Chapter 6
CHAPTER 6
ACE
M y truck roars up the mountain road, engine straining against the incline. Fury and confusion duel, blinding me to the common sense I know I’m ignoring. I need to lose myself in something physical that doesn’t involve thinking about Andrea’s cold eyes or the finality in her voice after we got back to the VA Center.
“You can go. I’m sure you’re needed at the cabin site.”
Her words replay in my head for the hundredth time since I dropped her off. The dismissal still burns, raw and unexpected after what happened in the greenhouse. One minute, she was melting in my arms, her soft curves pressed against my chest, her kiss a taste of glorious heaven. The next, she looked at me like she wanted nothing to do with me.
That kiss. Fuck. The way she stepped forward with such certainty, closing the distance I’d been afraid to cross for three years. Her hands sliding up my chest to my shoulders, fingers gripping me with surprising strength. The small sound she made in the back of her throat when our lips finally met—half sigh, half demand.
My body had responded instantly—blood rushing to my cock, heart hammering against my ribs, every nerve ending electrified where her body touched mine. Her curves fit perfectly against me, and all I could think of was how glorious making love to her would be. Three years of wanting concentrated into a single kiss. It was fucking glorious.
Then everything went sideways. Jax called. I answered. And somehow, between one breath and the next, Andrea shut down. The drive back to the VA Center was torture. Every time I attempted to talk to her, all I got were one-word answers. She wouldn’t even look at me. Her focus was entirely on her phone, texting constantly, as if I weren’t even there.
“What happened?” I’d finally asked.
She gave me a cold look, her eyes filled with impatience and disdain. She was far from the woman who’d touched flower petals with such tenderness. She just shook her head, like she expected me to know, as if I could read her mind.
But I didn’t know. I still don’t.
I slam my hand against the steering wheel, hard enough that it stings, but it does nothing to dull the ache in my chest.
Then, the final blow at the VA Center. Hanna and Lindy were waiting as I pulled into the parking lot. The way Andrea’s demeanor changed when they approached—warm smiles, easy laughter, everything I’d been denied during the drive back.
The construction site comes into view, but something’s off.
I cut the engine, slamming the door as I exit. “What’s going on?”
“There he is.” Damien looks up. “Thought you were on flower duty all day.”
“Plans changed.” The words taste bitter. “Why’s everyone packing up? It’s barely three.”
Hank tosses a hammer into the toolbox. “Bachelor party tonight. Jax’s last night of freedom. Don’t tell me you forgot.”
“He doesn’t want anything wild,” Jordan adds, securing a tarp over lumber. “Just drinks at King Tap. Waylon and his crew will be there.”
My shoulders slump in unexpected relief. A night of drinking might drown out the echo of Andrea’s dismissal. I can’t believe I forgot about the bachelor party tonight. No way I could forget the wedding, but what happened with Andrea made me forget everything else.
Damien shifts his attention to me and tucks the clipboard under his arm. “You sure you’re okay?”
“Fine.” The response is automatic, if obviously not true. “Just need to go get cleaned up.”
“Thought you were with Andrea all day,” he says, voice casual but eyes sharp. “What happened?”
I tense, turning away to try to hide my emotions. “She had other plans.”
“Uh-huh.” His skepticism is palpable. “And that’s why you look like someone shot your dog?”
“Drop it, Hank,” I snap. I’m not in the mood for teasing. Keeping my frustration in check is a struggle. Nothing good will happen if I get into it with Hank or any of the other guys.
“Sure, sure.” He holds up his hands. “Just saying, when a man comes back from a day with a beautiful woman looking like you do, something went sideways.”
I slam the tailgate shut harder than necessary. “I’ll see you at King Tap.”
Driving away, Andrea’s face is all I can see—not her cold expression at the VA Center, but how she looked in the greenhouse. Soft. Open. The way she’d traced lily petals with her fingertips. How she’d smiled up at me with such dazzling beauty before she kissed me.
For one perfect moment, I’d held everything I wanted. The memory of that moment of bliss sends a fresh wave of heat through me even now—desire mingled with confusion and loss.
* * *
King Tap is buzzing when I arrive, half the crew gathered at a long table. Rowan pushes a beer toward me as I drop into an empty chair.
“Saw you speed off earlier,” he says. “Might want to ease up on the mountain roads before you end up in a ravine.”
I take a long pull from the beer, grateful for the cold bite. “Noted.”
Cody leans in from across the table. “So what happened with Andrea?”
Five faces turn toward me expectantly. The beer suddenly tastes flat.
“Nothing happened.”
“Bullshit.” Hank’s voice is matter-of-fact. “Something happened.”
The need to unload this weight becomes overwhelming. These men are the closest thing to family I’ve had since the Teams. If anyone might understand, it’s them.
“We kissed,” I admit, staring at the tabletop. “When we were picking up the flowers.”
Low whistles and appreciative murmurs ripple around the table.
“About damn time,” Cody says.
“Then what?” Damien presses. “Because you don’t look like a man who just kissed the woman he’s been mooning over for three years.”
I take another drink. “It was perfect. Then Jax called.”
“And?” Hank prompts when I fall silent.
“I joked that we’d have to hide it from him.” The words sound even worse out loud.
The collective wince from my crewmates is immediate. Rowan actually groans.
“Dude,” he says, shaking his head. “You basically told her she’s your dirty secret.”
My stomach lurches. “That’s not what I meant.”
“Doesn’t matter what you meant.” Damien’s voice is blunt. “Matters what she heard . Jax has told you she’s off limits, so you go and kiss her and tell her you’re not man enough to stand up to Jax?” Damien shakes his head like I’m a fucking idiot for not realizing that. Truth is, clearly I am that idiot.
“Andrea needs someone who stands up for her,” Hank adds. “Not someone who lets her brother scare them away. He’s been doing that her whole life. Doesn’t take a genius to understand she needs a man who isn’t scared of her brother.”
The truth of his words hits like a physical blow. I drop my head into my hands as the realization crashes over me. Everything clicks into place, and I want to beat my head against the wall. How could I have been so fucking stupid?
“She won’t even look at me now.”
“Can you blame her?” Cody asks. “Three years of waiting for you to grow a pair, then you finally kiss her only to tell her you haven’t grown a pair? Dude.”
I’m saved from responding by commotion at the door. Jax enters with Waylon and his crew, and the atmosphere immediately shifts, the conversation turning to congratulations.
I force a smile, raising my glass in the appropriate toast. But watching Jax—confident, happy, surrounded by people who respect him—stirs something ugly inside me. Envy mixed with self-loathing. Who is he to stop me from pursuing the one woman I know would make me happy forever?
This should be my future, too. A woman I love. Friends celebrating us. Instead, I’m drinking to the happiness of the man who constantly cockblocks me.
I signal the redheaded bartender for something stronger and gulp the whiskey the moment she puts the glass in front of me.
One drink becomes two. Two becomes four. By the time the pool games start, my father’s voice rings clearer than the bar noise around me.
You always choose impulse over orders, son. That’s why you washed out.
Same pattern, different day. I broke formation to save a translator. I kissed Andrea despite Jax’s rule. I always think I know better, and it always blows up in my face.
You won’t amount to anything because you’re a joker who fucks everything up.
The shot glass trembles slightly in my hand as I order another. My vision blurs at the edges, but the pain remains razor-sharp.
“Ease up there, sailor.” Jax’s voice startles me as he slides onto the stool beside me. “You’re hitting it pretty hard.”
I force a grin. “Just celebrating your last night of freedom.”
“Uh-huh.” His eyes narrow, too perceptive for comfort. “This about the flower pickup? Andrea seemed off when I saw her earlier.”
My glass freezes halfway to my lips. “Off how?”
Jax studies me. “She was upset, but she wouldn’t talk about it. Anything I should know?”
The question hangs in the air between us. One honest answer could change everything—my place in the crew, Jax’s trust, and the careful balance I’ve maintained since arriving in Silver Pine Ridge.
“Nah,” I say, not liking lying but not wanting to get into any of the frustrations—with Andrea and with him—boiling in my head. For once in my life, despite being drunk, I have the good sense to keep my mouth shut. “Flowers all got delivered fine.”
Jax nods slowly, clearly unconvinced but unwilling to let it go. He opens his mouth to say something, but Waylon comes over and pulls him back to the pool game.
I stumble outside, needing fresh air and the space to try and get my thoughts in order without the guys crowding me. The night presses cool against my flushed skin, but it does nothing to clear my head.
The door swings open behind me. Damien steps out, hands in pockets.
“You can’t drink this away, man.”
I lean against the wall, legs unsteady. “Working pretty well so far.”
“Is it?” His voice is quiet. “Because from where I’m standing, you look like shit. Give me your keys.”
I stare at him, then hand over the keys to my truck. A laugh escapes me, hollow and rough. “I’ve wanted her since day one. I finally got a chance and I fucked it up.”
“So what are you going to do about it?”
The question cuts through the alcohol haze. “What can I do? She won’t talk to me. Jax would kick me off the crew if he knew. My father would—”
“Your father isn’t here,” Damien interrupts. “And Jax? He’s in there celebrating finding someone who matters more than his job, more than his rules.”
I follow Damien’s gaze through the window. Jax stands surrounded by friends, laughing, secure in his happiness and the support of everyone around him.
“A woman like Andrea doesn’t wait forever,” Damien says, turning toward the door. “Trust me on that.”
As he disappears inside, I remain fixed on Jax through the glass. My boss. The man standing between me and what I want most.
No. Not him. Me . I’ve been standing in my own way, hiding behind Jax’s rule because it was easier than risking everything.
I’m done making excuses, and I’m done letting fear rule my life.