10. Jace
Jace
Her rejection stings, but even more painful is the truth I see in her eyes.
She’s been hurt, badly, and a protective urge rises in me.
I want to punch someone, anyone that has given her that haunted look in her eyes.
My brain reels, searching for something to say.
But our time has run out. Wren is approaching with a very tired looking Lizzie in her arms.
“I think this little princess is fading fast.”
Lizzie shakes her head, but her eyes are already drooping, and her blinks are getting slower and slower. Harper gives me one last look, opening her mouth like she’s going to say something, but closes it and takes Lizzie into her arms.
“Thanks, Wren. Enjoy the rest of your night. I’ll see you tomorrow afternoon. Jace, great seeing you again. Maybe I’ll see you around Elm Street.”
Watching her walk away sucks. She gathers her stuff, struggling to pick up her bag, while juggling Lizzie on her hip, who is now asleep.
Harper makes it two steps before Lizzie’s stuffed rabbit drops.
She squats, picking it up, only for a water bottle to fall out of her bag.
My feet are moving, intercepting her hand as it reaches for the bottle.
“Here, let me help.” I take the bag dangling from one hand and the blanket she has across her shoulder, leaving just Lizzie in her arms. The little girl's lips are pursed, eyebrows pinched, frowning slightly in her sleep.
“Thanks. We’re this way.” She points toward the field where rows of cars are parked. Once away from the lights and noise of the dance, I feel myself relax. The night air is cool, but in a refreshing way, and the stars are out in full force tonight.
“You sure don’t get nights like this in Portland. Too many city lights. I miss it.”
“Are you not from Portland?”
“No, I grew up in Washington, just outside of Tacoma, but my parents have a small cabin near North Bend that we used to spend a lot of time at. I love being outside in the fresh air. Honestly, Portland is starting to feel too busy, too closed in. Not sure how much longer I’ll be there.”
Harper stops mid-step, staring at me like she’s trying to process what I just said.
She opens her mouth as if she’s about to say more, then stops, shaking her head with a small sad smile on her lips.
When she starts walking again, I want to beg her to tell me what she was about to say.
I couldn’t decipher that look, and somewhere in the recesses of my brain, it feels like it was important, and I want to know.
“This is us,” Harper says as we approach a Honda CR-V, drawing me from my internal conversation. I spot a lavender car seat on the passenger side, and I head toward the door.
“Keys?”
“In the bag, front pocket.”
Digging around, I finally find them and open the door so she can get Lizzie settled.
We stand in awkward silence, choked with all the things I wish I could say to her.
Taking me completely by surprise, she comes close, pops up onto her toes, and kisses me.
It’s soft and tentative but charged with so much desire.
Her tongue teases my lower lip, and I open, meeting her tongue with mine.
Wrapping my arms around her, I angle my head to deepen the kiss.
By the time she pulls away, we are both breathless, like a couple of teens having our first make out session, and damn if I’m not eager for more.
Her eyes flick to the car then back at me.
She presses her lips to mine again, taking my breath away.
Not because it was a passionate kiss, but because it feels a hell of a lot like goodbye, and that has my heart racing for a whole different reason.
The kiss destroys me. I want to push, to be selfish, but the memory of the pain in her eyes when she told me she had too much hurt in her past has me biting my tongue.
Harper had been broken before, and I refuse to add to that.
“Bye, Jace.” Her voice sounds tight, like it's hard to get the words out.
She walks straight to the driver's side and starts the engine.
Stepping to the side, I watch as she pulls out of the field and onto the side road.
My gaze follows the retreating taillights until she turns and is out of sight as my mind replays the night.
As I watch Harper out there dancing with her daughter, my chest goes tight.
Fuck, she has a kid. How do I even feel about that?
Lizzie’s adorable, with those big brown eyes, and light brown hair, she looks a lot like her mom.
Seeing Harper as a mom has my heart constricting.
It’s obvious that she loves her so much.
I wonder why she doesn’t talk? In elementary school, I had a friend with selective mutism.
He didn’t talk much but still got his point across with hand gestures and notes.
I wonder if that was a typical interaction for her.
Lost in my thoughts, and watching the two of them out there in their own little world, I startle dramatically when someone pinches my ass.
I spin, ready to take someone’s head off to find Wren grinning ear to ear at me.
“Can I help you?” I quip, looking behind her for Blake, but he’s nowhere to be seen, which is surprising.
“Nope, I think you have that the wrong way around, cowboy. Oh, and by the way, I like chocolate, dark chocolate, to be exact.” She saunters into the dancing mass, looking over her shoulder at me. “You know, in case you want to get me a thank you gift.”
“Princess Lizzie the First, may I have this dance?” She scoops the little girl into her arms and gives me an arched look, darting her eyes to Harper. I don’t even try to hide my smile, mouthing, “Thank you” to her and approaching Harper. Finally, an excuse to get her in my arms.
Tonight had been perfect, well, up until she shot me down and drove out of my life.
“Just going to stand there the rest of the night?” Blake calls, strolling toward me.
“I might,” I respond tersely. “I asked her out and she turned me down because I’m only here for work.
She’s the first girl I’ve wanted to see if something could happen between us, to actually entertain the idea of exploring a future with, and it’s over before it ever had a chance.
Who knows when or if I’ll see her again. ”
“Except, you have a free massage at her spa, don’t you?”
“Shit, I forgot about that. It would be a shame to let that go to waste.” He smacks my back, gripping my shoulder, steering us both to my truck.
There might not be a future for us now, but at least I know I’ll see her again, and in the meantime, I’ll set my brain to figure out some way in hell that this could work out.
I called the spa first thing, and Wren does me a solid by finding a slot next week for me to come in and see Harper.
Apparently, Wren does most of the massages, and Harper just fills in if they’re double booked.
So, Wren double booked me and today is finally the day I get to see her again.
It’s only been two weeks, but it feels like it’s been ages.
Stepping through the door, I peek around the space.
Wren is at the desk checking in a young woman.
“Go ahead and get changed, you’ll be in the first door on the right.” The woman heads down the hall and Wren turns to me. I dangle the bag of gourmet dark chocolates in front of her.
“Oooohhh, good to know you can take a hint! And I commend you on your choice, Maison Cacao is the best!” I sketch a dramatic bow, making her laugh.
“Okay, head into the room at the end of the hall on the left—chop, chop!” She shoos me away before leaning through a door I hadn’t noticed off the front of the lobby. “Hey, Harper, I accidentally double booked myself. Can you take room six?”
“Of course,” Harper’s voice rings out, and I hear a chair scrape against the floor.
Wren spins to me, giving me a sharp shoo motion.
She obviously wants to make this a surprise, and who am I to question her methods?
Ducking into the room, my lips curl into a quick smile as I strip down and get my robe on.
This is either going to go really well or blow up in my face.
Whichever way it goes, at least I get to see her.