Jace nods like he’s heard it before. “Classic. Woman with secrets, man with a savior complex. Did we learnnothingfrom Miami?”
My gut sinks at even the mention of that time in my life. “That’s not fair.”
“No, it’s not. But you didn’t come up here to be fair. You came to disappear. And now look at you, invested. With feelings. And flannel.”
I rub a hand over my jaw, suddenly exhausted.
Then, right on cue,thump, thump, thump.
He’s slipped out of his leash.
“Tuck!”
He’s like a freight train with fur, tongue hanging out, tail wagging like he’s mainlining caffeine.
“Holy hell, what is that?” Jace jumps up like he’s under attack. “Is that a dog or a damn mop with legs?”
Tuck barrels straight into Jace’s knees, then drools happily on his shoes as if he’s just discovered his soulmate.
“Shit, Knightly!” Jace shouts, trying to stay upright as Tuck launches into full-body wiggle mode. “Your dog is making out with my calves!”
“Tuck, down!” I laugh, grabbing him and yanking him back. He pants up at me with his goofy, dopey,I love you so much. What’s boundaries?grin.
“Let me guess,” Jace says, brushing slobber off his joggers. “Rescue dog. Abandoned on the side of the road. Won your heart with a sad whimper.”
“More or less.”
“Unbelievable. The story writes itself. You’re basically a Hallmark movie now.”
I roll my eyes, but I can’t help smiling. Jace might be a wrecking ball, but damn if it’s not good to see him.
Even if his timing sucks.
We head out front, Jace still wiping dog drool off his neon joggers and muttering about “biohazard protocols,” when the bell over the restaurant door jingles behind us.
I don’t need to look.
I feel her.
It’s ridiculous how just thesoundof her walking near me changes the air in my lungs.
Josie’s laugh filters through the doorway a second later, soft, guarded. She’s talking to Gracie about some new order for cupcakes, I think, but I don’t catch the details as they walk by because Jace is watchingmenow.
His eyes track my face like a bloodhound catching a scent, and the second he sees the shift, whatever the hell just passed across my expression, his mouth falls open in exaggerated shock.
“Oh myGod,” he says, one hand to his chest like I just declared my love in sonnet form. “That’s her. You’rein it.”
“Jace—”
“No, no, no. Don’t you dare look away from me right now. That face you just made? That waspornographic. That was asoft-core soul stare, Knightly.”
I grit my teeth. “You’re being loud.”
“Iamloud. That’s my brand.” He’s already leaning around the restaurant, peeking around the side of the building like a middle schooler spying on a crush. “That her? Brunette? Killer smile, hips that could ruin a man’s week?”
“Stop it.”
“Oh, you definitely hit that,” he says, eyes going wide with wicked glee. “Holy shit, youreallyhit that. You’ve got that dazed, post-honeymoon, hot tub glow.”
