“Bullshit.” There was no way Stephanie’s ex was actually scared for her safety. And if he was actually scared and he left her with the man he feared would hurt her, he was a pussy.
“So you didn’t threaten to kill him?”
“He pushed your sister and I told him that if he ever laid hands on her again it would be the last thing he ever did.”
“Seriously?”
“Yes.” And he’d do it again.
“Damn, that’s…I can’t believe you did that.”
He couldn’t read Simone’s expression, but if she expected him to apologize she was about to be disappointed.
“That’s…” She slowly shook her head back and forth. “Hot.”
Okay, that’s not where he’d thought she was going to land.
Her expression softened. She no longer looked like she wanted string him up by his balls. “You’re serious about her.”
It wasn’t a question, but he still confirmed her statement. “Yes, I am.”
He’d never been more serious, more committed to anything else in his life. The only thing that even came close was the Corps and even that was a distant runner up.
“Have you told her that?”
Since he’d gotten home, things hadn’t exactly gone as he’d planned before he left. He still hadn’t even been able to take her to dinner. “No. But I’m going to.”
“Good.” She leaned back in her chair and her shoulders relaxed. “I never liked Mason. I mean I liked him but only because he bought me things, but I never liked how he treated Stephanie. He didn’t care what she wanted, he just bossed her around and never listened to her. She deserves better. She deserves someone who loves her, who listens to her.” Tears started filling her eyes. “Do you know how much she’s sacrificed for us? Do you have any idea what she gave up so that my brother and I wouldn’t get taken away after my mom bounced?”
He had an idea, but he knew it didn’t even scratch the surface of what Stephanie had been through.
“All she’s ever wanted was the best for us. For us to be happy. And that’s all I want for her. The best. For her to be happy. So if you can’t be that for her, if you aren’t going to make her happy, then man up and walk away now. Don’t waste her time like Mason did.”
“I won’t,” he promised.
Simone turned her head and looked out the window as she bit the side of her lip. “I used to be so mad at her. I thought if she didn’t do everything she did—if she didn’t do our laundry, make our dinners, do my hair, take Scott to the doctor—that my mom would have to step up and take care of us. I blamed her for being the only one that loved us, because I wanted my mom to. But the truth is I don’t know where Scott and I would be without her. Everything good in our lives is because of her.”
“Have you told her that?” Ace repeated the question she’d asked him. He had a feeling Stephanie had no clue her sister felt this way.
Simone smiled and shook her head as she wiped the tear that had fallen down her cheek. “No, smartass. But I’m going to.”
A beep sounded and she jumped up out of the chair. “Laundry’s done. I’m taking off.”
Ace was feeling tired and started to close his eyes again, but sensed her looking at him.
He opened his heavy lids to find her standing in the doorway. With a decisive nod she said, “Good talk. I’m glad you’re not an asshole.”
“Thanks,” he grinned as she left.
It wasn’t the most ringing endorsement, but from Simone, he would take it.
Chapter 16
“You keep smiling,” Scott observed as he dropped a red token into the Connect Four game board.
“I always smile.” Stephanie released her yellow token in the slot that would give her two in a row and after she did she saw two places that her brother could win in the next move. She hoped he did too. This was their fourth game and she was ready for him to move on to something else or get tired. She’d been here for over four hours and he didn’t seem to be slowing down. Sometimes his nebulizer treatments amped him up and this appeared to be one of those times.
He took his turn and she tried to hide her disappointment when he didn’t connect four.
“Not with your eyes,” he said.
“You don’t want me to play with my eyes open?” It didn’t matter to her. She wasn’t trying to beat him. If he wanted her to play blind, she was fine with that.
“You always smile with your mouth but never with your eyes. Today you keep smiling with your eyes.”
Since he was little, a toddler, her brother had always noticed things about her that the rest of the world didn’t. If there was anyone who she felt truly saw her, it was Scott. He didn’t always understand what he saw or why she felt the way she did, but he saw her. Today, he saw that something was different about her, he just didn’t know that it was the man that she’d left sleeping in her bed.
“I guess I’m just happy.” She felt her lips turning up. She couldn’t help it. Every time she thought about Ace it was an automatic response.
Last night had been…amazing. She’d honestly believed that no night could ever come close to the night they’d shared before he left. The intensity and intimacy she’d felt had been so powerful she’d never thought it could be matched. He’d owned her body. But last night was just as intense. Just as intimate. Last night he’d owned her soul.
The entire experience had left her feeling raw, exposed and vulnerable but at the same time healed, shielded and protected. She’d been so scared of what was happening between them but he’d effortlessly combated her anxiety with security. In his arms, in his words, in his eyes the only thing that existed was strength and support.
Even now she wasn’t clear about what exactly had happened between them. But whenever fear started rising back up all she had to do was close her eyes and remember his touch, his smile and his embrace and she was instantly cocooned in safety.
Today she’d been so tempted to overthink what all of that meant. Instead, she’d decided to take a page from Misty’s system and not try to see the future. She was determined to take each day, each minute, each second that she was lucky enough to spend with Ace as it came. Were they going to be together tomorrow, next week, next year? Maybe not. But that was out of her control. All she could do was allow herself the moments that might just carry her through the rest of her life.
“Why?” Scott asked. “Why are you happy?”
“Why am I happy? Umm…well…” She was stalling in hopes that her brother would lose interest and move on to another subject. That strategy worked about fifty percent of the time.
“Is it because Mason is your boyfriend?”
Scott got confused sometimes. He’d forget the way things were and remember the way things used to be.
“No.” She shook her head. “Mason’s not my boyfriend.”
“Yes he is,” Scott maintained.
Often, when Scott insisted that he was right about something, she’d just drop it. Facts were insignificant in these situations. There was no reason to argue with him about what was right. It only made him upset. So, as much as she wanted to set the record straight and insist that Mason was not her boyfriend, she did what was best for her brother instead and remained silent as she scanned the blue plastic game to plot her next move.
“He told me he was your boyfriend again and that he’s going to marry you. And he gave me this.” Her brother picked a plain blue gift bag up off of the floor and pulled out a gray novelty T-shirt with bold black letters across the chest that read, I Like To Party and beneath it in white read, and by party I mean take naps.
“Mason gave you that?”
He sighed heavily. “I told you that already.”
When Scott had to repeat himself, he thought people weren’t listening to him and he got frustrated. Now, her brother had a tendency to confuse timelines but he’d never made up stories or said that someone said something that they hadn’t. Maybe Scott was remembering time he spent with Mason y
ears ago. That was the only explanation that made sense, because why would Mason come by with a gift and tell Scott that they were together and getting married now?
She needed more information. “When did you see Mason?”
“When he gave me this.” Scott stuffed the shirt back in the bag and scrubbed his hands over his face.
His agitation was visible and she knew she’d have to figure out another way to get to the bottom of this mystery.
Changing the subject she smiled brightly as she announced. “I think it’s time for Family Feud.”
“It is?” He looked at the digital watch that he wore on his left wrist. “It is!”
Stephanie’s mind was filling with questions as her brother turned his television on and moved to sit in front of it. What could Mason possibly think he’d gain by giving Scott a T-shirt? He’d never even liked Scott. In fact, Scott had been the catalyst that had caused her to finally call things off.
After the twins had turned eighteen, Mason had assumed that Stephanie would be “done playing house.” He’d expected her to walk away from Scott and Simone and not look back. She’d explained to him there was no way she’d ever do that, no matter how old they were. In no uncertain terms she’d made it clear they were her family and she would never turn her back on them. Ever. He’d told her she was being selfish and tried to make her feel guilty for not putting him and them first. They’d argued for hours before she’d told him that she needed a break.
A week after their fight she’d come home from work to find all of Scott’s things gone and her brother nowhere to be found. She’d panicked and called 911. The dispatcher had explained that she needed to go down to the station and file a missing persons report. She’d dropped the phone and sprinted out the front door. Before she made it to her car, Mason pulled up in the driveway.
Tears poured down her face as she explained that Scott was missing and she had to go to the police station. He laughed. Laughed. He told her that she was being dramatic and ruining her surprise. He then handed her a pamphlet for a state facility and explained that he’d “pulled some strings” to get Scott in there and now they could be together.
After several seconds of shock, she’d told him she never wanted to see or speak to him again and to stay away from her family. Then, she’d gotten in her car, driven straight to the facility and picked up her brother. Mason left town the next day and hadn’t returned until a month ago.
The rage and hate that she’d felt for the man that she’d planned on walking down the aisle with was indescribable. To this day when she thought about what he’d done her body shook with anger. It infuriated her that she’d ever wasted a second of her life on him, much less agreed to be his wife.
She placed the blue plastic grid back in its cardboard box and set it on the shelf beside Scott’s puzzles and games as she tried to figure out what game it was that Mason was playing. None of this made sense.
Did he honestly believe he could use her brother to get back in her good graces? Did he really think he could worm his way back into her life? Was he that delusional?
“You can go now. I’m watching my show,” Scott informed her as he stared at the television.
Unless she had to go to work, she always tried to stay with her brother until he said that he was ready for her to leave. It gave him a sense of control and security.
She crossed the room to where he sat and kissed him on the top of his head. “Okay, bud. I’ll see you soon. I love you.”
“Ditto,” he responded using Patrick Swayze’s response to Demi Moore in Ghost. Whenever Scott expressed an emotion he used movie quotes or song lyrics. He only ever did it with people he trusted, people he felt safe with. For some reason it irritated Simone but Stephanie had always found it endearing.
She tried to focus on that as she left his room and moved down the hall but she was still feeling uneasy about Mason. When she passed the front desk she decided to stop and do some investigating. Picking up the visitor sign-in sheet, she ran her finger down the list of names. He hadn’t been there today. She flipped back all the way to two weeks prior, scanning each paper diligently, but his name wasn’t there.
Feeling more confused than ever, she set the clipboard down and walked through the sliding glass doors. Did Mason visit and not sign in? What was he up to? It didn’t make sense.
She’d just reached her car when she heard her name being called. Her shoulders slumped as she turned expecting to be told that Scott needed her to come back for some reason. Just as she suspected, his favorite nurse was rushing towards her.
“Hey, Nora.” Stephanie raised her hand and forced herself to smile. “Is Scott okay?’
The young nurse stopped about a foot away. “I’m not sure, I just got here.”
“Oh, I thought…”
“Oh, sorry. I didn’t mean to worry you. I just wanted to tell you congratulations.” Nora beamed.
“Congratulations? For what?”
“Mason, I think that’s his name, was here yesterday and I overheard him telling Scott that you two were getting married.”
“Mason was here?”
“Yeah. He was.”
The uneasiness that she’d been feeling multiplied like wet Gremlins.
The nurse continued, “Scott and I were heading out on an afternoon walk just as he pulled up, so he joined us. We almost missed him.”
That explained why his name hadn’t been listed in the visitor log.
“Are you okay?” Concern etched Nora’s pretty features.
“Yeah, I’m fine.” Stephanie considered setting the record straight and letting Nora know that she and Mason were in fact not getting married, but she stopped herself. “Can you do me a favor? Can you let me know if Mason stops by again?”
Nora paused for a beat before agreeing hesitantly. “Sure.”
“Thanks, I appreciate it.”
“Okay, well. I’m running late, so I better go.”
“See you, later.” Stephanie lifted her hand in a small wave.
As she climbed into her car she weighed her options. She could drive straight to Mason’s parents’ house and confront him, which she knew wouldn’t do any good. Or she could go home to Ace, who was in her bed, and deal with Mason later after she’d formulated a plan.
It was a no-brainer. Any option that had the words Ace and bed in it was the clear winner, winner, chicken dinner.
Chapter 17
The door opened an inch and Stephanie’s beautiful face peeked around the edge.
“How are you feeling?” she asked. Her mouth and eyes were smiling, but he could see that something was on her mind.
He had no idea what. Ace smiled to himself. He definitely wouldn’t mind spending a few decades trying to find out the answer to that question.
Her face lit up when she saw his reaction to seeing her. “Are you feeling good? Is your pain better?”
“Yep. It’s a lot better now that you’re here,” he replied. Inside, he cringed. It was such an overused cliché. If he had been operating at full strength, he would’ve certainly come up with a smoother line than that. But, judging by her face and the blush that crept across her cheeks, she didn’t seem to mind how played out that line was.
“I’m serious,” she said, trying to maintain her professional nursing demeanor. “How is the pain? For real.”
“Not bad,” he said. That wasn’t exactly true, but…close enough.
“One to ten?” she asked.
“Two.”
She grimaced.
“What? Two’s not bad.”
“No, two is not bad. If it was a real two. But I’m adjusting up two points for general badassness, I mean you’re a professional after all, and then another two points because you’re a man and men never like to admit when they’re in pain, and another two points because you don’t want me to insist on you taking something for the pain. So that puts you at an eight.”
Damn, she really had his number. Literally, in this case.
&
nbsp; “Impressive.” His grin grew wider. “Smart and beautiful.”
There was that blush again. The one that took his breath away. He’d never get tired of it.
He watched as she licked her lips and shook her head slightly. He liked that. He liked seeing visible proof that he affected her.
She crossed to the bed and sat down next to him. “Let me check the wound and then we can talk about whether or not your stubborn refusal of relief is really the best course of action.”
Her tone was firm and professional and he liked it. It was just one more thing that turned him on about her. The more time he spent with her the longer the list grew.
When he’d first seen her the list had all been physical. Just what he could see. Her hair. Her body. Her eyes. Her smile. Then once he’d talked to her, other sensory components started adding up of the auditory and smell variety. Her voice. Her scent. But now that he’d spent time with her the list was so much more nuanced. It included her heart, her sense of humor, her reactions, her mind and her soul.
In the short time that he’d been lucky enough to know Stephanie she’d somehow managed to break down every wall, every barrier he had up. When they were together everything felt right. He wanted to show her how he felt. To tell her how he felt. He knew it was crazy, that they barely knew each other, but he already felt like they’d wasted too much time.
She edged the blanket down and began to peel away the bandage. Her fingers on his skin caused him to suck in a sudden breath. Her eyes shot to his, concerned. “Are you all right? Did that hurt?”
He shook his head, a little foggy. He was actually slightly dazed from the contact. The same warm, light sensation that her touch always delivered spread through him now. “No, it didn’t,” he said, sincerity pouring from his stare as his eyes locked with hers. “When you touch me, it makes my pain disappear. I only feel pleasure. You are my relief.”
For a moment she didn’t say anything. Then, she shook her head and gave him an oh, please look. When she moved her hands to begin taking off the bandage again, a forced puff of air escaped her as her lips lifted in a smirk. “Nice try, Casanova. But you’re not getting off that easy.”
All He Needs – Ace & Stephanie (Crossroads Book 10) Page 14