“There goes my date.” Topaz sighs from the corner of her mouth as she watches the Ducati disappear into a cocktail of headlights and traffic.
“I’m so sorry.” I rub the side of her arm.
Topaz tilts her head, eyes fixed on the cracked sidewalk beneath us. “It’s fine. Beautiful assholes aren’t really my type anyway. Kind of got the impression he was a little bit of a man-whore anyway.” She glances at Ace as he takes heavy strides in our direction. “All right. I need a drink. I’m going to head in and let you two talk.”
Topaz leaves and Ace comes to my side, eyes flicking between mine. His shoulders rise and fall as he pulls in heavy breathes, and everything about him is hot and angry and bitter and yet . . . apologetic.
“I’m sorry you had to see that,” he says.
“Don’t apologize.”
“You okay?” Ace moves closer, cupping my face. His palm is hot on my skin. “I hadn’t seen him in over a year, not since everything happened. I wasn’t expecting to run into him tonight.”
“Who knew you had a temper like that?” I smirk and reach for him, tucking my hands under his arms as he comes closer. It feels good to touch him again. To smile. “It was actually kind of hot. You feel better? You get a chance to say all the things you wanted to say to him?”
“I did.” One side of his mouth curls, and he leans down, his lips smashing mine.
There’s something lighter about him now. I feel it in his touch, the way he breathes, the tenderness in his kiss. I can’t imagine being betrayed like that by a man you loved as if he were your real brother. No wonder he’s been so distraught and tortured and bitter and angry. I can’t blame him at all.
Lifting my hand to his smooth jaw, I pull away and meet his penetrating gaze.
“We have a lot to talk about,” I say.
He exhales, nodding. “We do.”
“But for now, why don’t you come inside and see everyone,” I suggest. “You can even meet my mom . . .”
“I’d love that.”
35
Ace
“You know, my girls never played sports,” Julie Kincaid says, legs crossed and leaning into me. She hasn’t left my side since Aidy introduced us, and I get the impression that she’s slightly enamored with me, though it could be the booze talking. She’s had her champagne topped off about three or four times in the past hour. “They just weren’t interested. But me? I played softball. I was on a women’s semi-pro team in the eighties. First base was my position, but I could hit a homerun like no one’s business.”
Julie has bushy blonde hair that grazes the tops of her shoulders, and she wears a sparkly clip on one side. Her lips are stained in a bright pink shade, her smile stretches from ear to ear, and her laugh can be heard clear across the room.
Julie puts Aidy’s effervescence to shame.
“You’re very handsome, Ace.” Julie reaches for my bicep, giving it a squeeze. “You should be on the cover of Sports Illustrated or something.”
“I was,” I say humbly. “A few different times.”
“No kidding?” Her voice reaches a high pitch I never knew existed. “Well good for you! I’d love to see them sometime. You have them framed?”
I shake my head. “They’re probably in boxes at my mother’s house.”
“You know, Aidy did some modeling as a child once. She was on the cover of Children’s Crochet Magazine,” Julie says. “She had the most adorable little gap-toothed smile. That’s where Enzo gets it from. And she had a smattering of freckles just across the bridge of her nose. Those went away as she got older, but Lord almighty was she ever a cute kid.”
“Mom.” Aidy clears her throat, returning to my side with two fresh flutes of champagne and hands one to me. “Is she talking your ear off, Ace?”
“She’s good,” I say, taking a drink.
A cursory glance around the room shows several people gathering their bags and jackets and moving toward the bride and groom to say goodnight. Julie glances at the silver charmed watch on her left wrist and declares she should probably catch cousin Veronica before she leaves.
The second Julie’s gone, Aidy takes a seat on my lap and hooks her arm around the back of my neck. She’s grinning, eyes only for me.
“What?” I chuff.
“I just can’t believe you’re here. I can’t believe you came here tonight,” she says. “That takes major