Page 108 of The Mistletoe Makeover

“There’s no chance I’d go back to her. Not when there’s a chance with you.”

My breath hitches, the emotion rising in my chest. I pack it down hard, fooled by false promises before. “After what you did to her?”

It’s a low blow to throw him off. If I keep the reason we can’t be together focused on him, then we don’t have to deal with my trust issues.

He looks at me warily. “I thought you didn’t read things about me online?”

“I don’t usually. But I had to know why you broke up. The article said you cheated... and I can’t take a chance on someone who won’t be honest with me.”

Jace looks down the road, a faraway look in his eyes. “You want to know the truth? When Ava and I broke up, it was because she cheated on me.”

I pause as this news sinks deep into my chest. “But I thought it was you...”

“So did everyone else,” he says, looking back at me, his jaw set. “I promised myself I wouldn’t leak it to the news. When I suspected something was going on, I trailed her for a few days and caught her with Benedict at his apartment. Someone at the building saw me there. I had to know if it was true. I didn’t believe she was cheating, and I had to see for myself.”

“So that’s why you froze when you saw Benedict at Evergreen.”

He nods. “It brought back that memory.”

“But why did the articles report it was you?”

He drags a hand through his hair and sighs. “Someone came forward who had seen me at the apartment that day. They assumed I was there with another woman. Ava and I had argued in the hallway, and when the media caught wind of it, she was terrified of how this would affect her career. Even though I was angry, I refused to talk to the press and blame her. And they took my silence as a confession. I never told them I was guilty; they assumed it.”

I stare at Jace in shock. “You took the blame for her? After what she’d done to you?”

He kicks the snow on the ground. “At the time, her dad was going through cancer. Ava was financially supporting him so he could afford an experimental treatment that wasn’t covered by insurance. I knew that however bad the rumors made me look, I’d be able to recover, eventually. My family doesn’t rely on me for support. But Ava’s family does. She didn’t need any more stress in her life.”

My mouth hangs open. “Still, Jace.Why?Weren’t you furious at her?”

He rubs the back of his neck like he’s wrestled with the same awful question. “It’s strange what you’ll do for someone even when you’re livid. I’ve been angry about it for a year, wondering why I sacrificed so much for her when I wasn’t the one in the wrong. It felt like a really stupid decision.”

I shake my head, realizing that Jace has been hiding this for a year. No wonder he came across so grumpy when we first met. He had every reason not to trust me after what he’d been through. “I don’t understand how I had anything to do with this.”

He touches my chin. “Mia, you showed me why I had to make music again, why I needed to have fun and not spend all my time alone. All of that saved me. I still have a long road ahead. But I finally feel like things are rightwhen I’m with you.”

The happiness agreement.Of course.

I shake my head, the emotions welling up in my chest, even though I won’t allow them to spill out. I can’t let Jace convince me this is possible.

“Stop,” I whisper, blinking back tears, nearly breathless. I won’t get caught up in an emotional whirlwind that will rip me apart.

Jace tips my chin up so that I can’t hide from him. “You were the one who gave me the confidence to go on stage tonight. I almost pulled the plug on my new songs so many times, especially when I sawThe Times. Then I figured out who was the anonymous source. The one person who was bitter about me beating him.”

“Cal?”

He shrugs, unbothered by it now. “I put two and two together. As the venue owner, he stopped in occasionally while I was practicing. Before the show tonight, I told him I was performing the songs he hated. He knew I’d figured it out but was too much of a coward to say it to my face.”

He steps closer to me and I freeze, not because of the cold, but because his gaze is so intense. He takes my hand from my coat pocket and presses his palms around it, his warmth sinking into my skin. “Allan showed me your comment inThe Boston Globe.” He pauses. “And that’s when I knew I needed to tell you how I really felt. I can’t stop thinking about you. I can’t stop loving you. When I’m lying in bed at night, all I can think of is how I want you next to me, your body warm against mine. When I wake up in the morning, I want your smile to be the first thing I see. Because my first thought, my every thought, is always you.”

I close my eyes, trying to hold the swell of emotions back, even though it keeps slipping out. “What if I can’t make you happy? You might be happy now, but can Ikeepyou that way? That’s the problem with love. It never stays the same.” I look at him while the snow catches in the headlights around us, framing us in white.

“For two people willing to make it work, there’s only one option—staying.” He brings my fingers to his lips and presses them softly to his lips, the warmth spidering through me. “I already know who makes me happy. That’s not even a question.”

My gaze skates away from his, looking for something to stabilize this emotional slide-off. “I’m still not staying.”

“Then I’m coming with you.” He knits his fingers with mine.

“No.” I swallow hard. “I’m going alone.”

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