“I want you to do what you want to do, Tiff,” Jace says with a powerful certainty. “Whatever that is, without worrying about me.”
“You have to be kidding.” Is it not enough that one hot guy expressed interest in me? Now I’m seriously considering two of them?
“I’m not. This could be your and Leon’s night, just like we had our night last night. And I shouldn’t keep you from it any longer.”
I still don’t believe what he’s saying. “Jace?—”
The phone goes dead. I stare down at it, then up at Leon. He looks expectant.
“Well?” he prompts.
“He told me to enjoy myself.” I slip the phone back into my purse, still dazed. “Whatever that means.”
“What do you want it to mean?” Leon asks. His blue eyes dance with mischief.
I don’t know how to process this information. Somehow, for some bizarre reason, they’re both interested in me. And they’re fine with sharing me.
It’s too much. I have no idea what to make of this situation.
“I can’t do this.” My hands are trembling now, and I feel like I’m caught in a storm. “I don’t know what’s going on with you two, but I have to go.” The urge to flee is so strong, so overpowering, that I put my car’s transmission into drive.
Leon’s smile fades. “What’s wrong?”
I can sense my heart starting to race, my throat tightening up. This is all too strange, too foreign, too... exciting. And I hate myself for wanting it.
My voice is trembling as I say, “Whatever you guys are after, I’m not going to be a part of it.” I need to get out of here before I even consider Leon’s offer.
“We’re not after anything.” He furrows his brow. “Well, except going on a date with a super-hot, sweet woman.”
This must be some kind of alternate dimension. There’s no way a drop-dead gorgeous guy like Leon really feels that way about me.
“Sorry.” I put my foot on the gas. Leon jumps back as the car starts to move, surprise—and hurt—on his face. “I have to go.”
“Wait!” he calls out, but I’m already driving away, my pulse racing. But there’s also an ache in my belly, like I’m making a mistake.
I’m still shaking when I get home, thoroughly conquered by my tangled mess of emotions.
What Leon was asking me was crazy, right? I’m breathing hard as I toss my keys and purse on the table and flop down on my couch. I close my eyes and concentrate on slowing the racing of my pulse.
Unbidden, I imagine Eli’s hand around mine. Try to take deep breaths rather than short ones, he’d said. Focusing on those words, I suck in as far as I can, then let the air out again, willing my throat to open back up. I close my eyes and slowly, my breathing grows steadier again, my heart beating a little less frantically. I lie there prone, wondering what set me over the edge.
I’d wanted so badly to say yes, but the words stuck in my mouth. All I could think is what my mother would say, the way she would look at me. How would I explain it to Hannah and Aisling? It’s just too ludicrous.
Still, Leon’s scent, the playful tilt of his mouth, sticks with me. In a different world, with different rules, I would have happily agreed.
But that’s not who I am. That’s not the world we live in. Right?
Chapter Five
After staying up all night obsessing over Leon and Jace, I barely get into the office on time the following day. I had bags under my eyes when I put on my makeup this morning, and I look like a wilted plant.
I curse under my breath when I come in and find a stack of papers already waiting on my desk. I have a lot to do today, and I can’t have my thoughts wandering to what I might have missed last night by turning Leon down.
Of course, on the one day I don’t have the extra braincells, the invoices I need to process aren’t adding up when I compare them to the orders I placed a few weeks ago. I want to ask Mr. Bosley, but he hates when I interrupt him for anything but a call or a visitor.
After two hours of trying to solve the problem, though, I give up and decide I have no choice.
“Mr. Bosley?” I ask, tapping lightly on his door. He looks up from his desk and glares daggers at me.