I pull open the door of the mini fridge and breathe a sigh of relief. They restocked it.

I pull out my new favorite combo — vodka and Snickers — and settle in on the bed. After Jace left for Trent’s room, I didn’t really know what to do with myself, so I eventually came back down here. I did however, leave Jace a short note telling him what room I was in this time, just in case he needed anything. I was sort of hoping he’d want to talk when he got home from the wedding tonight.

I was trying not to get my hopes up too much though. The tense silence this afternoon had been almost unbearable.

I settle in with my snacks and flick on the television. I’m just tuning in to a Law & Order rerun when there’s a pounding on my hotel room door.

My heart skips a beat. There’s only one person who knows I’m here. Can it be? I glance down at the time on my phone — he should have already left by now.

“Celia! Open up.”

My heart skips another beat, and I feel almost light-headed as I get up off the bed and scurry to the door. I pull it open and suck in my breath. Just the sight of him guts me.

“I have to ask you something,” he says. He sounds almost as breathless as I feel. “Why’d you really run, last night at the restaurant? Was it really because Trent overheard us? Or was there more to it than that?”

I open the door wider, ushering him into the room. The door swings softly closed behind him, the light click echoing in the silence between us.

“I was overwhelmed,” I say tentatively. “I was … feeling a lot of things. Things I thought maybe I shouldn’t be feeling.” I pause, biting my lip. “Why’d you fly all the way to New York to look for me?”

He laughs wryly. “That was kinda stupid, huh?”

I laugh, nodding, and somehow it helps ease the tension between us. Jace goes over and sits on the side of the bed. “I can be kinda impulsive sometimes.”

“I hadn’t noticed,” I say with a smile, sitting down beside him. There’s six inches of space between us, and that six inches feels both like a mile and like nothing at all.

Jace sighs. “I guess just didn’t like the thought of you being in another state while this — whatever this is — was unresolved. It felt unbearable, actually,” he admits.

My heart feels like it’s slowly creeping up into my throat. I look over at this man next to me, the gorgeous man with the body of a god, the face of a prince, and the heart of a lion.

I want to tell him that it felt unbearable to me too but the words are stuck in my throat.

“You know what else felt unbearable?” Jace asks, a trace of a smile returning to his face. “Going to this wedding without you.”

I snort. “Yeah, right. I’m sure your family really wants me there now.”

But Jace is shaking his head. “I talked to Trent. He and Hannah are the only ones who know, and they both said they still want you to be there. Believe it or not, they still like you,” he teases.

My mind is racing. Never had I expected to actually still be invited to the wedding. I thought they’d all be furious with me.

“You’re sure they don’t mind?”

He nods.

“And the rest of your family really doesn’t know?”

He shakes his head.

“Why didn’t Trent tell them?”

He shrugs, still grinning. “He said I could do it, when I felt the need to.”

“Have you done it yet?”

He shakes his head.

“Why not?”

He shrugs. “I thought I’d wait and see.”

“Wait and see what?”

He shrugs again. “I don’t know.” That cocky grin is still on his face but it’s softer now, sweeter somehow, and for a long moment neither of us says or does anything.

Then finally Jace looks down at his watch.

“Shit. We were supposed to meet everyone down in the lobby five minutes ago.”

He stands, looking down at me, then reaches out his hand.

“In or out?” he asks. The question hangs between us.

I hesitate, but only for a moment, and then I slip my hand into his.

“In.”