No, she’d be the exception to the rule. Strong. Confident. Exquisite. And, Melanie admitted to herself, the most important trait of them all: courageous. A woman who wouldn’t question the gift that Jace was offering or worry about what the future might hold. She’d accept his love, give hers in return and cherish every day they had together.
In other words, a woman who wasn’t Melanie.
She stole a sidelong glance at Jace, who was leaning forward, focused on whatever Grady was saying. It had been ten days since the night in her kitchen, when he’d declared his love, when he said he’d wait…that he’d give her the space she needed.
He’d been true to his word. Other than those deep, almost penetrating looks filled with unasked questions, he hadn’t pushed, hadn’t expressed impatience or frustration. In fact, other than asking Melanie about her mother, he hadn’t so much as tiptoed into even a hint of the personal. Most of the time, she was grateful for his control.
Other times, she wished he’d do something, say something, that would prove she hadn’t imagined Sunday night. That she hadn’t simply dreamed Jace Foster telling her that he loved her.
Crazy, that. Contrary, too, she knew.
But she’d spent every waking minute of the past ten days either at work, working at home or helping her mother process her broken engagement. Melanie couldn’t remember a time she’d ever been this exhausted, so if every now and then, especially in those moments before she fell asleep at night, she wished for what she could never have… Well, that could be expected.
At least, that was what she told herself.
Fighting back a yawn, she forced herself to sit up straight and focus on the conversation going on around her. This was their last interview, though they had a few follow-up meetings set for tomorrow and Friday. Then they’d have to get to work on actually finishing the piece.
“For us,” Grady was saying, “there was never any doubt that we love each other. It was…understanding that we were different people, that we needed to come to grips with losing Cody in our own separate ways. My process wasn’t hers, and hers wasn’t mine.”
“But you refused to give up,” Jace said. “Even when Olivia insisted on divorce. So, from where I’m sitting, that means you had enough faith in your feelings—hell, in her feelings—to stick it out. That had to have been difficult, especially with—” he tossed Olivia a teasing grin “—her, ah, stubbornness.”
Melanie blinked as Jace’s statement hit. Olivia and Grady had almost divorced? They seemed so solid, so…true in their devotion to each other.
Olivia laughed, apparently not offended by Jace’s claim. “My stubbornness doesn’t even come close to the mule-headedness of the Foster brothers.” Her gaze softened and warmed when she looked at her husband. “And thank God for that. If Grady had been any less stubborn, we’d probably be divorced by now. Living separate lives, and we would be miserable.”
Asking the first question she had all afternoon, Melanie said, “How did he change your mind? I mean, divorce is a hefty decision. You must have thought it was the right way to go.”
A ruddy flush darkened the angled line of Grady’s cheeks. “I tricked her. Came here one night and told her I was moving back in until a judge told me I had to move out. When she put up the fuss I knew she would, I offered her a deal.”
“Six weeks with no mention of the word divorce and four dates,” Olivia inserted. “I was…angry. But,” she admitted, “intrigued, too. So I agreed. And in those four dates, he reminded me of how—when—we fell in love, of how amazing we were together. Even more important, he taught me that I could think of our son, of Cody, with happiness. That missing him and being sad about our loss didn’t mean his memory couldn’t bring me joy, as well.”
Grady took his wife’s hand. “It was rough, and I worried the whole time I was pushing her too hard. But I couldn’t not push, either. Not when I believed with everything inside that we are meant to be together.”
“Stronger together than apart,” Melanie mused, thinking of the words that Doreen Breckenridge had used to describe marriage. Well, not just marriage, she supposed, but relationships in general. “That’s beautiful. I’m glad everything worked out. I can’t imagine you two not being together, to be honest.”
“Thank you, Melanie,” Olivia said quietly. “We can’t imagine it, either.”
Grady started talking about the baby and various names they were considering, depending on if they were having a son or a daughter. Olivia shot down his joking suggestion of “Horatio for a boy or Millicent for a girl.” And when Jace suggested his own name for a boy or Jacey for a girl, Grady aimed a throw pillow at his head.
Melanie smiled and pretended to listen, but in reality, her mind was spinning.
Here was a couple who’d survived a tragedy no parent should ever have to face. A horrible twist of fate that could have sent their marriage spiraling into collapse, leaving both of them brokenhearted. Instead, they found a way to bind together, to overcome, and yes—they were definitely stronger together than they would be apart. Not only because of the experiences that tied them together, but because of their…love for each other.
Love that very likely helped them heal in a way nothing else could have. Love. That sticky, temperamental emotion that had wreaked havoc in her mother’s life, time and time again, was alive and flourishing in this room. In Grady and Olivia.
Love didn’t have to be bad. Love could be freaking amazing.
Melanie turned her head to look at Jace. His gaze, steady and sure, met hers. There was want and hope there, like always, lurking in the depths of his dark-chocolate eyes. But she saw something else, something more. She saw…love. The love he felt for her.
Somehow, this moment was so much more powerful than when he’d said the words. Why was that? Why did she feel as if the floor had just dropped out from underneath her?
But then, she knew. With a surety that defied reason, she knew. Not only had she become a believer, but she’d managed to do the unthinkable. She’d fallen in love with Jace Foster.
And that realization… Well, it scared her more than anything ever had before.
Jace stared out Grady and Olivia’s living room window as Melanie pulled out of the driveway and sped off. Probably heading for her mother’s, if he had to guess. From what Melanie had said, Loretta was doing better but not quite back to her normal self. And knowing Mel the way he did, she wouldn’t leave her mother’s side until Loretta had fully recovered.
Exactly what he’d expect from Melanie, and only one of the reasons why he loved her. God, he wished he knew what she thinking. Feeling. He held on to his hope like a child might a stuffed teddy bear or a security blanket, figuring that she’d tell him again to take a hike if that was what she really wanted. She hadn’t, so he hoped.
“She’s gone, bro. Staring out that window won’t make her come back,” Grady said from behind him. “Oh, and Olivia says you’re staying for dinner. No arguments.”
“Sure. Dinner sounds good.” And it would save Jace from another long night of listening for the telephone to ring. Turning around, he said, “Thanks for the interview. It went well.”
Grady grinned and dropped onto the sofa. “No problem. Olivia enjoyed herself, and I’m happy when she’s happy, so all is good.”
Jace sat in the chair across from Grady and rested his head in his hands. “I’m miserable, Grady. Hell, if I’d known that love feels like this…like something chewed me up, spit me back out and then chewed me up again, I’d have run from Melanie the second I met her.”
“Nope. You would’ve done exactly what you’ve already done,” Grady said with assurance. “You’re not the type of guy to walk away from anything that’s important to you, and seeing how you’ve been bugging the hell out of me for advice almost from day one, I’d say that woman is mighty impo
rtant to you.”
“Maybe. But this is hell on top of hell with another layer of hell thrown in for good measure. God, the waiting alone is enough to kill a man.”
“Then walk away now.” Grady spoke as if that were even an option. “Seriously, Jace. You never know what crap life is going to throw your way, so if waiting…simply sitting around on your lazy behind…is akin to ‘hell on top of hell,’ then walk away now.”
“Easier said than done. Do you know what this feels like?” Jace bit his tongue the second the question was out. If anyone would understand how Jace felt, it was his brother.
“Yup. In the words of my idiot younger brother, ‘That sucks, bro.’ Remember saying that when I told you Olivia asked for the damn divorce?”
“Yeah.” Jace sighed. “I was an idiot.”
“Yup,” Grady said again, with more than a hint of humor in his tone. “However, seeing as I’m partial to idiots, I’ll give you some more advice. As I said, you can walk away. Or you can use this time to show Melanie that she won’t lose by choosing you. Give her a reason to choose you by living up to your word. Which I believe, based on what you told me, includes—”
“Waiting.” Jace groaned. Damn his brother for being right. “You’re a jerk.”
“Yeah? Well, so are you.”
There were flowers sitting on Melanie’s front porch. Red roses, to be exact. Judging by how fresh they looked, they couldn’t have been left out in the cold February air for very long. Melanie stopped, pivoted and peered down the street, thinking she might see Jace’s orange car. Because of course, they had to be from him. But no, not even a glimmer of orange in the distance. Oh, well, what had she thought—that he’d drop off the flowers and then park in the street until she came home to get them?
Maybe. Maybe she even wished he had, because coming to terms with her…feelings for him had put her in a state of numbed limbo. She couldn’t move forward, didn’t know how or if she even should. Yes, there were couples like the Breckenridges, like Grady and Olivia, and even Geoffrey and Veronica. Couples who were able to beat the odds and forge a life together.
But then she’d look at her mother, at everything Loretta had gone through in the name of love, and fear stopped her cold. Particularly when the man Melanie loved was known for his wild ways, for his ability to charm women with barely a flutter of his sinfully long eyelashes. Not fair, she knew, especially with everything he’d tried to show her, but would she ever really be able to trust him?
So, yes, maybe she wished that he’d push his way into her life again. Make her take the road she was so afraid to travel. And the flowers, as beautiful as they were and as sweet as the gesture was, wouldn’t be enough to propel her into action.
Holding back a sigh, she unlocked her door before picking up the flowers. Their heady fragrance swirled around her as she walked inside. They were beautiful. Setting them down on her coffee table, she took off her coat and deposited her belongings on the couch. Then, and only then, did she snatch the tiny card from its plastic holder.
Her traitorous heart did a little dance as she opened the card, as she read the words that Jace had written: “I’m still in your corner, Mel. Always will be. Love, J.”
God, this man…he seemed to know her so well. But did she know him?
That was a question she’d asked herself repeatedly, especially over the past few days. They’d spent a lot of time together recently, much of it sequestered in his office going through their notes, talking about the interviews they’d completed, editing each other’s work. He hadn’t lied back in the beginning, when he said he considered them partners. Every step, every decision on the Valentine’s Day feature had been theirs. He trusted her opinion.
Heck, he trusted her.
And she wanted to trust him. Sometimes, she even thought she could. But she still couldn’t reconcile the man behind “Bachelor on the Loose” with the Jace Foster she’d fallen in love with. Unfortunately, this past Monday’s edition of the Gazette had served to muddy those waters even more. On the one hand, there was this guy who admitted to his womanizing, player status every other week, in columns that were barely rated PG-13. Often, she actually felt ill reading between the lines…extrapolating what really took place based on what he’d actually written.
On the other, there was the man who’d written an article about the aching loss of his nephew, about how Cody’s death had affected every nuance of his and his family’s life. He’d given statistics on drunk driving, on the number of lives claimed every year, but those were just cut-and-dried facts…or should have been. But no, the article Jace wrote took those numbers and put faces behind them. Put love and life and loss behind them.
How could the same man be the writer of both?
Melanie didn’t know. But somehow, she had to find out. Had to prove to herself that she’d fallen in love with the real Jace Foster. And then, well…maybe then she could begin to think about taking the next step.
Maybe.
Chapter Twelve
Jace looked at his desk calendar and fought to keep his growing impatience in check. It had now been nearly three agonizing weeks since that night at Melanie’s, and still he waited for her to grasp the fact that they belonged together, that he wasn’t going anywhere.
The waiting had only gotten worse to endure. Not that he’d admit that to Grady, who would likely punch him in the arm and tell him to grow a pair. His pair was just fine, thank you very much. And he had no plans of giving up, of turning his back on his love for Melanie or the future he believed they could have.
But optimism was beginning to give way to doubt, and her seeming indifference toward him didn’t help. They’d spent endless hours together this past week, finishing the Valentine’s Day feature, but not once did she cross the polite-but-friendly line she insisted on adhering to.
To make matters worse, she’d stuck to her love-doesn’t-exist mentality throughout the entire piece, only softening her stance the slightest bit at the end. There, she stated that the couples they’d interviewed believed they were in love, and in her opinion, belief was half the battle. But no, she didn’t claim to be a believer herself.
When he pointed out that she’d won the bet, he’d expected—at the very least—a teasing smile and a sarcastic retort about how she couldn’t wait to see him in a Snuggie. Instead, she’d given him an odd look with soft, almost mushy eyes and shrugged. Shrugged!
Hell, she hadn’t even reacted to his “Bachelor on the Loose” column. The day it appeared in the Gazette, he’d fully expected she’d read about his supposed antics with the “innocent-appearing vanilla” and roar into his office with temper-flushed cheeks and choice words tumbling out of her luscious mouth. He’d hoped for that to happen, to be honest.
An emotional outburst on her part might push them into a real conversation. Which, in turn, wouldn’t only give him the opportunity to come clean about his column without seemingly trying to sway her, but would catapult them into a real conversation.
But she hadn’t uttered so much as a peep, so neither had he.
He also needed to give her the report sitting in his top desk drawer, the one on her father. Again, Grady would tell him to man-up and live up to his mistakes, and Jace knew his brother would be right on the money. But he kept chickening out, worried about what her reaction would be. If that would be the final straw in her eyes.
Soon, though, he was going to have to take some sort of action. Tell her about the column, give her the file on her dad, stand under her window at midnight and serenade her…get down on bended knee with a diamond ring. Something. Anything to shake her up and give him the shot he wanted. But…not yet.
Sighing, Jace stared at his laptop screen, trying to find the will to write another piece of fictional garbage about his nonexistent life in the singles scene. Okay. He could do this. It wa
s his job, after all.
So who was his “date” this time? What flavor should he use? He could go with strawberry. It had been a while since he’d used that one. Yeah, that worked. What did she look like? Was she a blonde? No. A brunette, then? No.
Somewhere in between, maybe? Yes. Shoulder-length, medium-brown hair with caramel highlights and honey-brown eyes. In other words: Melanie Ann Prentiss. Combing his fingers through his hair, Jace swore under his breath. He couldn’t describe Melanie as his date, so he tried to bring another woman’s face to mind. Any woman. Didn’t matter who.
But he couldn’t. Didn’t even want to. All at once, something clicked inside, and just that fast, he knew the charade was over. Kaput. He was done pretending to be a man he no longer was, a man he would never be again. Even if that meant letting Kurt down. And if Kurt argued… Well, he’d quit. Put in his notice and move on.
The decision felt right. Finally, some type of action he could take now.
Jace started to stand, ready to lay it all out for Kurt regardless of the outcome, when Melanie appeared in his doorway. She held a copy of the Gazette in her hands and seemed even more hesitant than normal to be near him.
“This is awkward. But I can’t… I need to talk to you,” she said, her voice low and steady. “Can I come in?”
Jace lowered his jaw into a nod and gestured toward the chairs in front of his desk. A tremor of awareness smacked him in the center of his shoulder blades before traveling down his spine. Was the waiting finally over? “You can always talk to me, Mel,” he said. “What’s up?”
She sat down and laid the newspaper in front of them. It was folded open to last week’s edition of his “Bachelor on the Loose” column. Without saying a word, she pointed to the column and then flipped the pages until she found the Cody article. Oddly enough, both pieces had appeared in the same edition.
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