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I've been giving Mallory the space I assume she needs, but that ends tonight. After seeing the way she looked with Trevor, I refuse to let him waltz into the picture and steal her from me.
She's mine — I'm going to make sure of it.
With a deep breath, I head for the door. It's time to lay all my cards on the table, consequences be damned.
When I come to a stop in front of the room, I know it is Mallory’s, thanks to the receptionist who easily gave me the information with a little flirting; my hands shake as I tap them against her door.
I’ve never been one to be nervous, but this could go one of two ways — she’ll either reject the idea or be excited about it.
It takes a few minutes, but eventually, Mallory swings the door open, and she blinks at me in surprise. “Uh, Jace, hey. Is everything okay?”
“Sweetheart, you’ve been avoiding me.”
She fidgets and shakes her head. “I’ve just been busy.”
“Flirting with your clients?”
Her stare turns icy, and she straightens her spine. “Excuse me?”
I shake my head and frown. “That’s not what I came by for.”
“Surely hope not,” she mutters, then cocks her hip. “Whatdidyou come for?”
“Let me take you out.”
Mallory blinks, then chuckles. “You’re joking, right?”
Am I that horrible? Is this really that funny?
“Uh, no?” I blow out a rough breath and run a hand through my hair. “One night at our next stop.”
One night to convince you that we can be more together.
She stares at me curiously and arches her brow. “What’s in it for you?”
I smirk. “Just a nice evening out in a city with a beautiful woman.”
“One night?”
“Mhm.” “What do you say, sweetheart?”
She doesn’t need to know that I fully intend for there to be more nights, and she can come to that conclusion on her own.
She’s silent for a moment, and then she shrugs her shoulders. “Why not? We’ve got to be careful, though. The last thing we need is for someone to catch sight of us.”
“Already ahead of you,” I say with a smile as I back away from the doorway.
As much as I want to step forward and wrap her in my arms, it might be the easiest way to get her crawling back into the hole she’s been hiding in. “Have a good night, sweetheart, and I’ll pick you up in a couple of days at seven.”
There’s a light in her eyes that wasn’t there earlier, and she nods. “Seven got it.”
She finally shuts the door, although it looks as though it’s the last thing she wants to do, and when it clicks, I spin around to head toward the elevators.
All I have to do is make sure this is a night she won’t be able to forget. By the end of it, she’ll be begging to crawl back into my arms, and I’ll be right where I want to be all over again.
As I walk away from Mallory's door, hope and anxiety wage war in my chest. This date is more than just a night out - it's a gamble with my heart as the stakes.
I've never been one to believe in fate, but as I picture Mallory's smile, I find myself praying to whatever cosmic force is listening. Let this be our beginning, not our end. Because I'm starting to realize that a future without Mallory by my side isn't just daunting - it's unthinkable.
