Page 55 of The Comeback Road
“It’s messy. Really, really messy,” I said, trying to downplay the chaos I was surrounded by.
“I like messy with you, Starlight. I likeanythingwith you.” His words wrapped around me, and I couldn’t help the heat that flooded my cheeks.
I was listening to him, really, but my eyes were fixated on his forearms as he kneaded the dough. The veins in Jace’s arms became more pronounced with each movement.Who knew rolling dough could be so hot? Is it hot in here? Am I panting?
“Lexie…are you listening to me?”
“Hm? I’m sorry. What did you say?” I snapped myself out of it and finally looked at him. My face had to be fire-engine red.
“Would you like to go on a date with me?” I could hear the worry in his voice, a hint of vulnerability that made me grimace. A few months earlier, there was no way I could have ever imagined that we would be there. But I’d been focusing on healing lately, and I knew I owed a lot of my progress to him.
“Yes.” My breath caught in my throat, and we just stood there, staring at each other, smiling until Sweet Potato and Pie came running through. Mac was close on their heels, knocking over a large bowl of ingredients as one of their overexcited tails hit the table.
“Some help here, Peaches?” Jace groaned, exasperated. She barely opened her eyes, as if to say,they are your problem now. I lost myself in laughter at the absurdity of the moment, the tension breaking with the added chaos.
“Tonight, Lex. No more waiting.”
No more waiting.
Chapter Fifty-Six
Jace
I couldn’t focus on any of the tasks I needed to complete at the Bar-kery because I kept replaying my interaction with Lexie and how she had said yes. I was riddled with anxious energy, and I felt twisted from the inside out in invisible knots that weren’t there but carried such a heavy physical presence. My fingers twitched to try to expel some of it, and I made up my mind to text Sloan and Dexter to see if they had time for a quick meet-up to help calm my nerves.
Me: You guys around? Need to talk.
Barely a moment later, my phone buzzed with Sloan’s reply.
Sloan: At Montgomery’s for once. Come join me if you need a drink.
Dexter: I’m at the office. You know, holding down the fort while you’ve been MIA.
I chuckled at Dexter’s jab. He was right. I hadn’t set foot in the office since Lexie had come back, and someone had to manage things while I figured out my life—or rather, never let Lexie outof my sight, just in case. Even though he grumbled about it, if Dexter really had a problem, he would have said something long ago. He liked Lexie, and made his displeasure known about the whole Jess situation hundreds of times.
Me: Give me 15.
As I drove to Montgomery’s, I couldn’t shake the feeling of inadequacy.Will Lexie see me as the man I want to be, or will she only see me as the mess I am trying to fix?I parked in front of the bar, taking a moment to steady my breathing before stepping inside. The dim lighting and lively atmosphere due to the lunch hour welcomed me, a definite contrast to the thoughts inside my head.
Sloan spotted me first, waving me over. He looked relaxed, his usual confidence radiating from him. Dexter sat across from him, a slightly skeptical look on his face.
“Hey, man,” Sloan greeted me as I took a seat. “What’s going on?”
“Lexie agreed to a date with me tonight,” I told them.
Dexter shook his head. “Don’t you guys all basically live together?”Man, he is testy lately.I shot Sloan a questioning look, and he just shook his head at me, letting me know he didn’t know what his deal was either.
“Let’s be clear. Jace is too far gone to notice anyone else in that house, let alone have an intelligent conversation.” Sloan had gotten us all a beer, and pointed his in Dexter’s direction.
“That’s an overstatement.” I rolled my eyes at him.
“Oh, really? Are you going to show her what you’ve been working on?” he taunted me, and I kicked him under the table for being an ass.
“What have you been working on?” Dexter asked.
My heart raced at his question. I’d been remodeling a room in my house, dedicating it to her. It was a wine cellar, complete with handcrafted shelves and climate control for each type of wine and a slushy machine with little pouches of mixes. I saw her eyeing them at a farmers market. We had gone to check out ingredients for the Bar-kery once. I went back and bought them later that day. I knew everyone would consider it to be much too fast, but when I kept buying wine I thought she’d like when I saw it. I couldn’t help myself. And I had rationalized it by telling myself that the wine had to go somewhere. What I told myself was a room to store things quickly changed. It became a room for her, a space she would love and want to come to. One where she could feel safe.
“Well, it’s…”
