Page 51 of The Uncomplicated Café
The invisible line of friendship filled the shallow expanse between them, fragile and tenuous, and she silently begged him to cross it.
Chapter Thirty
JAYCE
Jayce couldn’t explainthe electrical current radiating through his body like a rogue signal from his brain, pushing him to the edge of reason. Before he could stop himself, he’d claimed CeCe’s mouth with his own—no artful angling or skilled illusions. He could taste her sweetness, feel the soft pressure of her perfect lips. When they gently parted, welcoming him to deepen the kiss, he eagerly accepted the invitation, succumbing to every long-anticipated sensation.
He cradled her face with both hands, as if he risked losing her if he dared to let go for even a second.
Her arms slid around his shoulders, and her fingertips found the sensitive skin at the nape of his neck. His head swam and his muscles tensed with a mounting urgency that heightened at her touch.
After years of envisioning this exact moment, he never imagined it would feel like this—so feverish and all-consuming. A level of passion far beyond friendship, built over a lifetime of longing. A longing they’d evidently shared in silence. How had he never noticed before?
Squelching his regret over lost time, Jayce resolved to lay his heart bare, once and for all. He loved CeCe. With the kind ofardent, steadfast, unconditional love Evan described the night he’d called him out on his cowardice.
All this time, he’d been afraid to risk their friendship. But in reality, he’d jeopardized something even more valuable—the kind of connection that ran so deep, so transcendent, it not only transformed them from the inside out, forging the best versions of themselves, but radiated outward, beyond their relationship.
Being together didn’t simply makethembetter—it madeeverythingbetter.
And his fears needed to finally move out of the way.
With concerted effort, he broke off the kiss. Breathless, he pressed his forehead to hers, stealing one last second to bask in the glow of pure bliss.
They couldn’t have shared a more earth-shattering first kiss. And he prayed it wouldn’t be their last.
“Toto, I—” Before he could finish his thought, a cell phone trilled from the other room, trailing through the open balcony door.
“Hmm?” CeCe murmured, her voice hushed, almost reverent, as she ignored the call.
He lifted his head, meeting her gaze.
Her dark eyes glistened with a happy, dreamy glaze, as if she still couldn’t believe what happened. As if she, too, had conjured the kiss from the depths of her own deep-seated desires.
His throat cinched with emotion, hindering his ability to breathe. Was it really possible this woman standing before him—the most remarkable, beautiful, incomparable woman he’d ever known—loved him in return?
He took her hands in his, prepared to find out, when CeCe’s phone rang a second time.
“Whoever it is, I’ll call them back,” she said softly, squeezing his fingers, encouraging him to continue.
Jayce cleared his throat, an excited energy rippling through him. He felt a shift in the air. From this moment onward, everything would change. And now that he stood on the precipice of new possibilities, he couldn’t wait to take the plunge. “I—”
Once again, an intrusive cell phone cut him short. Only this time, the custom Caribbean-themed ringtone emanated from his coat pocket.Strange. “That’s your mom’s ringtone.”
“Mama?” CeCe’s brow knit with confusion. “Why would she be calling you?”
“I don’t know. Maybe when you didn’t answer your phone, she tried mine?” He suppressed a groan of impatience as he reached into his pocket, reminding himself that he’d waited this long. He could survive two more minutes.Maybe. “Do you think you should answer in case she needs something?”Hopefully, something quick, he added silently, eager to get back to their life-altering conversation.
“That’s probably a good idea.”
Jayce noted a faint warble of worry in her voice when she said, “Mama, it’s CeCe. Is everything okay?” As she listened, her eyes widened. She slumped against the railing. Terror splashed across her stricken features.
Panic revved through Jayce’s body, triggering a surge of adrenaline. “What’s wrong?” He instinctively gripped her free hand. It felt so small. So cold.
The phone still pressed to her ear, she whispered, “It—it’s my dad. The dig site collapsed. He—he’s still inside.”
Their eyes met, and her look of helplessness tore through his chest like a chain saw.
Suddenly, nothing else mattered except solving the current crisis.
