Page 144 of Stolen Fate

Evelyn

I lookedtoward the door and found Jace standing there, his expression closed off and his hands inside his pockets.

“Can I come in?” he asked quietly.

I looked away, quickly wiping away the tears that hadn’t yet dried on my cheeks and nodded. I didn’t say anything as he walked through the door, or when he walked over to the bed. I could see his step faltering a bit when he saw the open suitcase laying on the bed, with only a few pairs of my jeans in it.

Silently, he grabbed the jeans out of the suitcase.

“Jace.”

He didn’t respond, instead hetook them and walked over to my dresser.

I watched him.

Was he… unpacking for me?

Hope flared in my heart, but I quickly tampered it down. I didn’t deserve this. I had lost Elliot on my watch, and we were lucky to have found him.

If we hadn’t, or if something had happened to him… I shook my head, shivering a little from the somber thought. I didn’t know if I should stay.

“What are you doing?” I asked softly, not meeting his eyes. He zipped my empty suitcase up and put it back under the bed. Then he took a seat at the edge of it and patted to the space next to him. I didn’t say anything for a while, just took him in.

Jace waited patiently for me to make my decision. Though he didn’t show any outward reaction when I finally moved toward him, I did see his shoulders sagging a bit. I hadn’t realized how tense he was until then.

I took a seat next to him, leaving the space of a small person between us.

“Is Elliot okay?”

“Yes, he is. I put him down for a little nap, and he must have been more tired than he let on, because he didn’t even complain.”

Jace shot me a small smile. I didn’t smile back. I wasn’t really in a smiling mood. “I know I already said it, but I am sorry.”

My lips trembled and I had to look away. I didn’t want Jace to see the emotion in my eyes, or to see me close to breaking down.

“I’m sorry, too, Evelyn. I didn’t mean what I said downstairs. I don’t think you’re like his first nanny. I never thought that.”

“Then why did you say it?” I asked.

Jace moved his hand up slowly between us. And when I didn’t move away, he carefully moved his hand toward my face, cupping my cheek and wiping away the tears with his thumbs. I closed my eyes as fresh new ones made their way down, and Jace made a sound that was a cross between a whimper and growl.

“Shh, baby. Don’t cry.”

“Stupid. Don’t you know saying that is only going to make me cry even more?”

He moved his hand down to the back of my neck, and then he pulled me in. I buried my face in his chest. If I could stay like this, I would. I didn’t want anyone to see me like this, especially not Jace.

He used his other hand to gently rub up and down my back, but he didn’t say anything, and neither did I.

He waited until I stopped crying, until I was ready to face him again. When I pulled back and peeked an eye up at him, I found his gaze on me, the softness back in his eyes.

“You’re back,” I whispered.

He frowned a little at that. “I didn’t go anywhere, baby.”

I nodded. “Yes, you did.” And he seemed to have understood what I meant, because I could see the regret filling his bottomless blues. “I don’t like you like that.”

“I don’t like being like that. I’m sorry I scared you.”

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