I had to admit, this was ten times better than walking.
A ten-out-of-ten idea from Jace McDreamy.
“Are you sure I’m not hurting your foot?” I asked, looking down as if I’d be able to see the pain radiating from his foot or something.
“It doesn’t hurt at all. I’m fine, Cass, I promise” he assured me, laughing.
I guess his laughter was a sign he was telling the truth.
We approached the passenger side of his truck, and Jace pulled the door open, turning around to gently place me in the seat.
“Let’s get you home, sugar.” He hopped into the driver’s seat and started the engine.
“The night is still young, McDreamy. I’m not even tired. I’m totally fine. I only had like two beers,” I said, slurring my words.
Jace looked at me as if I were the most adorable, ridiculous thing he’d ever seen—sending a chill straight down my spine. Did I like it when he looked at me like that? Was I going crazy? It must have been the booze.
As Jace drove down the familiar two-lane highway, I rolled down the window, waving my hand in and out of the gust of wind as he accelerated forward.
“I had so much fun tonight, Jace. You don’t know how much I needed this. Is it bad to say I’m kind of glad I broke your foot? I mean I feel bad, don’t get me wrong. But if it didn’t happen, I wouldn’t have owed you, and that’s what brought us here tonight. I’ll never forget how this night made me feel so happy and free.”
“You need to take more time for yourself, Cassie, seriously. You don’t have to carry the weight of the world on your shoulders, you know.”
“I know, but it’s so much easier to do things myself. Then I don’t have to worry about anyone else. I can’t fix my mom’s drug addiction, but I can keep her safe. And I can’t let anyone else run the coffee shop because it’s my baby. I know every nook andcranny of that building. No one will run it as well as I do, so it’s just easier if I handle everything. But after tonight, I’ve realized how much the stress was exhausting me, and I couldn’t even see it,” I said, admitting what I probably should have a long time ago.
“What do you want in life?” Jace asked, catching me off guard.
“That’s a loaded question,” I said, laughing awkwardly, because why did Jace McKinley want to know what I wanted out of life?
“I mean, like, where do you see yourself in five years? What’s your five-year plan?”
I sat there for a moment, thinking. Nothing but the hum of the engine filled the truck cab.
“I know this will sound crazy because everyone sees me as this hyperindependent girlboss who lives to put a man in his place, but the truth is, in five years I want to be married,” I admitted, not sure why I was telling Jace in the first place. It wasn’t like this was a slumber party and I was revealing my deepest, darkest secrets to a group of my best teenage girlfriends. I could’ve lied and said something about wanting to double the size of the Daily Grind or any other simple answer. But no—I opted to share one of my deepest desires instead.
Good job, Cassie.
“What Colt and Ellie have, the wedding vows they’re about to exchange, June Bug… I want all that. I want the happiness of a family I never got to have, and I didn’t realize it until I got to sit front row and watch them fall in love.”
“You’ll get it, Cass. I promise,” Jace said, looking over at me slouched down in his passenger seat.
Don’t make promises you can’t keep, Jace.
Unless he could make prince charming himself appear from thin air, there was no way Jace could guarantee anything about my future husband or lack of one.
I wrapped my arms around my torso, closing my eyes to soak in the moment, not wanting to ever forget the happiness and high of this night.
Based on how warm and fuzzy my body still felt, the alcohol wouldn’t wear off any time soon. The further Jace drove, the sleepier I got. The constant hum of his truck soothed my body—exactly what it needed coming off my high.
At some point, I realized Jace wasn’t driving me home. He turned off the main highway onto an unfamiliar rutted dirt road, the tires continuously crunching over gravel.
“Where are we going?” I asked, sitting up straight, peering out the window as if that would help. Everything outside was a smear of black.
“You said the night was still young, so I’m taking you somewhere that’ll be the cherry on top.”
“Are you trying to murder me? People know I’m with you tonight, you know that, right?”
He just laughed. “Yes, Cass. I’m aware people know we’re together tonight. So no, I am not trying to murder you. If anyone should be worried about being alone with you, it’s me.”
