“What if they sold it to you instead?” I ask, turning to face him on the bench. He shakes his head. “Or we could all pitch in to keep the house, so you don’t have to let it go.”
He bends his arm that’s resting on the back of the bench, turning his torso in my direction. His gaze trails down to my collar bone as he absentmindedly reaches for my hair and brushes it over my shoulder to my back. “You haven’t changed much,” he hums and, for a moment, I can’t hear the drunken slur of his words.
I tilt my head to the side, my heart racing inside my chest as his hand falls away. “What do you mean?”
“You and your plans.” His eyes drift along my neck and across my face, before meeting mine. “If someone or something needed to be saved, it was always you who stepped in.”
“That’s not true,” I say, a nervous laugh falling from my lips. “You make it sound like I have a hero complex or something.”
“Maybe you do,” he says, his throat bobbing as he swallows hard. “You say it like it’s a bad thing, but it’s not. It’s just you.”
My heart crawls into my throat, my breath catching as he lifts his hand to the side of my face. His fingertips are light like feathers, trailing along my skin as he brushes the hair away from my face. “Jace…”
His eyes trail down to my lips before moving back to meet my stare. His lips part, and he wets them, that fire still burning in his eyes despite the drunken haze starting to cloud them. “You’re perfect exactly the way you are.” He pauses, letting out a soft breath. “You remember last summer when you found those stray kittens out front of Miss Maggie’s bakery?”
A lump lodges in my throat, remembering that night vividly. Jace found me outside in the rain in front of the market, cradling two stray kittens—one grey and one white and grey—in my arms. He wrapped his jacket around my shoulders and ushered the three of us into the front seat of his truck.
“You were so afraid they weren’t going to be okay.”
Jace and I carried them into the local animal shelter together, where the vet assured us they would be fine after treatment. We left them in their care knowing they would find them a home.
“That night when I dropped you off?—”
He pauses and my breath catches, causing my stomach to do a somersault. That night as I was about to get out of his truck, he caught my wrist and pulled me back to face him. His gaze traveled a similar path now from my eyes to my mouth.
Conflict washes over his features, but his fingers travel along my jaw as he pinches my chin between his thumb and forefinger. “Willow…”
“Holy shit. Jace, is that you?”
His eyebrows draw together, but only for a breath as he lets his hand fall away from my face. His movements are unsteady as he gets up from the bench, a grin breaking out across his lips as he walks around it, closing the distance between him and my brother.
“Noah fucking Alder.”
“You’d better not be over here trying to seduce my sister,” Noah warns as he pulls Jace to him, wrapping his arms around Jace’s back for a hug.
“I would never.”
Those three words pierce my heart. My breathing ceases, my stomach tumbling to the floor as tears sting the corners of my eyes. In a rush, I stand up, keeping my eyes trained on the floor.
The two of them break apart and so does my heart.
I need to leave.Forcing my eyes to remain down, I walk to my brother and turn my body so I can’t see Jace. “Noah, can I use your truck to go home please? I can come back later if you and Noah are too drunk to drive.”
“Are you okay?”
Swallowing my emotions, I lift my gaze to his, force a smile onto my face, and give him a nod. “Yeah, I just have a really bad headache and would rather go home.”
“Okay,” he says, and fishes his keys from his pocket. “I don’t really plan on drinking, so I’ll drive Finn’s truck.” He hands them to me, but his expression suggests he doesn’t fully believe me. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
“I’m sure,” I say, nodding in affirmation. I’m not sure who I’m trying to convince more, him or me. “Thanks. Love you.”
“Love you too.”
“Bye, Willow,” Jace says, his voice quiet, although it’s laced with something else—something I can’t quite put my finger on.
I don’t turn around to look at him.I can’t.
“Bye, Jace.”
