Page 42 of Head Over Wheels

He nods quickly. “Of course, we have to be fair. First question, what do you do for work?”

“Starting off with an easy one, I like that. I work for a small start-up doing project management for them. I work primarily remotely which means it’s pretty flexible. My turn?”

“Sure! I’m guessing you don’t want to know where I work?” His full lips distract me when he speaks.

What do I want to know? There’s so much information out there about Jace, but now that I have the actual man in front of me and I can ask him anything, I want to get to know the real person. Not the Elevate personality.

“Tell me something no one else knows about you.”

“Oh wow, you’re jumping right in there with the tough ones. Hmmm, let me think.” He picks up his glass and takes a sip, then puts it back down and looks right at me. “I studied finance in university.”

“Everyone knows that, it’s on your online profile.”

“Hang on, I wasn’t done. I was going to say that I studied finance, but I really wanted to study physics. I’ve always been really interested in how the world works, but everyone pushed me to study finance so that I could take over my father’s company someday. Guess that didn’t really work out for them, did it?” His eyes sparkle.

“Oh wow. I don’t really know much about physics. but if it still really interests you, it’s never too late to take some courses.”

“I hear you. Life is so busy now with Elevate, and I think the finance has really helped me to market my brand and do as much with this moment as I can. So maybe they were all right. But maybe someday. What did you study?”

I tuck a piece of hair behind my ear. People always give me the same reaction when I answer this question. “I studied psychology.”

There’s a moment of silence as I wait for him to make a crack about how he better be careful or I’ll analyze his mind. But he surprises me.

“My sister studied psychology too. She’s doing her master’s now in England. Did you consider a master’s?”

The waiter comes by and interrupts us. We give him our orders, and he nods approvingly before walking back to the kitchen.

I wipe a drip of condensation off my wine glass. “Not really. I quite like being a project manager. It suits me. What do you do when you’re not teaching at Elevate?”

His eyebrow rises. “Do you mean for fun? Although working at Elevate is pretty fun, I know how lucky I am. Hmmm…I guess I like being outdoors, hiking, stuff like that. In the winter I love skiing. And the goal is to travel and see as much of the world as possible. How about you?”

“For sure, travel. I haven’t been able to do a lot of it yet, but I aim for one nice trip a year. And I like hikes as long as they’re not extreme. Please don’t ask me to climb any mountains.” I flash him a grin. I think we both know I’d probably climb a mountain if he asked me to. “I’m also a big reader.”

“Well, a great way to recover from hiking up a mountain is to spend a few hours reading.” He winks at me. “What do you like to read?”

“Pretty much anything. I don’t like horror or sci fi, but other than that I’ll read it. Do you like to read?” My lip is between my teeth and I’m holding my breath. This is a big question for me.

“I don’t read as much as I’d like to, but I have a stack of books I’m always adding to. Why do I feel like that question was a test?”

A laugh escapes me, and I look down quickly so he can’t read my expression. “I have no idea.”

He reaches over and tilts my chin up. “Mental note—plan a date to a bookstore with my girl.”

Yep, there I go swooning again. I can’t believe he’s calling me his girl! And he reads. Jace really is too good to be true. He brings my attention back to him with another question.

“Favourite colour?”

My cheeks turn pink. “Blue.” Hopefully he doesn’t see right through that one, but how can I answer anything else with those gorgeous eyes staring at me? “You?”

“Green.” He winks at me, and I’m not sure if he’s playing with me, and I’m too embarrassed to ask.

Our food arrives, and I’m glad to have a break from his questions. They set a bowl of mussels down between us, and the scent of herbs and garlic makes my stomach rumble. We both lean in at the same time to get a better whiff.

“Oh my gosh, that smells good.” Watching the server put plates and forks down for us is the only thing stopping me from popping one into my mouth.

“You try the first one.” He pushes the bowl closer to me.

The mussel melts in my mouth, and the sauce is so delicious that I’m looking around for a spoon to eat it with. We polish the bowl off quickly, and there isn’t a drop of sauce left when the server comes to grab the dish.

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