About Ellie

By Paige Simms

Two seemingly unconnected couples' lives begin to unravel after an unexpected trip to the hospital unearths a secret that will change their lives for ever.

Is their love strong enough to survive?

• Language: English
• Publisher: PAIGE SIMMS
• Release date: Apr 27, 2016
• ISBN: 9781533709455

Book preview

CHAPTER 1

Where are they, where are they, where are they. Madelyn chanted to herself hoping somehow it would make her shoes magically appear. It was six in the morning and while her husband lay asleep, she was trying to get ready for work. She looked under the bed, the sofa nothing.

I can’t find my damn stilettos! Madelyn muttered in desperation.

Honey she said.

Hooneey she whined a little louder.

I’m up! I’m up! Marshall mumbled half asleep.

I can’t find my burgundy heels.

Huh? he said still not fully awake. He turned over and put the pillow over his head.

Madelyn walked over to the bed. She sat on the edge and rubbed Marshall’s back.

Babe, my stilettos. I can’t find them.

The purple ones? he asked through the pillow, muffled.

Yes.

Marshall sat up and rubbed his eyes. He yawned. Did you try the office?

Madelyn jetted across the hall into the office and sure enough peeking from under the computer desk were her shoes. Yes! She slid them on and raced back into the bedroom. She leaned over and gave him a kiss and sped out the door.

Marshall fell back onto the bed and lay there staring at the ceiling for a minute trying to see if he could fall back asleep.

As he lay there he saw the screen on his phone flash out of the corner of his eye. Marshall covered his face with the pillow again. He stayed perfectly still trying to will himself back to sleep. Not more than thirty-seconds passed before he caught himself trying to guess if it was a phone call, an email, a text message and who it could be from.

A few more minutes passed before he admitted defeat. Nope. Not going to happen. Marshall sat up in bed. He stretched and grabbed his phone from the night stand.  This thing was definitely an electronic leash. He scrolled through his emails. Two from a client, one from his dentist reminding him that he was overdue for a cleaning, and bunch of spam. That flash was a call from Scott but no voicemail. Hmm. Why was Scott calling him? He hadn't spoken to him in months. Marshall hit Scott's number. A low battery warning popped up in his screen. What the...? The phone was still plugged into the charger. Marshall quickly hung up. He pushed is nightstand back a few inches and saw that the plug had come loose. He reached down and pushed it in. Hmm. He must have been having some dream to pull out the plug. Marshall slept very calmly, often waking up in the same exact spot he fell asleep in. Maddie sometimes poked him because he was so still to make sure he was still alive.

Marshall put his phone back on the nightstand so that it could charge for a few minutes. He swung his legs over the side of the bed and made his way to the bathroom. He put toothpaste on his toothbrush and turned around to turn the shower on. That’s when he spied Madelyn's briefcase on the chair in their walk-in closet. Shaking his head he picked it up and started for the foyer. Right before he reached the door Madelyn came barging in. He put his arm out and she took the briefcase from his hand.

Madelyn gave Marshall a big smile and a kiss. He pulled her closer.

Hm. Keep that up and I’ll make you late.

Maddie giggled.Always in the gutter, Mar.

Marshall released her. What? He said innocently.

Nothing, choir boy. Thanks for the briefcase. Maddie ran the car. She opened the back door and threw her briefcase in the backseat. Then she took off her suit jacket and hung it on the headrest.

Marshall leaned against the door, watching her. Nine years and the sight of her in heels and a suit still turned him on almost instantly. There is something so sexy about that look. Maybe it’s because he, and everyone around him, seem to be permanently wearing jeans and a t-shirt.

He watched her speed off and closed the door. He walked into the kitchen intending on making coffee and remembered he left the shower running. Shit. He rushed to the bathroom and turned the water off. As he had feared, the tub was more than three-quarters of the way full. Phew! He was in a constant battle with the tub. Maddie’s hair clogs the drain almost weekly. He watched the tub for a few seconds and saw that it was going to take some time before the water receded. Well, he thought, I least I don’t have to be in the office until ten. 

Marshall went back into the kitchen and opened the cabinet to look for the coffee beans. Hm. Not there. He closed the cabinet and stood there for a minute puzzled. He chuckled. The freezer. He remembered that Maddie had read a something about putting coffee in the freezer. She was always reading some article. Marshall walked towards the freezer opened the door and there it was. Nestled between the whole-grain blueberry waffles – his, and the chunky monkey - hers.  Maddie ate like a teenage boy. He had no idea where she put it all.

Marshall rinsed out the coffee pot and put the beans in the grinder. He popped in a filter, put the grounds in the basket and started the coffee machine. He was the only one who made coffee. Madelyn preferred going to Peet’s Coffee or, god-forbid, those K-cups in her office.

As he waited on his coffee to brew, Marshall indulged in a little daydreaming. Man, who would have believed that he, Marshall Blake, would have his own company and be married to the prettiest girl he had ever met. He remembered everything about the first time they met. Right down to that hideous lipstick Madelyn was wearing.

They were so young then. He had fallen in love with her within hours, minutes really. She had him hooked the instant he got a glance of those long legs and a sample of her hot temper. All he could think about was what he had to do to get her into his bed. What had kept him in love over the years was that slightly ditsy side of her as well as her intelligence and yes, those legs.

They had humble beginnings at first. He was working as a carpenter and Madelyn was working for a local attorney handling personal injury cases. She would get spitting-mad when he teased her and called her an ambulance-chaser. Marshall chuckled. All they could afford was a studio apartment in a horrible part of town. A transitional neighborhood is what the realtor had called it. He remembered that pit. The Love Shack. That’s what Maddie called it. He also remembered that crappy second-hand pick-up they shared. All that thing needed was a reason to stop running. Too hot. Too cold. Raining. Snowing. Hell, because it was a Sunday. It stalled at least once a week. Despite this, those were good times.

Nowadays she was a high-powered attorney and he was the proud owner of M and M Roofing, a small but definitely growing business. That reminds him. He needs to call Scott back. They have a house in the suburbs complete with a white picket fence, a dog and two luxury vehicles. He heard the coffee maker beep and poured himself a cup. All that’s missing now are some children, Marshall thought. He’s wanted kids for a few years now but Madelyn insisted that they wait. Her argument was that because she made more than twice the amount of money he did, they could not afford for her to be out on maternity leave.

That argument was one of the biggest factors in his deciding to go to work for himself. It was a big risk at the time but now, five years later, it was starting to pay off. Marshall had just bid on a multimillion-dollar contract and he felt good about his chances. If everything went well, M & M Roofing will be paying its way along with, their mortgage and car loans, in other words most of their bills. Then it will be family time. With Madelyn close to 35 and him being 37, he wanted to have two kids in two years. One boy and one girl if he had anything to say about it.

His phone chimed. Marshall snapped out of his thoughts. He