“Silver … hey … wait!”

Silver was halfway across the room, pushing her way through the throngs of people to get to Gracie when she heard her name being called. She stopped and turned around as Ariana came trotting over to her.

“Hey,” she said, throwing her arms around Silver and giving her a tight hug. “It’s so good to see you.”

“It’s good to see you too,” Silver said stiffly, still smarting from her argument with Ace. She forced a smile. “Happy birthday.”

“Thanks.” Ariana looked her up and down. “You look great.”

“Thanks. So do you.”

Ace stepped up to them and gave his sister a hug. “Happy Birthday, Ari.”

“Hey, big brother.” She cut her eyes at Silver. “I’m glad you brought Silver.” She nudged him with her elbow. “Classing up the joint, huh?” Ariana gave them an insinuating smile. “Y’all looked like you were having fun together huddled up in the corner. Like old times.”

“Yep, Silver and I’ve been having a blast, haven’t we?”

Silver grunted, then shot him a look that said drop dead. Her temperature shot through the roof when he winked at her. “Ariana, it was good seeing you, but I’m afraid I have to leave. It’s getting late, and I need to get my daughter home.”

Ariana’s face fell. “You can’t leave yet. Dad’s about to say a few words, and then we’re doing the dance and cake.”

Silver had no idea what Ariana meant by the dance and cake, but she didn’t plan on sticking around long enough to find out. She flashed a polite smile. “Sorry, but we need to get going.”

Ariana took her hands. “Please, stay a little longer. I want to meet your daughter.” She glanced toward the kids’ table. “Is that her?” A smile tipped her lips. “I recognize the blonde hair.”

“Yes, that’s Gracie.”

“Gracie will be disappointed if you leave before the birthday cake is served,” Ace said smoothly.

“She’s already had ice cream,” Silver countered, straightening her shoulders. “She’s had enough sugar tonight to give an elephant diabetes, I hardly think she needs more.”

Ariana laughed. “That’s funny.” She linked her arm through Silver’s, then placed a hand over Silver’s so she couldn’t escape. “Come on, and I’ll introduce you to Paul.”

“New boyfriend?” Ace asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Nah, not really. He’s just a friend.” She grinned. “But ya never know. We’ll see,” she said evasively.

Ariana pulled Silver in the direction of the band with Ace close on their heels. When they reached Paul, Ariana tapped his shoulder. He turned, smiling. “Hello.”

“Paul, this is my brother, Ace.”

“I’m a big fan,” Paul said, reaching for Ace’s hand and pumping his arm. “You had an amazing season last year.”

Ace seemed to take the adoration in stride as he made small-talk with Paul. It was sickening how Paul was gushing over Ace like he was the greatest thing since the invention of chocolate. Silver’s feelings must’ve shown on her face because Ariana chuckled. “I get a little tired of the hero worship thing too,” she said in a low tone only Silver could hear. “It’s a good thing Ace has you to keep his feet on the ground.”

“Oh, we’re not together,” Silver said quickly.

“Pity,” Ariana murmured.

Silver was trying to figure out how to respond when Ace’s dad stepped up on the stage and took the microphone. The band stopped playing as everyone turned their attention to Raúl. “Thanks everyone for coming here to celebrate the birthday of my daughter, Ariana. It seems like it was only yesterday that Ariana was born. But as my wife, Fabiana, always reminds me, I’m not a spring chicken anymore, so I suppose time has passed.”

Chuckles rippled through the crowd.

“Ariana’s not a kid anymore, but she’ll always be my little princess.” Raúl smiled, tears glistening in his eyes. “Feliz Cumpleaños, mijita.”

Ariana smiled back. “Thanks, Dad.”

Raúl motioned to the band, and they began playing as everyone sang happy birthday, first in Spanish and then English. Silver stumbled through the first part but joined in on the second round. Ariana still had hold of Silver, making Silver feel put on the spot. Ace was standing on the other side of her. It was almost as though the two of them, by some unspoken agreement, had joined together to hold her hostage.

“We’ll let Ariana blow out her candles on her cake after we have our dance,” Raúl said. “Ariana and I will start and then we ask that you join in.”

Ariana let go of Silver’s arm. “I want you and Ace to dance this one with us.”

Silver’s face fell. “What?”

“Consider it a birthday present,” Ariana said brightly as she floated to her dad’s side.

Ace stepped up, holding out his hands. “Shall we?” His eyes danced like he was enjoying every minute of this.

“Go ahead,” Ariana urged, giving Silver an encouraging nod.

A string of not-so-nice words ran through Silver’s mind as she scowled. “Fine.” She placed her hand in Ace’s and he pulled her close in a swift movement, causing her senses to come alive when she was pressed against the hard muscles in his chest. Ace was quick on his feet, moving as lithe as a panther as he maneuvered her around.

His dark eyes held a hint of laughter as he studied her face. “See this isn’t so bad.”

“Just because we’re dancing, doesn’t give you an excuse to manhandle me,” she grumbled, mostly to cover the intense attraction welling inside her.

A rich, throaty laugh rumbled in Ace’s throat as he pulled her even closer. She hoped he couldn’t feel her heart racing and was so very glad he couldn’t read her thoughts. Even though the rational part of her tried to remain unaffected, her body had other ideas. Heat coursed through her veins, and she could feel her face blazing. When the song was over, Ace kept holding onto her.

“The song’s over. You can let go now.”

He leaned in close, and for one wild second, she thought he was going to kiss her. But then he passed her lips, his mouth going to her ear. “Thank you for the dance,” he murmured, his warm breath tickling her skin.

She didn’t know what to say, so she just stood there. “I’m sorry I upset you,” he continued. He pulled back, assessing her face.

“There’s no easy answer to my situation, and I didn’t appreciate you giving me simplistic solutions.”

The corners of his lips twitched.

“What’s so funny?” she demanded, a sliver of anger resurfacing.

“It’s not about the nail.”

She was about to tell him she had no idea what he was talking about, but then it hit her. He was referring to a YouTube video about a guy and girl, sitting on a sofa. The girl is discussing her woes about how she feels this dull pain in her head and her clothes keep getting snagged. The camera zooms in to show a nail attached to the girl’s head.

“If you would just remove the nail,” the guy says in exasperation, “your problems would be solved.”

“It’s not about the nail,” the woman grumbles. “You always try to offer solutions, but I just need you to listen to me.”

Finally, the guy clamps his mouth shut and listens as she describes her feelings.

“That must be hard,” the guy says sympathetically.

“It is,” the woman agrees, touching his hand in appreciation. The guy and girl go to kiss, but jump back when the nail gets in the way.

“If you’ll just remove the nail,” he grumbles.

“Don’t,” she warns, holding up a finger.

Then the caption reads, It’s not about the nail.

“It’s not about the nail,” Silver said, a giggle bubbling in her throat.

“No, definitely not about the nail,” Ace agreed with a smile.

At that, the bubble burst, and Silver started laughing. “Oh, just shut up, wise guy.”

Ace’s smile widened as the tension between them ebbed. Ace picked up the pace, his arm encircling her back as he moved her around the dance floor to the beat of another song.

She tipped her head, studying him. “Where did you learn to dance? I don’t remember you dancing before. In fact, I distinctly remember you holding up the wall at the junior high dance, much to the dismay of your date Ashley Todd.”

He tilted his head back, chuckling. “Oh, yeah, I’d forgotten about that. There are lots of things you don’t know about me. Stick around, and you might learn a few things.”

“Hmm,” was all she said as she let herself get lost in the movement of the music and the protective feel of Ace’s capable arms around her.

* * *

It was raining buckets when Ace and Silver left the restaurant. Ace scooped up Gracie and darted to the car, shielding her head. Silver ran behind them. They were soaked by the time they got in the car. Ace wiped water from his arms and looked at Silver who was doing the same. “Wow, that was crazy.” He turned on the car and blasted the heat when he saw Silver shiver. He glanced in the rearview mirror. “You okay, Gracie?”

She nodded, hugging her arms.

“It’ll get warm soon,” Ace assured her.

The first part of the evening had been touch and go. He could’ve kissed Ariana for insisting that he and Silver dance. Ariana knew all about Ace’s sordid history with Silver and how devastated he was when she married Riley. Ariana had always liked Silver and was pleased Silver came to her birthday party.

Ace’s thoughts went back to his conversation with Silver. Fury smoldered inside him as he thought about Riley and how he and his mom were bullying Silver. There had to be a way to extricate her from their reach. He wanted Silver back in his life, but didn’t want to indirectly cause her pain. He tightened his grip on the steering wheel, the rhythm of the windshield wipers sending him deeper into his thoughts. Maybe it was time he had a nice, long talk with Riley—set him straight about a few things. It could make things better … or worse. It was hard to say which. Raindrops were pelting the car like bullets, water standing on the road. Silver gasped when the truck in front of them sloshed water onto the windshield.

“Can you see anything?” Silver asked, her voice tight with worry.

Ace leaned forward, clutching the steering wheel as he strained to see. “I’m okay.” No sooner had he spoken the words when he felt the car hydroplane underneath them. A momentary blip of panic overtook him, but he was able to regain control.

He heard Silver’s sharp intake of breath. He glanced over, noting how her features were tight with worry.

“Mommy, I scared,” Gracie said, picking up on their emotions.

Silver reached back and patted her leg. “It’ll be okay, honey. We’ll be home soon. Maybe we should turn on the radio.”

“Good idea,” Ace said.

Silver turned on the radio, and they listened to music the rest of the way home.

The heavy rain diminished to drizzle by the time Ace pulled up in front of Silver’s house.

She offered a slight smile. “Thanks for tonight.”

“Thanks for going with me.” He unbuckled his seatbelt. “I’ll carry Gracie in for you.”

“You don’t have to do that,” Silver said.

“I want to.”

Before she could argue, he jumped out and got Gracie out of the car. Then he hurried to the door, Silver beside him. She unlocked the door and pushed it open, flipping on the lights.

“Oh, no!” she cried in dismay.

For a moment, Ace didn’t know what had happened, but then he saw it. The ceiling had caved in. The living room was a sopping mess with water and chunks of plaster all over the furniture and floor.

“Mommy, the ceiling broke,” Gracie said. “My dolls,” said, breaking into tears.

Ace looked at the ruined dolls.

“It’ll be okay,” Silver said, putting an arm around Gracie, but there was a dazed look in her eyes, her voice unnaturally high pitched. “I-I’m not sure what to do about this,” she stammered, her face pinched. “I’ll have to call a repairman tomorrow. Get an estimate on what it’ll cost to repair the damage. I’m glad it’s just the living room.”

“You can’t stay here tonight,” Ace said.

“We’ll be all right.” Silver’s tone had gone flat, devoid of emotion.

Ace held her gaze. “What if the rain starts up again?”

She could only shrug.

It took him less than half a second to reach a decision. “You’re coming to my house.”

Silver’s mouth dropped. “No, we can’t do that.”

He looked her in the eye. “I won’t leave you and Gracie here in this circumstance. You can either come to my house, or I’ll pay for you to stay in a hotel. The first option is more feasible because I have a big house with plenty of extra rooms that aren’t being used. But if you’re determined to make me shell out cash for a hotel, then so be it.”

Her jaw started working, and he could tell she was considering it. Silver wouldn’t go for the hotel because she would detest the idea of owing him for the cost. “I have to work tomorrow, and I had a sitter lined up to stay with Gracie.”

Ace motioned. “The sitter won’t be able to come here … not in this mess.”

“True,” she relented.

“Stay at my place tonight, and we’ll get this whole thing sorted out, okay? My cousin Ricardo works on houses, I can call him tomorrow and see if he can fix this for a good price.” The air seemed to pause, waiting for her to decide.

“Okay,” she finally said, “but just for one night.”

Ace knew as well as he was standing here that it would take more than one day to fix this disaster, but he wasn’t about to argue with Silver. Once she got to his house, she would discover it was quite comfortable. And with any luck, he could persuade her to stay longer. He brought his hands together. “Let’s get your stuff packed and get you to my house so Gracie can get some sleep. What can I do to help?”