Page 9 of The Comeback Road
He opened the door, and it was like something out of a magazine. The walls were the same deep gray stone color as outside, and the trim was a deep oak color, with matching tables and end pieces throughout the space. Upon further inspection, the kitchen was a muted forest green. None of it should have looked good, but it all went together so well. When I saw the stone fireplace, I was speechless.
“This is…otherworldly. I don’t have words.” It was a dream.
“Please, come sit.”
Jace ushered me into the kitchen and started to pull out containers from the diner. I couldn’t help but laugh, and I saw the blush. “I, uh…I can’t really cook,” he offered up.
“It’s okay. I love the diner, and next time, I’ll cook.”
“You can cook?” he asked in a hopeful tone.
“Yes, my mom taught me.”
“Tell me about her.”
That question started everything—started the perfect night. And before I knew it, we had spent hours talking. Talking about our lives growing up—though I didn’t talk about my dad, and he didn’t pry. I told him all about my mom, about meeting Magnolia. We discussed and argued about our favorite things, food, and people. What our biggest icks were, and what we saw for ourselves down the road.
At some point after we had finished eating, we made our way over to the sofa and were intertwined, the fireplace going in the back. I found myself yawning. Jace looked at the watch on his wrist and frowned.
“It’s 11:47. I should probably get you home.”
I couldn’t help but grimace.Is he not attracted to me?Almost as if reading my thoughts, he put my worries to rest.
“I want to do this right, Lex. I want to get to know you first.” He kissed the top of my head, and I felt the warmth of it all throughout my body. I instantly relaxed at his words.This is a good thing, right?
“Okay, Casanova, take me home. My boss can be adick. He might not take kindly to me yawning every five minutes at my desk.”
“You let me know if he gives you problems. I’ll kick his ass.”
Laughing, I briefly snuggled in closer before detaching myself and standing up. “If we don’t go now, we won’t.” I held my hand out to Jace and, with a reluctant look, he took it, helping himself up.
He went to grab his keys and wallet as I waited by the front door, every interaction we had screaming that Jace wouldn’t take very kindly to me heading out into the dark without him, even if he was only a few steps behind.
“You wait until I can open your door, ya hear?”
“Yes,boss.”
Jace shot me a heated look as he made his way toward me. “You’re playing with fire.”
“I’m okay with that.”
He pulled me to him and gave me a hard kiss on the mouth. “Get in the truck, trouble.”
“Yes,boss.”
Chapter Seven
Lexie
Jace got me back home around midnight and kissed mefucking sillyfor almost an hour in my driveway with me on his lap, coming very close a few times to sayingfuck thisand rounding all the bases.
“You’re killing me, Lex. You have to go inside, or I won’t be able to continue being a gentleman.”
“Maybe I don’t want you to be a gentleman.Please.”
He groaned, slid both of his hands into my hair, and pulled, exposing more of my neck to him. He bit down where he could see my pulse, and I swear, I was seconds away from begging him to fuck me. “Lexie, I want to do this right. And right now, I’m seconds away from not caring what either of us want and taking you for the first time right here in my truck. You deserve better than that.”
“Okay.” I sighed but caved because he was right—I wanted to do it the right way as well. I wanted to date and haveextremelyhot make-out sessions in his truck like a couple of teenagers. I wanted to round all the bases before we hit a home run. “I had a really nice time tonight, Jace.”
