His Pride & Her Prejudice (in the 21st Century)-unedited.

Chapter Five

As a week passed, it filled Ella with joy to see Jane smitten with love. She knew her sister  approached the whole thing pragmatically, given her history with her ex. But Braden was all she could talk about.

To his credit, Braden tagged along at home with Jane almost every night. Ella was convinced Jane had found her soulmate. There was nothing false about him; he was an open book with his charming ways.

Ever since the debacle with her mother, Ella had answered none of her messages. She was practicing tough love but knew it was a failing venture. In the similar vein, Jane had given Margaret a noncommittal reply to her non-stop enquiries.

After a hectic week at work, she made plans to meet up with Charlotte for a coffee. They haven't had time to get together for a girl-to-girl talk. As Elizabeth arrived early, she decided to browse for books at the nearby bookstore.

She was about to finish the romance novel she had bought a few weeks ago and wanted to switch things up by reading a whodunnit crime thriller. As she ran her fingers through the spine of the hardcovers, she looked for her favourite writer, Ian Rankin.

"Ella?"

She looked to see who called her, only to stop short at the sight of William. He looked endearingly gorgeous in blue jeans and a black T-shirt.

"Hey!" It was all Ella could say.

Her speechlessness didn't have to do with how he never seemed to have a bad day in the looks department but how little she knew him. Ella didn't know what else to say beyond 'hey.'

Whenever Braden had talked about his best friend , he had always raved about him and his generosity. Given they had known each other for a long time, Ella attributed his views about Darcy biased.

"I didn't realize you are a Rankin fan." William glanced at the books she had been looking through. "He is one of my favourites."

"You like crime novels," Ella commented in bewilderment. Okay, there was finally something she knew about him now. One personal detail to lend him some dimension.

"Yes, I do. I am old school, though. I have read almost every Sherlock Holmes and Agatha Christie out there. And some of Rankin's work too. The one you were browsing just now is a nail-biter." He leaned forward to take the book from the shelf, and their hands brushed.

The touch made her heart skip a beat as the hot liquid pool settled low in her belly. Breathless, she moved her hand away to her side. Suddenly, she was aware of everything. The bergamot undernotes of his aftershave, his breath, and his strong jaws.

He cleared his throat and read the title of the book he held. "Knots and Crosses. Have you read it?"

"No, I haven't? The book cover looked a bit dull. I am not sure about it."

Ella wondered why he was making conversation with her when he had been rude to her during their first meeting. Was he making amends? He didn't look the least bit sorry, but his self-assured and haughty self.

"I have an audiobook of this and I think it's fantastic," he admitted. His gaze shifted to her and those eyes seemed to look right  through her.

Ella felt naked. It felt as if he could look right into her soul. There were feelings and secrets she kept to herself and didn't share with anyone, even Jane. And the thought that this man, whom she didn't like at all, looked as if he could read her unnerved her.

"You shouldn't judge a book by its cover," he told her. There was a playful grin on his face. "Such hasty assessments will rob you of the gems of the literary world. The front cover may be boring, but its contents may just be thrilling."