Page 62 of Next Time I Fall (Excess All Areas 2)

She changed the motivation board while she’d stood nervously, waiting for him to come back in.

In the waves of change, we find our true direction.

Hopefully it reassured him.

“Hey,” he said softly as he approached her.

“Hey.” She smiled at him, his gaze on hers.

Jase looked up and down the corridor and discretely ran his finger along the back of her hand before stuffing his hand in his jeans pocket. He’d remembered her discomfort with mixing work and pleasure.

“I played ‘Am I Him?’ for the band.”

“You did?” Her heart skipped a beat. So that was what had set off the chain of events. “And?”

“Everyone is still alive. We might end today in a better place than we were yesterday. Althoughbettermight be premature. Maybehonestis the right word. Cards are on the table.”

“Did they like it?”

Jase shrugged. “Honestly, I don’t know. I think they were more hung up on what the lyrics meant for us, our family. But I think they did. We’re about to have a listen to the rest.”

She cursed her own rule about no touching, wishing more than anything that she could put her arms around him. “That’s amazing. Truly, Jase.”

“You know what’s truly amazing? You.”

“When did you become such a sweet talker? I was just thinking about how you accused me of being a child for liking snow angels and hot chocolate when we first met.”

Jase grinned. “I was a dick, and I think we both know I was wrong. I like playing around in snow with you.”

Her face flushed at the memory of him kissing her in the snowbank he tugged them both into. “I think I like playing around with you in general.”

“Holy shit, Cerys. Did you just flirt with me?”

“I flirt with you.”

“No. You don’t.”

“Perhaps that’s because your style of flirting is so sexually aggressive that you miss the subtlety of my style of flirting.”

Jase closed his eyes and sighed. “You can’t be talking about sexually aggressive flirting then expect me to keep my hands off you.”

Cerys grinned but took a small step back, just to be safe. “I’m happy for you, Jase. What happened this morning is amazing. How did it feel?”

“Honestly, terrifying. I didn’t watch them listen. Just stood there like a lemon looking at the floor until it was all over. I wished you were with me. Moral support and all that. Come with me this time. While I play the rest of the songs. You should be there.”

Cerys shook her head. “As much as that would be amazing to experience, this is time for you and your brother and the rest of the band to start anew. You don’t need an outsider while you work through this.”

“You’re not an outsider. Not to me. I don’t want you to think of yourself like that.”

She reached for him them, couldn’t help herself. She squeezed his forearm gently. “I know. But there is a difference between wanting me there and needing me there. What you need is to figure out how you all move forward and coexist as a band, as a family. Go. I’ll be here.”

“I feel like I’m leaving you out of something that you helped create.”

It was impossible to miss the undertone of fear lacing his words. “All I did was give you the process. You did the creating.”

“Pretty sure it’s not as simple as that.”

“You want to come over and have dinner with me tonight?”

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