Cursive - By Phoebe Lane Page 0,32

of the darker subject matter in her novel.

Thanks for that, Mom.

That morning, Aislynn was rushing out of her apartment to go to the gym. When she opened the front door, she found a gorgeous-looking Jace with his fist up in the air, about to knock on her door.

"Good morning, babydoc," Jace said with a sexy smirk. "Did you turn off your phone again? Are you still avoiding your mom?"

"Of course," she said and turned her attention to the bag he was carrying. "What's that in your hand?"

"Coffee and bagels from that place we went to two weeks ago."

"Oh my God! I could kiss you right now."

"By all means, please do," he said. Aislynn grabbed him by his tie and pulled him to her, kissing him playfully and walking them both into the apartment at the same time.

"Wow, I've never been with a girl that gets turned on by coffee."

"I don't get turned on by coffee. I get turned on by good coffee and handsome coffee-delivery guys," she said, fluttering her eyelashes at him.

"You tease," Jace joked while holding her in his arms. "Where are you off to?"

"The gym. Want to come with me?" she asked, and led him to the kitchen to set up the food at the breakfast bar.

"I'm on my way to the office. I just wanted to bring you breakfast. Do you have any plans for tonight?"

"I was actually thinking about cooking you dinner. Can we have a quiet night in?"

"That'd be great," he said with a bright smile. "Okay, I have to run. I literally just wanted to feed you and steal a kiss. See you tonight?"

"It's a plan."

Later that day, as she perused the produce at the farmer’s market, Aislynn thought about how much more comfortable she felt with her blossoming relationship with Jace now that she had survived her initial freak out. It was definitely getting easier to let her guard down. She did have moments of panic at the thought of giving in completely and letting him know everything about her past, but she was getting better at talking herself through them. Ellie was ecstatic that she at least was giving the relationship a chance and that there had been no more talk about leaving San Diego.

With the fish in the oven, the potatoes peeled, and the vegetables ready to be steamed, Aislynn poured herself a glass of wine and put on some music. A few minutes later, she received a call from Jace.

"Hey, I have your glass of wine ready for you and I hope you’re really hungry ‘cause I may have gone a little overboard with the food," Aislynn said in greeting.

"Hey," he answered, his voice flat and hesitant.

"Uh oh. What’s wrong?"

"I'm so sorry, babydoc. I'm stuck at the office dealing with a major crisis with a client. It just happened about an hour ago. I’m gonna have to cancel our dinner plans."

"Oh…well…that's okay," she said, clearly disappointed.

"Argh, I hate to do this," he said. "I was really looking forward to tonight. I promise to make it up to you."

"It's okay, don't worry. I understand."

"I'll probably be here all night, but I'll try to call you later." He sounded utterly exhausted.

"Is everything okay with you, though?"

"Let’s just say I could really use that glass of wine right about now," he said and chuckled. "I’ll talk to you soon."

After giving it some thought, Aislynn decided that all the work she had put into dinner shouldn't go to waste, so she packed up the food and drove to Jace's office. Wanting to walk in and out unannounced, she was very glad to see a receptionist when she approached the glass doors at the entrance of the office.

"Good evening. May I help you?" the woman asked politely. She looked tired. Wow, she's still here at eight in the evening.

"Hi. I'm here to drop off something for Mr. Quinn," Aislynn said while discreetly looking around.

The office was modern, but inviting. There were several offices to the right of the reception area and a big conference room to the left. The walls of the room were full-length glass on all four sides, reminding her of the back windows at the beach house.

This man sure likes transparency.

"Is he expecting you?" the lady asked.

"No, and I really don't want to disturb him. Would you mind just getting this to him after I leave?" Aislynn said and handed her a big shopping bag.

"Of course," she said, grabbing it and putting it behind her desk. "Are you sure you don't