Page 92 of Dr. Stone
Jonathan brought his attention to Jace, and I watched as Jonathan’s sleazy energy changed instantly. Jace stood cool and confident, towering over him. He was dressed like the entire dealership answered to him, wearing dark navy tailored slacks, a crisp white shirt open at the collar, and a presence that screamed quiet dominance.
Jace slid his arm around my waist, ensuring Jonathan knew his place around him and me.
“Mr. Stone,” Jonathan greeted him in the respect that Jace’s demeanor demanded. “Yes, your Porsche was overnighted from the VIP fleet in Vegas, and it arrived this morning, fully optioned, as you requested. We, um, made sure it was done fast and efficiently, sir.”
“I know. I made some calls,” was all Jace said.
Jonathan nodded, but his expression showed how uncomfortable he was. He wasn’t used to taking orders,especially in my presence. Of course, in his head, he was probably laughing, thinking Jace was just using me, flaunting his wealth by buying a new car in front of me, and I was eating it up like an easily impressed silly girl.
Little did this dickhead know.
“She’s the one driving it,” Jace said, practically answering my thoughts and shutting down whatever bullshit Jonathan might’ve been thinking. “So, if there isanythingthat doesn’t meet her standards, you’ll be hearing from her.”
Jonathan gave a fake as hell laugh, “No, man, it’s all good. It’s gorgeous. You’ve got excellent taste.”
“I know,” Jace said, then leaned over and picked up the tablet from the counter. “Is the exclusive driver mode unlocked?”
“Yes, sir. It has been calibrated for optimal performance, and the custom seat memory feature has been installed. Everything is upgraded to your specifications from the motor to the headliner,” Jonathan answered. “Which, might I add?—”
“I don’t need a sales pitch,” Jace interrupted whatever bullshit Jonathan was about to grease him up with. “Just make sure my lady loves her car, and we’ll be on our way.” Jace handed the tablet back to a silenced Jonathan, “Run the payment through my holding account at Stone Capital. You’ve got the wire.”
That was all Jonathan needed to hear to realize the man standing next to me wasn’t fucking around. And it was probably for the best that the only words that dickhead managed to say to me were the ones he attempted to get out when we walked in before Jace cut him off mid-sentence.
Once we were finally out of Jonathan’s sight and walking toward the front, where they had the new car waiting, I nearly collapsed into Jace’s arms, the tension and adrenaline from being around that asshole draining out of me all at once.
I couldn’t even begin to process the phenomenal car Jace had ordered for me, let alone wrap my head around seeing that insufferable bastard again. My head throbbed, and all I wanted was to go home, lie down, and skip dinner entirely.
“You okay, baby?” Jace said. “I’m so sorry. I hadnoidea.”
I smiled at him. “Of course you didn’t,” I let out a tired laugh. “Hell, Ineverimagined that asshole selling cars in a place like this.”
“You’d be surprised at the number of dicks who get cars pushed out of places like this. It’s why I use my connections to purchase through them and avoid those snakes.”
“Well, he’s definitely that type,” I said.
“Are you okay to drive? You honestly look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
“A ghost in tailored fucking pants,” I sighed. “I wish we could just ride up the coast on your motorcycle and shake off these nerves.”
“We can?—”
“No, no. We’re not backing out on Jake and Ash and leaving them to babysit my son,” I said with a smile, my hand cupping his face. “Thank you for this beautiful car—and the reason you bought it—but more than that, thank you for showing him exactly what he is: nothing.”
Jace’s grin was slow, wicked. “Wasn’t that hard, so no thanks necessary, gorgeous.” He opened the door with a flourish. “Now get in, and let’s see what she’s got against the Aston. I’ll race you to Jake’s. Don’t worry—an evening with those two will loosen you up again. And later tonight…” his voice dropped, heat sliding into his tone, “…I’ll make sure you forget that idiot ever existed. Deal?”
“Best deal I could ever ask for, handsome,” I murmured, my heart swelling with love.
His eyes locked on mine, amused and warm all at once. “Great answer, Miller.”
FORTY-TWO
Jace
Unfortunately,the last time I had any quality time with Andie and Brandon was the evening we spent having dinner with Jake, Ash, and their kids. I was thankful for that night for multiple reasons. Most importantly, it served to unwind Andie’s nerves from the run-in with her ex, whom she thought she’d never see or hear from again. But the other reason, which stirred my soul and moved me deeply to my core, was being able to witness what Ash had been talking about—Kaley forming a beautiful, timeless bond with Duke, which meant there was hope after all to get that fucker off to a better home than Andie’s, keeping my nuts perfectly intact.
I know it was a horrible thought, but Christ Almighty, that dog had dominance issues. He would not letanyman around their woman, as if he were protecting her from the heartbreak. He was like a living, breathing chastity belt. I had to admit that Duke’s protectiveness was a pretty cool feature when the dog wasn’t trying to castrate my ass, but finding his territorial offswitch was a whole other puzzle that I wasn’t in the mood to solve.
The dog was a guy’s best friend, and he proved it when Ash and Andie went into the house with the kids, and Duke wanted to remain outside withthe men. He chilled with me like my best fucking bud, and so long as he wasn’t insisting on love triangle dramatics, I didn’t mind the cute little rat.
