He let out a deep breath. “It bothers me to hear the name Billy every night. That bothers me a lot.”
“Every night? You can’t be serious.”
“There hasn’t been a night I’ve slep
t with you that you haven’t woken me up talking about him. Most of it’s gibberish, but his name is clear as a bell, every time you say it.” He paused and ran his hand through his hair. “The other thing that bothers me is that when you’re awake you refuse to talk about him.”
Renie put her arms around him and squeezed. “I’m sorry. It’s my subconscious. There isn’t anything to talk about. That’s why I don’t.”
“Bullshit.”
“Uh, maybe it would be better if I went home.” His tone stunned her.
“No way. You started this conversation by saying nothing ever bothers me. I’m telling you there’s something that does. It isn’t a reason for you to take off. Stay instead, talk to me about it. Tell me about him for God’s sake. Clearly you aren’t together, or you wouldn’t have spent the summer sharin’ sheets with me, and you wouldn’t be here now.”
Sharin’ sheets, Billy used that expression. It was the only other time she’d heard it.
Jace pulled her close to him. “Come inside at least. Let me show you my condo.” When they got to the front door, he turned around and smiled. “I know how much you hate confrontation, so I’ll drop it for now. You’ll tell me about him when you’re ready to.”
She hated confrontation? Yeah, she supposed he was right. How had they gone from casual sleeping buddies at the ranch to him knowing so much about her in Aspen?
His condo was beautiful. The view of the mountain was incredible, but it was equally impressive inside. It certainly didn’t look like a place two twenty-something brothers shared. It had to have been professionally decorated.
She studied the different pieces of artwork that were perfectly placed throughout the condo. She looked closely and realized the paintings all bore the same signature, but she couldn’t decipher the artist’s name.
“It’s my brother’s work.”
“What? It’s…amazing.”
“The sculpture is his, too. He gets bored with one medium and moves on to another. Eventually, he makes his way back around again.”
“What’s his name?”
“Tucker. We’re twins, by the way.”
“Where is he now?”
“Spain.”
He was so matter-of-fact about everything. She smiled.
“What?”
She laughed. “Nothing.”
“What? Come on, tell me. What’s funny?”
“It’s that nothing flusters you thing again. Notice I said ‘flusters,’ not ‘bothers.’”
He laughed too, and put his arms around her. “I like you, Irene.”
“I like you too, Jace.”
That night he took her to Mathuhisa . He hadn’t asked whether she liked sushi or not. She liked that about him—his confidence. That was a deal-breaker for her. After Billy, she couldn’t have dealt with anyone who lacked self-confidence. Jace had confidence in spades. Afterwards they went to Belly Up to see one of his favorite bands play.
The next day they drove up Independence Pass and hiked to the top. The view was breathtaking, and she said so.
“This is nothing,” Jace answered. “We’re at twelve-thousand feet. Wait until I get you on top of a fourteener.”