For the next ten minutes, the two of them worked together in silence as they closed the shop. It was only when they were outside in the parking lot, walking toward his car, that the silence began to feeltooquiet.
She told herself to shut up. To not ask the damn question. But her mouth betrayed her.
“So…are you going to go out with Molly?”Shut. Up. Elle!
One side of his mouth lifted as he glanced at her. “ShouldI go out with Molly?”
“That’s not my decision.”
A strange expression crossed his face before he focused back in front of him. “No, I’m not. She’s not my type.”
Elle laughed. “Blond, beautiful and funny isn’t your type? It used to be.”
He lifted a shoulder. “I used to be a lot of things that I’m not anymore.”
What did that mean? She opened her mouth to ask when a blur of movement in the trees on the other side of the parking lot caused her to stop.
Jace stopped with her. “What is it?” He followed her gaze, but whatever she’d seen was gone.
She shook her head. “Nothing, I guess.”
He gave that spot one more look before unlocking his car and pulling out a large bag from the trunk. “Your gift. It’s not wrapped or anything, but hopefully the gift itself makes up for that.”
For some reason, she didn’t want to take the bag from his hold. Maybe because of a deep gut feeling that whatever it was might change things. Make her feel something she didn’t want to feel.
She forced herself to reach out and slip it from his fingers.
At first peek inside, she wasn’t sure what she was looking at. Bags. Many of them. Some white paper. Some black. A couple transparent. She pulled out one of the clear packets to see candy. But not just any candy…
“Swedish candy. My favorite.” She glanced up. “They closed the candy shop here in Misty Peak years ago.” Right around thetime they’d graduated high school. But before that, she’d been a frequent visitor, and Jace had usually been right by her side.
Jace shoved his hands into his pockets. “I know. I picked these up for you while I was away. From every country I visited that sold Swedish candy, which is quite a few. Every time I saw a store, I looked to see if they had any. Some of it’s pretty old, but does candy even have an expiration date?”
For a moment, she didn’t know what to say. To anyone else, it was just candy, but to her it was so much more. It was a sign that he’d thought of her in every country he’d gone to. It was proof he hadn’t forgotten her, like she’d thought he had.
Without thinking, she threw her arms around his waist. “Thank you.”
For a moment,Jace didn’t move. He couldn’t. Because she surrounded him. Her dark hair. Her fresh scent. He felt fifteen years younger and a shitload stupider.
Hug her, you idiot!
The voice in his head pushed him to wrap his arms around her. To tug her closer. And God, it was everything.
She smelled exactly the same. A mix of sweet and floral. And the softness of her skin made him want to run his hands over her every curve.
When she started to pull away, it was too soon. He didn’t want to let go. He wanted to pause this moment, get so fucking lost in it that he forgot the day, the time, and where he stood. Forgot everything but her.
But she stepped back, and he had no choice but to let her.
She shook her head. “I feel silly being so happy about candy, but I can’t help it.”
“Don’t feel silly—I like seeing you smile. I’ve been starved of it for fifteen long years.”
The smile slipped, and for a moment she looked like she wanted to say something, but then she shook her head.
“Say it, Tink.”
She frowned. “What?”
