Page 27 of Embers of Torment

"Ow!" I glared at the woman in front of me. She'd backed up to let a passenger off on the second floor, and her spike heel nailed the top of my foot.

The woman shrugged and glanced over her shoulder before continuing as if nothing had happened.

"Well, that was a glowing apology," Adam said under his breath.

The woman's back stiffened, but she still said nothing. When we reached the ground floor, she rudely pushed her way off the elevator and disappeared.

"Holy moly, that freaking hurt." I leaned against the wall in the lobby and slipped off my shoe. There was a red mark on the top of my foot. I shook my head in disbelief. "I had a crappy morning and wondered when the day was going to get better. I think this is a sign that it isn't."

"None of that. You need to think on the positive side. Maybe that witch's heel will break off, and she'll tumble down some stairs."

"Whoa. That's a mile away from positive. It sounds more like a revenge-laden curse." I slipped my foot back into my shoe and straightened, thankful the woman hadn't broken my skin with her spike.

"Well, if we hear stories about that happening later, I guess it worked."

"Ooh, there is an evil side to you. I often wondered."

"Shoot. I forgot to hide it." Adam's lips curled into a devious grin.

Laughing, we headed to the exit. Adam's cell phone dinged when we rounded the corner of our building. He pulled it from his pocket and looked at the screen.

"It's Jace. He says he's in front of the café and wants to know where we are. I'll tell him we're coming over there right now and to meet by the taco shop." Adam typed out a message as we walked toward the plaza.

Inwardly, I smiled, thrilled that Jace was going to join us. I had wanted to ask Adam about him but was afraid doing so would make it obvious I was interested in his whereabouts. If Adam found out, he'd be tickled and try to push the two of us together. I couldn't let that happen. As much as I desired to get closer to Jace, allowing a romantic relationship to develop was folly. My disastrous dating history was evidence it wouldn't work, and attempting to prove my theory wrong wasn't worth losing my friendship with Adam.

As we neared the restaurant, I eagerly searched for Jace. My pulse ticked upward when I spotted him standing about ten feet from the taco shop's door, and dang, the man looked super hot. He wore khaki slacks with an olive green button-down shirt, and my eyes instantly zeroed in on his gorgeous smile and that wayward curl that always seemed to hang down his forehead.

Jace beamed at me while he held the door open. "It's about time you two got here. I'm hungry."

Adam scowled at him. "Hey, don't get snarky with us. When I talked to you earlier, you weren't sure if you'd be able to get away for lunch."

"True, and I probably shouldn't have, but how could I resist spending part of my afternoon with Della?" Jace winked at me.

I rolled my eyes in response.

Adam hooted with laughter. "Be careful. Della's acting cranky. She had a bad morning, and some lady stepped on her foot a few minutes ago."

"That sounds like a challenge. Let's see what I can do to make the day better." Jace stood mere inches behind me, his presence intoxicating.

Fighting the urge to lean into him, I stepped to the side. Humor seemed the best recourse to my growing physical reaction. "You're both hilarious. Iwasin a good mood untilthose comments. Now you'll have to suffer." I raised my hands in front of me like a pair of claws and laughed diabolically.

Several people who had gotten in line after us burst out laughing.

Chuckling, Jace slipped his arm across my shoulders and turned us toward the sound. "Sorry about that. She's truly not as demented as she appears. She doesn't get out nearly enough."

"Oh, you ass." I elbowed Jace in the ribs and swung back around as the laughter increased in volume.

Leaning against me, Jace whispered in my ear, "Sorry. I couldn't resist." He kissed the side of my head before pulling away.

I froze, startled by his blatant show of affection. I peeked at Adam, catching his eyebrow raised in surprise.

"Hey, why don't you guys get us a table, and I'll order our lunch? It'll be my treat," Jace said as if kissing me was common practice.

Recovering, Adam shook his head. "You don't need to pay for our meal."

"With all the overtime I've worked lately, it's no big deal. Seriously, I'll take care of it. Tell me what you want. We're almost at the counter." Jace straightened and pulled his shoulders back, signaling he wasn't changing his mind.

"Okay, but next time, I'll buy yours." Adam nodded toward me. "Della wanted a carnitas burrito. I'll have the beef rolled tacos with everything on it and a medium drink."

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