Chapter 11
CHAPTER 11
KINSLEY
“Shoot shoot shoot,” I whisper as I sprint across the hall in my bath towel.
Slipping on the floor I collapse on my small bed face first, sucking in a breath when my ankle twinges. Pressing up to my elbows, I reach over and snag my phone, not bothering to see who it is.
“Hello?” I huff, trying to catch my breath.
“Is this a bad time?” A shiver runs down my spine at his chuckle.
“Jace.” I smile.
“Kinsley.”
“Hi.” I roll onto my back, my hair soaking the bedding.
“I was wondering if you were busy?”
“Uh—” I look down at my towel covered body, water still beading on my skin. “Nope. I’m just at home, laying in bed.”
“I was hoping you’d say that.”
“Why?”
“Look out your window.”
I hesitantly slide off the bed and creep over to the window. Carefully, I peek my head around the sill, lifting the curtain just enough so the side of my face would be visible from outside.
Jace waves as he leans against his car, phone to his ear. “Hi, angel.”
I laugh but my eyes widen when my fist tightens on the towel. Throwing myself up against the wall and out of sight, I clear my throat. “Um, give me five minutes?”
After breaking the world record for any girl to get ready, I run down the stairs and quickly write a note for my foster parents that I’ll be home later. Locking the front door behind me, I skip down the steps, my satchel bouncing off my leg with every step I take.
Jace pushes off his car and bends when I get within arms reach. I squeal as he wraps his arms around me and lifts me off my feet.
“God, I missed you,” he sighs into my neck.
I giggle as he set me back down. “We talked every day you were gone.”
“I guess texting and FaceTime wasn’t enough.” He shakes his head and tucks a strand of my hair behind my ear. “Hi. Ready?”
“What should I be ready for?”
“It’s a surprise.”
I spend the twenty minute drive trying to get him to crack, but the man is a sealed vault.
He finds a prime parking spot and my brows furrow at the crowded park. Jace helps me out of the car and I look around at the stands stocked with colorful kites decorating the pathways.
“What’s going on?”
“It’s a kite festival with floating lanterns tonight.” He looks at me with a small tilt in his lips. “I thought it would make for some cool pictures.”
My smile grows and I blink several times as emotions clog my throat. I pop up to my toes, kissing his cheek. “Best surprise ever.”
Smiling, he leans into the car and grabs my bag. I pull out my camera, fixing it around my neck with the fraying strap and we weave through the crowd.
We find a spot in the middle of the grass and Jace lays out the blanket he brought. He drops down onto it and I join him, snapping pictures as people move around us.
My eyes catch on a family of three. A mum, dad, and a little girl. I watch as the dad helps her set up the kite, the mum fixing some snacks off to the side. Lifting my camera, I capture the moment the little girl gets her kite in the air, all three of them cheering.
Dropping my camera, I look over to see Jace watching me. “You okay?”
I nod, my eyes sliding back to the family. “Did you ever do this kind of stuff with your family growing up?”
“When I wasn’t karting. We always went to at least one every season.” He shifts back, leaning on his palms. “Did you?”
I shake my head. “I bounced around too much.” His eyebrows furrow and I dip my head, wishing I didn’t have to put a damper on the day, but knowing I’d have to tell him at some point.
“I’ve been in foster care since I was six.”
He sits up. “Kinsley, I’m so sorry.”
I shrug. “It’s okay. I’m okay.”
“Do you?—”
“Remember anything about my parents? No. Nothing that would make me miss them.” I wince. “Sorry, that sounded really bad.”
He shakes his head. “Don’t apologize if that’s how you feel. It’s your story, you’re the only one who knows how it feels to live it. Who am I to judge?”
My lips tip up. “Thank you. For listening. For not judging me or treating me differently.”
“I’m more sorry for everyone else. They’re missing out on having you in their lives. Then again, that means I get more of you, so I’m not that sorry.”
I laugh, shaking my head and he nudges his leg into mine. “They didn’t deserve you, Kinsley. And I’m selfishly thankful if it meant you ended up here with me.”
I bite my lip. “Lily always says things happen for a reason. Maybe all that’s happened was because I was supposed to be right here.”
“My Kismet Kinsley,” he whispers.
A group of kids run by squealing and I watch as they run through a cluster of bubbles. I glance at Jace and he watches me with a soft smile.
“Do you want kids?” My eyes widen and he sits up straighter, raising his hands in front of him. “I don’t mean right now. Obviously. I mean in the future. The way way future. I’m going to shut up now.”
I laugh under my breath and shrug. “Yeah. Someday.” I look out over the park. “I want to give my kids what I never had. A childhood filled with this kind of stuff. With movie nights in the backyard, pillow forts in the living room, Sunday pancakes, and stories every night before bed. And love. I’d give them so much love.”
“I have no doubt you’ll be an amazing mum some day.”
I watch him for a moment before ducking my head and clearing my throat. “Anyway. I—uh—have some news.”
“Oh yeah?”
“I got an email this morning that my photos are going to be in a local photography show.”
“What? Kinsley, that’s amazing.” He tackles me in a bear hug and I laugh, wrapping my arms around him. “I’m so proud of you,” he whispers.
“Thank you.”
He pulls back. “For what?”
“For giving me the courage to do this. You made me feel like my pictures could really be something and that feeling was enough. So thank you. This wouldn’t be happening without you.”
He opens his mouth, but a little girl and boy run up to us before he can say anything. “Are you the guy?”
He shifts so he’s kneeling in front of them. “Depends. Who is this guy?”
The boy’s cheeks redden. “Jace Collins? The Formula 1 driver.”
“Then you’ve got the right guy, lad. What’s your name?”
“Zach Millroy. You’re my favorite driver.”
Jace chuckles. “I’m lucky to have a fan as cool as you, Zach. Ever been to a race?” When the boy shakes his head, Jace pulls out his wallet and hands him a card. “Call that number. The secret password is ‘Lawson sucks.’ He’ll hook you up for whatever race you’d like.”
The kids giggle when he says the words ‘sucks’ and I tuck my lips to hide my own laugh.
“I’m sorry I don’t have anything to sign—actually, you know what?” He pulls his hat off and takes out a Sharpie, scrawling his name over the bill. “Here you go, little man.”
Zach looks at him, beaming so bright that he showcases his two missing front teeth. “Oh my gosh, I’m never taking this off. Thank you.”
Jace looks at the little girl before standing. “Hold on one second.” He jogs over to one of the vendors. After paying, he comes back over and kneels in front of the girl.
“What’s your name sweetheart?”
“Anna,” she whispers.
“That’s a beautiful name.” He pulls the pink flower from behind his back, holding it out to her. “A pretty flower for a pretty girl.”
Okay. Wow. My heart can’t take this much longer. The preciousness is too much.
She blushes and takes the flower, glancing at me. “She’s pretty too. Where’s her flower?”
Jace looks at me and I laugh. Someone calls the kids’ names and they run off, yelling their goodbyes. He falls back onto the blanket, sitting next to me with his arms draped over his bent knees.
We spend the rest of the day at the park, talking, eating, taking pictures, and when the lanterns take to the sky, I lay back on the blanket and watch them dance in the wind.
“Beautiful,” I whisper and Jace hums in agreement. I glance at him and his eyes move from my face to the sky.
When the last lights fade into the distance, we pack up and load back into the car. The drive home is filled with a symphony from the wind as we ride with the windows down. He pulls up outside my house and I take his hand when he helps me out of the car.
“Thank you for today. It was perfect.”
I turn to him when we stop in front of my door. His eyes bounce between mine. “I’m glad I could do that for you. It was a great day.”
“It really was,” I whisper.
He shuffles on his feet and pulls his arm out from behind him. I suck in a breath as he holds up a single pink camellia flower. “Beautiful flower for the stunning girl.”
I laugh under my breath and reach out, sparks shooting up my arm from where our fingertips brush. His phone rings, but he ignores it as we stand there just watching one another. Like neither of us want to move or break the spell. Not wanting to let go of the moment.
It stops ringing only to start right back up again. “You should probably answer that.”
“They can leave a message.”
I smile and reach behind my back, pushing open the front door. “Text me when you get home so I know you’re okay?”
His eyes dance between mine as he nods.
“Good night, Jace,” I whisper.
“Good night, Kinsley.”
I close the door and watch through the peephole as he stands there before shaking his head and walking to his car. He gets in and the quiet night air fills with the purr of his engine. My brows furrow when he doesn’t drive off right away.
“What are you doing?” I whisper, but I’m not sure if the question is more for him or for me.
The driver door opens as he quickly gets out and jogs around the hood. I open the door and step out as he reaches the bottom of the stairs.
“Did you forget some?—”
“Yes.” He jumps up the steps and his hands frame my face.
He steals my breath, all my thoughts, and the strength to keep standing when his lips crash down on mine. My hands clutch the front of his shirt as he presses in.
My back meets the wall and his hand slips into my hair, cradling my head so it doesn’t hit the stone. I wrap my arms around his shoulders and lift onto my toes as one of his hands slips down my side, gripping my hip hard enough to leave marks.
And I want him to. I don’t ever want to forget this kiss.
A kiss that devours every one of my thoughts as all my senses fill with him.
The rough yet tender way he cups my jaw as he tilts my head.
The taste of him when his tongue traces the seam of my lips and I willingly open for him.
The smell of his cologne as I rip at his shirt, trying to pull him impossibly closer.
The sound of his throaty growl when my teeth graze his bottom lip.
It’s a damning kind of kiss.
One that erases any that came before it.
A kiss so consuming that it leaves a mark on your soul.
A car door slams in the distance and Jace pulls away, leaning his forehead against mine. My eyes slowly open, meeting his molten ones. His drop when my tongue swipes across my bottom lip. His jaw ticks, his fingers tightening slightly in my hair and on my hip.
He takes a deep breath and his lips tip up. Leaning in, he presses his lips to mine softer than before. Once. Twice.
I watch as he takes a step back and kneels, picking up the flower I dropped before standing and slipping it between my fingers. He steps back, nodding towards the front door and I take a breath before following the silent command.
I fall back against the door after I close it, lifting the fingers of my hand not clutching the flower stem up to trace my swollen lips. His footsteps retreat and I listen as he climbs into his car before he drives away.
I drop my head back against the wood, one thought breaking through the fog of him.
I’m in so much trouble.