The Dragon's Fate - Roxie Ray Page 0,33
give me a reason to spend some more time with Jace without it being overly obvious. “I guess.” They squealed and took off. Jace and I had to hurry to stay on their heels.
“So, where’d you pick up a couple of kids?” I asked.
Jace chuckled. “My buddy, Wayne, you met him at the shooting range.”
“Oh, these are his kids?”
I smiled at Will, who tripped and fell in the sand but jumped up and brushed himself off before sprinting to catch up with the girls.
“No, actually, his sister’s. He was supposed to babysit but got called on a last-minute job. I told him I’d spend the day with them at the beach while he takes care of his client nearby.”
“What does Wayne do?” Taking care of a client sounded so ominous.
“He’s a personal chef. Stays pretty busy, too.”
I bet he did. He’d been a handsome one. Jace and I stuck close to each other as we watched the kids play. “How’d the rest of your weekend go?” he asked. “I was hoping you’d text.”
“I spent a lot of time thinking,” I admitted. “I was going to text you tonight about our date.” I chuckled. “It was hard to think about anything else, if I’m being totally honest.”
He’d sent several texts over the weekend, and I’d responded, but it hadn’t felt overwhelming. Just light and teasing. Flirty. Every time my phone dinged, I got butterflies again and had to force myself not to run and respond right away.
“Couldn’t think about anything else… besides me?” he asked hopefully.
“I did. I just don’t know exactly what we’re doing.” The kids found a giant bowling set and got in line to play. I loved that the city provided things like this free of charge. I also loved that we weren’t inundated with tourists.
“What are you uncertain about?” he asked. “I’ll clear up anything I can.”
At least he wasn’t afraid to talk about this stuff. It could’ve been worse, that he wanted to avoid it at all costs. “I haven’t dated anyone but Hayden’s dad. I’ve been divorced for three years, and in all that time, not a single date until you.” I gave him a sheepish look. “Men are foreign to me in my adult life. I don’t want to make assumptions and end up looking like an idiot. I feel… out of my element.”
“I understand where you’re coming from. I’m not in any way trying to rush you into anything. I just want to get to know you while you get to know me. That way you can decide if I’m someone worth knowing for a longer time. And if I’m someone you’d like to have in your daughter’s life.”
I smiled, happy to hear him include Hayden.
“What if we take it one day at a time and as we get to know each other better, then we can discuss labels. If that’s what you want.”
That sounded wonderful. “Okay. But I have to say… you’ve got a bit of a reputation. I hope you’re not playing games with me.”
He glanced to see that the kids were distracted and grabbed my hand. “That’s the furthest thing from my mind. I’ve never felt this way about a woman. You haven’t dated, but neither have I. None of the relationships I’ve had have ever had an element of seriousness.” He paused and let out a deep breath. “Not since my early twenties. With you, I want all of that. Dates, seriousness and whatever might come after.”
Jace remained with us for the rest of the day. At one point, Hayden came over pouting because she lost a game and said she felt cheated. I started to give a lesson about how she can’t win at everything, but then Jace asked me to hang on before he walked over to the booth where they were giving away one free game before you have to pay. It was a basketball game, which Hayden was really good at for her age. I had to admit I was a bit surprised she’d lost.
Jace looked closely at the ball before he looked back at Hayden. “Always follow your instincts,” he said. “You were cheated. Some of the balls are overly inflated, and the rims are smaller than the ball.” Hayden looked at the man running the game. “Ha!”
He shrugged. “It’s business.”
I couldn’t see Jace’s face as he was standing in front of me, but he said something in a low voice to the man. The man’s face drained of color before he waved Hayden