Andre smirked. “And I plan to show her why she shouldn’t walk away.”
Jace slung his bag over his shoulder and pushed past Andre to go back into the living room. “We’re not that good, Andre. Don’t make this into something it can never be.”
Something Jace could never be.
Good enough for Evan.
EIGHTEEN
Jace climbed out of his Dodge Viper, the only luxury item he hadn’t been able to part with when he gave up his financial gig, and checked his watch. He’d made it to the hospital in half the time it would’ve taken a normal person to complete the trip. Sometimes a fast car and a roommate who could get you out of speeding tickets came in handy.
He hurried up to the floor his older sister, Leila, had told him their mom was on and found her and Wyatt talking quietly in the waiting area. Leila stood when she saw Jace approaching, pushing her hair behind her ears—something she did nonstop when she was stressed. She gave him a tight hug when he reached her. “I don’t even want to know how fast you drove to get here.”
“Don’t ask,” he mumbled.
She huffed as she pulled back from the embrace. “Thank God you finally answered your phone. You had me freaking out this morning that something had happened to you, too. Where the hell were you?”
“I had some business outside of town.”
Wyatt sniffed. “Yeah, right. Was the business blonde or brunette this week? Or maybe both?”
“Fuck off, Wy,” Jace said, shooting his brother an annoyed glance. “Not all of us want to spend our time jerking off to Excel spreadsheets.”
Leila raised a palm to each of them. “Can it, boys. This is not the time. Here comes Dad.”
Jace glanced over his shoulder to find his father stalking toward them. How the man managed to be in a full suit even though it was a weekend and his mother had supposedly been rushed to the ER in the wee hours of the morning was a wonder. Perhaps he’d taken to sleeping in them.
Jace knew the second his father registered his presence because his lip curled in that derisive way that seemed especially reserved for his youngest son. “Well, look who decided to show up.”
Jace ignored the remark, as he did most of the things his father said to him.
Wyatt rose from his chair when their father stopped in front of them. “How’s Mom?”
“She’s tired. Said they’ve poked and prodded her so much she feels like a head of cattle. They haven’t determined what the exact problem is yet, but I’m not sure if that doctor would know an ass from an elbow. I’ve requested a specialist.”
Leila sighed. “Daddy, that doctor was the specialist. One of the top in the field from what the nurse said.”
“Yeah, I wonder how much he paid her to say that,” his father muttered.
“Can I see mom?” Jace asked.
“Oh, so now you’re concerned?” his dad asked. “Seems she ranks pretty low on your list since you couldn’t even bother to get here until lunchtime. Wyatt’s been here since five and even Leila got here by seven and she had to drop the kids off at a babysitter.”
Jace clenched his teeth. “I got here as soon as I found out.”
Leila touched Jace’s arm. “She’s in room three thirty-three.”
Jace stepped around his father, trying to keep his smartass gene in check, and headed toward his mother’s room. He was here for her. Not to spar with his dad.
When he tapped on the door and peeked into the room, he was met with a view of his mother linked up to a tangle of beeping machines. Her skin was paler than he’d ever seen it and her light hair, always perfectly coiffed, was sticking up on end. The whole scene made his chest hurt. She looked like she’d aged ten years since he’d seen her.
Reid had told him how rundown his mom was looking, but Jace still hadn’t rushed over there to see her. He’d been a damn coward. Thank God she was okay. If she had . . .Author: Roni Loren
His mom cracked open her eyes, cutting short his runaway thoughts, and gave him a soft smile when she saw him standing there. “Jason.”
“Hey, Mom.” His mother had always called him by his given name, insisting that she hadn’t gone through the trouble of picking out a name, only for it to be shortened.
“Your father told me you weren’t coming.”