Raw Deal (Beauty for Ashes: Book One) (28 page)

“Can I come in?”

I stood aside, and Jace entered my house. I wished I hadn’t opened the door. It had been nice of him to come to England last weekend, but we hadn’t spoken to each other all week; and I had seen him with Andrea King on more occasions than was normal for a platonic relationship, but it hadn’t hurt as much as it could have. If they were still at it behind the bookcases in the library, that was their business. Right now, I didn’t care.

I shut the door and looked at Jace. He needed a haircut. The rain had transformed his curls into tight spirals in places, and there were raindrops dripping from his nose and chin. Why was he so cute? I turned and walked off to the den, and he followed me.

I sat down by my pizza box and crossed my legs in an attempt to look elegant regardless of my worn pink sweatpants and oversized shirt. Jace remained standing.

“So, what brings you here?” I asked when he didn’t say anything. “Aren’t you supposed to be at church? Monica told me there’s a Bible study Friday nights.”

Jace removed his wet jacket and sat down next to me. “Lexi, I miss you.”

I wondered if I was hearing right. “What?”

“I want us to get back together.”

I got up and sat down across the room from him. Was this some kind of joke? “I’m still not a Christian, Jace. You can’t date me, remember?”

“I’m having second thoughts about everything. I know the Bible is true and everything, but I can’t seem to get over you. And it’s not like I haven’t been trying.” Jace wiped the water from his face. Water was still trickling down from his hair. “I still believe in God, but I think we can make it work.”

I realized the irony in the fact that this was the same guy that hadn’t given in to my hotel stunt. He’d resisted temptation then, but now he was falling without being tempted. “So what brought about this change of heart?”

Jace’s gaze drifted to the TV. Shola Cardoso was flouncing down the runway in the fantasy bra. He tore his eyes away and picked up the remote. He changed it to a sports channel. “There hasn’t been a change of heart. I never wanted to break up with you in the first place.” Jace came to sit next to me. He put his arm around me. “I felt terrible last weekend when we went to England.”

“Why?”

“You were being so cold.”

“True, I was.”

“Since we split up, I’ve been stressing, hoping you don’t start dating someone else, and it’s been driving me crazy. I’ve even been praying that you won’t get with anyone else.”

“You’re kidding.” I laughed. So that made two of us.

“I’m serious.” Jace raised my hand to his lips. “Let’s talk about Carl.”

“And Andrea.”

Jace kissed my fingers. “That time in the library was a mistake, and it hasn’t happened again since.”

“You’re always together.”

“I know. I’m trying to lose her, but she isn’t getting it.”

“You better lose her.” I reached for the remote and changed it back to the fashion channel.

“What are you going to do about Carl?”

Shola Cardoso, Namyra Rossett, and Bette Wiens were blazing the runway in their skimpy lingerie. They rocked! What was I going to do about Carl? Good question. I felt guilty already.

“Just tell him it’s over. It’s not like you’ve been together for that long anyway.”

I gave Jace a dirty look. Why did he think he could just come and dictate my life for me? And why was he so sure I liked him better than Carl? He tucked a handful of my hair behind my ear, and I squirmed remembering my roots.

“I love you,” he whispered.

I felt like screaming. Jace was frustrating. The fact that I liked him was frustrating. Any normal person would stick to Carl, the more reliable guy; but in spite of my guilt, I knew I was going to dump him. Was I making a big mistake? Probably. Was I in my right mind? Probably not!

When I didn’t return the sentiment, Jace sighed. “I guess I have to earn your trust all over again.” He wrapped his arms around me and kissed me.

When he pulled away, I watched him. He couldn’t meet my eyes. “What?” I asked.

He gave me a weird smile. “Nothing.”

“Jace, tell me.”

“It’s nothing. I just think I’m going to feel guilty about this later.”

“Why?” When Jace didn’t answer I removed his arms from around me. “Jace, I don’t want you playing with me. I don’t need that right now. Let me know when you know what you want.”

I managed to get him to leave, but the next afternoon he was back to take me shopping. We went to Rodeo Drive, and he spent an obscene amount of money on me. I didn’t want jewelry. I didn’t want perfume. I definitely didn’t want the overpriced Sergio Rossi purse that he insisted on buying just because I looked at it for longer than five seconds. All I wanted was him. But I couldn’t tell him that. I didn’t want to be any more vulnerable to him than I already was.

Chapter 36

I was stupid. This fact dawned on me as I walked into Jace’s black, white, and metallic red seduction zone on Saturday evening after our afternoon of shopping. I was more than stupid. I was insane and downright crazy. What on earth was I doing here? Again.

Jace was giving me this really condescending (in a negative way) smile as a million thoughts rushed through my mind and my eyes darted nervously around the room. “Relax, girl.”

Relax? I felt claustrophobic, like the walls were closing in and I was going to be trapped there forever.

I plonked myself onto the black sofa and tried not to look as cagey as I felt. Jace was a Christian. Nothing was going to happen.

“Are you worried that we might do what we nearly did last time?” Jace asked.

“No.” I knew I didn’t sound convincing.

“Yes, you are,” Jace accused.

“I’m not. You’re a Christian, so I’m safe, right?”

“Right.” Jace removed his shirt and tossed it over the back of the sofa. He had one of his beloved muscle vests on underneath. “But I don’t know if I really am a Christian. If I am, I’m a lousy one, but I’ll think about that tomorrow when I go to church.”

I relaxed a little. I wasn’t scared of having sex. I was scared of getting hurt again.

Jace picked up a remote, and I thought he was switching on his wall/TV thing, but the lights dimmed and soft music swirled into the room from speakers I couldn’t locate. I stood up with my purse.

“What?” Jace asked.

“You’re making me nervous.”

Jace roared with laughter, and I glared at him. This wasn’t funny. I felt tears prick in the corners of my eyes. I needed to get out of there.

Jace must have realized that I really wasn’t finding this amusing, because the lights brightened and he stopped laughing. “Hey, are you okay?”

“Where’s the bathroom?” I demanded. He pointed at a door, and I went to lock myself away, my vision blurred by unshed tears.

I leaned against the closed door and shut my eyes. What was up with me? Why on earth was I crying? How lame!

Even as I willed myself to stop crying, I couldn’t. After a while, there was a knock on the door. I didn’t answer.

“Lexi?” Jace called. “Open up.”

I felt silly. I’d made a big deal out of nothing, and now, I felt too embarrassed to come out.

“Are you dumping in there or something?”

I wiped my eyes and flung the door open. “Of course not.”

Jace gave me a penitent look. “I’m sorry, Lexi. I wasn’t trying to make you feel uncomfortable or anything. I was just fooling around. I’ll take you home if you want.”

I really wanted to go home, but I didn’t want Jace to feel guilty. “No, it’s okay. You didn’t do anything wrong. I was just having a moment.”

Jace’s eyes cleared like something had clicked in his mind. “I keep forgetting that I need to take things easy with you, especially since it’s just a week after the memorial and everything. Sorry, Lexi, I’m a jerk.”

“True, but I forgive you.” I pushed past him and went back to the den. I dropped my purse onto the sofa. “You haven’t even offered me a drink either.”

“What do you want?”

“Just water. I’m easy to please.”

Jace grinned and led me to his kitchen, which looked new and untouched. Everything was sterile and sparkling. There was a picture on the fridge that caught my eye. I walked over and looked at it. It was a young couple posing with their arms around each other and both smiling into the camera. At first I thought the guy was Jace, but when I looked closer, it wasn’t him. “Who are they?”

Jace looked at the picture and gave me a funny smile. He didn’t say anything.

“Do they have a secret identity that you’re not allowed to reveal?” I asked when he remained silent.

“They’re my parents.”

“Oh.” I opened the fridge and took out a bottle of water. It was just as well that I’d asked for water, because that was all he had. Disappointing actually, but then he was into fitness, so understandable. “So are your parents home? Do I ever get to meet them or at least see them?”

“You’ll probably meet my aunt and uncle, but you won’t meet my parents.”

“Why not?”

Jace didn’t answer.

I looked at the picture again when I shut the fridge. It was really cute. Jace looked so much like his dad, and his mom was really pretty with her bronze complexion and tumbling curls.

I led the way back to the den, and we sat on the sofa. “Why’ve you gone all quiet on me?” I asked Jace.

“I haven’t.” He switched the TV on, and the wall lit up.

“Do you want me to leave?”

“No.”

I opened my water and took a long gulp, not taking my eyes off him.

“I know I’m hot, but could you try not to stare?” Jace quipped, his eyes fixed on the TV.

“How do you know I’m staring at you?”

He looked at me, and I quickly averted my eyes. He chuckled softly and took my hand. “My parents are dead.”

I was taken aback. “Really?”

“That’s why I live here with my aunt and uncle. They adopted me when my mom and dad died”

“When did they die?”

“When I was two.” Jace squeezed my hand and grinned. “Look at you feeling all sorry for me. I’m fine, okay? I don’t even remember anything about them.”

“How did they die?”

“Car crash in India. They were on vacation celebrating their first wedding anniversary.”

“That’s awful. My dad died in a car crash too.”

We were both quiet for a moment. Jace clicked off the TV and leaned back into the sofa. “I guess it’s good that it wasn’t Tanya’s mom who adopted me. Me and Tanya would’ve killed each other by now. She’s great, but we drive each other crazy when we spend too much time together.”

“How come you never told me all this before?”

“Why would you want to know?”

“Because I’m your friend?”

“Are you?” Jace smiled. “I don’t really talk about it.”

I interlinked our fingers. “So what do you usually say when people ask you about the picture on your fridge?”

“I don’t bring people here.”

“Really?”

“Really.”

“What about when you bring girls?”

Jace laughed. “I don’t bring girls.”

“Yeah, right.”

“I’m serious. Don’t believe everything you hear about me. Most of it isn’t true.”

“I don’t believe you.”

“Well, you should. I don’t know why I have the reputation I have.”

I put Jace’s arm around my shoulders. Somehow, I believed him even though it was hard to believe. “It’s because you’re cute. Cute guys always have a bad reputation.”

***

Jace dropped me home around two in the morning. I checked on my mom. She was fast asleep, and that annoyed me. Wasn’t she supposed to be worried about me? Shouldn’t she have been calling my phone asking where I was? I stomped to my room in annoyance.

I stripped and donned an old T-shirt of my dad’s and then rolled into bed. Jace called me to say goodnight, but we ended up talking for close to two hours.

Chapter 37

Aunt Milly banged into my room on Sunday afternoon, dragging me from a dream about Jace telling me he loved me in spite of my roots showing under the blond. I opened my eyes and squinted up at her.

“Lexi, how can you still be sleeping at one o’ clock on the Lord’s Day?” she berated, standing over me.

All I could see was her huge boobs. I sat up. “I’m awake.”

“Look at my hair.” She tossed her head, and her straight dark tresses flew over her shoulder.

“Ooh, very nice.” I smiled. “You look pretty.”

“Why do you sound surprised?”

“Because it’s such a dramatic change.” The truth was, I’d never seen her look pretty. Her hair was usually spattered with gray and tied back in a bun with a net reminiscent of the cauls of the Elizabethan age.

“Your mom just did it.”

“So you finally gave in.” My mom had been trying to get her hands on Aunt Milly’s hair for months.