty-one Surprise

Elle's POV

When I opened the door in my robe, no one was there. But there was a cart there full of food, with a note on top of the food.

I picked up the note with a frown and read it.

'Elle, I ordered this for you. Take all the time you need. I will be here for you, when you're ready to talk, Noah'

I almost dropped the note in surprise. I looked up and down the corridor, expecting to see Noah. But he was nowhere in sight.

How had he found me?

I took the cart of food into my room and closed the door quietly. I didn't know how to feel about this. I re-read the note over and over, frowning. I needed some space right now. I knew that Noah said he was prepared to give me that. But he had still followed me all the way here. I don't know how he had managed it. But I felt like I had been hunted down. My little piece of distance had been ruined, regardless of what Noah had said.

I ate the food slowly, thinking about what my next move was going to be. I sighed after eating only a few chips. I knew I wouldn't be able to relax now.

I may as well get it over with…

I was going to have to speak to Noah about it sooner or later. And I couldn't put it off any more. I turned my phone on, and I started ringing Noah's number. Before he picked up. There was another knock on the door. I opened it, with the dial tone still in my ear.

I ended the call as I saw Noah, leaning against the opposite wall casually.

Noah's POV

My plan worked quicker than I had expected it to. I hadn't even begun to browse through the menus, intent on ordering room service for myself this time, when my phone began to vibrate. I expected it to be Lee. And my heart gave a leap, when I saw that it was Elle's number instead.

I strode to the door, and left it open as I knocked on Elle's door. She answered in her robe and I grinned at her.

How did she always manage to look so beautiful?

She didn't seem to happy to see me and I frowned at her. She left her door open and walked inside, without saying anything to me.

I followed her into her room, it was identical to my own, but already it had more of a lived-in look about it. She sat down on the bed and crossed her arms. I took a chair and frowned at her.

"I did say, when you're ready" I reminded her.

She sighed, "Like that made a difference when I knew you had found me" she said.

"Well, I was worried about you. I needed to make sure you were safe." I explained, and her face softened.

"You didn't need to worry about me." She whispered.

I shook my head, "Soon, I will be your husband. What kind of husband would I be, if I didn't worry about my wife and know where she was all of the time?"

There was silence and a feeling of dread settled into my stomach.

"You do want to marry me still?" I asked her, my voice shaking.

She got up and knelt in front of me, she took my hands and my panic increased. "Of course, I do, but the question should really be. Will you want to marry me, when you know what happened" she said, and she began to cry.

I sank down to my knees too and held her close. "Please don't cry Shelly, of course I still want to marry you. Nothing is going to change that." I said insistently.

She continued to cry and I held her tighter. "You say that, but its only because you don't know" she said, hiccupping slightly.

"I do know Elle, Lee already told me" I said gently, trying to make her understand, that I wasn't mad at her.

Silence fell again until I took a deep breath and asked the question, I desperately needed her to answer. "Do you love Lee? And I mean like do you love him like you love me?"

She shook her head and I felt like I could have collapsed in relief. "No, I don't love him like that. He has just had his heart broken and I have made it worse. I am meant to be there for him, to help him though this. But instead, I have only made this worse." Elle sobbed.

I stroked her hair to try and sooth her. "Lee will get over it. He just doesn't know how to deal with what happened, and I expect he's jealous. He sees what we have and he wants that for himself."

She continued to sob, but I knew she was holding onto my every word with desperation.

Lee's POV

After going head first into the display of toilet paper. I lost sight of Noah. I had hoped to catch up with him again at the till, but the staff had made me help to fix the display and I knew I had taken too long. I left the shop without buying any of the things in my trolley and headed over to the hotel.

I tried to calm myself down as I went to the reception. I didn't know what room Elle was in. So, I tried to pull up some of Noah's charm and batted my eyelashes at the receptionist.

"Checking in?" she said brightly.

"No, I was looking for a friend who checked in earlier." I said with a smile and hoped it didn't seem like a big deal.

She frowned at me, "Why can't you just ring this friend?" she asked.

"Her phones off. Probably just ran out of battery" I lied, hoping that my shaking voice didn't give me away.

"I don't think there's anything I can do for you then" she said sharply. It was clear, that she hadn't fell for my lie at all.

"Can't you just tell me what room she's in? her names…" she cut me of before I could finish. "No, I can't. We have a policy, to protect or guest's privacy." She snapped.

"Oh, come on. She knows me. She wont mind that you told me" I pleaded. The receptionists shook her head.

"No" she said simply.

"Fine then, I will just knock on every door until I get the right on" I snapped back at her.

She immediately picked up the phone. Her hand hovered over the buttons and she glared at me. "You will not! Ill call security to escort you, out shall I?" she threatened. I tried to calm her down and take a different track. This clearly wasn't getting me anywhere.

"Look, we had a fight. She's my girlfriend. I know she will want to see me. Can't you just call her and tell her to come down? I reasoned." She narrowed her eyes at me and began dialling the security. I gave her a rude gesture before storming away. I heard her mutter "This is all Walmart's fault" before I left the building.