Zara happily dug into her food, all the while oblivious to the tension between her dad and me. Jace’s eyes were like liquid fire as they blazed into me. My entire body was encapsulated by goosebumps. His gaze contained a promise, one that said whatever the hell just transpired between us, it wasn’t over.
I was going to have to come up with some creative ways of avoiding him, and not because of what he would do. It was because of whatImight do. I could’ve easily stopped the madness just now, but I hadn’t. Nor had I wanted to. No, I’dlet Jace touch me and talk to me intimately because I wanted it, craved it, and that was a danger I needed to go out of my way to avoid.
“You better get going,” I said once Zara was finished eating.
“See you later,” she replied as Jace grabbed her schoolbag and coat, shooting me one last hot, simmering glance before he ushered her outside to his car.
I could barely focus all morning. In the end, I had to take myself out for a stroll and then lunch to clear my head. I texted Margie to see if she was free to grab food and was still awaiting her response when I reached the café. I paused outside, noticing Jace’s dad was in there speaking to another man who seemed familiar. He was tall with dark blond hair, probably mid to late thirties. He wore jeans and a dark jacket, and although his outfit was simple, it screamed luxury. Definitely a rich guy. I couldn’t pin down where I knew him from, and when I entered the café, they were already standing and saying goodbye. They shook hands, and the blond man left, moving past me with a confident stride.
“Shannon, what a nice surprise,” Jay stepped forward, pulling me into a hug before looking me over. “Everything okay? Is my son behaving himself?”
No, not at all.“I’m fine, just a bit of a hectic day. I was about to grab lunch if you’d like to join me.”
“I already ate. But come over to the house later. I’m going to throw some steaks on the barbecue.”
I lifted an eyebrow. “A barbecue in October?”
“Just had a hankering,” he said with a faint twinkle in his eye. I wanted to ask what he was up to, but I knew he wouldn’t tell me. Besides, Jay’s secret machinations always ended up being for everyone’s benefit in the long run.
“Jack, Lille, and the boys are coming, plus Angus and Kami. You should join us, bring Zara.”
“Okay, I’ll see how I’m fixed.” He moved to leave when I asked curiously, “Jay, who was that man you were talking with?”
He smiled fondly. “That was Ollie. He’s the son of an old friend of my brother’s. I haven’t seen him in years, but he was in Dublin for business, so we arranged to meet up.”
“I feel like I know him from somewhere.”
“He has one of those faces, I guess. Anyway, I hope I’ll see you later.” Giving my shoulder a soft squeeze, he left, and I went to find a table. I wasn’t certain I believed Jay about Ollie having one of those faces, and I continued wracking my brains but just couldn’t seem to figure out how I knew him.
Margie managed to stop by, and we both ordered the turkey, cranberry, and brie toasty because it was the nicest thing on the menu. She inquired about the situation with my neighbours, but Viola and Gary had been surprisingly quiet since Jace had scandalised them. I couldn’t tell if they were backing down or retreating to plot their revenge, but I tried to put them to the back of my mind.
When I told her about the morning’s events with Jace, because I always told her everything, I expected her to find it amusing, but instead, she seemed concerned.
“What is it?” I asked, uneasy. I valued Margie’s advice, and if she thought getting closer to Jace was a bad move, then I had to give her opinion some credence.
“I’m just surprised. The way you spoke about him gave me the impression you weren’t ever planning to get back together. I mean, I’m all for you two getting along for Zara’s sake, and I guess if you really want to rekindle, it’s always something you could explore, but—"
“I don’t want to rekindle,” I said, feeling defensive because it wasn’t like I’d ever fully gotten over Jace. My feelings for him had dulled with his absence, but they’d still been there, simmering low.
“So, you’renotthinking of getting back together?” Margie asked.
“No, of course not. I …” Trailing off because I hated lying to her, I continued, “I just need to be stronger in resisting him.”
She reached across the table and placed her hand on mine. “I only ask out of care for you, Shan. I don’t want that loving heart of yours to get stomped all over again.”
Margie was normally the type of person to advise throwing caution to the wind, so the fact that she was preaching caution now gave me definite pause.
“I know, and I’m grateful to you for looking out for me. The best thing for me is to try and move on from Jace. It’s just hard.”
“Well, have you been chatting with any of the men I sent messages to?”
I hesitated to answer because honestly I’d forgotten all about my dating app. Jace had infiltrated my brain, and I couldn’t focus on anything else.
“A little,” I lied. “I’ll see about arranging to meet up with one or two of them.”
“That’s my girl. Seriously, I know movies and books make it seem like people get back together after a breakup and have happy endings all the time, but in real life, it’s usually a whole lot more messy and complicated.”
I couldn’t argue with her. Personally, I didn’t know anyone who’d gotten divorced and successfully rekindled with their ex later on. It just didn’t work that way.
