Page 133 of Sparks Fly
I watch as the corners of his mouth tug and I roll my lips. “We don’t need Royce angry…” I scrub my face. “Because angry Royce leads to reckless Royce.”
Glenn nods in agreement.
“I fucked up.” I sigh as I take a seat, Pascal dropping down beside me.
“Is she worth it?” he asks me and my mouth drops open for a moment before I close it.
Glenn eyes me, standing next to me.
“One hundred fucking percent.”
“Then you better make up with Royce fast. my man.We don’t need mad Royce out there today.”
Slapping my hands on my thighs, I push to my feet and walk towards the garage. The chatter falls silent, and I clear my throat. Nora is beside me, holding her hand onto my shoulder and pressing onto her tiptoes.
“Just be careful what you say,” she whispers. “Keep it to the point. That you and Anaïs Sinclair have been dating for a few weeks, you told the correct sources. Shut it down before it spirals.” I nod at her words, then turn my face over my shoulder.
“Where is she?” My voice is low.
“Rue is with her in her office; she is really upset.”
I give a solemn nod. “Stay here with me, then take me to her.”
“Course.” Nora smiles and I turn back to face the garage.
“Firstly,” I announce, “I would like to apologise for what you witnessed a few moments ago. That was a conversation that was meant to take place in private but unfortunately wasn’t. Just to be clear on what you have heard, yes, I am dating Anaïs Sinclair. Yes, she is Royce’s ex-girlfriend, and yes, she is the head of our social media team. No, I was not dating Anaïs when she took on the job, but we were friends beforehand. We decided to keep our relationship out of the public eye out of respect for my son, Royce, and when we felt it was appropriate and knew that this was more than dating, we would have sat him down and had the conversation.”
A few mutters fill the deathly silent room.
“All the appropriate people were informed of our relationship. This is the last I will speak on the matter, thank you.” I nod, turning on my heel and walking out the room, Nora close to me.
“Spot on.” She places her finger and thumb together as she leads me towards where Anaïs is.
My heart is jack hammering in my chest with each step I take towards her. Nora knocks on the door before opening it and that’s when I see her, eyes red rimmed and puffy, sniffling, her body shuddering.
“Baby,” I rasp and Rue walks past me to Nora, who closes the door behind me. I fall to my knees in front of her where she sits, dishevelled and broken. Cupping her face, I lift her eyes to mine.She’s breaking my fucking heart. Edging my lips forward, I kiss her tears away, pressing my lips softly against her skin.
“I’m sorry.” She sniffles, her breaths catching at the back of her throat where she has cried so much.
“Ace, you have nothing to be sorry for.” My thumb brushes over her cheek as I look at her, the way her eyes glisten with the tears that tease her bottom lids. Her lashes are damp from the wetness she can’t control, and her cheeks are flushed above her dry, cracked lips.
“You lied for me.”
“And what?” I press a kiss to her forehead.
“Is Royce mad?” she stammers as she chokes on a sob.
“Yeah, but he’ll calm down,” I reassure her and she crumbles again. Dropping her face, I pull her into me and hold on to her until she wants me to let go. “I love you, Ace, I have never been surer about something in my life than I am you.”
Tears soak into my team polo, and I hug her a little tighter.
“Dry those eyes, baby. Royce will forgive you.” I know that’s the issue here. Her and Royce are in a good place, they never stopped being friends after he broke up with her. Now, it all feels like it’s in ruins because of us.
“You think?” She peels her face away from my chest, her blue eyes locked on mine.
“I promise.” I lean down and cover her lips with mine, kissing her slow, my large hand cupping her face as I hold her where I want her.
“Creed,” she whispers and I hum, my eyes hazy. “I love you too.”
