Cursive

by Phoebe Lane

  "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 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 if she leaves, huh? She's been moving around the country for a year, running away from God knows what. Nothing really ties her here. What if something like this makes her run away even faster?"

  Aislynn had spent four years of her life learning how to observe and talk to people. She was trained on how to scrutinize body language, examine facial expressions, and ask open-ended questions to get people talking. The ability to analyze people this way had become both a blessing and a curse for her.

  Remember, it's not an infallible gift. A lot of bad things can happen if you don't do it right.

  There was no doubt in Aislynn's mind that Jace was preoccupied with something. They'd spent a great deal of time together over the last couple of weeks, going out to dinner and checking out local bands in small venues around San Diego. She really liked learning about the things Jace enjoyed doing, but something was definitely off.

  For the most part, Jace acted just fine around her. He was his usual caring, talkative, jovial, and chivalrous self. But there were times when Aislynn would notice changes in his demeanor. Most were subtle on his part but noticeable to Aislynn's trained eye. She could pick up on mild shifts in his mood, the tone of his voice would change when she'd bring up certain subjects, or he would avoid touching her at times. He even cancelled plans with her twice, blaming it on being too tired. He wasn't necessarily being hot-and-cold with her; it was more of a hot-and-lukewarm kind of thing.

  He's withdrawing from me, and I can't figure out why.

  The housewarmi
ng party was scheduled for later that night, and Aislynn was nervous about meeting all the people he invited. In particular, she was anxious about meeting his family. She had asked herself over and over whether it was premature to be meeting his parents at that point, but Jace wasn’t concerned about it. She wondered how much, if anything at all, he had shared with them about their relationship.

  Ellie had worked her butt off preparing for the party. She hired a chef to create and prepare a unique menu that matched the coastal theme of the event, set up a full bar out on the deck with specialty drinks for the guests, and even arranged to have live music. She was excited to have this opportunity to get more private clients, and she also wanted to show off. She was good at that.

  "You've put some effort into this one. You look really good," Ellie said, checking out Aislynn's outfit as she walked out of her bedroom.

  "Do you think it's too much? Not enough?" she asked, looking at herself in the hallway mirror. She wore a mint green fitted dress with gold accessories and strappy heels.

  "I think it's perfect. Are you worried about meeting the parents?"

  "Stop it. You'll make me even more nervous," Aislynn whined. "And besides, remember Evan is like a son to them, so in a way you're going to be meeting 'the parents' too."

  "Thanks for that," Ellie said sarcastically. "Now, let's go."

  "By the way, you look good as a strawberry blonde."

  Jace had done some extra work on the house since Aislynn had last been there. He put up two large oil paintings in his living room, and it wasn’t until she approached them closely that she realized they were signed "JQ" in the bottom right corner. Yes, Mr. Renaissance Man Quinn was also an artist. But before she had a chance to ask him about his art, he dragged her over to the kitchen to introduce her to his parents.

  Nina Quinn was the epitome of elegance and grace. She was also the warmest and sweetest person Aislynn had ever met. John Quinn was very handsome, like his son, and surprisingly pleasant and down to earth.

  "It's so good to finally meet you, Aislynn," Nina said excitedly, giving her a hug. "Oh my goodness, you're so beautiful."

  "Thank you," Aislynn said and felt her face blush. "It's so wonderful to meet you, too."

  "How do you like San Diego so far, Aislynn?" John asked with a polite smile.

  "I really like it, actually. I've been traveling for a while now, and I have to say this city has something special." Your son, specifically.

  "I'm glad you're having a good time here. Jace mentioned you're a writer?" John asked.

  "Well, I wouldn't call myself that yet, but yeah, I'm trying to work on a novel."

  "I’m an avid reader, so I'll be very interested 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 dark path. She wasn't one to beg, so she decided to give him his space after that.

  This is why you shouldn't have gotten involved. This is why you should've left when you had the chance. Now you're hurting. Haven't you had enough pain for one lifetime?

  Aislynn excused herself to use the restroom. On her way out, she heard voices coming from around the corner of the hallway. She hadn't meant to eavesdrop, but that changed the moment she heard her name mentioned.

  "When is your appointment?" It was John's voice.

  "Tuesday. I should know the results by the end of the week," Jace responded.

  "How are you feeling?"

  "I'm okay, you know. There's nothing there to do but get through it."

  "Have you told Aislynn?" John asked.

  "No, so please don't bring it up," Jace responded in a harsh tone.

  "Oh, I'm sorry. I assumed...From the way you've been talking about her these
past few weeks, I figured things were getting pretty serious between you guys, and that she was in the know."

  "Yeah, well. I don't know what's going to happen with her…with us, so don't mention anything. It's unnecessary."

  Unnecessary. The word wounded her deeply. The decision became crystal clear to her at that moment.

  Leave. Now.

  Aislynn discreetly said goodbye to Nina and Alex, who were casually talking out in the deck. She texted Ellie on her way out, apologized for leaving the party without telling her, and assured her she was fine. She should've known better that to think the explanation would appease her.

  "Aislynn, what's wrong?" Ellie asked on the phone.

  "I'm fine," she said, as she pulled up in front of their apartment.

  "That statement just proves something is wrong. What happened?"

  "I just…It seems like Jace has some stuff going on. I don't think he needs me around right now."

  "What did he say?"

  "Nothing. Just, please, leave it alone. Go back to Evan and the party. Enjoy your time in the limelight. You deserve it," Aislynn assured her.

  "Evan is here, and he wants to know what Jace did so he can go kick his ass."

  "Guys, just please! It is what it is. There's no drama. I'm just giving him his space."

  "She says she's giving Jace space," Ellie told Evan.

  "That fucker," Aislynn heard Evan say in the background, obvious anger in his voice.

  "Tell him to stay out of it, please. This is all very…unnecessary," Aislynn said bitterly. "Talk to you later."

  Aislynn found herself at home alone, glass of wine in hand, overthinking things and driving herself mad. She texted Ellie and convinced her to stay over at Evan's for the night, explaining she needed some time alone to think.

  You call it "thinking." I call it "wallowing in misery without an audience." Fine, I'll stay Evan. But you call me if you need anything.

  The irony didn't escape her. She had been on the verge of leaving town and skipping out on Jace just a few weeks before; now he was the one pulling away. She felt lonely, hurt, and despondent. The last person who had made her feel that way had been Christopher.