Page 32 of Head Over Wheels

CHAPTER 24

“Me? Why?” I’ve been assuming this was going to be about money or attention, but what can I possibly give him?

“I’m in love with you. Ever since I saw you for the first time last spring, I’ve been trying to find a way to meet you. I figured out your social media accounts from your Elevate profile and made a fake account there to learn everything about you.” His chest is thrust out as he tells me how he’s put all this together.

“You don’t even know me.” My eyes grow wide the more he talks. I’m mentally scanning through all my social media posts to figure out what he’s seen.

“But I know you well enough to know that you’ll inform Jace that you’ve changed your mind about him and that you’re with me now. You were just confused by his celebrity status, but now that we’ve spent more time together, you know that I’m the one for you.”

A snort escapes me, and his eyes flash. He wants me to take him seriously. I remind myself that I’m in a very public place and no one is going to hurt me here. He’s right though, those pictures would ruin Jace’s reputation and possibly affect his job, and I can’t let that happen. Not over me. There’s no chance that I’m going to date Jeff though, either. There must be a way out of this. I just need to buy some time to think.

“Jeff, this is a big decision. I need some time to think about it.” I try to school my features so he can’t see how I really feel.

He glances around uneasily. “How do I know you aren’t going to just walk out and tell someone?”

“Realistically there’s nothing stopping me from doing that ever, so at some point you’ll just have to trust me. And you have the pictures.” I glance at the phone he’s gripping.

“You know I’ll release them right away if you do anything stupid, right?” He’s glaring at me, and I try to remember what I ever found comforting about him. He’s slimy and angry and I don’t want to have anything to do with him.

“Got it. Can I go now?” I start to stand, anxious to get away so I can figure out my next move.

“I need your answer before the lunch event starts. So you have thirty minutes.” He checks his watch to confirm the time.

“I’ll do it, okay. You’re not giving me much choice. But you have to know I’ll never actually want to be in a relationship with you, right? You can’t force someone to love you.” The words pour out of me before I can stop them.

He beams at me, all traces of anger wiped away. “You will love me. I’m sure of that. See you soon. Don’t forget I have all these pictures that I can release with a touch of my finger.”

His laugh sounds a little forced, and I’m looking over my shoulder as I rush out of the cafe. As soon as I’m out of his line of sight, I slow down. Which is a good thing since I run smack into someone.

“Hey, Ella? What’s going on?”

I look up, and Jace is holding my upper arms, staring down at me, his blue eyes narrowed. Oh, this is just great. What am I going to tell him? There’s only one thing I’m absolutely sure of right now so that’s what I start with.

“Jace, we can’t see each other anymore.” A tear escapes my eye, and I lift a hand to wipe it away.

Jace immediately takes a step back from me. “Oh, okay. You’ve changed your mind about giving me another chance after last night?”

“Not really, but sort of…” Before I can get any more words out, a giant sob escapes.

He pulls me back against his chest and holds me tightly as I let some of the pent-up fear and anger out. “What’s happened? Did Jeff say something or do something to upset you?”

I take a few ragged breaths to get myself back under control. At least enough so that I can speak and tell him what’s going on. All of it pours out of me while Jace stands stock still, listening. His lips are pinched tightly, and his face looks impassive. He has his arms loosely draped around me, providing me support while I tell him what Jeff said he was going to do to us.

“And the worst part is, he has all these pictures. Remember I told you about my stalker last night? It’s him. I saw his username on his phone. I’m so sorry that I’ve put you in this position.” My mind is slightly lighter having shared the burden with Jace, even if the outcome is still the same.

“He’s not going to get away with this, Ella. You haven’t done anything wrong, this is all on him.” Jace is looking down at me, his eyes piercing with their intensity.

“I knew you would say that, but I’m not letting you risk your career and reputation over me. That wouldn’t be right.” My eyes are welling up again, and I look up at the ceiling to try to stop the flow.

He gently cups the sides of my face with his large warm hands. “That’s my decision to make, not yours. Either way, this jerk is going down.”

“Jace, I can’t just agree to?—”

He softly places his index finger over my lips, halting my words. “Is he still in there?”

I follow his gaze in the direction of the cafe. “I guess so. I haven’t seen him come out, but there may be another way out.”

He nods once. “Stay here, I’ll take care of this.”

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