Page 40 of Head Over Wheels

“Thanks, you didn’t have to buy it for me.”

He waves off my protest as we move to the other end of the counter.

We watch the barista prepare our drinks, then grab them and sit down. I pop the lid off mine so that it cools off a bit before I take my first sip. It’s not too hot to swipe a little whipped cream up though. The sweetness makes me sigh gratefully. I wrap my hands around the paper cup to warm them up. Jace takes a sip of his right away.

“That’s not totally burning your tongue?” I ask, surprised.

“Nah, I like to drink it while it’s still piping hot.”

“Your tongue must be made of stronger stuff than mine.” My tongue is burning just from watching him.

He sticks his tongue out at me. “See? No problem here.”

My eyes roll at that. It’s nice to be doing something light and fun and not worrying about my stalker. “Thanks for coming with me. I’m so glad it’s over. I hadn’t realized how much it was hanging over my head.”

“There’s no way I would have wanted you to go in there alone. It was intimidating. I felt a bit like a criminal on one of those TV procedurals.” He gives an exaggerated shiver.

“Me too! Even though I knew I hadn’t done anything wrong, I immediately felt very guilty.” I take a small sip of my hot chocolate to test the temperature. Still a little too hot for my liking.

“I’m glad it’s behind us now. Promise me you’ll tell me right away if you hear from Jeff again. You don’t need to deal with it alone.” His jaw muscle flexes as he waits for my reply. Yes, he has so many muscles that even his jaw muscles are flexing.

“Got it. If he reaches out, I’ll contact you and the police. Officer Lee gave me her card as well.” I pat my jacket pocket.

“When I spoke with management earlier today, they said they’ll be revoking his membership so he won’t be able to bug you in any more classes. It’s not a perfect solution because he could join again under different information, but hopefully he stays away.” Jace rubs the back of his neck, and I can tell he’s not thrilled by our lack of control over the matter.

“Let’s talk about anything other than Jeff. I’d like to end this weekend on a happy note.” I taste my hot chocolate again, and now it’s just right. The spiciness of the peppermint takes it to the next level.

“Understood. What time is your train home?” Jace takes a peek at his phone screen.

“I’m on the four p.m.”

“Okay, so we still have an hour. Unless…hey, is there any way you can spend an extra night?” His eyes are sparkling, and that blue is the colour of a sunny winter’s sky.

“Um, I’m not sure.” Can I stay an extra night? I’d need to take tomorrow off work, but I have the vacation days, and I’m sure they’d understand, especially after what happened this morning. I can easily move my train ticket. “I think I can, I’d just need to see if I can have the hotel room for an extra night.”

“Leave that to me. We just booked a ton of rooms, and with everything that happened with the elevator, I bet they’ll give you a free night tonight.” He’s sitting on the edge of his seat now, and I can see his mind planning ahead.

“What do you want to do?” I assume he must have something in mind if he wants me to stay over.

“I’m taking you on a date. We deserve some fun, just us. And I know just where to take you.”

CHAPTER 30

“Are you going to tell me where we’re going?” I ask, a touch of a smile on my lips. His enthusiasm is catching. It’s like when he’s teaching a class and his energy just pushes you to work so much harder. It’s fun to see it in real life.

“I don’t think I am. Although I promise there’ll be food.” He’s smirking now, too pleased with himself.

“How will I know what to wear then?” I’m totally loving the idea of a surprise date but am still going to try to get some information out of him.

“We’ll be keeping it casual. That’s all I’m spilling. You ready to go? I’d like to head back to the hotel and sort out the room situation for tonight so that we have time to find something else if it doesn’t work out.”

“Sure, sounds good.” I take my last drink of hot chocolate and get up to go.

Back at the hotel, Jace works his magic at the check-in counter. He reminds them about the elevator incident and then about the lack of security that allowed a stalker to come up to my room several times, and within seconds I have a complimentary room for the night. They even offer to upgrade me to a suite for all my troubles, but I’m happy with my room.

As we walk back to the stairwell, a thought occurs to me. “Wait, where are you staying tonight?”

“We all planned on staying an extra night because we needed to make sure all the guests checked out and everything wrapped up properly…so I’m all set.” He holds the door open for me and then follows me through into the stairwell.

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