“Your house is beautiful,” I murmur.
“Thank you,” Jayce replies, his voice a low rumble that makes me clench my thighs together. “I can’t take too much credit for it, though. It’s a family home. My mom oversaw the remodel.”
I turn to him with a grin. “She has good taste.”
He studies me for a moment, his gaze intense, his face lit up by the soft lights of the dashboard. I feel my cheeks flush under his stare and I’m thankful it’s dark enough that he hopefully won’t notice.
“Let’s go inside,” he says at length.
“Okay.”
We get out of the car and Jayce leads me up to the front door and opens it, stepping aside to let me go in first.
The inside of the house is as impressive as the exterior. The ceilings are high, and a glass wall at the back of the open house frames a view of the valley and the glittering bay. The floor is pale oak, smooth and warm. In the entry hall, a suspended staircase floats upward in graceful, glass-sided steps. Directly ahead is the living room, and I can see a low-slung sectional in dove gray, a low, oak coffee table, and a stone fireplace.
I gaze around, appreciating the intricate details just like I did outside. I catch sight of the kitchen off to one side — stainlesssteel, marble. Expensive, high-end. Beyond that, another wall of glass opens onto a terrace.
“Make yourself at home,” Jayce says, snapping my attention back to him. “I’ll get us some wine.”
“Sounds good.” I watch him turn and head to the kitchen before I start wandering around, taking in more of the house. Aunt Delilah would love this place. Mom would too, but she’d declare it too modern for her tastes, in order to maintain her old money facade.
I find myself making my way toward the glass wall overlooking the backyard. Finding the back double doors, I open them and step outside, and walk to the edge of the pool, which seems to drop off into the horizon. The water is smooth and still, with deep blue lights deep inside, giving it an ethereal glow.
Gathering the skirt of my dress, I bunch it up around my thighs and sit down to dangle my feet in the water. The pool is heated—no surprise—and for a moment, I’m tempted to strip completely and take a late night plunge. It’s a warm night for March, but what would Jayce think? He said to make myself at home, but I doubt undressing in his backyard and skinny dipping in his pool is what he had in mind.
“The pool’s nice, huh?”
I look up as Jayce steps next to me, two glasses of wine in his hands. He’s taken off his tux jacket and loosened his tie. The top two buttons of his shirt are undone and he’s rolled his sleeves up, revealing his muscular forearms. Good Lord, the man could be a fucking GQ model. He hands me a glass of wine before sitting down. I watch him set his own wine beside him, then methodically roll up his pants so he can dip his feet into the water as well. His calf muscles flex as they slide into the water and I can’t help but stare a little. I don’t think I’ve ever noticed a man’s legs before, but the hard ridges and power contained in his makes my heart beat a little faster.
“It is nice,” I choke out, remembering his question. “This is a really peaceful spot.”
“Yeah. I like the quiet out here.”
We fall into that comfortable silence again, sip our wine as we gently move our feet in the warm water. I feel so relaxed. So safe. It’s like we’re in our own little bubble and the rest of the world can’t get to us.
I don’t understand why Jayce makes me feel so comfortable, but I’m not going to overthink it. Not tonight. It’s a nice change of pace because the only other people who can even make me feel close to this at ease are my friends, but of course, none of them live close to me. Also, things are always so energetic and rowdy when I’m with my girls that it’s kind of nice to just sit and be calm with someone. I really wouldn’t have guessed Jayce could be so at ease and laid back like this. At Christmas in Estes Park, the few interactions I had with him, we were caught up in the energy of the group, the games, and activities. I feel like I’m actually seeing the real Jayce for the first time.
“I wish every moment could be as quiet as this one,” I murmur, gazing up at the night sky.
He looks at me and gives me a small smile. “Hard to find some silence when your family is always buzzing in your ear, huh?”
Absolutely, but admitting that feels a little like a betrayal to Mom and Dad. Plus, it’s not so much the buzzing in my ear as it is the storm in my head. So I just shrug and don’t give him an answer. The last thing I want right now is for him to find out that my brain is usually as active as a coked-up hamster on a wheel. At the moment, it’s peaceful, and I want to savor that for as long as I can.
“I used to feel this peaceful when I danced,” I softly confess.
“You were a dancer?”
Grinning, I nod. “Yeah…sorry, that was so random. It just came to mind. I did ballet, jazz, and contemporary through college. It was kind of an escape, but I had to give it up to focus on my career and the company.”
“That’s too bad,” he murmurs. “I’d love to see you dance sometime.”
I glance back up at Jayce, and my heart starts pounding. No man should be this beautiful. His nose is straight, his jaw chiseled and defined. His lips are full, and I watch, fascinated, as they part so he can take another drink of his wine. He drags his tongue along his bottom lip, catching a few drops that try to escape, and my breath catches.
What does he taste like? Are those lips really as soft as they look?
It’s been so long since I’ve kissed a man. Since I’ve wanted to kiss someone, but staring at Jayce, I find myself wanting to kiss him very, very badly.
He looks my way and catches me staring at him. His brow furrows.
