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Chapter 19
Stephanie looked down at the navy blue dress that Simone had been appalled to see her in before the reopening. Simone wasn’t here but her voice was. All Stephanie could hear was her sister saying, “You’re wearing that?” Her answer tonight was the same as it had been when her sister had asked her. Yes. The only difference was there was no incredible black dress hanging in her closet that she could change into. Her wardrobe mainly consisted of scrubs, sweats, jeans and T-shirts. She owned two dresses. The LBD that Amber had designed and this maxi. Since she didn’t have time or money to go on a shopping spree, this was as good as it was going to get.
Nerves bubbled up inside of her as she stared at her reflection in the bathroom mirror. She tried to calm down by reminding herself tonight wasn’t a big deal. She was just going to dinner with Ace.
Ace.
Even thinking his name caused the heat her body was producing to turn up and the jittery fizzing to overflow. She wasn’t sure what to do with the feelings she was having for him. As much as she tried to temper them, to diminish them, to contain them, they just kept multiplying at a speed she wasn’t comfortable with. What had started out as a simple crush had morphed into a not-so-simple infatuation. What began as pure lust she now feared had turned into real love.
She’d told him that she wanted to take things one day at a time. Her plan had been not to overthink this relationship. She’d wanted to simply enjoy the time they spent with each other with no expectations that could lead to disappointment, no promises that could be broken, no dependence formed that could lead to abandonment.
It felt like her entire life had been spent in damage control mode. When her dad left she’d tried to minimize the impact for her mom. When her mom left, she’d worked so hard to downplay the devastation for the twins. The problem with this situation was when Ace left she didn’t think she’d be able to do the same thing for herself that she’d done for her family.
Her plan had been to keep him at arm’s length. Keep things casual. Self-protection was her only hope. The problem was, her emotions didn’t follow the boundaries that she’d put in place. They were a runaway train headed straight to Heartbreak Station and she wasn’t sure how to pull the brakes or if she even wanted to. So, she could either stop seeing Ace altogether or risk the inevitable fallout that he would leave in his wake. Neither path seemed like one she wanted to go down.
In an attempt at distraction, Stephanie lifted her brush and ran it through her hair. Her strategy backfired when her sister’s objections to her attire once again came back to her. Never in her life had she worried about how she looked. She’d just never had that luxury.
So here she was, wearing a dress that had garnered a less than impressed reaction from Simone, going on a date with a man that she was trying to keep an emotional distance from but was falling in love with.
Good times.
“No.” She shook her head as she mumbled to herself, “You look fine. It’s going to be a good night.”
Whether those things were true or not, didn’t really matter. It made her feel better to say the positive affirmations out loud. None of her fears, or worries were going to be alleviated tonight. She reminded herself that she didn’t have a crystal ball to see the future. There was no way she could predict what was to come. And one thing her life had taught her was that control was an illusion.
She may not be participating in Misty’s case study, but there was nothing to say that she couldn’t take the principals and put them to good use. If she was following the system, they would’ve only been at the callback stage. She still had one more step, three means free before things got serious. This wasn’t serious.
Her internal pep talk was just wrapping up when she heard a knock on her front door. On her way to answer it, she grabbed her purse and a sweater. As her hand wrapped around the doorknob, she took a deep, cleansing breath. She wasn’t casting her leading man. This was just fun. With renewed determination to be in the moment, the here and now, and not worry about what tomorrow brought, she opened the door.
The moment she lifted her eyes to Ace’s baby blues, all of her pre-date anguish and inspirational rallying became about as useful as a lifeguard at the Olympics. Before he even spoke a word, the heated male appreciation in his eyes made it clear that he thought she looked better than fine. All of her insecurities about the relationship, the future and the past all scattered like a house of cards in a windstorm. He made her feel safe, protected and cherished without even opening his mouth.
“Damn, you look…beautiful.”
There was so much emotion built into that one word. Ace had a way with words, and his Southern accent didn’t hurt either. She could feel her cheeks warming, the way they had a tendency to do whenever Ace was around.
Glancing down at her dress, she tugged at the fabric. “Thanks, I wasn’t sure what to—”
He leaned forward and captured her mouth with his, stealing her breath away. His fingers threaded through her hair and tipped her head up. Her lips parted and his tongue slipped inside, sending shivers of desire racing down her spine. His tongue and lips caressed hers in a tantalizing rhythm that electrified every single cell in her body. Their kiss set her ablaze with burning need.
She was lost in the delicious realm that only Ace could take her to when, without any warning he stepped away from her, ending their kiss just as abruptly as it began. Lifting his arms he let out an audible breath as he ran his fingers through his hair and Stephanie couldn’t help but admire the rounded backside of his bicep.
Was there any part of this man’s body that wasn’t mouthwateringly sexy? No. No, there wasn’t.
“I’m sorry. I had to do that. If I didn’t stop we wouldn’t be making it to dinner.” The sexy threat in his deep voice sent a tremor through her.
Dinner was overrated. She was hungry, but it wasn’t for food. So she pointed out, “We don’t have to go to—”
“No. Don’t finish that sentence. If you do…” He took her hand and tugged her out of her doorway, shutting the door behind her, and stating firmly. “We’re going to dinner.”
Stephanie couldn’t help but smile. Ace was a true Southern gentleman. He was adamant about wanting to take her out on a real date. To do this the “right way.”
As they made their way down the walkway to his truck, he placed his hand on her lower back and it was as much a turn on as their passionate kiss had been just moments before. When he opened the door for her and held her hand as he helped her in, it was all she could do not to swoon.
Then, when he got in, she saw the corners of his eyes crinkle as he settled into the driver’s seat. She knew it was too soon to be doing this even though he’d insisted he was fine.
“Are you okay? We can just order in, or if you need to rest, we can do this another time—”
“I’m fine,” he assured her as he started the truck and they made their way down the street. He glanced towards her before redirecting his attention to the road. “You’re not going to get out of this that easy.”
