crash,” Nash said. “What flavor are you getting?” Nash asked Jace.
“Chocolate,” Jace answered. “What about you?”
“I’m going for the chocolate too. With lots of whipped cream.”
“What about you, Mom?” Jace asked.
“I think I might just have a soda,” I said. “I’m still riding high on the donuts and cookies.”
A waitress came to stand by the table. “Well, hello, family,” she said with a bright smile. “I can’t tell you how happy it makes me to see a nice young family enjoying each other without their faces in phones.”
I didn’t correct her. Neither did Nash. “Thank you,” I said.
The waitress flashed me a wink. “It just isn’t fair is it?” she said. “Us ladies look at a brownie and we gain five pounds.”
“So true,” I commiserated.
“All right, guys,” she said and looked at Nash, then Jace again. “Boy, there’s no denying this one, huh?” She winked. “Beautiful family.”
She walked away. I was certain my stomach was on the floor. I had no words. Nash looked at me like he didn’t understand. I looked away. I couldn’t look at him. There was a slightly awkward silence until Jace filled the air with more conversation about how high he went on the swing.
When the waitress returned with our drinks, I silently prayed she said nothing more. “You boys enjoy,” she said and walked away. Nash took a drink of his shake. That was when our eyes met. He suspected something. He was watching me, questioning me.
I smiled. “Good?”
“Very good.”
He said nothing more. I could see the wheels turning. The waitress had planted a seed.
Chapter 66
Nash
I couldn’t shake the feeling something was off. I couldn’t put my finger on it, but it was there. I had barely slept the night before. I kept replaying what the waitress said. It shouldn’t have bothered me, but it unsettled me.
I had spent the night comparing Jace to myself. The eyes were the one thing I just couldn’t get past. I had noticed how similar our eyes were. They were the same shade of brown and we both had thick brows. Our hair was similar as well. I didn’t think I was really a remarkable man and my features weren’t exactly anything that set me apart from any other man, but I knew my face well enough. I knew every detail and I was picking apart Jace’s features.
“Shit,” I muttered. I stood up from my desk. I couldn’t be in my office. I felt like my skin was too tight. Nothing felt right. Even my coffee had tasted off this morning. I looked down at the screen on my computer. It was the same email I had been reading for the last thirty minutes. My brain refused to focus on anything else.
I needed air. I needed to stretch my legs and clear my head. I rode the elevator downstairs without saying a word to anyone. I kept my head down as I crossed the lobby. I wasn’t in the mood to be recognized. I didn’t want to talk to anyone. Small talk was not in the cards for me.
I made it outside without being accosted. I looked up at the sky and let out a long breath.
“What are you doing out here?” Davin asked.
I dropped my head and found him staring at me. “Bar’s closed,” I quipped.
“It’s nine o’clock in the morning.”
“I was stretching my legs,” I said.
“Why? Again, it’s nine. What have you been doing that requires you to stretch your legs already?”
“I needed fresh air,” I tried.
“Since when do you need fresh air?”
“Since I was born,” I said dryly.
“You look weird.”
I looked down at my suit. “Why?”
“You were looking up at the sky.”
I shrugged. “Go to work.”
“Why don’t you come in with me?” he suggested. “I’ll make you some coffee.”
“I don’t want coffee.”
“I’m not making you a drink,” he shot back.
“Fine, I could use coffee. My brain feels dull.”
I followed behind him. The bar/coffee shop was empty. It usually was. I sat down at a table while he made us a couple of coffees and came to sit at the table. “What’s wrong with you?” he asked. “I can’t tell if you’re tired or hungover.”
“I’m not hungover.”
“Girl trouble again?”
“Actually, it’s an entirely different problem. Yesterday, I took Jace and Saige to a diner. The waitress said the strangest thing, but the more I think about it, the more I think it isn’t strange at