Chapter Fifteen
CECE
Early morning light fell across CeCe’s eyelids, but she resisted the urge to open them. Her bed felt too snug and cozy, as if a soothing warmth radiated from the mattress itself. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d slept so soundly.
Content in her cocoon of comfort, her thoughts drifted to the previous night.
Jayce, holding her while she wept. He hadn’t offered empty platitudes, only his presence.
And, when the timing was right, the perfect amount of humor.
Somehow, he’d taken her from tears to laughter, soothing the rough edges of her heart, giving her hope that eventually everything would be okay between her and her mom.
They’d ended the evening with popcorn—his trademark butter and Italian seasoning recipe—and a Star Trek: The Next Generation marathon. Then they’d fallen asleep and—
CeCe jolted from her half-awake haze, springing upright.
The figure beside her groaned softly but didn’t stir.
Her cheeks flamed as reality swooped into focus. Her comfortable mattress looked more like Jayce’s toned body stretched out on her couch.
Spock gazed down at them from his lofty position on the back of the armchair, passing judgment on their compromising sleeping arrangement.
“It was an accident,” she whispered, as if she needed to explain herself to a cat.
Frazzled, she searched for her glasses in the throw blanket and found them tangled in the fringe, luckily unharmed.
Slipping them on, she glanced back at Jayce and swallowed, her mouth suddenly dry.
His right arm arched above his head, bent in a way that accentuated his sculpted biceps.
Just above his left temple, his thick, dark hair twisted in the most adorable cowlick.
Her fingertips ached to untangle it. Truthfully, she longed to trace every inch of his beautiful face, from his full, perfect eyebrows to the chiseled contours of his jawline.
Why did he have to be so sweet and so good-looking?
At least the tiny dewdrop of drool in the corner of his mouth made him appear somewhat human. Should she wake him?
A knock at the door made the decision for her.
Her heart vaulted into her throat.
Jayce groaned again, but still didn’t open his eyes. Good grief . The man could sleep through anything.
It must be Piper looking for her. She was usually down in the kitchen baking before sunrise, well before Piper started her shift.
“Wake up!” she hissed, shaking him by his exceptionally well-defined shoulders. Yeesh . How often did he work out?
“Five more minutes,” he muttered, rolling onto his side.
Time for more drastic measures. She tugged off the throw blanket and tickled him in his weak spot, right below the ribs.
He instantly sprang to life, grabbed her hands, and pinned her backward on the couch.
She inhaled sharply, gazing up at him in surprise. Insanely fit and possessed catlike reflexes that could rival Spock’s. Impressive .
He hovered above her, his body heat spanning the two inches between them. “What have I said about tickling me?”
“I forget,” she lied, hiding a smile. His ticklishness had always been his Achilles’ heel, and she’d unabashedly used it to her advantage more than once.
Like the time he’d monopolized the Xbox when she’d wanted her turn.
Or the one and only occasion he’d tried to read her diary when they were in second grade.
“I told you the punishment would fit the crime.” He reached for her waist, but she blocked his attempt to tickle her in return, suppressing a laugh.
“Wait,” she gasped, wriggling beneath his weight. “There’s someone at the door.”
With perfect timing, the knock sounded again, punctuating her point.
Jayce released her and sat back, his eyes wide as he appeared to piece together the events of last night. “Shouldn’t we answer it?”
“And have someone think we spent the night together? I don’t think so,” she chastised under her breath. “Go hide in the bedroom until I can sneak you out.”
“But we did spend the night together. And it was perfectly innocent. Can’t we just explain that we accidentally fell asleep watching TV? Look.” He pointed to her flat screen. The words Are you still watching? stared back at her. “See. There’s proof.”
“Great. Now you suddenly want a close relationship with the truth?” She rolled her eyes. “It still looks bad, and I’d rather not try to explain it.” She jabbed her finger toward the bedroom. “Go.”
He complied, albeit with some muttering, and Spock trotted after him. CeCe waited for her bedroom door to close before scrambling to greet Piper, her mind racing to form an excuse. I fell asleep. Forgot to set an alarm. So sorry I—
The words died on her lips the second she opened the door.
A bleach blonde in an expensive beige suit stood on the other side.
CeCe’s heart stopped. She immediately recognized Jayce’s shrewd and unsavory agent from photos on social media. Based on everything Jayce had told her, she’d never liked the woman at the best of times, let alone standing on her doorstep uninvited.
“You must be CeCe. I’m Gretchen Schroeder with SRT Talent Management. Jayce Hunt is one of my top clients.” She peered over CeCe’s shoulder as if she expected to see him. “Please tell him I’m here.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Miss Schroeder, but it’s rather early in the morning, and I need to get to work.”
“I’m sure your assistant manager, Piper, can handle things for a few more minutes. I really need to speak with Jayce, if you don’t mind.” She made a move to step inside, but CeCe didn’t budge, blocking her from entering.
She did mind, thank you very much. And how did this woman know about Piper or that Jayce was in her apartment?
Eerily, as if she’d read her thoughts, Gretchen said, “I make it my business to know everything there is to know about my clients, including the people close to them. Which is why I’m still not sure how I didn’t know about you .” She swept an openly skeptical glance over CeCe from head to toe.
CeCe shivered beneath her brazen scrutiny.
“Frankly,” Gretchen added coldly. “I find it hard to believe you’re Jayce’s fiancée.”
Burning with embarrassment, CeCe tugged on the frayed hem of her oversize T-shirt as if the extra millimeter would cover the ice cream stain on her cotton shorts.
The same shorts she’d owned since middle school.
Why hadn’t she updated her closet in the last decade?
Oh, right . Because until this moment, she’d never cared about fashion trends.
She loathed that this woman —this stranger —had the power to make her second-guess her wardrobe.
“I think someone’s ready for breakfast.” Jayce strolled out of the bedroom, cradling Spock in his arms.
For a split second, CeCe enjoyed the flicker of shock on Gretchen’s face. But her delight quickly faded, replaced by the mortification of the situation. She didn’t want to give this woman the wrong impression of their relationship.
“Good morning, Gretchen. I see you’ve met my beautiful bride-to-be.”
The way Jayce accentuated the word beautiful —with a casual confidence as if her beauty were the most obvious thing in the world—made CeCe stand a little straighter.
Of course, she still felt compelled to set the record straight, and awkwardly blurted, “We fell asleep watching TV. He doesn’t normally stay over. ”
Gretchen shot her a funny look that revealed her indifference to their lifestyle choices before glancing back at Jayce. “My sources said you’d be here, but I have to say, I’m surprised. You two must really be engaged.”
“Happily.” Jayce draped an arm around her shoulders, grinning like he’d won the matrimonial lottery.
From his perch in Jayce’s other arm, Spock glared at Gretchen, his incisors bared.
CeCe’s heart warmed. Between Jayce and Spock, she’d never felt more protected.
“What do you want, Gretch?” Jayce’s tone had lost its cheerful edge.
“Now that the cat’s out of the bag—”
Spock interrupted her analogy with an offended growl.
Startled, Gretchen paused and cast Spock a wary glance.
CeCe suppressed a giggle.
“Now that your engagement has been leaked to the press—” Gretchen amended.
“Earlier than we agreed upon.” Now it was Jayce’s turn to interrupt. He fixed Gretchen with a frown so stern, the Ice Queen actually squirmed.
CeCe had to admit, she didn’t mind seeing the obnoxious woman thrown off her game.
Gretchen cleared her throat. “Based on some of the more, shall we say unfortunate headlines, I think we need to do some damage control.”
To her credit, Gretchen refrained from detailing CeCe’s disastrous debut in the spotlight. Was it possible the Ice Queen had a heart after all?
“I’d like to put our own spin on the press coverage,” Gretchen continued.
“Starting with some feel-good stories about how you two met, life in Blessings Bay, etcetera, etcetera. Let’s really sell the sappy small-town fairy tale.
But first,” Gretchen added, turning to CeCe, “I’d like to meet the bride’s parents. How soon can that be arranged?”
CeCe’s stomach twisted. She met Jayce’s eye. The shadows muddying his gaze mirrored her own fears.
If they didn’t get Mama on board, their entire charade would fall apart.