Chapter 18
“Ihave to say,” Jace said as they pulled into Amy’s quiet neighborhood. “Kassy and Daren seem to have it all.”
Amy sighed dreamily. “I know.”
When Kassy invited Amy and Jace to come out for dinner, Amy had said no at first, fearing she wouldn’t be able to act normal around Kassy when she was so sick about what was happening in her life. Thank heavens Jace had been able to convince her otherwise. Being around the young family had brought out that silly, goofy part of her that Jace found irresistible.
“Can you believe how cute those boys are?”
“No,” Jace admitted. “Kip and Leo wereneverthat cute. After meeting Willis and Henry, I can finally see why everyone’s so charmed by the idea of twins.” He wasn’t kidding. Those blond-haired boys had melted his heart from their very first high five and fist-bump.
“So what’d you think of Daren’s hat collection? He’s very proud of that.”
Jace shook his head. “I think the guy should be on one of those documentary shows.”
“Oh my gosh, you’re right.” Amy laughed. “How could he go about qualifying for that?”
Jace pictured the way Henry and Willis had paraded in and out of the dining area, showing off hat after hat with proud shoulders and lifted chins. “I’d say when their collection has a room of its own, where even wall-to-wall, floor-to-ceiling shelving can’t hold it all — they qualify. But if that doesn’t work, they could just throw in the twins. No TV crew could say no to those faces.”
“Tell me about it,” Amy said with a laugh. They’d pulled into her driveway now, the front bumper inches from her closed garage. “My car’s probably feeling neglected,” she said, seeming to remember its existence suddenly.
Jace turned to her, wondering if this was a good time to mention the glass in his SUV was bulletproof. Probably not. No need to get her mind racing on just why that was such an essential detail in his line of work. She’d had enough meltdowns on her own, not that he could blame her. Yesterday morning had been the worst one yet. At least Amy had allowed Jace to comfort her; he couldn’t bear the thought of her going through this alone.
The radio, a low lull in the background, muted as he shut off the engine. “I’ll get your door,” he said before climbing out of the SUV. In seconds he was at her door, opening it and offering his hand.
Amy took it with a smile, but she didn’t hop down yet. “Jace,” she said.
He knew it was silly, but Jace was very aware that he would do anything for Amy in that moment. “Yes?”
“I really loved being with you and my family tonight. I mean, the family of mine that’s here, anyway. I can’t…” she stopped there and shook her head.
“What?” he urged, sensing a blush rise in her cheeks.
Her lids drifted closed for a breath, and when she revealed those gorgeous brown eyes once more, she grinned. “I can’t wait for you to meet my parents too,” she whispered.
Jace stepped onto the running board and came in for a kiss. He couldn’t help it. He’d been looking forward to the same thing. He loved that his family would get to see how wonderful she was this weekend at Kip and Leo’s birthday bash on the beach. Steps that would take them deeper into one another’s lives. Jace wanted nothing more. “I can’t wait for you to meet mine too,” he said against her mouth. “Leo, that joker, already has a crush on you but I told him he has to keep his mitts off.”
Something in the air was perfect tonight. Sure, they weren’t out of the clear. In fact, they were inches from entering the thick of it, if Jace’s estimations were correct. Which reminded him. “Hey, we talked about maybe watching that show tonight,” he said as he led her up the steps, eyes sweeping the outside perimeter, “but I’ve got a bit of catching up to do with work. Mind if we put the movie on hold for an hour or two?”
“That’ll work,” Amy assured. “I’ll hit the shower, lounge back with a good book. Maybe you can go grab Oreo for me and I’ll curl up with him.”
Jace had heard her reply, but it hadn’t registered, because what he saw made his blood turn to ice. There, attached to the outside of Amy’s front room window, was a small device he recognized with ease. A bugging device. A quick glance at the bedroom windows on this side of the home said they’d been placed there too. The kind that were perfect for situations where one couldn’t easily gain indoor access. They worked to pull sound from the other side of the glass while the small bubble protecting the device blocked out the outside noise.
A few choice words spilled through his mind. They definitely hadn’t been there yesterday; he would have noticed.
“Too bad I don’t have one of those Snuggies,” Amy said as they stepped inside. “My parents each have one. Mom’s got a Bronco’s Snuggie and Dad’s got a Ranger’s one. I’ll have to show you pictures. It’s hilarious.”
This was good. Normal talk. But inside, Jace’s blood had turned from ice to boiling. The bugging device could mean one of two things: 1. They suspected Jace of being more than just her boyfriend. 2. They were getting serious about abducting her and they wanted to keep closer tabs.
“What do you think about that?” Amy said. “Jace?”
She’d stepped out of her shoes already, and was now removing the pink ball cap she wore.
“Sorry, what was that?”
She strode over to him and planted a kiss to his cheek. “I’m hopping in the shower.”
“Gotcha,” he said. “And just for the record, that wasn’t an invitation, right?”
