“You know I don’t like it when you do that,” she told him, but in her eyes, he saw the beginning of a smile. She was softening up, letting go.
“Sorry,” he smiled back at her. “We’ll wait until Ayla comes back, and ask for a menu.”
Bree took a sip of her drink. “What is this?”
“It’s a chai apple cider.”
“What are you having?” she eyed his glass.
“Hot chocolate, with habanero whipped cream.”
“You don’t feel like drinking either?”
“Nope, I don’t.” He wanted a clear head tonight. He couldn’t afford to make any more mistakes where Bree was concerned.
She took a sip of her cider. “This is good,” she said softly. “And you’re right, I’m famished. I guess it would be okay if you ordered for us.”
That wasn’t easy for her, but she said it anyway. Jace smiled.
“Can I ask you something?”
“Of course you can, darlin’.”
“Do people talk to you about me?”
“People?”
“You know what I mean. Liv, Ben, Lyric…”
“Yeah, they do. But it isn’t only them. Billy can’t seem to stop himself from giving me advice. He’s become the relationship whisperer.”
“Billy?” she giggled.
“Right? I started callin’ him that, thinkin’ it would shut him up. No such luck.”
“Do you think this is real, Jace? Are we together right now because it’s convenient?”
She’d gotten right to the point and pushed his most sensitive button, the root of his insecurity. But what choice did he have? Drunk or sober, busy or idle, even sleeping, his mind drifted back to her, without fail.
“You are anything but convenient. It’s damn hard for you and me to be in the same place at the same time. All I know for sure is I can’t get you off my mind. Can’t. And I don’t want to.”
“It worries me,” she admitted.
“That I can’t stop thinkin’ about you?”
“No, that I can’t stop thinking about you either.”
He smiled, leaned over, and kissed her. “I’m happy to hear that, Bree.”
“But, Jace—”
He put his finger on her lips. “Shh, now. What do you say we set aside our doubts, just for now, and pretend we’re back in Idaho, just you and me? All the months in between then and now don’t matter. Let’s go back to who we were then, and have a nice, quiet, simple conversation.”
“But—”
He tried to stop her again by kissing her, but she turned her head away. “Stop. I need to say this.”
“Go ahead.”