Page 20 of Broken Bonds

“How old are you, Ace?” I asked, changing the subject.

“I just turned twenty-two a month ago. How old are you?”

“I’m twenty. Shouldn’t you be graduating next May?” He looked uncomfortable with the question, and I wasn’t sure why.

“I started late, too—two years ago,” he explained. I wanted to pry, to ask why, but I knew better. He would be open about it if he wanted to talk about it. He hadn’t pushed me to talk about Aidan; he’d only offered to listen, and I’d taken advantage. I just hoped he knew I’d be open to listening to him, too, if he needed it.

We both finished our sandwiches, and he got up quickly, taking both our plates with him, signaling the end of that conversation.

“Hey, where are you from? You can’t be local with that southern accent you have.” I must’ve asked the wrong questions because he dropped the plate he was holding into the sink with a loud clatter that made me wince. I really hoped he hadn’t cracked the plates. My mom really liked those dishes.

“I grew up in Texas,” Ace quietly explained, his voice a little strained, “but we moved to Atlanta when I was eighteen to be closer to the rest of my mother’s family.” He shrugged. “Moved here because I needed a break from everything.”

Talking about his family seemed to make him uncomfortable, so once again, I dropped yet another subject. Clearly, something had happened, and he didn’t want to talk about it. After everything I had been through, I could understand wanting to keep secrets. Besides my family and best friend, Ace was the first person I had talked to about the accident.

“Do you have any more games in that chest? Uno, maybe?” He came to sit beside me, putting the candle from the kitchen on the coffee table in front of us.

“We should have Uno, Checkers, Mancala—oh, can we please play Mancala after Uno?” I got up to go through the game chest, quickly finding the three games I mentioned.

He chuckled at my enthusiasm. “Okay, a couple rounds of Uno, and then we finish with Mancala.”

“Deal. Prepare to lose, Asshole, because I’m the queen of these games!” He laughed loudly as I took another sip of my drink.

An hour later, everything was becoming a little fuzzy, and I was struggling to focus on the cards in my hands, the numbersblurring together. Everything Ace said sounded funny, and I couldn’t stop laughing, which made him laugh.

“I can’t see my cards.” A giggle escaped my lips.

“I think we should call it quits for tonight, princess. You’ve had a long day, and I think you’re a little drunk.”

“No! I’m having fun, and we haven’t played Mancala yet.” I stood up, swaying on my feet when the world spun. Taking a step forward, I tripped over my own feet, almost falling on my face. A giggle burst from my lips when Ace lurched up and caught me before my head could hit the corner of the coffee table.

“We can play all day tomorrow, but for now, you need to go to bed,” Ace said, his voice a little firmer this time. Why did he have to sound so hot when he was being all alpha male?

“You aren’t any fun.” I pouted, wishing he would humor me. He was holding me up now, staring into my blurry eyes. The candlelight made him look even more mysterious and handsome. His eyes were so beautiful. Why did he have to have such pretty eyes?

My phone started to ring on the coffee table, ending our moment, our eye contact breaking so fast, it left me a little dizzy. He picked it up, answering it before he handed it to me.

“Hi, Mom!” I shouted and then giggled. Ace rolled his eyes and facepalmed with a heavy sigh.

“Hi, my love. Sounds like you broke into the Captain Morgan.” She sounded highly amused. “How’s everything going?”

“We only had a few drinks, Mom. We were getting bored with water.” I heard her laugh, and it warmed my heart. I missed her so much. Why did I have to get left behind?

“Hey, Mrs. Wilson, everything is great,” Ace spoke up from beside me. I frowned at him. “There’s been no change in the weather as far as I can see, and we still have no power.”

“Ace, honey, that’s good to hear. We’ve been watching and listening to the news all day. You’re going to start to really feel the storm tonight. The winds are expected to pick up. You’re experiencing the outer bands now. Are you taking care of my daughter?” I couldn’t focus on their conversation at all because Ace’s lips had caught my attention. How did a man have such kissable lips? I loved watching him speak and hearing his sexy voice.

His tongue ran over his full lips, sending heat through my body. I wanted him to say my name over and over and kiss me with those lips, trail them over my body. He answered my mom and then bit his lip.

I wished he was biting mine instead.

Oh, my God!I shook my head at the thought.He doesn’t like me, I reminded myself.There will be no kissing.

He looked at me expectantly, and I furrowed my brow. What? I had completely zoned out. Jeez.

“Celine, honey? Did you hear me?”

Ace nudged me now, prompting an answer. “Sorry, Mom, what?”

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