Chapter 21
CHAPTER 21
JACE
“Beckham! Come on, my man, I have to go,” I yell, sighing when he comes running to the top of the stairs in only his shorts and socks.
“I can’t find my shoe.”
“Why wasn’t it with your other one?”
“I don’t know.”
“Okay. Okay. Just finished getting dressed, mate, and I’ll help look for your shoe.”
“Knock, knock,” Sydney calls out as she walks through the front door. “I brought goodies!”
I groan at the sight of a large pink bag and a tray of coffees in her hands. “You’re my favorite sister ever.”
She snorts. “I’m your only sister.”
I take the bag and coffees from her, moving into the kitchen. The lingering sleep drains from my system the moment the sweetness of the scone hits my tongue.
“Good god, I needed this,” I moan.
“Please refrain from making your sex noises in front of innocent ears.”
“Who’s innocent here? Because I know you aren’t talking about yourself.”
She scowls. “See if I ever bring you another scone from there again.”
“Wait.” I jump over and wrap my arm around her shoulders. “You know I’m just kidding. I’ll keep my noises in my head from now on, deal?”
“Thank you.” She claps her hands together and tilts her head back, yelling, “Where is my favorite little man in the whole universe?”
Little feet thunder above us and down the stairs as Beckham screeches, “Auntie Sydney.”
She swoops down and flips him over, holding him upside down by his legs. “Dude, why do you only have one shoe on?”
I chuckle, grabbing the largest coffee and my car keys. “Okay, I should be back by dinner at the latest. Should I assume you’ll be joining us?”
She nods, putting Becks back on his feet. “Yep. If you’re going to be late, just text me and I’ll cook so you don’t have to worry about it when you get back.” I grimace and she scowls. “You burn dinner one?—”
“It was Easter dinner, Syd.”
“Lawson was supposed to set the timer!”
I pat her head. “Now, now. It’s not fair to place blame on the man when he’s not here to defend himself.”
She scoffs and I ruffle Beckham’s hair. “So what are you doing today anyway? Not that I’ll ever complain about having to hang out with my main man.” She wraps her arms around Beckham’s shoulders, shaking them.
“Mitch called in a team meeting to introduce some of the new members before everything for the season gets underway.”
She stands up straight, face paling. “Wait, t-that’s today?”
My eyebrows furrow. “Yeah, it’s today. That’s why you’re here.”
She laughs nervously. “Obviously.”
“You okay there, kid?”
She scoffs, fiddling with her bracelet. “I’m peachy. Grand, even.”
I chuckle. “Okay, you weirdo. I’m out of here. Call if you need anything, okay?”
She hums and I head for the door.
“Jace,” Sydney calls out as I’m one foot over the threshold.
“Syd, I’m already running late?—”
“I know I just…” she trails off, staring.
When she doesn’t say anything more, I shake my head and point at Beckham. “Be good for your aunt, and find that shoe.”
He sends me off with a salute and I close the door as my sister grumbles to herself.
The forty-five minute drive to headquarters flies by and I barely have the car parked before I’m springing out of it.
Fumbling with my keys, I throw open the door and jog down the hallway. I wave to some of the crew members as I pass and round the last corner that leads to the larger meeting rooms.
My head is down as I check my phone so I’m not watching where I’m going and the next thing I know a small body collides with my chest.
I hiss when the hot liquid of my coffee spills over my hand and a muffled squeak leaves the person as they bounce off my chest, sprawling out on the floor.
“Shit, are you okay?”
“I’m so sorry!”
Everything slows at the sound of her voice and I pinch my eyes closed as awareness skitters down my spine. It could be five hundred years and I’d still know the sound of her voice by heart.
But this isn’t her.
This can’t be her.
Slowly, I open my eyes and my heart stops when she tilts her head back, golden-brown eyes meeting mine with a mix of embarrassment and worry.
“Kinsley,” I whisper under my breath.
I don’t think she hears my broken word, her attention drawing to the belongings scattered around her as confirmation. She glances back up at me, her gaze freezing on my chest.
A sense of déjà vu rolls over me as she grimaces. “Oh god. Your shirt. I’m so sorry.”
“What?” I ask in a daze and look down. Sure enough, what little was left of my coffee is splattered across the front of my shirt. “Oh. It’s, uh, it’s okay.”
The words come out numb as my mind races.
She climbs to her feet and my eyes drop to the floor. Squatting, I swipe up the employee pass and trace my thumb over her picture.
What? How? This—this can’t be happening.
I stand up and hand her the pass. She sucks in a breath and my fingers tingle when hers brush over them as she takes the plastic.
“Oh my god. Thank you. Last thing I need to do is lose that on my first day.” She laughs, slipping the lanyard around her neck before looking up at me with a smile.
I’ve thought about this moment more times than I can count over the past eight years. Ever since she didn’t show up to the airport.
I thought about what I would say.
What she would say.
What we would do.
I pictured our eyes meeting across a crowded room and the seas parting until she was in my arms. My hands would frame her face as I told her I loved her and have been waiting for her.
She would kiss me softly like she always did when words got to be too much and we would defy the odds of finding our way back to each other.
I’d tell her that I kept my promise to respect her decision, even though it killed me little by little every day since. And that eventually the hole she left in my heart—in my life—dwindled, but never truly disappeared.
I don’t think my love for her ever did either.
Because as I stand here with her mere inches in front of me, my heart races, my hands twitch with the need to reach out for her, and my mind screams at me to say something. Anything.
Angel.
Her eyebrows furrow. “What?”
Wait.
I shake my head, her hesitant tone splintering my daze. I take her in, all of her. She looks the same, if not even more beautiful than the last time I saw her. Her dark brown hair flows down her back in waves, her delicate features perfect in every way.
But it’s the lack of recognition in her eyes that has my knees threatening to buckle.
My heart twists painfully when she shuffles on her feet.
“N-nothing,” I whisper brokenly.
She opens her mouth to say something but someone shouts down the hallway, pulling her attention. I reluctantly look past her as Lawson jogs down the hall.
“Jace,” he calls out, his steps slowing when Kinsley fully turns towards him. He stumbles to a stop, his eyes flicking between the two of us.
She waves shyly at him and he nods, his face frozen in a state of bewilderment.
I clear my throat and he looks away from her, his dark eyes locking with mine. I shake my head subtly and his jaw ticks before he jerks his head down the hall. “Everyone’s in the big room already. Mitch sent me to find you.”
“Yeah. I’ll be right there.”
His eyes linger before he nods and heads back down the hall.
Kinsley turns back to me, her fingers fiddling with the hem of her team branded polo. “Sorry, I just realized I didn’t introduce myself. I’m Kinsley. Kinsley Jones.”
My entire being ignites when I wrap my hand around her offered one. “Jace. Jace Collins.”
My throat tightens and she laughs nervously. “Yeah, I—uh—I’m friends with your sister. Well I guess friends is kind of a stretch, but?—”
I blink. “Wait, you know Sydney?”
“She’s come into the coffee shop I work at a couple times over the past few weeks. She saw some of my photos there and said that she thought I’d be perfect for this job.”
“She did?”
She nods, smiling.
My jaw ticks and I let go of her hand, fisting my own behind my back to work out the sparks prickling my skin at her warmth.
She throws her thumb over her shoulder, slightly turning in that direction. “I guess we should head in there. Don’t want to make a bad first impression.” Her eyes drop to my chest. “More than I already have.”
“Yeah, I’m right behind you. I just—I think I need a second.”
“Okay,” she whispers, her eyes dancing between mine before she walks off.
I watch her disappear and it’s only when she’s over the threshold of the meeting room do I take a full breath for the first time since I heard her voice.
I collapse against the wall, propping myself up on my forearms as I drop my head against the cool surface. Taking in slow breaths, I try to calm my racing heart as my head pounds, my mind scrambling to make sense of the last few minutes.
My hands shake as I pull the wet shirt from my chest and I jump when a hand claps me on the shoulder. I push off the wall and face my team principal. “You okay, lad?” Mitch asks.
I nod, fearing if I try to say anything that my voice will give away my inner spiral.
“Alright then, let’s get this over with shall we?”
He strides down the hall and I follow silently behind him. As soon as I enter the room, I beeline for the open seat next to Lawson, consciously forcing myself not to look in the direction of the media team.
My best friend and teammate watches me wearily as I plop down in my seat. He glances around the room before leaning over, speaking quietly. “What the hell is going on?”
I give up on my restraint and my eyes lock on Kinsley as she sits with the other photographers. She laughs at something the girl next to her says and I swallow as the melody reaches my ears.
“I have no idea.” As if sensing me, she looks up and her eyes meet mine across the room. Smiling, she ducks her head and tucks her hair behind her ear. “But I’m going to find out.”