We were veering into personal territory, but I couldn’t help myself. Before, I’d felt as if I knew him because I’d done my homework on all players. But now I felt as if I was discovering a whole new side of Jace, and I wanted to know more.
He nodded. “My sister Val started the tradition a few years back, insisting all six of us had to meet once a week to catch up. Now more than half are married. Some even have kids. It’s an extremely loud affair but also a lot of fun. I’d rather not miss out, but I think I could always leave late at night on Fridays if anyone wants me over the weekend.”
“I’ll make sure to coordinate everything this way.”
“Thanks.”
I was dying to know more, but I bit back the impulse. Right, back to work. There wasn’t any room for personal information here. I didn’t want to be friends with any player. That was something Daddy always said. It was good to be friendly with them, but not friends, because that could make him less objective.
In my case, it was not about being objective. I’d work equally hard to get the best opportunities for every player, no matter if he was a decent person or a jackass. But for the first time in my career, I wanted to apply Dad’s credo. He was very good at separating the personal and the professional.
I was just the opposite, which had cost me a lot. My previous job was at a fashion magazine. I’d become best friends with the founder, Cami. My boyfriend, Noah, had also worked with us.
When the opportunity to expand the business in London popped up, Cami suggested the three of us move away. I couldn’t.
My family was going through a rough time: Dad had had a heart attack and required doting and attention (he tried to deny it, but I could be a pest). My sister Franci was going through a divorce. Mom had moved away after divorcing Dad years ago, and I could tell Franci and especially Dad needed me.
Cami and Noah grudgingly agreed that it made sense for me to remain in LA for a while, so I could run things here, but after the two of them moved away, it was as if they suddenly didn’t want me to be part of the company anymore. They overturned every decision I made, dismissed every proposal I brought to the table. The friction between the three of us reached an all-time high when Noah broke up with me. It all came out of the blue. I was making plans for moving to London in about half a year, after my Dad and Franci were better, and Noah informed that he didn’t see our relationship progressing anywhere. In fact, he wasn’t seeing a future for us anymore.
My friendship with Cami had imploded at the same time, so I couldn’t turn to my best friend for support.
Despite watching my parents’ marriage disintegrate as I grew up, I’d dreamed about having a family of my own, but after the break-up, that changed.
Since leaving the magazine, I’d often wondered if things would have turned out differently if I hadn’t been personally invested in everything.
Now I wanted to be on good terms with everyone, if possible, but that was it. Which was why I didn’t ask Jace to expand on the family dinners. Instead, I had to proceed with some uncomfortable questions.
“Are any of the heartbreaker rumors true? Sponsors always ask. I can tell them I have no info, but they won’t buy it. Anyway, I don’t think it would work against you as long as you don’t get involved in any scandals. The bad-boy angle works for some.”
“Including for you?” The challenging smile was back. It dazzled me, but I didn’t lose my wits this time. Progress.
“Way to avoid an uncomfortable question.”
“I’m not avoiding anything. I just want to know more about you.”
Jace leaned a little over the table, training his gaze on my mouth. My breath caught. I became aware that his legs were touching mine under the table, and the contact singed me.
“But this is all about me getting as much info on you as possible. It’s a working dinner.” I held up my iPad like a shield. Jace leaned back in his chair, pinning me with those sinful green eyes. His gaze dropped to my neck just for a fraction of a second. Oh, God, my skin there tingled, as if he’d touched it. As if he’d kissed it.
“No,” he said softly.
“What?”
“You never said it’s a working dinner. Since we hadn’t clarified that, I have green light to consider this dinner between friends.”
That gave me pause. I lowered my iPad, trying to decide on the best way to formulate the next words. Hmm...how did I make boundaries clear without upsetting this sexy god? I didn’t want to be rude.
“Jace, I might not have clarified, but this is a working dinner. I’m sure you know Dad’s rule about friendly versus friends.”
“I do.”
“Well, I do my best to follow it as well.”
Surprisingly, Jace said nothing. Up until then, he’d had a reply for everything. Thankfully, our dinner was delivered a few minutes later, and the sound of cutlery clanking against the plate filled the awkward silence. Way to make this smooth sailing! I didn’t pussyfoot around, but clearly I’d come on too strong. I hadn’t wanted to offend or upset Jace.
We talked about endorsements between bites, and I decided to address the elephant in the room once we were both done eating, but before Jace even finished his dinner, two women approached us.