“I spent time on weekends on runs because you were so busy with your social calendar. This gala for Mothers Against Drunk Driving. That gala for that charity you insisted on chairing. All those charity balls and charity work. It got to the point where I had to pencil myself into your schedule, dammit.”
She struggled with her rising temper. Jace had no clue she’d thrown herself into charity work to make up for what happened to her brother. Teens Advocating Safe Roads, TASR, was the principal charity she supported. When the board of directors asked her to join, she eagerly responded and threw herself into fundraising work in what little spare time she had.
It meant less time for Jace, but the work eased her guilty conscience—a conscience that couldn’t talk about the accident to anyone but her therapist. Jace had no clue about her past.
Maybe if I had joined TASR when I was seventeen, Conner would still be alive and so would that biker.
“It wasn’t only the bike, Jace. It was the secrets you kept. You were always honest and open with me about everything except your family. You kept being evasive when I wanted to meet them...”
His gaze darted away. “I told you, my dad was dead and my mother moved away.”
“To where? The Artic? I would have gladly hopped on a plane to meet her, but you kept shutting me down.”
Now, he did look at her. “You shut me down as well, Kara. That time when I joked with you over dinner about us being only children? I don’t know why your mother got up from the table, or why you changed the subject. What gives?”
Guilt filled her. She never had the strength to admit to Jace what happened with Conner. Sometimes her family found it easier to pretend he never existed, rather than that he would never return to them.
Once more, she evaded the question and changed the topic.
“There were problems we couldn’t seem to resolve, Jace. I was into my society functions, but I gave up some of my functions to be with you. I would have done more, but you made it clear your bike was too important.”
“It wasn’t but, dammit, you never even wanted to try riding with me. Not even to the grocery store. You shied away from my bike as if it were poison.” He threw back his head and stared at the ceiling, where photos of motorcycles had been plastered there among the tiles.
“You never understood the freedom, the joy I got in riding. You never wanted to understand. You only condemned my love of motorcycles as if I were a member of a criminal gang.”
She gave him a pointed look. “And now?”
Jace shook his head. “What if I asked you to give up your estate-sale business? Or your love of seafood? Or how much you enjoy the ballet?”
“The ballet never killed anyone,” she blurted. “And you know my business isn’t my life. I had to make it into my life after we broke up because everything became so empty.”
Oh, dear. She hadn’t meant to confess that. Give him a nugget of power over her, let him know how deeply she’d been hurt by their separation.
But instead of him gloating or looking as if she’d empowered him, Jace’s expression filled with regret.
“Maybe if we’d had this discussion earlier, before we broke up, things would have been different.”
“We can’t return to what we were, what we had. In any case, you’ve changed for good, Jace. Now look at you.” She glanced around the bar. “You’ve changed. Gave up a promising career path to be a biker. I don’t understand you. You didn’t flirt with the lifestyle. You married it.”
He wasn’t paying attention to her, his sharp gaze centered on the bar’s entrance. Suddenly, he reached over, clasped her hand and raised his voice. “Kara, sweetheart, you’re killing me. All I want is one date. Is that too much to ask? You agreed to meet me here, giving me hope. Give me a chance. I’ll make it a night to remember like we once had.”
Kara reeled back but did not tug her hand away. Jace made no sense. One minute they were having a conversation about breaking up and now, he acted smitten with her...
Her gaze flicked over to a few rough-looking bikers who’d entered the bar and headed for the counter. Even in the smoky darkness, she could clearly see them study Jace.
His friends. She recognized them from the parking lot. Utterly disgusted, she started to pull away when Jace shot her a warning look. “Don’t,” he said quietly. “Play along with me. Please.”
She didn’t understand, and wanted to get up and head outside, erasing him forever from her life. But something in his eyes nudged her into trusting him.
You owe me for this, Jace.
Kara leaned forward as if absorbed in his every move, every nuance of his soft expression. “A night to remember sounds like a night I can’t pass up. Very well. But you’d better make it worth my while, because I’m a busy woman.”
“I’ll keep you busy all night if you clear your schedule for me,” he said in a teasing tone.
A small smile touched her mouth. How well she remembered their times together like this, when they’d both been absorbed in their work and would meet for a quick drink at a favorite waterfront restaurant bar and flirt as if never seeing each other before.
It kept the magic of their romance alive.
It wasn’t enough to keep their relationship alive.
“Let me know if you can make it.”
He winked at her, and then, reflecting the Jace she remembered well, he lifted her hand to his mouth and kissed it. His lips were firm, warm, and a shiver raced through her. How much she’d enjoyed his kisses and missed their long, intense lovemaking.
Focus, Kara. Giving him a smile, she tugged away her hand, slipped her cross-body purse over one shoulder and slid out of the booth. Her heels clicked on the ancient wooden floor as she headed for the exit, aware of Jace’s new friends eyeing her as she strode forward. Staring at the door, her heart thumping as hard as the beat of the drums from the band, she gathered all her courage and confidence.
Now, she knew what it felt like to be a deer studied by hungry wolves. She reached the door, and a man standing nearby opened it for her. Kara thanked him with a smile and slid out into the dark night.
Not relaxing until she was behind the wheel, she barely managed to start her sedan. Kara inhaled a deep breath again. Good thoughts. Remember the first time you met Jace at that cocktail mixer, and the light in his eyes as you talked about how much you adored traveling in Rome and Greece, and meeting different people and learning about different cultures?
Deep breaths.
Finally, she managed to start the car. Kara drove quickly out of the crowded parking lot.
At a red light, she drew in another deep breath. That had to be the strangest conversation she’d had with Jace. What was he involved in with these bikers?
Her phone pinged a message. Kara glanced at it. Jace.
