Sucking in a deep breath, I sit back in my chair.
“Aunt Aidy, Aunt Aidy.” Enzo taps my left shoulder, and I welcome the distraction.
“Hey, buddy,” I say.
“Did you see my corsage?” He points to the flower on his lapel.
“That’s a boutonniere,” I say, “and yes. I love it. I helped your mom pick it out.”
Enzo takes a look around and then sighs. He’s the only kid here, and he’s got to be bored out of his mind. I feel for him, I do. But this is a momentous occasion and he should be here, celebrating with us grown folk.
“Are you excited for our week together?” I ask. Wren and Chauncey are leaving for their honeymoon first thing tomorrow. They’ll be gone all week, traveling to Jamaica, and I’ll be in charge of Enzo.
My nephew nods. “I can’t wait, Aunt Aidy. I’m so excited!”
“Me too, kid.” I ruffle his russet hair. “We’re going to have so much fun this week you won’t even know what to do with yourself.”
I’ve got a whole week planned for him. He’s going through some major life changes now. He’ll be moving uptown with Wren, to Chauncey’s place, he’ll be switching schools, and come Christmastime, he’s going to be sharing the spotlight with an adorable baby brother or sister.
I figured spoiling him with junk food and toys and attention for a week wouldn’t be the worst thing to happen to him.
“Hey, your mom wants you,” I tell him when I spot Wren flagging him down. There’s a lady with a camera at the head of the table, and I think they’re taking pictures. Enzo shuffles away, and my gaze returns to Topaz and Gianluca.
They’re flirting with each other, hardcore, shamelessly, completely oblivious to everyone around them. He’s leaning in close to her, his hand looking to be resting on her knee and her legs crossed, angled toward him. He tucks a strand of dark hair behind one ear and licks his lips before whispering something into her ear. I get goose bumps . . . for her . . . just by watching. Gianluca is absurdly sexy. Not as sexy as Ace but pretty damn close.
I’m so engrossed in these two that I don’t notice anything going on around me. The clicking of silverware on china fades into background noise, and all the conversational chatter blends into a dull murmur.
Gianluca lifts his hand to Topaz’s cheek, running his thumb along her jaw, and she bites her lip, glancing down. When she looks up, her gaze travels over his shoulder, and her expression falls.
Turning to me, her eyes widen.
“What?” I mouth.
Gianluca releases his hand from her face and reaches for the glass of champagne resting in front of him, unaware of whatever is stealing Topaz’s attention at this moment.
Her eyes travel toward the doorway then back to me, and when I turn to see what she’s making a big deal about, my heart hammers in my chest and my entire body feels weak.
Ace.
Ace is here.
Standing in the doorway.
Dressed to the nines in a black suit and white dress shirt, hair slicked back. I bet he smells like a million dollars too.
I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t happy to see him. God, I’ve missed this man. But I’m not about to pretend like nothing happened. I’m not about to go slow motion sprinting into his arms.
Clearing my throat, I look at Topaz, pleading with my eyes, silently asking her what I should do because my body is paralyzed and my mind is thinking a million different thoughts and none of them make sense.
Her eyes widen, her lips pinch, and her brows lift. If she could speak right now without causing a scene, she’d probably tell me to go to him.
Tossing my napkin onto my empty bread plate, I rise from the table and step quickly in his direction, heart thrumming hard in my chest and heat radiating from my ears. My lips tingle.
“What the hell are you doing here?” I yell-whisper, trying my hardest to appear angry with him when all I really want is to kiss his sexy mouth and drag my hands down his muscled chest.
Ace takes me by the crook of my elbow and leads me to a hallway just outside the restrooms. We’re alone, and the ambient sconces on the wall behind us cast warm glows over our faces.
“You’ve been avoiding me all week,” he says.
“So you show up at my sister’s reception? Do you know how crazy you look?”
He drags a palm across his smooth cheek, the one without the scar, and smirks. “Yeah, Aidy. Well aware. But you need to hear me out.”
“This couldn’t wait?”
“Until when? You won’t return my calls or texts. You won’t have anything to do with me. Am I just supposed to wait until the universe decides we should bump into each other again? Because who the hell knows when that’ll be.”
My arms are folded across my chest. I make the mistake of letting my gaze fall from his eyes to his lips and back, and he fully notices.
This move could prove deadly.
My back is against a wall and his hand rests flat behind my shoulder. I breathe him in, another deadly mistake, and lick my lips. I miss his weight on me. I miss his hands, guiding my hips as he drives himself deep inside me. I miss lying in the cocoon of his arms, all safe and warm and electric.
But he lied.
And he’s still in love with someone else.
I could miss every single thing about him, and I do, but it wouldn’t change the facts.
“You want to know why I never talk about my past?” he asks.
I nod, lips pursed.
“Because it doesn’t matter. The past is over. Shit happened. Shit I don’t like to talk about because I’ve made some mistakes. I fucked myself over. And meeting you? You made me focus on the present, and focusing on the present, with you, felt so good I never wanted to leave it. Not for two seconds. So yeah, when you asked me questions about my past, I may have changed the subject,” he says. “And I’m sorry that it hurt you. It was never intentional. I was never trying to shut you out.”
I exhale, getting lost in his penetrating blue-green stare.
“And another reason why I kept you at arm’s length,” he continues, “is because the last woman, I loved her so hard she slipped through my fingers. I loved her so hard it pushed her away. It was a goddamned blessing in disguise, but I didn’t want to do that to you, Aidy. You’re a free spirit. I’m not. I didn’t want to scare you.”
My shoulders fall, and I breathe him in again, my resolve softening by the second.
“But in trying to hold back,” he says, “I lost you anyway.”
I place my palm flat against his chest, feeling the steady drum of his beating heart. “I hear you, Ace, and I appreciate what you’re saying, but it doesn’t change the fact that I’m always going to be second to Kerenza.”
His expression darkens, his brows furrowing.
“No. No, no, no. That’s where you’re wrong.” Ace inhales, his shoulders rising and lips forming a straight line. “God, I have so much to tell you.”
Ace cups my chin, tilting my lips toward his, and I can feel myself beginning to tremble. He leans closer, depositing a kiss on the top of my forehead, and I listen as he drags the scent of my hair into his lungs.
“Kerenza stopped by tonight,” he says, his words crushing my hopeful spirit. “The journal? It was written by my best friend. She left it at my door a couple months ago, thinking it would help me find peace with the situation.”