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“You cheated in chemistry?”

She dipped her chin. “It was obviously where my bad girl tendencies started, okay? The point of the story is that I missed whatever class or experience the rest of the students had, and I can’t go back and fix that. I just…” She put her head in her hands. “Maybe if I work long enough at the salon, when Shelley retires, I can take over as manager. Then I can learn more hands-on things about running a business. That’s how I learn best anyway.”

“How long until Shelley retires?”

“I don’t know. Twenty years. Maybe longer if she kicks her smoking habit.” Marlowe knew, even as she said the words, that it was a ridiculous statement. But she didn’t have any good options. If she couldn’t understand a class on running a business, how could she ever hope to actually run a business? Any salon she opened would go down in flames quickly, taking her savings, her dignity, and her credit score with it.

Marlowe had thought tonight would launch the start of a new career, but all it had done was show her all the things she didn’t know.

Jace put his hand on her back and rubbed her shoulders in a comforting way. “You don’t really want to wait twenty years.”

“It doesn’t matter what I want. Nothing in my life has ever been about what I wanted.” Including him.

And then, even though she hadn’t been expecting it, tears pressed into her eyes. She blinked in an attempt to stop them. Crying in front of Jace Clark was the last thing she wanted. They ran down her cheeks anyway.

His hand froze on her shoulder, and then he pulled her into a hug. “Marlowe,” he murmured. “Marlowe.” The warmth of his arms encircled her, along with the scent of his cologne and the soft cotton of his sweatshirt. “It can’t have been that bad.”

Of course he couldn’t understand how she felt. “You’re only saying that because you were an honors student. You always aced your classes.”

“Lucas aced them. I worked hard at them. That’s all you need to do.”

He made it sound simple, like she just needed more determination. She rested her head on his shoulder in defeat.

This embrace felt so odd—Jace comforting her when he’d been one of the catalysts that prompted her decision to sign up for school. She’d wanted to prove to him that she was going places. Now he knew she wasn’t going anywhere but back to work at the salon someone else owned.

“It’s easy for smart people to say things like that,” she muttered.

His hand went up and down her back. “You’re smart too.”

Did he actually think that? “I’m not going to argue with you about that, but only because after you leave Lark Springs again, I want you to think of me as the one that got away.”

She felt his chest rumble against her in soft laughter. “Definitely. You’re smart and funny.”

She sniffed. “Don’t forget beautiful.”

“Very beautiful,” he said.

Instead of making her feel better, the words made another wave of tears run down her cheeks. Because that’s all she ever really had going for her—being pretty. And it had never been enough.

“What’s wrong?” he asked in alarm.

“It’s just like my sister said. I was the pretty one, and she was the smart one. But beauty fades and smartness makes you healthy, wealthy, wise, and in her case, married with children to a man you love.”

Jace pulled away to look at her. “I’m not sure how to even begin to deconstruct that last sentence. When did you have this conversation with Katrina?”

She wiped her eyes. “In high school.”

“You mean during the phase when Katrina was clearly jealous of you?”

“When was that phase?” Her older sister had never seemed jealous of her, just irritated and superior.

“Basically the entire time I knew you. You don’t think it bothered her that her little sister was the popular, beautiful cheerleader, while she was the National Honor Society introvert?”

“No, because she thought cheerleaders peaked in high school and smart people ended up as their employers.” Marlowe put her head in her hands. “And maybe she was right.” The tears came again, flooding over her lashes.

She was so going to regret this moment later on, and not just because she wasn’t wearing waterproof mascara. Jace was in love with a woman who was made of confidence, money, and potential. That was his type. Marlowe was sure he’d never had a conversation like this with Jennifer.

Jace pulled her back into his arms and ran a hand across her back in a soothing manner. “Your sister didn’t know what she was talking about. You’re smart enough to have everything you want in life. You just have to figure out what steps you need to take to reach your goals and then take those steps. I know you’re more than capable of understanding this class.”