Chapter Nine

Alexis:

The Bentleys’ big farmhouse is filled with people from town, along with the Bentley family. Lisbeth and Ryder are canoodling in the corner, and it’s obvious they’ve gotten together. It’s about time.

The thought leads me to find Jace in the group. He’s sitting with Jamie and Annie, and I contemplate approaching for a moment before realizing that might reveal too much to Jamie. He’s pretty perceptive and is already suspicious about Jace and me. We’ve done nothing that I need to hide, but I’m not anxious to admit to my older brother that I made a mistake and that my heart will get bruised again.

It struck me sometime this afternoon that my words to Jace earlier had been empty. I’d been sincere enough about them at the time, claiming I couldn’t risk getting my heart broken by getting involved with him again.

The only problem is, I’ve already blown it. After last night, my heart’s in again, and what I feel for Jace is much stronger than it used to be. It shouldn’t be possible, especially with so much time and distance between us, but I’m right back in love with the big mook, and he seems as skittish as ever when it comes to commitment.

Damn his parents.

I’m shocked by the rage that fills me for a moment, and I have to breathe through it. I shouldn’t hate them, and I don’t know if I actually do, but I bitterly resent how they messed up Jace, leaving him thinking love can never last, and marriage is a prison.

It’s not all their fault though. He should’ve seen enough of the world by now to know his parents’ marriage isn’t representative of all. He just has to look around him and see successful relationships everywhere. My own parents have been together for years, as has Lisbeth’s parents. Even Ryder’s weird parents are a perfect match for each other, so there are good examples. It seems like Jace clings to his beliefs in part to avoid risking his heart.

I wonder about talking to him, but I don’t know if I have the courage. I make my way to the open bar and request a cranberry martini. I’m a few sips in when Jamie joins me to request the same. I smile at my older brother and lean against him for a moment. “How’s Annie?”

“She’s tired but hanging in there.”

“She’s stubborn like that.” I sip the martini and almost choke on it with his next words.

“I can’t help noticing Jace keeps staring at you.” He says that casually.

I don’t respond. I just sip my martini again.

“You kept looking at him a while ago too. What’s going on there, Alexis?” He drops the casual tone and sounds like a protective older brother.

I roll my eyes. “Nothing.”

He snorts. “Yeah, don’t expect me to buy that nonsense. I always knew you had a crush on him, but now it seems to be reciprocal.” His disapproval is clear.

Rather than answer that directly, I say, “Don’t you think we’re a little old for crushes, Jamie?”

“I’m not going to phrase it any other way, because I can’t think about you in that way.” His jaw looks tight for a moment, and then he relaxes slightly. “Look, I’m not trying to give you a hard time, Alexis.”

“It sounds like the third-degree though.”

He huffs a sigh. “I’m just saying, Jace is a bad idea. He’s never going to settle down, and you know what a playboy he is.”

I look at my brother, arching a brow. “You don’t think I know that? What makes you think I’m not a playgirl? Maybe I just want to have a fling with your best friend.” I can’t help laughing when he looks like he’s going to gag for a moment. “I mean, he does seem like the kind of guy to give a girl a good time for a short while.”

Jamie’s expression of distaste is hilarious. “I already said I don’t want to think about you that way. I’m just trying to be a good big brother and watch out for you.” As he says that, he glares in Jace’s direction.

I chuckle. “I get that, but I can take care of myself. I’m not a baby.”

“She’s most certainly not a baby,” says Jace from behind me a moment later.

Every nerve ending in my body flares to life, and it’s all I can do not to lean back against him as he comes closer.

Damn him for being so hard to resist.

“May I speak with you privately, Alexis?”

“She and I are hanging out right now,” says Jamie, acting like a barbarian.

I roll my eyes. “I’m sure Annie and Brewster would appreciate your company more than I do.” I look at Jace. “Sure. Let me finish my drink.” With that, I gulp down the last couple of inches in the glass and set it back on the bar.

Jaxon Bentley, town pharmacist and temporary mixologist, takes it and puts it below the bar. “Another?” he asks.

I shake my head, not getting a chance to verbally reply even if I wanted to. Jace takes my hand and pulls me away from the bar and Jamie. I’m not sure where we’re headed until we get through the house and find ourselves on the balcony It’s cold out here, and the cold air should help clear my thoughts. It takes a little bit of the flush from my skin that happened from the moment Jace touched me. If I’m honest, I’ve had that flush all night, and it spikes each time our gazes meet.

I turn to him, leaning against the rail after I brush off the snow. “What do you want to talk about?”

“I’ve been doing some thinking.” He looks so somber.

I find myself clutching the rail, though I’m not sure why I’m so tense. “About what?”

“Everything, really. My life, my choices, my outlook, and…you.”

My eyes widen. “Sounds like you’ve had an afternoon of deep thought.” I can’t help the smartass remark, needing to lighten the tension.

He ignores my attempt at humor, remaining almost grim. “It’s probably no secret that I’ve had a lot of girlfriends.” He frowns. “No, I can’t even use that word. I’ve had a lot of conquests. Your brother likes to call me a playboy.”

“He was doing just that,” I say with a twitch of my lips. “I didn’t have any defense for you. That seems like an accurate assessment.”

He frowns, but he doesn’t deny it. “That’s because it is. I’ve spent the last ten years avoiding anything that might make me feel more than something shallow or physical. I don’t want to end up like my parents, trapped in a marriage that makes us both miserable.”

“I can see that, but your parents didn’t have to spend all those years miserable together. They could’ve gotten a divorce.”

He shrugged a shoulder. “I don’t really want that kind of relationship either, where I consider having an escape clause to implement any time I need it. I’ve never considered having any kind of relationship, if I’m honest. At least not until recently.”

I suck in a deep breath, and the cold stings my lungs for a moment. I cough as I exhale, and then I clutch the rail even harder. “Are you implying you’re thinking about a relationship with me?”

His gaze softens, and he steps closer. “Yeah, that’s all I’ve been thinking about. You’re special, Alexis. I think I’m falling in love with you, and I don’t want to leave you. I don’t want to lose any opportunities I can see with us.”

I hate it, but I find his abrupt turnaround too hard to believe. “You’ve spent most of your life saying love doesn’t exist, and marriage is prison. You really can’t expect me to believe you’ve changed all that overnight?”

He heaves a sigh. “Maybe not completely, but I’m working on it. I’m still not sure I trust marriage in general, and I don’t know if I believe in love for everyone, but you’re changing my mind, Alexis. I’m asking you to give me a chance to prove that and see where it leads.”

I frown at him. “It’s not that I don’t want to, Jace, but I’m already feeling too much for you. When you leave in a few days—”

He lifts a hand. “About that… I don’t have to leave.”

I frown at him. “What do you mean?”

“I’m between assignments, and I pretty much have my pick where I go next. There’s a new testing program starting in the new year at the Mountain Home base. I talked to the commanding officer today, and he’d be happy to have me in the program. I have to get the official paperwork filed and get approval, but I don’t anticipate that’ll be a problem. So, I’m here, and I can stay in Sage Valley, if you give me a reason to.”

I stare at him in shock for a moment. “You really mean that? You’re willing to come back here and settle down?” At his nod, I take a deep breath. “You’re doing that for me?”

He shakes his head. “Not just for you. It’s for me too. I could fall in love with you, Alexis, if you let me.”

“I’m not stopping you.” I step closer, pulling him in for a deep kiss. Our lips meet, and heat ignites between us. I put my hand in his hair, pulling him closer so he can’t break the kiss. I can’t get enough of him, and I hope he realizes that, but I make it clear when we finally separate. “If you’re really ready to try, so am I. Don’t break my heart, Wilson.”

He grins before putting his arms around me. “I wouldn’t dream of it.” He looks around. “Do you think anybody would miss us if we slipped back to the B&B?”

I shake my head. “If we go in the back way, Barb won’t even know we’re there.” I’m paying her double to watch the front desk this evening, since I needed time away and refused to miss the annual Bentley party.

“Speaking of the B&B…” he says as he takes my hand and leads me down the steps of the balcony. We’re making our escape without coats, and I shiver, but we’re soon in my car.

“Yeah?” I ask. The engine turns on a moment later, and heat fills the cabin.

“I really do want to invest in your B&B. Will you let me now that our situation has changed?”

I don’t even have to think about it. I just nod as I head back to the B&B. Hope fills every part of me, and it feels like their fluttery bubbles in my chest.