Chapter 12 #2
My throat ran dry, and I had to turn away, forcing myself to make small talk with Matilda until the food was ready.
Like always, Angus and Kami greeted my presence with cool stares, but I refused to let them make me feel uncomfortable.
Jace was Zara’s father, so they were just going to have to get used to me being around.
Plus, Jay had invited us, so we had every right to be here.
“I’m starving,” Elias complained. “How much longer for those steaks, Uncle Jay?”
“Yeah, I’m this close to ordering a pizza,” Kami added.
“Just a few more minutes,” Jay answered, closing the top of the barbecue to let the meat cook.
I noticed him checking his phone before turning to his guests.
“Oh, and before I forget. I emailed you all tickets to my upcoming show, but there were some technical difficulties. Can you check your emails now to see if you got them?”
Everyone began pulling out their phones to check, and I followed suit.
Sure enough, there was an email from Jay with the tickets attached.
When I looked up, about to tell him I’d gotten the email, I noticed how closely he was scrutinising everyone.
Well, no, not everyone. Mainly, Roan, Elias, Kami, and Angus.
“Tickets are in my inbox,” Angus said.
“Yeah, mine, too,” Roan added.
Everyone else started chiming in that they’d gotten the email, and I started to suspect the whole ‘technical difficulties’ thing was a ruse. But why?
Moments later, the steaks were ready, and Jace went to help his dad dish up everyone’s plate, while Jay said, “Do you know what? It is a little too cold out here. Why don’t we take this food inside?”
“Bloody hell, he finally comes to his senses,” Elias said loudly while the others were quick to carry their plates into the house.
Cheerful conversation ensued, and I found myself sinking happily into the background, just letting the sounds of family wash over me.
I managed to grab a seat in between Matilda and Lille, avoiding Jace because I had a feeling he wanted to talk to me, and I really wasn’t ready to dissect this morning’s encounter.
When we finished eating, and everyone began chipping in to tidy up, I spotted Jace’s dad heading upstairs and decided it was the perfect time to corner him and question him about what he was up to earlier.
Unfortunately, by the time I reached the top of the stairs, Jace was coming up behind me. “Shannon, we need to talk.”
“There’s nothing to—”
“Yes, there is,” he cut me off, his warm hand meeting the small of my back as he guided me into his bedroom.
Well, this was possibly the worst place we could have this conversation.
Standing in the room where Jace and I had fooled around and shared so many intimate moments as teenagers threatened to overwhelm me.
It still smelled the same, like soap with a hint of cloves and leather.
Not to mention, all his old band posters were still on the walls, and the room had the same curtains, even the same bedsheets.
“Listen, Jace,” I said, putting some distance between us as I went to stand by the window. He easily ate up all that distance with his long strides. “This morning. It was a moment of weakness.”
“I agree,” he said, and I blinked. He agreed? “I crossed a line,” he went on. “It won’t happen again.”
I stared at him, taken aback, and what was that sinking feeling in my stomach? He just said what I wanted, no, needed, to hear, and yet I stood there having the gall to feel disappointed.
“Okay, well, it’s good that we’re on the same page.”
I moved to step past him, almost to the door when he said, “We’re not, though.”
I turned back around. “What do you mean?”
Again, he closed the distance between us, his voice low and gravelly when he replied, “I want you back, Shannon.” With those five simple words, my world tilted on its axis.
My skin began to tingle, a fizzy nervousness sizzling through my stomach.
“But I won’t resort to fogging your head with sex.
That was, as you said, a moment of weakness.
What I will do is prove to you that I’ll never hurt you like I did before.
I’ll show you with actions that I’ll be there for you and Zara consistently.
And if, after I’m done proving myself, you still don’t want me, well, I might not like it, but I’ll graciously accept your decision. ”
“Jace,” my pulse pounded. “You’re being crazy.”
He snatched my chin between his thumb and forefinger, shaking his head as he levelled me with a smouldering gaze.
“On the contrary, I’ve never been more sane.
I love you, Shannon. I never stopped. And I don’t want any other woman, so I will do everything in my power to show you that we’re meant to be. ”
He let go of my chin, leaning forward and pressing a chaste kiss to my forehead before he moved by me and left me standing there, scrambling to make sense of what had just happened.
I tried to steady myself, my equilibrium completely off balance as I shook out my hands.
This was madness. Jace was still in love with me?
He intended to win me back? My heart pounded, racing away while I clumsily tripped over my own feet as I made for the door.
I was still in a daze when I left his room and headed back downstairs. Jay was in the hallway searching for something in his coat pocket, and I was so frazzled by Jace’s declaration that I almost forgot I still needed to quiz my ex-father-in-law.
“Turns out your friend, Ollie, doesn’t have one of those faces. I remembered where I know him from.”
Jay shot me a secretive smile. “I knew you would.”
“Why didn’t you just tell me in the first place?”
“In case you figured out my plan and gave the others a heads up.”
“Your plan?”
He ushered me to a quiet corner before explaining in a low voice, “I’ve gotten a little further in my catfish investigation. It turns out the money they sent to Alison came from a cryptocurrency wallet, which was converted to cash through Ollie’s exchange. I asked him to help me trace the owner.”
“You’ve been doing digital tracking? I thought you were going to let me help you with that?”
Jay pressed his lips together. “The kind of tracking I’ve been doing isn’t exactly … above board.”
“I see.”
“I didn’t want to involve you in anything illegal, Shannon.”
“Yeah, I understand. So, the catfish is using Oliver King-Clark’s cryptocurrency exchange?”
“It seems so.”
“And how does this relate to inviting everyone over for a barbecue in the cold?”
Jay’s eyes sparkled with mischief. “The cold makes people cranky, as does hunger, which in turn makes them easier to read. Ollie wasn’t able to identify the owner of the crypto wallet, but he could help me send them currency they weren’t expecting.
They received an alert of the transfer via email, so—”
“So you sent everyone tickets to your show so they’d check their emails at the same time, and if one of them is the catfish, they’d also find the transfer alert, and you could read their expressions for what? Surprise?”
Jay nodded, looking proud of how fast I put it all together. “It’s one of the easiest micro expressions to catch.”
I stared at him. “You were looking at Roan, Elias, Kami, and Angus specifically, right?”
He nodded again.
“And did you spot anything?”
Before he could respond, someone said in a shocked voice, “You suspected us?”
Jay and I turned and found Roan standing there, deep hurt etched into his features. He’d been eavesdropping on our conversation, and I’d never seen anyone look so offended.