_OceanofPDF

2 9
E L L A
He wanted to know me. Sure. Logan Crowne with tons of money and the
perfect family wanted to know Ella Papillion the orphan who’d lost
everything because she couldn’t keep her shit together. Mr. Straitlaced
who’d never broken a promise wanted to meet the woman who was
breaking her promise to her father. The guy who’d lied one time and felt
like shit about it every day until he lied about his marriage to me wanted to
know a professional liar.
This guy.
I had to admire his willingness to go where I explicitly told him he
didn’t want to go. It took a strange kind of courage to trust me when I was
so untrustworthy.
Once he was in the back alley, I pulled the telescoping ladder from
under the stairs.
“We’re going to the roof of the building.” I snapped the ladder open a
few rungs.
He looked up. The corner of the billboard was visible from where we
were standing. “And then?”
“Then we do stupid shit we’ll be sorry for.”
He blinked. Considered. Shrugged. “Sounds good.”
I opened the ladder fully and hooked the top to the roof edge. I went up
it as if I’d done it a million times before—which I had—and Logan came
after me without a moment’s hesitation.
“Here we are,” I said, showing him my little rooftop lounge. “It’s not a
mansion in Bel-Air, but you can see all the way to the Hollywood Bowl.”
“I like it.”