Page 88 of The Billionaire’s Fake Fiancée
He'd paid for his own mistakes, had no one to lean when his mother had killed herself.
But he could be there for Sienna, could show her he still cared for her, would be there no matter what.
She'd been shaken to see him too, and that gives him hope. It meant something that he affected her so much, didn’t it? That's why he'd let her drive off earlier, had decided to accept her proposition, knowing this time he'd have to let her set the pace. Let her come to him.
That, and the fact that she'd still been wearing his ring.
He reaches for his third glass of whiskey only to have the glass snatched from his hand.
"Getting drunk in the middle of the day now, big boy?"
Karina.
He swivels around on the barstool, to find himself flanked by Damian and Arpad, Karina in the middle.
"Ah." Jace tries to speak. Find himself tongue-tied. His friends had been worried about him. He'd known that from their calls, emails, and messages. He hadn't thought they'd hunt him down here, like this, in the middle of the day. Just as the whiskey was beginning to numb some of the pain too.
He reaches for his drink, not meeting Karina's eyes. Perhaps something of his despair must have shown on his face, for she hands over the glass to him.
"What happened in London?" she asks, her voice quiet.
Jace downs the rest of the drink.
Arpad takes the empty glass from Jace, sets it aside.
"I fell in love," Jace says.
Karina claps her hands. "I knew it."
She holds out her hand to Damian who hands over a $100 bill.
"Jerry," Arpad calls out to the bartender. "Whiskey. Laphroaig, for everyone!"
Jace tells them the entire story, ending with how Sienna's waiting for him at the Four Seasons later this evening.
"And you are here getting drunk? Are you going to roll in smelling of stale booze and cigarette smoke?" Damian asks, his voice sad.
"I wasn't thinking," Jace replies.
"Of course you can't think straight, you're in love. Which is why you need us to tell you what to do." Arpad tells him.
"You didn’t call us." Karina's voice is stern.
"I'm sorry." Jace swallows the guilt that twists his gut.
He reaches out, touches Karina's cheek, his gesture affectionate, before turning his eyes on Damian, then Arpad.
"I didn't want to worry you—ow!"
Jace looks stunned as Damian smacks him on the head. "Seriously? It's a lot worse trying to chase you down to figure out what the hell is happening."
"While all you did was sulk like a woman with a broken heart," Arpad adds.
"A woman with a broken heart?" Karina turns her gaze on Arpad, who meets it right back.
"A man with a broken heart too." He holds her gaze.
To Jace's surprise, Karina reddens, looks away without retorting.
