I wouldn’t have protested anyway. I needed her. I needed her to talk me down off the ledge I was teetering on. Because as much as I wanted to find love again and as much as I believed Jace was the one for me, I couldn’t go through another heartbreak.
15
MONROE
The house was too quiet, so much so that I could hear the hum of the fridge and the slow tick of the clock above the fireplace as it approached midnight.
Lila had finally left about fifteen minutes ago. She’d offered to stay, but I wanted to be alone. After analyzing every situation possible and checking my phone a thousand times, I couldn’t talk about Jace anymore. I needed to put him out of my mind. Yet here I was on the couch, the throw blanket twisted around my legs, and the wine bottle standing guard on the coffee table in case I needed that extra push to fall asleep.
I swore I was done crying, done beating myself up, and done worrying about someone who didn’t care enough to call me. Instead, I was scolding myself for falling apart over a man I’d known for two weeks. A man who grieved for his dead brother, a man who had gone through a G-LOC and almost killed his WSO and himself. A man who was taking hold of my heart faster than the speed of light.
The wind whipped around outside, rattling the windows. Then the heater kicked on. I burrowed under the blanket, my eyes heavy, swollen, and I was beginning to get drowsy. Maybesleep would help. Maybe I would feel different in the morning. But I didn’t want to go to bed. If I did, I would break down again, thinking of the night Jace and I had learned each other’s bodies, reliving every touch and kiss, and remembering the words he’d spoken.
I closed my eyes, stretched out on the couch, and tucked a pillow under my head when three sharp bangs had me sitting up faster than the speed of light. I stilled and listened. Maybe one of the rocking chairs on the porch slid against the house from the wind.
The doorbell rang, and I was on my feet. Lila must’ve forgotten something.
“Monroe, open up.”
“Jace,” I whispered, stumbling to the door, rubbing my eyes, smoothing my hair. I had to look like death worn over.
My mind screamed to make him sweat, but his voice sounded off, like the world was ending.
When I opened the door, it felt like my jaw hit the foyer floor. His hand was red and bloody. His cargo pants were dirty, and his hiking boots were crusted in mud.
“Please tell me you didn’t go rock climbing,” I said in a rush, thinking back to the day he’d almost fallen off that cliff.
A strong wind ruffled his brown hair as the cold air swept past me. “Can I come in?”
I crossed my arms over my chest. “That depends. Are you about to give me some bullshit story on why you stood me up?”
All I could think about was Ryan and his myriad of excuses as to why he didn’t come home when he’d said he would.
“Sunshine, do I look like I have a bullshit story?” He held out his wounded hands.
How could I protest when it was clear he had wounds to prove otherwise? Not to mention, he had remorse written all over him. But I was as moody as hell and pissed.
I stuck my hands on my hips. “Don’t answer a question with a question.”
“Aren’t I letting the heat out?” he asked with a smirk, throwing back my own words from the night I’d invited him into my house.
I moved out of the way, pursing my lips, although inwardly I was relieved that he wasn’t seriously hurt.
Once he was inside, I slammed the door a bit too hard. “I’ve been worried sick.”
He took off his boots then his windbreaker. “I’m so sorry.” He flashed those puppy dog blue eyes like it would solve his problem.
In a way it had because the butterflies inside my stomach were having a party.
“I know it’s late,” he continued, “but I had to apologize. I had to make sure you didn’t think I stood you up. Hear me out?”
I stomped into the living room like I’d done in high school when Ryan got under my skin. “I’m listening.”
Resuming the warm spot I had on the couch, I tucked my legs underneath me, my pulse racing.
He blew into his hands as he went over to the fireplace, his back to the fire. “After the centrifuge test, I went to Devil’s Hollow to clear my head.”
My brows flew to my hairline. “So you did go rock climbing?”
