Page 66 of Dr. Stone
“Let’s get the subject off Mr. Duke, and focus on the fact that you’d just jog to my place? That’s like four miles up, four miles back?”
“If I get tired, perhaps I could just stay the night?” he teased.
“Something tells me you wouldn’t get tired after a ten-mile run up the beach,” I eyed the simple black tee he wore, seeing that its tight fit accentuated every muscle.
“You know,” he smiled at me, “I’ve been thinking how dumb I’ve been for jogging south on the beach every morning instead of coming this way.”
“Ah,” I smiled. “You’re one ofthoseearly risers, hmm?”
“That’s why I’ve just realized I’ve been running in the wrong direction on my morning runs,” he chuckled. “Now I know you’re out on your patio watching all the shirtless men taking their morning jogs, and my stupid ass has been running the other way like a dumb fuck.”
“If you and I think about it, we’ve both been running in different directions since the morning we walked away from each other on the yacht,” I said, becoming more serious, curious about how he would respond.
“I know we have,” he answered. “I swear, I wasn’t planning for any of this to happen.” He glanced over at me, “I’d besofucked if you’d stuck to your word, leaving you and me at just that one night.”
I grinned at him. “Well, if the rumors are true, I guess karma could’ve bit you in the ass and used me to do just that.”
“If the rumors are true…” he said with amusement. “Yes, the rumors are true. And yes, karma could’ve easily used you to hand me my ass for the careless way I used to toss women aside. That’s actually something I wanted to talk to you about.”He sighed and continued, “I was a total playboy dick, and I don’t want that shit creeping back to bite me.”
We stopped just before the path that led to my condo, overlooking the beach. He pulled off his sunglasses, and his blue eyes locked on mine with a sincerity that almost made me forget how much of a mess this was.
“Seriously,” he said. “If who I was the night we met is a deal-breaker? Fine. I’ll take my karma and move on. But I needed to know.”
I pinched my lips together, his nervousness shining through like it did the first night he and I spoke. “You’rejust nowgiving me this optionafterthe competition with Titus is out of the way?”
“No, it’s not that. I just?—”
“If it were a turn-off, I wouldn’t have let you take Brandon and me to the ER. And I sure as hell wouldn’t have taken a dog from you either.”
I smiled when he did, but it faltered quickly.
“I don’t know what happened between us that night.” My voice dipped. “All I know is…I can’t get it,or you, out of my head. Or my heart.”
“I feel the same damn way,” he said with a smile.
“With that said,” I nodded. “And if we’re really going to do this, if I let you into my life, I won’t let you hurt me.” I glanced down at Brandon, then back to Jace. “I’ve been through some bad shit with his dad, and I don’t know how I’d survive going through it again.”
He chewed on his bottom lip, and I understood why. If this man had commitment issues—something most men who were known players had—I needed to scare him off now before we got deeper.
“I swear I have no intention of hurting you,” he answered.
“Okay,” I said, walking up to the gate that led to my small patio and into my house.
“That wasn’t the right answer,” Jace said as I used this moment to think about his response. “Iwill nothurt you. I have no idea what his dad did to you, but I have no intentions of loving and leaving you.”
“It isn’t just me you’re dating, Jace,” I said, pulling Brandon from his stroller and carrying him inside. “You’re in this with more than one heart.” I squeezed my son against me, protective instinct surging. “Brandon’s starting to get attached to people…and that scares me.”
My chest ached as the words slipped out.
“His dad can’t hurt him—he’s not in his life. Hell, I don’t even think the bastard knows if I went through with the pregnancy. That’s how hard he ghosted me the night he found out.”
“Jesus Christ,” Jace said. “I had no idea.”
“You couldn’t have known. We’ve barely talked beyond small talk, and tonight, we were headed that way before we ended up talking about Duke instead,” I shrugged. “Hey, give me a second to lay him down. There’s beer in the fridge…or something stronger if you want to stick around for the hard part, figuring out if we should give this a try,” I winked. “I’ll be right back. I just need to get this little guy to bed.”
I was thankful that Brandon was such a peaceful baby. Between the sitter’s schedule for him and the schedule I kept to, this boy fell into a routine that was like a well-oiled machine. As a result, he slept soundly through the night when he wasn’t teething, which was a godsend.
“Ah,” I laughed as I rejoined Jace, who was on my patio lighting my torches. “I see you opted for something harder tonight, Dr. Stone?”
