Reckless Faith

“Jace, sweetie, this is gorgeous. And just what the visitors center needed.”

Jace smiled at Ali Stapler. She was a local who owned rental cabins here in town. “Thanks, Ali. It’s been great so far.”

“And you,” she said, touching his arm, “are the perfect person to work the skywalk. Charming. Friendly. You’ll draw in the tourists.”

“I think the mountains do that all on their own.”

He glanced back at the rest of his group. There were five other people. A mother and father, their young son, an older man, and the redhead he’d met a couple weeks ago who’d asked him about the skywalk. The woman had said she was from out of town, so he’d assumed she’d have left already. Had Misty Peak drawn her in and gotten her to extend her trip like it did so many others?

Ali leaned closer. “She’s pretty.”

Jace frowned, turning back to the path in front of them. “What?”

“Her name’s Stephanie and she’s on vacation from Charlotte. Nursing student. Loves dogs.”

“You got all that from one conversation?”

Ali lifted a shoulder. “Must be my Southern charm.”

Yeah, it probably was.

They stepped off the end of the skywalk and he turned to face his group as they came to a stop. “That brings us to the end of this tour. Thank you for coming. There’s a café off the deck that serves great coffee if anyone wants to head there next. And if anyone’s interested in booking a rappelling session, stop into the visitors center and Nikita can help you with that. Any questions?”

The boy lifted his hand.

“Ask away,” Jace said.

“Does the café here have ice cream?”

His lips twitched. “I believe they do. Tell Elle I told you about the secret stash, and she might just serve you some.”

The boy’s eyes lit up. There were a couple more questions, then the entire group made their way to the café.

Ali spoke to the other woman before they both slowed to walk beside him.

Ali touched his arm. “Jace, dear, I was just telling Stephanie about your time in the Air Force.”

“It sounds exciting,” she said quietly.

He shook his head. “Not really. I was only in for fifteen years.”

“Pfft.” Ali smiled at Stephanie. “He downplays himself. He was special forces.”

Her brows lifted. “Very impressive.”

He gave a tight smile. Ali continued to talk him up as they neared the café, but a lot of what she said became white noise for Jace because he was about to see Elle. What would she say after he’d snuck out of her apartment last night? Would she call him out on it? Or would she pretend it never happened?

Probably the latter.

When they finally stepped inside, his gaze went straight to her. She was making coffee while Molly served. His group joined the line to order, but he hung back, unable to take his eyes off her. It had always been like that. Even when he was a twelve-year-old kid, she’d demanded all of his attention. He’d fought it, fuck, he’d fought it, but now…he was just about out of fight.

Once everyone had been served, he watched as she took a coffee to a corner table. Was she intentionally avoiding him?

He waited until she was on her way back to the counter to step in front of her. “Hey.”

There was a small flare of her eyes. Then she blinked and it was gone. “Jace.”

“Have a coffee with me.”

The shake of her head came before he’d finished speaking. “I’m too busy.”

She stepped to the side, but he mirrored her move, blocking her again. “Come on. One drink.”

“I really—”

“Tink. Please. Take pity on a man desperate for your company.” Then, as if to prove his point, he reached out and grazed the back of her hand.

Her chest rose as she sucked in a sharp breath. “I’m due to have a break in five.”

He grinned at her. “I’ll order and wait for you.”

She rolled her eyes. “I know your order. I’ll join you in a few minutes.”

Fuck, he loved her sass. He walked over to a table by the window and watched her work behind the counter. He didn’t have to wait long. She helped Molly make the drinks, then joined him at his table with a coffee in each hand, setting one in front of him.

“Extra-hot cappuccino.”

He grinned at her. “No sweetened mocha?”

She scrunched her nose. “Absolutely not. I felt sick just watching you drink that last time.”

It had been their go-to drink as teenagers. It had also been his order the first time he’d stepped into this café after getting back to town. It tasted like shit, but he’d stubbornly drunk it.

“It wasn’t that bad,” he lied.

“I tasted it after you. It was awful.” She set her phone on the table and sipped her own coffee. “So, why do you want to have coffee with me?”

“Because I like talking to you.” He liked every crumb of time she gave to him.

“Really?”

“Yeah, Tink. And I’m sorry about last night.”

Her lips parted, like she was surprised he’d bring it up.

“I dumped all my shit on you, and that wasn’t fair.” He never spoke about that mission. Hell, he kept that part of himself as locked away from others as possible, but last night, he’d told Cody and Elle.

“I’m glad you told me,” she said quietly. “The more you talk about it, the easier it will be.”

A part of him knew that, but the other part, the part that was scared shitless of reliving that day over and over again, preferred to bury his head in the sand and make the people around him believe he didn’t have a care in the world.

She leaned forward and lowered her voice. “Talk to me about it whenever you want, as often as you want.”

He stared at her, his chest feeling unbearably tight before he nodded. “Thanks, Tink.” One corner of his mouth lifted. “Still a heavy sleeper, I see.”

Her cheeks tinged pink. “I can’t believe you got me to bed without me waking up.”

He scoffed. “You once fell asleep at a house party where the music was so loud it could be heard on the next block.”

“Hey, I was tired. I’d spent the entire week cramming for tests.”

“That was not an isolated event.”

She sighed and was just opening her mouth to say something when Molly called to her from behind the counter.

“Elle, could you give me a hand with the register? It’s sticking again.”

Elle’s brows rose. “Sure.”

She’d just left the table when the screen of her phone lit up with a text. He glanced at it, about to look away…when he saw it was a message from a guy.

Art. What the fuck kind of name was Art? And why was the word “date” in the text?

He should leave it. A voice in his head shouted at him to mind his own fucking business. But hadn’t Molly mentioned that Elle was doing some online dating?

His fingers tapped the table, and he looked away…but at the image of Elle on a date with another guy, he snapped.

Fuck it.

He reached across and unlocked her phone. It wasn’t hard. She’d had the same number password since she was a kid.

Art: Did you really just say maybe to a date with me? How can I turn that into a yes?

Hell no.

Jace ground his back teeth together. Not caring that it was immature or stupid or an invasion of her privacy, he lost what was left of his mind and responded as if he were Elle.

You can’t. I was just being nice. It’s not gonna happen. You’re not my type. Don’t message again.

An entire freaking hour had passed since Jace had walked in here, made her smile and laugh a dozen times, and she still couldn’t get the guy out of her head. And that was after spending the entire morning thinking about how she’d fallen asleep against him last night.

Oh God, last night. It was the entire reason she’d told the guy from the dating app that she might be interested in a date. What was his name? Art?

Her feelings for Jace had resurfaced with force, and they scared the hell out of her. She couldn’t go back to being the same person she was in high school. The girl who pined after a boy—now a man—who only wanted her friendship. A man who made her feel everything and yearn for even more, when in reality, all they were ever going to be was friends.

And, okay, maybe things felt different now. They were both adults; they’d both changed and grown…but he’d always been a serial dater and an adventure junkie. Did she really think that even if he was interested in her as more than a friend that he could settle down in Misty Peak long term? The idea felt insane.

“Someone looks deep in their own head.”

She turned to glance at Molly, who was wiping down the counter. “I’m…”

“Thinking about Art?”

She lifted her brows. She’d mentioned the lawyer earlier, even said she might go on a date with him…lies. All lies.

Molly held out her hand. “Give me your phone. I want to see those dreamy brown eyes again.”

Dreamy? Yeah right, the only dreamy eyes in her head were ridiculously blue.

She unlocked her phone and clicked into Art’s profile before handing the cell to Molly, who proceeded to swoon. “He’s cute. And a lawyer, so he’s got to be smart and have his life together. And it says he’s six foot.”

“If it says he’s six foot, he’s five ten. Guys always lie about their height on that thing.” It was something she’d learned early on. And she shouldn’t care, right? She shouldn’t obsess over the fact that none of them were six four…like Jace.

Stop thinking about him, Elle!

“I think you should go out with him.”

Elle shook her head. “No.”

“What? Why? He’s perfect on paper. And he’s been sweet and patient in messages.”

Maybe that was it; she didn’t want sweet and patient. She wanted fun and playful. Someone with some attitude. “I’m just a bit over dating these random guys.” Sure, she’d only been on a handful of dates, but when they were all as terrible as hers had been, it felt like more.

Molly frowned. “Because you like someone else?”

“What?” Shit. That came out way too quickly and high pitched.

“I mean, you and Jace seemed quite close at the table earlier today, and—”

“No.” She shook her head so vigorously, it probably looked like she was having uncontrollable chills. “We’re friends. We’ve been friends for a million years, and it’s never surpassed that. I don’t think it ever will.”

Why did her heart ache when she said that?

Molly watched her closely. “Are you sure? Because I was thinking I might…”

Elle’s heart dropped. It shouldn’t. She knew Molly was interested in Jace. Hell, she’d basically asked him out already; this shouldn’t come as a surprise.

“You should. Ask him out again, I mean.” She swallowed the lump in her throat. The words hurt, but there was no way she was going to tell another person not to make a move. She had no right over him. At the end of the day, it would be Jace’s choice whether he said yes or not.

Molly frowned at her. “Really? Because if you tell me you like him in that way, I won’t. I’ll stay away.”

“Molly, you’re gorgeous, he’s gorgeous, and you’ve got nothing to lose.”

She handed back the phone. “Okay. If you’re sure. You’ll have to tell me more about him so I know what to talk to him about and he won’t get bored.”

“A man getting bored of you? I can’t see that happening.”

“Pfft. I’m not that great. And what about you? You gonna date the lawyer?”

She sighed. “It doesn’t look like he’s—”

At that moment, a text came through from Art…but it wasn’t the text she’d been expecting.

What the heck?

Molly peered over her shoulder. “What is it?”

“He asked if he did something wrong.”

“What? Why? Didn’t you just tell him you might be interested in a date?”

“Yeah, I…” She clicked into the text messages—and gasped at the sight of her last text to the man.

You can’t. I was just being nice. It’s not gonna happen. You’re not my type. Don’t message again.

Who the heck had—

Suddenly, it hit her. Jace. She’d left her cell at the table with him when she went to fix the register. She couldn’t believe he’d do this! But…hadn’t he done this very thing in high school time and again? Scared guys off so she’d ended up dateless, while he’d dated every girl in their grade?

But God, they were adults now. Was he really still doing this?

Molly sucked in a sharp breath as she read the text. “Elle. That was a bit harsh.”

She locked her phone and looked at Molly. “I need to take a quick break. Will you be okay here?”

“Sure, but—”

“Call if you need anything.”

Then she stormed out onto the deck, ready to give that no-good jerk a piece of her mind.