Page 35 of It's Complicated

“Yeah,” Kirsten says. “We’re going to Anguilla for two weeks of sunshine and relax…”

As we listen to Kirsten list how many pools and restaurants the resort has, and all the excursions she’s planning for them, I try really hard not to do a mental rain dance targeted at the Caribbean island for the second half of February. But gosh, if I can’t hear the drums in my head.

The bride-to-be monopolizes the conversation for most of the dinner, allowing me to get away with only making a polite comment now and then, and mostly tuning out what is being said. I wouldn’t be able to concentrate even if the topics being discussed were more interesting. Not when Jace can’t stop watching me. I catch him looking at me, and I can’t help but stare back. Funny thing how my eyes keep dropping to his lips.

The lips that are supposed to give me a goodnight kiss.

I look back up again, and Jace has his eyes locked on my face. Did he catch me staring at his mouth? His gaze is so intense that I suspect he might have. My heart thumps in my chest. I panic and excuse myself to the restroom.

When I return to the table, the server is already clearing our plates. I sit down, looking at my lap just as the server’s hand reaches down to pull up my skirt. I jump out of my chair and almost slap his hand away. Too late, I realize what’s really going on as the server eyes me perplexedly, holding my black napkin in his hands. This must be one of those fancy places where they fold your napkin when you go to the bathroom and place it back on your lap when you come back.

“Is everything all right, ma’am?” the server asks.

“Yes, yes, sorry,” I say, getting back in my chair. “I was just err…” That’s when I make the mistake of meeting Jace’s eye. He smirks and raises an eyebrow teasingly as if to say, I want to see how you’re going to end that phrase.

“Never mind,” I say. And sit rigidly as the server finally places the napkin on my legs.

Job completed with no further incidents, he asks, “Would anyone care for dessert?”

While he rolls out the options, Jace leans in and asks, “Were you about to slap that poor server?”

“Shut up,” I hiss. “I thought he was lifting my skirt.”

“Falsely accused of being a perv. Oh my gosh, how much do I have to tip him now?”

“Keep being such a smarty pants and that’ll be the least of your problems.”

When the bill finally arrives, I have mixed feelings about leaving. Between the bridal shop and the restaurant, I’m maxed out on my Kirsten tolerance levels. But I want the Jace part of the night to continue.

We get our coats and are about to leave when Kirsten announces she needs a last-minute bathroom run.

“I’ll wait for her,” Aiden says. “You guys go ahead.”

The temperatures outside are freezing, but at least there’s no wind. To keep warm, I sneak my hands under Jace’s unbuttoned coat, lacing my fingers on the small of his back like I’ve done a million times before. Only tonight it feels different. Instead of accepting my embrace like a rigid rod as he usually is around me, Jace hugs me back. My long down jacket is zipped up, so he places his warm hands on the small of my back.

I gaze up at him. In the dim light of the streetlights, his eyes are the color of dark ice and they’re smoldering. Jace stares hard at me as if trying to figure something out. Can he sense the shift between us, the same as I do? I’ve always been pretty much able to guess what Jace was thinking, but now I can’t. I can’t even decipher my own thoughts anymore, let alone his. The only thing I’m sure of is that I want him to kiss me, and not just to prove Kirsten wrong.

I bite my lower lip and he steps in even closer, his eyes traveling down to my mouth as if he were thinking the same thing.

I lean in slowly, giving him a chance to turn around, but he doesn’t. Even when my nose brushes his, he doesn’t take a step back. Our lips are so close I can feel the heat rolling off his body, the scent of his cologne filling my nostrils. I close my eyes and make that last inch of distance between us disappear, brushing my lips against his, softly.

I pull back and open my heavy lids. This is when he should make a move. He doesn’t, though. He just keeps looking into my eyes, his lips parted slightly. I close the distance between us again, this time my kiss firm and deliberate.

Jace doesn’t return the kiss, but he doesn’t reject it either. He lets me brush his lips with mine a few more times before I’m forced to pull back.

That’s when the restaurant door opens and Aiden and Kirsten shuffle out.

Okay, maybe Jace doesn’t want to kiss me for the sake of it, but he must at least fake it in front of them. Eyes pleading, I pull closer once again, whispering, “Jace, please, just for tonight, can you pretend you find me irresistible?” And then I press my lips back to his once more.

13

JACE

All right, I’m not a saint. Only so much restraint I can muster before instinct takes over. I can no longer hold back. I don’t care if it’s not wise, or that I’m surely going to regret it later. I pull her firmly into my arms and kiss her back.

It takes Lori a few seconds to catch up that the kiss is happening, but when she does, she doesn’t hold back either. The kiss is deep and searing. Lori returns the hug, her fingers twisting into the fabric of my sweater.

My brain goes haywire. Is this really happening? I’m kissing the woman I’ve loved for years and she’s kissing me back. I want so much more, but I don’t know if I’ll get it. She’s not mine. This is just a ruse for her. And the way she’s been flirting is probably just Lori being on the rebound from Aiden getting married. But do I care? No.

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