Jace looked over at Sienna. She was no longer wincing at every little noise, but whatever was bugging her clearly hadn’t gone completely. Her shoulders were hunched and she still looked a little green. “Wait here.” He stood and made his way to the kitchen. Chico, thank God, was already waiting for him with two plates, each filled with a greasy burger and piled high with fries. The man was good.

He made his way back to the table, balancing the plates, nearly losing the lot when the tip of his boot hit a bump in the carpet. This server thing was harder than it looked. He landed the plates clumsily on the table, earning him another smile. He grinned in reply, but said nothing. He liked teasing her, getting her all riled up. She was passionate as hell and it turned him on. But he’d been keeping his remarks to himself the last few days. That wasn’t what she needed, and Jace was damned if he was going to add more stress to her already overburdened shoulders.

It had been obvious as shit that something was bugging her the last couple of days. Ever since she got into town, really, but it was worse now. Something she didn’t want to tell anyone about. Not until the night before on his porch. A bit too much to drink and a near-death experience would do that. If only she’d tell him the whole truth. Sienna was definitely still hiding something, and he wanted to help. No matter what it was. “Chico says no coming back to work until you feel better.” Well, he would when Jace asked him to give her a few extra days off. He’d make up the cash if Chico couldn’t.

Sienna frowned. “But I want to work. I need to.”

He leaned forward. “Why? Besides, you need a break. He said you could barely walk an hour or two ago.”

“He said that? Really?”

“Yep.” He reached out and stroked the back of her hand, smiling again when she didn’t pull away. Maybe she was finally warming to him.

“Fuck.” She leaned back in her chair. “I need this job.”

“You’ll be fine. Chico’s a good guy.” This time he picked her hand up in his, holding it lightly. Sienna sighed, but she didn’t pull away. Instead, she huffed out a sigh.

“I’m sorry, Jace. First last night, and now this.” That time she did pull her hand away. “You don’t want to hear all about my shit.”

He shrugged. “Hey, I’m still having a blast. Besides, I want to help you. When are you going to figure out that I mean it?”

She pulled back further, rubbing her arms. “Why do you put up with all this?”

“Because you’re cute?” There. That got him another smile. “Sienna, your bite isn’t nearly as bad as you think it is, and I don’t scare easy anyway. Besides, you’re hilarious when you’re cranky.”

She grinned, before reaching over and punching him in the shoulder. “Okay, fuck you.” But she was laughing with him.

“I mean it. Besides, Old Miss Addie has been as sweet as pie to everyone since your first day.” He waggled his eyebrows. “I think Chico’s using your rep to keep the customers in line.”

Sienna groaned and dropped her head in her hands. “Oh, God. People are going to think I’m insane.”

Jace popped a fry in his mouth, before nudging her plate closer. “Eat, and he teases you all the time because he cares about you. You know that?”

She rolled her eyes. “Yeah, right.”

“He’s rooting for you, he really is. I’ve not seen the old man quite so taken with someone in a while. Guess he likes playing grandpa.” He grabbed a handful of fries from his plate and piled them onto hers. “You might have a few other people who care about you around here, too, you know.”

Sienna set her food down. “You know, I never really had any friends back home. Not really. My mom kept us both so isolated, and the one boyfriend I did have, well, you know how well that turned out.”

Jace rubbed her arm. “Then he was the wrong person.” He sat back and took a deep breath. What he was going to say next was probably going to freak her out enough, without him still touching her. “Besides, I love your attitude.”

“It just gets me into trouble.”

“No, it doesn’t.” Sienna snorted. “Well, it shouldn’t. Look at Chico; he doesn’t care. He’s been laughing with you the entire time.”

Sienna picked up a fry, tearing it into tiny pieces before eating just the end. “I don’t know. I just keep fucking everything up. Maybe I should just leave, move on again.”

Jace tightened his jaw, his brow furrowing. “No. I don’t ever want to hear that.” She looked at him, wide eyed, but he was deadly serious. “I want you here. With me.”

Sienna’s mouth dropped open, and he saw heat in her eyes. Just for a moment, before she wrapped her arms around herself and snapped her mouth shut. “You can’t, Jace. You can’t care about me.”

“But I do.” He leaned forward again, lowered his head toward hers. Sienna nearly jumped out of her skin, but before she could pull back again, he dropped his head and grazed his lips over hers. Just the lightest touch, but definitely enough to prove his point. He kissed her gently again, and then pulled back, gaze locked on hers. “Was that okay?”

Sienna sighed. “It was wonderful.” Her hands dropped to her sides, and she looked down at the floor.

“But?”

“But I can’t do this. Not right now, maybe not ever. My life is too complicated.” Her shoulders were hunched, her arms folded across her chest, but it was her eyes that gave her away. They were deep with regret, sadness, even a little anger. She met his gaze and her stare was so profound he could feel the emotions rolling off her and straight into his soul. She’d seen something. Something terrible, and she hadn’t escaped it yet. In her life, or her mind. What was it, the something that had driven her to abandon everything she knew, her entire life? When she wasn’t covering it with bravado, those brief glimpses of what was really churning beneath the surface, Sienna reminded him of someone who had just walked out of a war zone; alone and terrified. It wasn’t just grief from losing her mom, though God knows that would be enough to knock most people about. No, there was something more, and he was missing it, damn it. She wanted him, perhaps even as badly as he wanted to explore the spark between them, that much he could tell, but she was paralyzed with fear about something.

She tried to push her chair back, duck under his arm, but Jace wouldn’t move. She was pulling away, just like she always did, but this time he wasn’t going to let her. He placed a finger under her jaw, pushing gently until her gaze met his. A visible shiver ran through her as her eyes locked with his. “I’m going to wait for you. I’m not giving up.” He smiled. “It’s inevitable, you know.”

Alarm crossed her face. “You don’t know what you’re doing.”

Jace caressed her face, his fingers smoothing away the creases in her forehead. “At this point, I honestly don’t care. Just as long as I get to have you around, I’ll be happy. I think you feel the same, though you’ll never admit it.”

“Please, Jace, I don’t want you involved.”

“I already am.” He took her hand.

Sienna shook her head. “No. I’m not going to put you in danger.”

Now they were getting somewhere. “I can handle myself.”

“Not from this, you can’t.”

“Then tell me. What is so bad that you won’t let me help you?”

She pushed away from the table abruptly, dropping all physical contact between the two of them. He felt the loss almost like a physical force. “Walk away, Jace. I mean it. It’s not because I don’t feel whatever this is,” she motioned between them. “Goddamn it. I have my reasons, and it’s not what you think.”

“Then explain it to me.” He took a step forward, but Sienna held up a hand.

“Oh, no. You’re not going to wheedle it out of me. Last night was a mistake. I should have kept my mouth shut then, and I’m doing it now. Either way, I put you in danger.”

He pushed forward again, wrapping her in his arms before she could move away again. “Then that just means you’re in danger, Sienna, and I won’t let you face that by yourself.”

“Stop, Jace.” She pushed at his chest again. “You don’t understand.”

He reluctantly dropped his arms, his heart nearly breaking when he saw the sheen of tears in her eyes. “I guess I don’t. But that’s not going to stop me from trying.”