Flawed Beauty (26 page)

“
Heya
,
doll.
What can I
get for
ya
?”

“Got you working a double, do they?”
Tate asked.

“Yep.
New girl called in sick. Can I get
you a drink or something?”

“Can I get a glass of water and a
cup of vegetable soup with some crackers?”

“You bet.
You all
right?
You look a little beat up,” Tippy asked.

Tate swallowed. “I took a tumble off
my bike.”

“Oh, you poor thing.
Can I get you some ice or
something?”

“No. I’ll wait until I get to my
room. Thanks, Tippy.”

Once Tippy left, Tate reached up and
pulled her elastic hair tie out of her hair. Remembering her phone, she reached
into her front pocket and pulled it out.
Thankfully, it’d
only received scratches, but appeared to be working – but not for much longer
without the charger.
As she set the phone down, it began to vibrate. She
looked at screen and saw it was
Jace
. Needing comfort
but knowing she’d regret it later, she answered.

“Hey.”

There was a pause. “Hey, baby. I
didn’t think you’d answer.”

“I can always hang up and let you
call back if you’d rather,” she responded drily.

“Where are you?”

Exhaling and rubbing a hand over her
face.
“Just trying to make sense out of things.”

“You can’t do that with me?”

“You are the only thing that ever
made any sense,” she said a little shakily.

“Where are you right now?” he asked
softly.

“Sitting in a little diner, wishing
things could be different.”

“Different how?” he asked.

“Normal, I guess.”

“I miss you, Tate.”

His words caught at her heart. She
dragged in a shuttering breath. “I miss you, too.”

“Come home,” he murmured.

Inhaling, she said softly, “
Jace
, it can’t be like that anymore. I… I can’t see you
anymore.”

He gave a little chuckle. “Why? I
see you perfectly.”

“What do you mean?”

“Tate, look to your right.”

“What?” she asked, not understanding
his comment.

 “Lift your head and turn it to
your right.”

Scrunching her eyebrows in
confusion, she turned her head to the right, which had her looking towards the
door. Standing there, with his phone pressed against his ear, was the man who
was going to break her heart… again. With quick, hot tears, she slid out of her
booth. Ignoring the few people sitting around the diner, Tate hurried down the
aisle and jumped up into his arms and wrapped her legs around his waist.
Startled, he laughed and hugged her tight to his body. She struggled to calm
her shattered sense.

“I needed you so much. I can’t
believe you’re here,” she whispered in his ear.

He pressed kisses against her hair.
“All you had to do was ask.”

Remembering where she was, she slowly
slid down his body and led him back to her booth. He sat opposite of her and
took her hands within his. He looked down and frowned as he followed the line
of scrapes up her arm.

“What did you do?” he asked as he
examined her arm more closely.

His kindness was nearly her undoing.
With a shuddering breath, she said, “Someone knocked me down and stole my
backpack, along with all my money.”

He brought her hands to his lips.
“Oh baby! I’m so sorry.”

It finally dawned on her that he was
here. “How did you know where I was?”

“I called Alan and he thought this
might be where you were. Why didn’t you tell me this is what you wanted to do?
I would have come with you.”

The reality of the situation came
back in full force. Slowly, she pulled her hands back and leaned back heavily.
“Oh,
Jace
.”
Picking up her fork,
she twirled it within her fingers.

“What?”

“
There’s just
things
…”

She stopped when Tippy brought her
water and soup.

“Is that all you’re eating?”
Jace
asked.

“I’m not all that hungry.”

He eyed her for a minute before
turning to Tippy. “Can I get two hamburgers with fries? That soup does look
good, so can I get a cup of that also? Thanks.”

“Now, what were you going to say?”
he asked once Tippy left.

Tate looked down once more at the
fork.

Jace
covered her hands with one of his
own.
“Tate, just talk to me.
It seems you’ve been
avoiding me or pulling away for weeks. You’ve done your level best to push me
away. I’m holding on by a thread here, Tate.”

“
Jace
, I
just think you can do…”

Abruptly, he snatched his hands away
from hers. With a snarl, he said with deadly quiet, “You better not finish that
sentence. I’m sick to death of you telling me how I should feel or who I should
want. You are who I want. Not you, nor anyone,
gets
to
decide who I want. Okay?”

She looked up at him in surprise.
She couldn’t help but wonder if Brittany Alexander was one of the people trying
to help him decide. Clearing her throat, she sat back and once again dropped
her gaze – too ashamed to look him in the eye. She wondered how much he’d want
her after he learned of her past…

She swallowed hard, wanting to tell
him everything, but was afraid. She knew once the words were out, there would
be no taking them back. Selfishly, she decided to wait until after dinner. She
cringed at her own procrastination. Tippy brought their food and they each
picked at it.

She picked up a French fry and
dipped it into a puddle of ketchup. “Can I ask you something?” she asked
softly.

Wiping his mouth on his napkin, he
said churlishly, “It depends. Is it related to either my ability or inability
to make my own choices?”

Tate continued to swirl the fry into
the ketchup without actually eating it. Without lifting her eyes from her plate
she said, “Not exactly.”

Silence had her lifting her tawny gaze
to his brilliant blue one.

“Ask,” he said.

“What about Brittany Alexander?”

With slow, precise movements, he
once again wiped the napkin across his lips while staring at her intently. With
the same slow precision, he wadded up the napkin and placed in on his plate.
Anger wafted off him waves. She swallowed at the intensity of it.

Jace
folded his arms together and set
them on the table. “I’m afraid I don’t understand the question,” he said
quietly… too quietly.

Tate dropped her gaze once more.
“It’s just that you were together a long time, and it’s obvious she’s still in
love with you. She’s a lawyer and you’re a doctor, you both sing, and obviously
have a lot in common, so…” she trailed off.

He sat back in his seat and eyed her
speculatively. “So…?” he prompted.

“She’s perfect for you,” she said
huskily.

“And there it is. I have told you
repeatedly I’m in love with you, but apparently, while I’m smart enough to be a
doctor, I’m not smart enough to know who I
want?
”

“But she’s in love with you,” she
said in a rush.

“I don’t care!” he exclaimed loudly.
“That was over a long time ago. And just so you know, Brittany is only in love
with Brittany.
For a long time I thought I loved her, but she
was just… convenient.”
Leaning forward to stare intently into her eyes,
he said stiltedly, “I’m only going to say this one more time, so please listen.
I am
not
in love with anyone but you! You got that?”

She swallowed at the lump in her
throat. “But I don’t understand why?”

“You don’t have to understand it.
You just have to accept it as fact,” he said emphatically.

“
There’s things
…”

He interrupted her words. “Just
accept it,” he said in a softer tone.

“What if you change your mind?” she
whispered.

Lifting her fingers to press a soft
kiss against them, he said, “I won’t and I’m not leaving without you. Do you
already have a room?”

“Yes.”

“Are you ready to go?” he asked.

After she nodded, he left money for
the bill, stood, and reached out a hand to her. Slowly, she placed her hand
into his. He pulled her up to him and he kissed her lightly.

“I love
you
, Tate Morgan, or
Patanga
Moon, or whatever else you might one day be
called.”

Without comment, she leaned her
forehead against his chest, but thought,
we’ll see
. Hand in hand, they
walked out of the diner and stepped across to the hotel. Tate could feel the
nervous tension between them and hated it.

When they walked into the room, in
an effort to relieve the tension,
Jace
said, “Nice
room.”

Her lips twitched at the absurdity
of the statement. Stepping away from him, she folded her hands together in
front of her body and bowed her head as she tried to decide how best to say
what she needed to say. Apparently, not liking the distance she’d placed
between them, he followed to move closer to her. Lifting a hand to her face, he
brushed the backs of his fingers against her cheek.

“Is that what’s been bothering you?
Brittany? She means nothing to me.
There’s
only you,”
he assured her.

Leaning down, he lightly pressed his
lips against hers. She closed her eyes and leaned into him, wishing she could
believe him. But once he learned the truth, it would be over. Sliding her arms
around his neck, she pressed her body up against his, deepening the kiss.
Raising the hem of her shirt, he brushed his hands over the bared skin of her
back. Catching the hem with his thumbs, he ran his hands up, easing her shirt
up her body.

Tate lifted trembling hands up to
press them against his chest and gently pushed him away from her. Trying to
keep the tears at bay, she wrapped her arms around her middle.

Needing time to sort through things,
she said in a small voice, “I… uh… need a hot shower. My whole body aches.”

He stared at her for a long moment
before scrubbing a hand over his face. “Okay,” he said softly.

She nodded and moved past him into
the bathroom and closed the door soundlessly. She started the water in the
shower and moved to stand in front of the mirror and stared at her reflection.
Her hair was a disastrous mess. There were angry, red scrapes up her arm, and
her clothes were dirty and torn. She bet Brittany Alexander would never find
herself in this condition. She compared herself to Brittany. Brittany had the
polished look which comes from money, while she was just ordinary – nothing
special at all – and she had a very checkered past. She closed her eyes at the
image of
Jace
brushing a tender hand across
Brittany’s face, as he’d done that night on stage. That was where he belonged…
that was his world.

With a sinking heart, she climbed
into the shower, and placing her hands against the shower walls, she leaned her
head into the spray and allowed the tears to slide down as the hot water beat
down in relief against her aching muscles. She gasped when the shower door
opened and
Jace
slipped in.

He frowned when he saw the evidence
of her tears and pulled her into his arms. “What is it?”

Tate wrapped her arms tightly around
him. “It’s nothing. Just emotional, it’s been a long day.”

He pulled back and forced her to
look up into his face. “Are you sure?”

She nodded.

She flinched when he brushed her
hair from her face, as it brought back her thoughts from earlier.

“What?” he asked.

“Nothing,” she murmured as she
leaned forward and pressed a kiss against his smooth chest, made slick by the
running water.

He lifted her face to his and kissed
her tenderly while running his hands over her bared back. He rubbed his arousal
against her belly as he deepened the kiss. The hot water coated their skin, as
well as added a layer of steam between them. She closed her eyes and ran her
hands over his slick, sinewy muscles.

Running his lips up to her ear, he
said, rasping, “This is the only time I feel close to you – the only time you
stop running from me.”

Almost roughly, needful, he turned
her to face the pounding water and she once again placed her hands against the
wall. He rubbed his body intimately against her backside while reaching around
to grasp her breasts within his hands. She groaned when he rolled her nipples
between his fingers. He pressed himself tightly against her as he nudged her
hair aside to kiss her neck and shoulders.