“Oh my God, you’re Jace Connor—”
“I can’t believe it’s really you—”
“Can I have an autograph?”
Jace stood up, smiling at the women, signing everything they shoved in front of him.
“Can we take a selfie? Or my friends won’t believe me.”
To make myself useful, I offered to take the pictures.
Jace was good at this. He was friendly and didn’t once lose his patience. He’d also mastered the art of evasion—he didn’t answer when they asked if he was currently dating someone.
“One, two, three, smile,” I said, though I needn’t have bothered. Jace was a natural at this. He bestowed that panty-melting smile on the camera, and the girls looked at him as if he was the eighth wonder of the world. I wondered yet again if the rumors about him being a heartbreaker were true.
When the two women left, we sat down again, but Jace’s phone rang before I got a chance to speak.
“Sorry, this is my sister. I have to take this.”
“Sure!”
He brought the phone to his ear.
“Lori, hi!” He listened intently for a few seconds, first nodding and then swearing. His eyes widened.
“Holy shit! I’ll be there as soon as possible,” he exclaimed.
After ending the call, he focused on me. “I need to go. Sorry to cut this short. I’m leaving my credit card details with the waiter, so it’s all covered. You got everything you need?”
“I did.” I still wanted to address the awkwardness from earlier, but now wasn’t the time. “Do you need any help with the emergency?”
“No, it’s all good. She just needs me there.”
I wanted to ask more, but since it was clearly a family issue, I didn’t want to butt in.
“Have a great evening.” He stood up, and so did I. To my surprise, Jace walked over to me and leaned in to kiss my cheek. He brought a hand to my arm, squeezing it lightly. I sucked in a breath when his callused fingers touched my skin.
Feeling that light five o’clock shadow graze my skin sent little shockwaves through me.
“You too, Jace.”
Chapter Four
Jace
“I’m so sorry I gave you all a scare,” Lori said, fidgeting in her bed.
She’d had some strong contractions and thought the baby was coming early, but it turned out to be a false alarm. The doctors assured her everything was looking good. Graham called us while they were still at the hospital to give me the good news, so I drove directly to their house. Will was also there.
Val and Hailey were on their way but got stuck in traffic.
“Hey, we’re glad it was just a scare,” I said.
“They said I need to take things slower, though.”
“I’ve been telling you the same for months.” Graham kissed the top of her head, handing her a cup of tea.
“I’m sure your assistants can handle all your bridezillas and their outrageous demands,” I supplied.