Page 26 of Head Over Wheels
I stare at his grin and can’t help but answer honestly. “I’m not sure.”
He lets out another chuckle before moving closer. “Let’s find out.”
His lips graze mine again, slowly, and I remember to kiss him back this time. He takes that as permission to keep kissing me. His muscular arms wind around me, and I immediately know that I’m safe. A little sigh escapes my lips.
He pulls back. “Was that a good sigh or an ‘I’m bored’ sigh?”
“Good sigh, very good.” That’s all I can manage to eke out conversation-wise right now.
I lean my forehead against his shoulder and try to gather my thoughts. This is not where I saw tonight leading.
“Shoot!” I sit straight up and cover my mouth.
Jace pulls away and his eyebrows draw together. “What’s up?”
“I have to tell you something.” I bite my lip.
His eyes shoot to my mouth and then back up, meeting my gaze. “So tell me.”
“After the club, I didn’t think this was going to happen. I was determined to do the right thing and stay away if you and Deb were still together.”
“Okay, and…” he motions for me to continue.
“I kind of set up a date for tomorrow morning. With someone else.” I grimace.
Jace laughs. “That was quick.”
I place my hand on his chest. Holy, that’s a solid wall of muscle. I file that thought away for later. “Yeah, but I did that on purpose so I wouldn’t be moping about you. And it’s someone from here so I had to do it for tomorrow before I go home.”
“Can I ask who it’s with? And are you interested in him?”
“I’m not really interested. It was more a case of he’s interested and I was trying to move on. Don’t be mad.” I’m looking down, scared of what I’ll see in his eyes. I don’t want to cause any more confusion or drama between us.
“I’m not mad, Ella. It’s my fault for ever leaving you in doubt about how I feel. It’s the blond guy from earlier, isn’t it?” He sucks in his cheeks, waiting for my answer.
“You mean Jeff? Yeah. How did you know?” I wrinkle my forehead.
“The guy that was sitting with you earlier in the lobby, right?” He looks to me for confirmation.
I nod, and he continues.
“There was something about the way he was looking at you, and how he’s been looking at me this weekend. I just get a vibe from him.” He shrugs.
“I can cancel if you want.” I hold my breath, not even sure how I want him to answer.
CHAPTER 20
“If you’re asking me if I want you to go on a coffee date with another guy tomorrow morning, the answer is no, Ella.” Jace chuckles softly. “But I’d never tell you what to do or who to see. And if you already made plans with him, you should probably go. It’d be really last-minute to cancel now.”
I let out my breath slowly. Turns out that’s exactly the answer I wanted. “Okay, cool. I’ll go then. But I’ll tell him we’re seeing each other now so he doesn’t get the wrong idea. Wait, is that okay? Can I tell him?”
Jace takes my hand. “Of course. I know earlier today I said we should wait but it’s going to get out regardless. Let me just check in with the Elevate management team first, so that they hear the news before. As instructors we aren’t allowed to date members but I’ll be upfront with them and see if we can work out a compromise. We don’t need to make a formal announcement or anything but I’ll need to work it out with them first. I’ll talk to them in the morning.”
A big smile spreads across my face. “I love that idea. So I’ll tell Jeff and make sure there aren’t any hard feelings. The last thing I want is another stalker situation.” A shiver escapes at the thought.
Jace’s eyes go wide. “Stalker situation? What happened?”
“Ugh, I shouldn’t have said anything. It’s been over for a while now.”