Chapter Ten

The early morning hours were for sleeping, planning, or overthinking. Jace was overthinking. It had been over forty-eight hours since the networking event had ended, and he still hadn’t heard from Evan.

Giving up on his fight with sleep, Jace straightened in bed and pushed a pillow behind his back.

Hailey was curled up next to him, her long hair fanned out behind her. Her legs tangled with his, keeping a connection between them even while they slept.

With any other woman, he’d have left. He avoided all relationships. They were complicated and emotional and not worth his time. He liked things easy. Simple. A straight line from a night of fun to a quick escape.

But this was his condo, and Hailey was getting under his skin, and the more time he spent with her, the more he found he didn’t want easy with her.

Which made him want to run and stay put at the same time.

At least there was an end date to their fun. It had to end at some point, and he’d eventually have to figure out the best time to walk away. Because he wasn’t going to be the one left. He didn’t want to be the one picking up the broken fragments of a relationship and trying to piece a semblance of his life back together. Once was enough.

Hailey rolled to her side and snuggled against him, warm and trusting.

It was moments like these that raged war inside him. Because it was these moments that he didn’t want to end.

“Jace?” Her voice was thick with sleep.

“Hmm?” He pushed her long hair back from her face. He could just make out her lashes against her cheeks in the dim light.

“Go back to sleep,” she murmured, wrapping an arm around him.

“In a minute.” After he figured out the mess he had gotten himself into.

Hailey muttered something about “stubborn men” and fell back asleep. She was so innocent while sleeping, and so strong when she was awake.

He trusted her. Somehow, at some point, he had decided she was safe. And maybe that was why he told her about his parents.

Pale sunlight peeked through the crack in the curtains, offering a glimpse of early morning. Easing out of bed, he tucked the blanket carefully around Hailey before he tiptoed out of the room.

The rich smell of coffee greeted him in the kitchen. Technology rarely let you down, and his timed coffeemaker was proof of that. He pushed aside a white mug to pull a flowery one down from the cabinet. The sound of coffee pouring into the cup was music to his ears, and he settled himself down at the kitchen island.

The irises Hailey left on the island were reaching the last few days of their beauty as the purple blooms started to sag under their own weight. Yesterday’s newspaper, yet to be recycled, sat in a neat stack, and one of Hailey’s hair ties sat on top of the pile.

The space felt comfortable. Cozy. Even the cold granite counter top no longer felt sterile. Somehow, with Hailey’s little touches, his space was beginning to feel more like a home than a display.

What happened when that all disappeared?

He swallowed against the tightness in his throat. He needed a voice of reason, a reminder he wasn’t alone.

He grabbed his phone and called his aunt.

“Jace, honey, I was planning to call today,” she greeted him.

“Why’s that?”

“I haven’t seen you in a while, and I thought I’d meet you in the city for dinner tomorrow. I can stay in your spare room if it gets too late.”

Since he had moved back to Houston, his aunt would come over on occasion to meet him for dinner and stay the night. Normally he was happy to have her over. It was the best part of moving back to Houston. Except this time…

“I have someone staying in the spare room.”

A long pause followed this announcement.

Either his aunt hung up or he had stunned her into silence—a rare feat with Aunt Mia.

“A friend,” he added.

Who he was sleeping with.

“A lady friend or a guy friend?” his aunt Mia inquired innocently.

“Does it matter?” He couldn’t keep the bite out of his voice.

“That answers my question. Why don’t you invite her over to my place? I can make dinner.”

“I don’t think—”

“Then don’t think. Bring your friend. I’d love to meet someone that isn’t your business partner.”

Jace dropped his head into his hand. He knew better than to call his aunt before his second cup of coffee. Once she got an idea in her head, there was no talking her out of it.

“I think she’s busy.”

Aunt Mia was not deterred. Not in the least. “Don’t you think she’d like to see where you grew up? The autumn leaves are dropping, and it looks so pretty.”

He stared at his white kitchen wall in a daze. He could actually see bringing Hailey to his childhood home, showing her another piece of himself.

Which was why this was such a terrible idea. He was supposed to keep her at a distance, not drag her deeper into his life.

“She’s honestly busy.”

“Why don’t you want to bring her? Are you embarrassed by your upbringing?”

“Of course not,” he said, not bothering to hide the exasperation in his voice.

“Then promise me you’ll extend the invitation. A woman who is staying in your spare bedroom is a woman I have to meet.”

A dull ache started between his eyes. He rubbed at the spot with two fingers. Why did he have to mention Hailey?

“You’re reading far too much into this. She’s the planning coordinator for Sun Tech. She needed a place to stay, and so I offered my futon.”

“Mmm hmm. Considering she isn’t a girlfriend, you are making a pretty big deal about not inviting her. Is something going on?”

Of course there was. “No.”

“Then what’s the harm in a home cooked meal? If she’s staying with you, she probably misses a good, hearty dinner.”

His aunt had a point. He barely had time to cook, and Hailey couldn’t make toast without burning it to a brittle crisp.

His stomach was already growling at the thought of his aunt’s lemon chicken.

“Your meals are the best,” he allowed.

“Perfect. I can’t wait to meet her,” Aunt Mia sang into the phone.

“I haven’t—”

“Sounds great, honey. I’ll see you Sunday,” his aunt said before hanging up.

Jace closed his eyes and set his phone down.

That did not go as planned. Aunt Mia was supposed to talk him back to earth.

Truth was, he’d love for Hailey to meet his aunt. Having Hailey around had brought a little more color into his life, and he knew that would make Mia happy. Bringing Hailey home almost felt natural.

And there lay the problem. He enjoyed having Hailey around too much. If he brought her to all his favorite places, her memory would haunt every corner when she was gone.

And he wasn’t prepared for that.

“Is something wrong?” Sometimes Hailey wished she could crack Jace’s head open and see what was really going on inside that brain of his.

“Nothing’s wrong.” Jace stared blankly at his stack of papers. “Now what is this again?”

They were in a coffee shop—her idea—and she’d been going over the itinerary of the launch. It was nice to get out of that giant empty condo building and into the energetic buzz of Houston.

She leaned against the bright oak table. “I don’t believe you. You’ve been distracted all morning.”

Jace leaned forward and squeezed her knee under the table.

“I’m fine. Just a little distracted, babe.” He shot her a devilish grin that left her flustered. “Now what were we talking about?”

Babe? She didn’t know if she wanted to smack him or smile at him.

Smack him. Less than twelve hours ago, they were in the middle of amazing, mind-blowing sex.

Now she could feel Jace’s walls slowly coming up, and once again she was left out in the cold. Except for that “babe” part. She could almost see their friendship after they parted ways. Nothing but walls, polite yet distracted conversation, and the occasional endearment to make it seem ok. She shivered despite the cafe’s warm air.

“We were talking about the itinerary—” she tapped the pages in front of him “—remember? The launch for Sun Tech? The one thing more important to you than life itself?”

Jace’s leaned forward and grabbed her fingers. “I’m learning that there are things more important than Sun Tech.” His lips grazed the back of her knuckles, sending lusty shivers through her whole body.

Soft indie music played overhead, reminding her they were still in public.

“Not for you, there isn’t.” Hailey pulled her fingers out of Jace’s grasp, but his move had worked. Her anger had simmered. “Now let’s focus.”

“I’m focused, I’m focused.” Jace picked up the pages and chewed his lower lip as he scanned through them. Picking up a pen, he made a few scratches before he flipped through the rest of the stack.

“Looks good.” He shuffled the papers around and pushed them back to her.

Hailey laughed. “You’re joking, right? You hardly looked at it.”

“I trust you.”

She tried to not let those words warm her heart and failed miserably. She gave up trying to fight the smile spreading across her face. “Jace, this is Sun Tech. It’s the air you breathe, and you don’t have any comments?”

Jace scowled and picked up his dainty espresso mug. It took all her restraint to not laugh as he sipped from the tiny cup. “You’ve done this twice before. You’ve got this covered. Actually, you’ve got this more than covered. The video invitations were over-the-top.”

“They were a great way to show off Sun Tech’s property. It fits Sun Tech’s vibe and the clientele you want to market to.” She gathered the papers into one pile. There it was—the schedule, contracts, and plans for the entire launch. The one day she’d been thinking about nonstop for the past few months. And after this week, it would be over. Done with.

Then she’d go back to San Francisco and settle back into a life without Jace.

While she missed her laid-back San Francisco life, the thought of going home left her feeling hollow.

She cleared her throat and went into business mode. “I’ll call the vendors on Monday to confirm count and numbers.” Her cheery voice sounded false even to her ears.

“Perfect,” Jace echoed.

He felt so far away. A complete one-eighty from the sexy, attentive man she’d slept with.

If it was Evan, she’d have tried to win him over while he pouted and moped. But with Jace, she didn’t feel like putting on a face.

“Can I ask you something?”

Jace tilted his head, as though carefully weighing his words. “Sure.”

He reached for her hand, but she pulled it back and grabbed her mug. The tea had cooled to lukewarm. Not exactly calming.

“I know you don’t—”

Jace’s cell vibrated against the coffee table. She jumped as the vibration rattled the cups in their saucers.

Pulling the phone close, Jace scowled at the name on the screen.

It didn’t take a genius to figure out who was calling.

Her throat went tight. “Evan?”

It had been two days since the cocktail party, and Evan had been eerily silent. That silence made her nervous.

Evan was stewing.

Jace chewed on his lower lip. “I’ll call him back later.”

“I think you should answer now. It’s been how long since the networking event, and he’s finally calling back?” If there was one thing her relationship with Evan taught her, the man hated to be ignored.

Jace must have been counting the hours as well. Relief crossed his face but was quickly followed by a look of tight-lipped resolve.

“Give me a minute.”

Prickly dread wound its way through her stomach as Jace left the shop. It twisted through her gut into a snare of anxiety. She had embarrassed the man twice, and even though she’d had good cause, Evan never faulted himself and didn’t deal with those situations well.

She pushed her mug away and flipped through her schedule and contracts once more, though it was impossible to concentrate. She kept looking over at Jace. His back was to her, and his shoulders rigid. The way he leaned forward as he spoke didn’t seem to bode well.

She tried to go back to her schedule, but Jace’s quick, jerky movements kept catching her eye.

Finally, she shuffled the papers together and dropped them in her bag.

For the last two launches, it was she and Evan who teamed up to put them on. Both launches had been out-of-this-world successful, and no doubt Evan had expected something similar this time.

Evan was probably seething that they were planning without him.

When Jace finally returned fifteen minutes later, he looked like he’d been through the wringer. There were tracks in his hair from running his fingers through it, and there were two deep vertical lines between his brows.

“It doesn’t look like that conversation went well.”

Jace closed his eyes and let out a long breath. “Evan’s pissed. He feels like he has zero say in the launch, and that the company is no longer in his control.”

If felt like a rock had landed in her stomach. “And he’s pissed about the networking event?”

Jace shrugged and dropped down into his seat. “I think that’s a given.”

She dropped her face in her hands. “I should apologize to him.”

Jace shook his head. “No, the damage is done, and Evan was the one who created this problem. Don’t blame yourself.”

She tapped the tips of her fingers against the side of her face.

“He’s planning something,” Jace said. He didn’t quite look at her. “Call it a hunch, but I’ve got a bad feeling.”

“Do you think he’ll try to ruin the launch?” She could see Evan being vindictive like that.

Jace shook his head. “No. He’s not that self-destructive. He has too much money tied up in it.”

“But you’re still worried?”

Jace shook his head. The look in his eyes made her nervous. “I’ve spent too much time and money on Sun Tech for it to fail now. This is my life. My career.”

He was worried Evan was going to destroy it.

“Let’s get out of here.” Jace grabbed his bag and slung it over his shoulders.

Hailey quickly shoved her phone in her purse and rushed to catch up with him. The autumn wind pushed her hair straight behind her as they started back to Jace’s place.

“I’ll quit if you need me to. If it saves the company.”

Jace stopped and turned toward her. Then, without another word, he wrapped his arms around her waist and buried his face against her hair. The scent of Jace and laundry detergent surrounded her, both comforting and appealing.

She pressed her lips against his shoulder and squeezed her eyes shut. Tears pricked at her eyes, and her body felt rigid with frustration and helplessness.

She didn’t want to quit. She needed the money. Her credit cards were flaming, and there wasn’t a job in San Francisco to come home to.

And she didn’t want to leave Jace.

Jace didn’t let go. Not even when a passerby yelled at them to get out of the way. Jace shifted them to the edge of the sidewalk, but even then he held on.

Her ribs heaved against his arms as she tried to gather the breath to speak. “I’ve hurt him.”

Jace didn’t answer immediately. “He’s upset.”

“We’re in this mess because I ran.”

“You did the right thing.” He ran his hand over her hair. “I believed that then, and I believe it now. You dodged a bullet.”

Hailey eased away from him just enough to read his face. His eyes were soft as he dropped a kiss on her lips.

“What do we do for the launch?” She sniffed and gave a watery laugh. “I’ll do whatever you want, boss.”

Jace snorted.

“Do you want me to leave?”

He shook his head. “And I don’t want to hire a new coordinator. It’s one more week. There’s nothing Evan can do in a week.”

There was a fleeting look of uncertainty before Jace’s mask dropped into place.

She wanted to question it, but she didn’t dare.

They walked to the building, and Jace keyed a number into the pad.

“Is that the only thing on your mind?” she asked as they got into the elevator. “More with Evan?”

“No. Not Evan.” Jace sighed. “My aunt invited us to dinner this weekend. I wasn’t going to accept, but after this thing with Evan, it would be nice to escape the city.”

His aunt invited them? As in “her and Jace”? She blinked at him. “That sounds nice.”

“She’d love to meet you.” A smile began to play on his lips.

“Me?” Hailey squeaked out. “Oh, wow, that seems…”

“Like a relationship?” Jace finished for her.

The breath left her lungs. The elevator doors dinged opened, and she numbly stepped onto the floor. She started down the hall, but Jace tugged on her hand, bringing her back around to him.

“I’d love for you to meet her.”

His expression was serious, his well-defined lips pressed in a firm line. Her heart throbbed, slow, hard, and full. Serious.

She was falling for him.

Leave it to her to fall for a man she only had one week left with.

She closed her eyes, taking in the moment, the man, the feel of his hand twined around hers.

“I’d love to meet her.”

The distant expression that had been on Jace’s face since the morning finally broke, and he smiled at her—a genuine smile that crinkled the corners of his eyes.

“That’s great. I’ll let her know you’re coming,” he said.

And for a moment, everything was absolutely, perfectly blissful.

But throughout the evening, as she spotted the distant look in Jace’s eyes, she couldn’t help but wonder what Evan was up to.