Cursive - By Phoebe Lane Page 0,33

want me to let him know you're here?"

"No, it's fine, really. Although…maybe I can leave him a note?"

"Certainly. Let me get you something to write on."

Aislynn woke up to the feel of gentle fingers caressing her face, their tips dancing around the curvature of her cheek, down the side of her face, and tracing the shape of her lips. She slowly opened her eyes, trying to figure out if she was dreaming.

"Shhh, go back to sleep," a silky voice she now recognized and craved whispered in her ear.

"Jace?" Aislynn asked, her voice hoarse from sleep.

"I'm sorry I woke you up, babydoc. I just wanted to come say thank you for bringing me dinner. Go back to sleep."

"Oh...What time is it?" she asked, trying to adjust her eyes to the soft light coming from the hallway.

"It's after midnight. Ellie let me in," Jace whispered as he ran his fingers through her hair, making it harder for Aislynn to keep her eyes open. "Go back to sleep. I'll call you tomorrow."

Aislynn felt him kiss her head softly, but fell back asleep before he even left the room.

She woke up the next day to find a note on her nightstand. It was the message she had written for Jace at the office. Confused as to why it was there, she read over it again.

Jace,

Modesty aside, I think my dinner rocks. It makes no sense to prevent you from enjoying its awesomeness. I remember working at the hospital for thirty-six hours straight with only a stale Krispy Kreme doughnut, too many cups of bad coffee, a pack of gum, and a questionable slice of cold pizza in my stomach. I don't wish that on my worst enemy.

It seems I'm genetically incapable of cooking for less than a battalion, so please, be good and share with others. FYI, your receptionist looks tired and hungry.

Hope you enjoy dinner.

Aislynn

She then noticed Jace had written her a note on the back of the paper.

Babydoc,

You're an incredible woman. Thank you so much for bringing me dinner, although I wish you would've stayed and eaten it with me. My mom taught me good manners, so I would have definitely shared with you, too. The food was so amazing that I ended up having to wrestle Judy for the last piece of salmon. You were right, she was ravenous. I promise to make it up to you. I can't wait to see you tomorrow. Sweet dreams, Rapunzel.

Jace

P.S. Turn on your phone!

Jace loved the time he was getting to spend with Aislynn. Things had steadily progressed over the past few weeks, and at the risk of sounding like a girl, he was starting to get attached. She was smart, beautiful, funny, and incredibly sexy. His mind hadn't been in the gutter this much since he was sixteen years old, but he respected the fact she seemed to want to take it slow, notwithstanding the night of their second official date.

She also had the ability to make him look forward to things outside of work. He'd been solely focused on his business for a long time, not really stopping to enjoy anything else in life. Things had been really different for him since the moment she'd walked into that kitchen half naked.

But, all that said, Jace had started to feel some apprehension. There's something she isn't telling me. He had become preoccupied with a few personal things as well—things he wasn't particularly fond of sharing with her yet.

Damn it. We’re both hiding things.

"Hey, Jace. What time are the girls coming over?" Evan asked, walking into the back office of the bar.

"Aislynn just texted me," he said, looking up from his phone. "They should be here around nine."

"Great. How's it going with her?"

"Umm…Good, I guess."

"Uh oh. What is it now?"

"Nothing. She's actually great," Jace said. "I've just been preoccupied with stuff."

"Is it your checkup? Aren't you due for it this month?"

"Yeah, it's in a few weeks," he said, closing down the files he was working on. "I know it's been two years, but I can't help it. Having to deal with this again really puts me on edge."

"I think that's perfectly understandable. Is it just blood work this time?"

"No. I have a body scan, too."

"Have you told her about it?" Evan asked, and Jace shook his head in response. "I've told you this already. Aislynn isn't Chloe."

Jace let that statement sink in for a moment, but still couldn't stop the knot forming in his stomach and the panic from building in his chest. "What