Most of all, I missed how I’d felt when I was with him. Whole. Complete. Loved.
I wasn’t making it any easier on myself either. I watched his video over and over again, getting my Jace fix the only way I could. Seeing his face, the plea in those beautiful golden eyes as he professed his love in front of the whole world, shattered me. Each time he said, “Come back to me, Eva,” my resolve would weaken a little more to the point where it became regret.
In fact, if he called or texted at this point and said he still wanted me, I’d forget all about my stupid plan and jump into his arms.
But he hadn’t called. Since that video, there had been no more voice mails, emails, or texts from Jace. And therein lay my biggest fear. Had he given up, proving that I’d been right all along? Had that video been more of a marketing ploy than a profession of true love?
I didn’t want to believe that, but I’d been fooled by pretty words in the past.
Fool me twice ...
It wasn’t quite the same. Jace wasn’t Ian, and I was no longer that naive girl who mistook infatuation for love—which was yet another problem, because while I’d thought I’d been in love with Ian, I knew I was in love with Jace.
I just didn’t know what to do about it. Soraya thought I should reach out to Jace, and maybe I should, but that niggling doubt just wouldn’t allow me to. Not yet. I was going to wait until I got back to my place in LA before I made a final decision.
That wasn’t the only decision I’d be making. This downtime and return to my roots had given me an opportunity for introspection and subsequently, reevaluation. I was at a turning point, and it was up to me to choose which way to go from here. The way I saw it, I had three options.
I could stay on my current path, return to LA as planned, and pick up where I’d left off.
I could turn around and head back the way I had come—namely, to my family and Bear Run.
I could take a chance and forge a totally new path.
The first was the safest but oddly the least appealing. Whether I liked it or not, Brian and Tommy were on the cusp of manhood. Whether they chose to remain with Black Raven or return and go off to college, they’d be leaving the nest soon. What did I need with a big house? And while I enjoyed my job and loved Ross, I wasn’t particularly fond of LA.
The second option was more palatable. I was a small-town girl at heart, and being back in Bear Run reminded me how much I missed the cool, clean air and the deep, rich greens and vibrant colors of the rolling hills and valleys. Most of all, I missed the personal space and the chance to walk a short distance and feel truly alone.
Plus, I’d be closer to my family if I decided to move back. Not just my parents, but extended family as well. New York and New Jersey were just a few hours away across the Pennsylvania border. I liked the idea of attending weddings, birthdays, and get-togethers again.
I wouldn’t completely abandon Ross, but I could cut down my hours with Backstage Pass, enough to help my parents with their bakery. With today’s technology and the fact that I did most of my work from behind the scenes, I could conceivably work remotely and fly out wherever and whenever the job demanded.
Option three—forging a new path—was the riskiest but called to me the most. Probably because when I envisioned it, it included a future with Jace, though I didn’t know if that was even possible at this point.
So ... yeah, I had some soul searching and a lot of thinking to do.
On the day of the harvest festival, I helped my parents package everything up and set up their booth, and then I went back to the shop. They were disappointed, but they understood. I hadn’t been in the mood to “people” since I arrived.
To make it up to them and to give myself something productive to do, I took advantage of the closed shop and scrubbed the place from top to bottom until everything gleamed. When I was finished, I went back to the house and did a quick tidying run-through, polished Mama’s antique silver, and then prepped a tray of lasagna they could just pop into the oven when they came home.
Twilight was falling when I looked around and couldn’t find anything else to do. I opted to soak my aching muscles in the old claw-foot tub, then donned a pair of comfortable yoga pants and a Dark Wing T-shirt—the one I’d secretly swiped from Jace’s hamper—and curled up in bed with a book.
The room grew darker as night settled. I didn’t bother turning on a light, content to wrap myself in the shadows. Through the open window, I could hear the festival still going strong. The sounds of happy voices and live music drifted in, and I closed my eyes, enjoying it from afar ... until the strains of “Fallen Angel” reached my ears.
Why did they have to pick that song?
I felt the tears welling up again. Whoever was covering Dark Wing was good. I could almost imagine that it was Jace’s voice filling the air, so pure and powerful that it felt like a blade slicing through my chest. I inhaled deeply and tried to breathe through it, surrendering myself to the pain as it wrapped around my soul.
More voices joined the lead, singing in a haunting harmony that wasn’t part of the original track. These guys weren’t just good; they were really good. Not only had they learned to mimic Jace’s voice, but they’d also somehow managed Kurt’s, Dave’s, and Chaz’s as well.
The song grew louder as if it was getting closer. Maybe, at some point, they’d added a parade to the festivities?
I held my breath, waiting for the music to fade away, but it didn’t. In fact, it sounded as if the parade had stopped right in front of my parents’ house.
My entire body started tingling. Certain that I’d gone completely over the edge, I rose and looked out the window, having to blink repeatedly at what I thought I saw but knew was impossible.
There, in the street and on the sidewalk, were hundreds of lit cell phones raised in tribute. At the base of one of the old apple trees stood Kurt, Dave, and Chaz, faces raised. And on the branch nearly level with my window was Jace.
I gasped. He smiled and kept right on singing.
When the song ended, there was a moment of heavy silence.
Then, Jace stepped gracefully from the branch to the porch roof, got down on one knee, and held out his hand. In a clear voice, he said, “Evangelica D’Agolino, will you make me the happiest man on earth and become my wife?”
My hands flew up to my mouth, and those tears that had been building spilled over. I had to be dreaming. Right? Maybe I’d inhaled too many industrial-strength cleaning fumes earlier, and this was the result.
Except it seemed so real.
I looked down at the sea of expectant faces. My mother and father were there, arms around each other, smiling. So were Kurt and Dave and Chaz, who gave me enthusiastic thumbs-up. And, oh my God, Brian and Tommy were there too!
With a shaking hand, I reached out. When Jace’s warm, strong hand closed around mine, I no longer cared if it was real or not. Sparks shot through my fingers and radiated up and out, filling me with a sense of rightness and blocking out everything else. There was only this man. This man who had come for me. Who was currently on bended knee on a porch roof outside my childhood bedroom window while my family and an entire town held their breath, waiting to hear my response.
There was only one possible answer. Jace Logan owned me, heart and soul, and I didn’t want to go another minute without him. We’d make it work, no matter what. Even if I had to quit my job and follow him around the world, I’d do it, and I’d never let him forget that I was his biggest fan.