Cursive - By Phoebe Lane Page 0,35

in reading your book when it comes out," Nina added.

"Thank you. We'll see how it goes."

"Aislynn is actually a doctor, Mom." Jace added, his tone of voice flat.

"You are? That's great," John added. "What do you specialize in?"

"Psychiatry, but I'm not practicing right now."

Nina exclaimed, "Oh, how wonderful! I don't know if Jace told you about the charity my daughter-in-law and I run, but there's such a need for mental health services for these families—"

"Mom, please, stop trying to get people to work for you. You already stole Tessa from me," Jace said, interrupting her mid-sentence.

"I did no such thing," Nina exclaimed with a mischievous smile on her face. "That, my dear, was in part your own doing. You kept going on and on about how wonderful Tessa was and the incredible job she was doing in your company, so I couldn’t help myself. In any case, I wasn't trying to steal Aislynn away. I was just trying to say that I have a lot of respect for her profession."

They spent the next half hour discussing her charity work. Aislynn was amazed by the amount of work and dedication her organization had put into helping the community.

"Hello, hello everyone!" a handsome tall man hollered as he approached the group. He looked familiar at first, but it wasn’t until he was standing next to John and Jace that she noticed the resemblance—he shared John’s facial features and Jace’s brilliant green eyes.

"Aislynn, this is my brother, Alex. Alex, this is Aislynn Currington. And will you please behave?" Jace told him in warning.

"Dude, I haven’t even said one word yet!" Alex complained and smiled wickedly. "Hi Aislynn, it’s good to meet you. This is my wife, Tessa."

"It’s great to meet you both" Aislynn said with a smile, which was immediately retuned by Alex but not Tessa. She was too busy engaging in a wordless conversation with Jace, their eyes doing all the talking.

"Hi," Tessa finally said to Aislynn, her tone cold, her handshake weak. Even though she felt completely put off and confused by their meeting, Aislynn tried not to read too much into it.

"Nina was just telling me about the charity organization and how you helped her get it off the ground."

"Yes, that’s right," she answered.

"I’m truly amazed by the amount of work you guys do."

"Thanks," she said, avoiding all eye contact.

Okay, never mind then. Moving on.

After a few more minutes of chatter with the more talkative and warmer members of the Quinn family, Jace took Aislynn around the room to introduce her to some of his business associates. She lost track of names and faces after about the tenth introduction.

The catering staff passed the wine and the bartenders were busy at work out by the deck. The party was alive with music and laughter, and Ellie beamed as guests complimented her on the wonderful job she had done with the house. They were encouraged to dig in and enjoy the dinner buffet, after which Evan called everyone's attention to the main living room area to make a toast.

"Jace, this is one of the best decisions you've made in your life so far, and I don't just mean building this incredible house. I'm talking about hiring this amazingly talented and beautiful woman to design it for you," he said, motioning to Ellie, and making the room fill with laughter. "I hope you get to enjoy it with the people you love for many years to come. You have been dealt a tough hand these last few years, and it only proved that you're one of the strongest men I know. I’m proud to have you as my business partner and, most importantly, my best friend. You deserve everything and everyone good that comes your way. Cheers!"

"Cheers!" everyone said with raised glasses.

It didn't escape Aislynn's attention how much the energy in the room changed at that moment. She could see the sparkle in Nina's eyes, where tears were forming. John held Jace in a tight embrace, as did Alex. Jace tried but failed to say anything in response to the toast. He seemed truly moved and overwhelmed with emotion.

What was more surprising was how withdrawn and cold he became afterward, especially toward Aislynn. This time his rejection wasn't subtle. At all.

"Jace, are you okay?" Aislynn asked him a few times throughout the night.

"I'm fine," he said, and busied himself in conversations with the other guests.

Jace's rejection was hurting her more than it should, and it forced Aislynn's mind to go down a very