“Pretty much anything art-related that I can find,” she said “I have a couple contracts for greeting cards.”
He blinked in surprise. Making greeting cards was a real job? Stupid question. Of course, it was. But this washerjob? Then the connection clicked. The birthday cards she used to make. He had saved a couple of his, together with the ring, in a box in his attic…which he sure as hell wasn’t going to bring up right now. He searched for a less loaded response. “My mother still has a birthday card you made for her framed in her room.”
Selena’s eyes lit up. “The one of her cat?”
Jace nodded.
“Wow. I’m flattered, especially since she sort-of hated me at the end.” Her smile fell a little.
His mother wasn’t the easiest person under any circumstances, but it had gotten worse when she had seen the end of Selena and his relationship coming—long before he had come to terms with it. She had tried to warn him, but Jace had stubbornly believed that Selena might love him enough to stay. Lesson learned.
“It was a long time ago,” he said quietly.
Selena blinked a couple times.
“Say hello to her for me.” Her brow furrowed a little. “Actually, that’s probably not a good idea.”
He had never told his mother the story of how he’d so stupidly proposed to Selena on graduation night, but she had gotten the gist of what had happened anyway. And she still hadn’t forgiven Selena for disappearing afterwards.
“You sure you’re okay here?” he asked. “I can take you somewhere else if you want. Somewhere closer to town.”
As soon as his words came out, he regretted them. There were places he wouldn’t take her. She might have a boyfriend, and the last thing he wanted to do today was shuttle her to some other man’s bed.Happy fucking holidays, Jace.
But she shook her head.
“I know it looks like a setting for a B horror film.” She gestured at the dark house with a flick of her wrist, and the corners of her mouth kicked up into a little smile. “But I like being on my own. I’m building my career, and it’s around work that I love. I’m going to appreciate the shit out of my empty house today.” Her smile grew. “And then there’s the cocktail sausages. Really, I’m fine.”
She put her hand on his arm, the way she used to. And in that moment, Jace slipped back in time. Alone together. They were always looking for ways to be alone. How many times had she touched him this way? Her hand slipped up his bicep. Even through his raincoat, the gesture sent bolts of heat to places they really shouldn’t go right now. Her big brown eyes softened, like she was remembering, too. Was she grasping at this moment just as tightly as he was, trying not to let it go?
Lord, he missed the way she looked at him. Her eyelashes fluttered, like they used to when he was about to kiss her. So he put every hesitation aside and gave in to the overwhelming temptation.
He bent down and brushed his lips over hers. Soft. Familiar. The weight of nine years loomed, ready to push them apart, but long-buried memories were taking hold. Her breath stuttered as she stilled, just touching. The dam of memories crumbled, flooding every inch of his body, the moment she pressed her warm mouth against his. He lifted his hand to her cheek and stroked her soft skin, closing his eyes, letting himself just feel.His other hand found its way into her hair, thick and damp, and he moved his thumb gently up and down.Selena.
She leaned closer and caught his bottom lip between hers.Yes, she silently told him,yes. She tilted her head and opened her lips, and they were there again, back where they were years ago, kissing. It was a slow kiss, filled with new questions instead of answers.
What is this connection between us?
Have too many storms battered that bridge?
But they were kissing again, and he’d take whatever this was. It could be the last time he saw her for another ten years…or more.
That was enough to make him pull away. Jace gave himself a little shake and stepped back. How thehelldid they get here so fast? Her eyes, heavy with desire, were focused on his lips. Once upon a time, this look would have led to more touching, more of her soft, sweet body against his. Under his.
Hell, if he didn’t get out of here soon, he was going to want to do that again tonight. Which definitely wasn’t a good idea. He was not going to let Selena back into his head. Not even if she was stuck in the storm alone in an empty house.
Jace took a step back. “I think I should go right now. For both of our sake.”
She smiled a little. “Thanks for not leaving me on the roadside.”
Chapter Four
Selena closed the front door and sagged back against it, her heart thumping hard and fast. She touched her swollen lips. It was a good thing she stayed away from Jace since she moved back in Sacred Harbor because, apparently, she was just one tow truck ride away from kissing him senseless.
Oh, Lord, he looked good after all these years. Selena hadn’t let herself think about him, really think about him, in so long. His face had changed a little, his jaw sharper, his scruff darker, but so much of him had felt familiar as he drove her home. And then, when he looked down at her in the hallway, so damn sexy with his hair wet from the rain…
She would have probably invited him in for more if Jace hadn’t had the sense to back away. Would it have been so bad if she did? Selena sighed and dropped her hand to her side. She’d answer that question when she wasn’t so hopped up on hormones. Right now, her brain was a mess of longing and desire. And memories.
She hadn’t forgotten anything. Not those Sunday brunches with his larger-than-life family. Not the stops at the beach when he’d drive her home. Not the ring he had shocked her with graduation night, his last attempt to keep her in Sacred Harbor. And she hadn’t forgotten any of the reasons why turning him down had been so hard. Why she’d had to leave town before she gave up everything that her parents had sacrificed eighteen years of their lives for.
