“I meant it.”
“So, what do we do while we wait?”she asked.
He smiled, winked.Why the hell did he do that?He wasn’t a Hollywood creep who preyed on women, but there was something about this woman that had him acting without thinking past the nose on his face.
She scowled, but he didn’t miss the way the corners of her lips curled up, how her eyes danced.His mind went to the night before when he’d caught her talking to herself, and she’d called him handsome.So, the attraction went both ways.
Interesting.
Also interesting was the fact that not a soul had stopped by their table to ask him to sign something or to gush about how great he was in the fifth installment of a car chase franchise that had first put him on the map almost a decade ago.He could get used to just being a face in the crowd.
“I’m teasing,” he said.“I’d actually like to know a little bit about you.”
“Why?”she asked, her voice laced with suspicion again.What would it take to earn her trust?
“Because you make me smile.Isn’t that enough?”
“Fine,” she spat.Okay, so they were back to square one.He was more than willing to start over with her.“What do you want to know?”
“Let’s start with where specifically that lovely accent is from.All Brad said was the islands.I’ve traveled all over the Caribbean, and I don’t recognize it.”
“What makes you think I’m from the islands at all?”
He raised his eyebrows and bit back a laugh.Slowly, his gaze slid over her yellow tunic and aqua pants, the mother-of-pearl earrings that almost touched the delicate collar bone peeking out of her shirt.He waved his hand down the length of her, Vanna White-esque, as if to saysee?
“Yes, well, I guess maybe I do stand out a little here.”
“I’d say,” he said, chuckling.
“I’m from Turks and Caicos.The north island.”
“I’ve never been there, but it’s on my bucket list.And you met Paige there?”
She laughed again, this time a full, sultry song that sent shock waves directly to his groin.
“That’s a long story, but the short version is that I met Paige there when she was working in my clinic for a year.It took a minute for me to trust her, but when I let my guard down, we were inseparable.She’s more like a sister to me.”
“Hey, how are you with dogs?”
“That’s a question I don’t mind answering.They’re better than most humans I know,” she said.
“Ain’t that the truth,” Jace said, the burn of the whiskey dampened by the warmth in his stomach.She liked dogs, huh?“But anyway, tell me more about you and Paige.”
“My mom was sick.Paige helped her die with dignity and comfort.”Aurelie’s eyes lit up when she spoke about her friends.It said a lot about her, somehow endeared her to him more, if that was possible.He touched her wrist, and she didn’t slap him away.
“I’m sorry.”
“Thanks.When she passed, all that was left for me was an empty shell of a home and a job I no longer loved.Paige had cancer, so it was my time to come care for her.”
“I still can’t believe Paige had cancer.She’s okay, though?”
“Another long story, but yes.She’s in remission now, but before she and Owen got married, I lived with her and helped her heal.I was going to leave when she got better, but I’d fallen in love.”
Jace’s heart sank to the pit of his stomach at the same time his pulse decided to beat triple time.“In love?”he asked, gulping back some water this time, as well as a deep-seated fear he hadn’t felt since he’d read his first round of reviews on his acting debut.His head swam, and he felt nauseated, but not from the few drinks he’d had.
“Yes.Haven’t you?How can you not love those mountains, the lake at the bottom of the hill, the birds that come from the south and bring their babies home?It’s my home now, too.”
A rush of air left his lungs.He was still lightheaded, but his chest swelled hearing Aurelie’s elaboration on her infatuation.The town.She’d fallen in love with the Valley, something he could relate to.
