All of the air left Jace’s lungs as he was slammed into the boards for what was probably the twentieth time that morning. It was the fourth team practice since he’d been back, and his head was nowhere near the game, let alone in it.

Nope. All he could think about was Adele, and about how much he missed her. It had been five days, the longest five days of his life. In thirty-two years, he’d never been this torn up about a woman. That was because he’s never felt this way about anyone. It had taken him this long to get there, and he doubted he ever would again.

He’d been willing to put it all on the line, see what could happen between them. He still was. If she walked out in the middle of the rink at that very moment, told him she’d been wrong, said she wanted a shot, he’d say yes and not even think twice.

If only.

Contrary to Adele’s prediction, he’d been the one left looking like a complete and total idiot. And looking like an idiot was something that wasn’t changing anytime soon. Not when it came to her, and definitely not when it came to hockey. Case in point he was on his ass, again.

“Kilpatrick! Get the fuck off my ice!” Coach Bale’s scream filled the rink.

Jace got to his feet and skated over to the benches, head down and not even looking at his Coach. There really was no need to see the look of disgust that was no doubt on the man’s face. He knew he was going to get his ass chewed out, then handed to him after practice.

He couldn’t wait.

Grabbing his water bottle, he pulled his mouth guard out before squirting a steady stream down this throat. Once he swallowed, he put his head back down, and stared at his skates.

Three months of wanting to be out on the ice playing, of thinking there was nothing more important, and now he knew better. He knew there was something he wanted a whole hell of a lot more.

God, he missed Adele.

It wasn’t any great surprise to him that he was playing like shit. He wasn’t sleeping, he had to make himself eat, and he’d become best friends with a bottle of bourbon. He was a freaking mess.

It was ridiculous.

Taking a deep breath, Jace pulled his gaze from the ground and looked up at his teammates on the ice, trying to focus on what was going on around him. It was useless. His mind wandered just like it had for the last five days, going back to that cabin with Adele, replaying their time together.

He wondered what she was doing right now. Wondered if she was as torn up as he was, wondered if she regretted her choice, wondered if she missed him.

The sharp blast of the whistle filled his ears, pulling him out of memories from the cabin, and back to the present.

“Locker rooms!” Coach Bale shouted before he started to head that way himself.

Jace got up, following behind the majority of his team, Sean Grady at his side. Sean was traded to the team two years ago right after their goalie Freddie Wright retired. He was a pretty carefree guy and had a tendency to be the team clown off the ice. But on the ice, his focus couldn’t be beaten. After Logan, he was Jace’s best friend on the team.

Sean didn’t say anything, but Jace knew his friend well enough to know that questions were coming. Probably once Coach Bale was done with his post-practice breakdown, a thirty-minute talk that started when they were all in the locker room. Jace did his best to pull his head out of his ass and focus on what was being said. The coach was going over the strong points and the weak points from practice, what they were doing well, and what needed to be worked on.

Jace did a pretty decent job of paying attention…or a little decent. Okay, fine, he didn’t do a decent job of it at all.

He was so fucking screwed.

“All right,” Coach Bale nodded, looking around at the team, his focus lingering on Jace for more than a few seconds with his customary frown firmly in place. “You guys have a good New Year’s Eve, but not too good.” A light laugh traveled around the room, a laugh Jace didn’t participate in. “I’ll see you guys back here on the second.” And with that he headed for his office.

For just a moment, Jace thought he was going to get a reprieve from his ass-chewing.

“Kilpatrick, my office before you leave today,” Coach Bale called out over his shoulder.

Or maybe not.

Jace started to take off his gear and was just putting his skates in his locker when Sean sat down next to him.

“So what the hell is going on with you?” Sean asked as he pulled his jersey over his head.

“Nothing.” Jace shook his head, so not wanting to talk about it, especially with Adele’s bulldog brother standing on his other side.

“Bullshit,” Sean said. “Something’s up.”

Out of the corner of his eye, Jace saw Logan turn to look at him, folding his arms across his chest. “None of us are oblivious to the fact that over the last couple of months you haven’t been the charming asshole you usually are. But you weren’t this unfocused prick standing here before us,” Logan said.

Just what he needed, Logan getting in on this conversation. “Unfocused prick? Thanks.” Jace shoved his pads into his locker.

“You know, they’re both right,” a voice said from behind Jace. Another contributor Jace really didn’t want in this conversation, Andre Fabian, the team captain. After Coach, he was the next most likely person to hand Jace his ass on a platter. “Everyone on this team has been restless the last few months, but you’ve been the worst. One would think you’d be the happiest to be back out on that ice. And yet you’ve been a miserable bastard since we’ve been back.”

“It’s worse than before you left for Christmas,” Sean added, shifting his skate-free feet on the floor. “You know, in my experience it’s a woman who is usually responsible for a man getting this torn up. So who is she?”

Jace was bent over as he shoved his dirty jersey into his bag. He froze at Sean’s question. Fuck. He’d kept Logan in his periphery since the start of this little chat, and he didn’t miss the fact that Logan had stiffened at that question, too.

“Didn’t Jace spend Christmas at your cabin in Nashville?” Sean asked Logan. “You have any hot, single neighbors up there?”

Jace straightened, knowing there were a lot of eyes on him, more than just the people who’d been contributing to the conversation.

“Jace.” Logan’s voice was low and menacing. “Tell me this isn’t about Adele. Tell me you didn’t spend Christmas sleeping with my baby sister.”

And just that quickly the dots had been connected. Really, he shouldn’t have expected anything else. He also shouldn’t have turned, shouldn’t have glanced over at Logan, but he did. He had absolutely no clue what expression was on his face, but whatever it was, it must’ve been one of guilt.

Logan moved faster than Jace was prepared for, because he was in no way ready for the fist that connected with his jaw. But instinct took over in an instant, and Jace started to fight back.

Maybe it was because he was so pissed off at the world—a rubber band ready to snap at any moment. Maybe it was because he just needed to hit something. Or maybe it was because he just didn’t care anymore.

He landed a hit to Logan’s stomach before he was tackled to the floor. Fists were flying, both of them trying to get in as many good punches as possible. Then there was a loud roar that filled the room, and Jace was pulled to his feet and shoved back against a set of lockers.

Looking across the space, he saw Logan being held back by Andre and Sean. Blood was dripping down his face from a cut on his eyebrow and his chest was heaving as he glared daggers. It was a look that spoke a thousand words, but the clearest was one of betrayal. It was a look that said quite clearly their friendship was over.

Everything in him deflated in an instant. He’d lost the girl, he’d lost his best friend, and he was probably going to lose the only family he’d had since his mom died.

“What. The. Hell. Is going on in my locker room?” A voice of pure rage filled the air, and Jace’s focus moved from Logan to Coach Bale who was positively seething by his office door.

“James. Kilpatrick. My office. Now.”

The hands holding Jace back all let go and he was finally able to reach up and touch the corner of his mouth. His hand came away with a decent amount of blood on it and he was pretty sure he was going to have a good-sized bruise on his jaw when all was said and done. The spot where Logan had clocked him was already throbbing.

Coach Bale stood by the door, waiting for both him and Logan to pass. The second they were in the office he slammed the door shut behind them.

“Sit!” He barked at the two of them, rounding his desk to get to his chair and taking a seat himself. “The season hasn’t even officially started and I have to deal with this horse shit? You,” he pointed at Logan, “this isn’t the first time you’ve gotten into a fight in my locker room. But it sure as hell better be the last. Do understand me?”

Before Logan had a chance to say anything, Jace spoke up. “Coach, it was my fault.”

The last thing he wanted was his coach’s furious gaze focused on him, but he wasn’t going to let Logan take the fall. It didn’t matter who’d thrown the first punch, what had happened was on Jace.

“I don’t care whose fault it was, or who threw the first punch. You better get your shit together. Both of you. Do you understand me?”

“Yes, sir,” Jace and Logan said in unison.

“Good. We’re done, James.” He gave a clipped nod as he dismissed Logan. “Kilpatrick, stay where you are.”

Logan didn’t even glance at Jace as he left the office, just walked on by and shut the door behind himself.

Coach Bale stared at Jace for a few seconds, his jaw ticking, before he let out a deep breath and leaned back in his chair. “You know, I’m not the heartless son of a bitch everyone thinks I am. You’ve been on this team for seven years and I’ve never seen you like this. I’ve been married for thirty-three years, longer than you’ve been alive, and I raised five daughters during that time. I know lovesick when I seen it. And based off that little altercation out there,” he pointed to the locker room, “I’m guessing it’s with James’ little sister because the only time that man loses it is when it involves a woman in his life. Am I correct?”

Well, damn. “Yes, sir.” Jace nodded slowly.

“Son, I get it, I honestly do, love hurts worse than anything else. But you better get your head back on straight. Otherwise, your ass is going to get very well acquainted with riding that bench. Do you understand me?”

“Yes, sir.”

“You can go now,” he said as he grabbed a pen and started marking the playbook open on his desk.

Jace got up and headed for the door, but when his hand wrapped around the handle, he heard his name being called out.

Turning over his shoulder, he looked at his coach. “Piece of advice. I suggest you fix what you can with James first. Once you get him on your side, you might be able to figure the rest out.”

“Thank you, sir.”

It was an excellent piece of advice, but when Jace headed back out to the locker room it was to find that Logan was already gone.

Adele pulled up in front of Felicity’s Atlanta mansion just before four in the afternoon on New Year’s Eve. After five long days in that cabin, she couldn’t take another day of reliving all of her time with Jace, couldn’t take another day of being alone. Well, without human contact. She’d never been entirely alone, what with Katie in the picture, but it seemed like even her dog was moping around with Jace gone.

The first couple of mornings, Katie sat outside the closed door leading to Jace’s room, whining and waiting for him to open up and let her in. It was just another thing that hadn’t helped with Adele’s state of mind.

But nothing helped.

She’d been pretty sad and pathetic herself, laying on the sofa snuggling with Katie, living in one of the shirts Jace and left behind, watching every Christmas movie again, staring at the lights on the tree. And crying, good Lord, had there been a lot of crying. She wasn’t sure how she hadn’t dehydrated herself at this point.

She’d taken down all of the decorations the night before, drinking an entire bottle of wine while a Star Wars marathon played in the background. Star Wars was pretty neutral territory. It wasn’t associated with Christmas, and it wasn’t associated with Jace. Not that it mattered as he was all she could think about.

But she’d made the right choice. Maybe if she told herself that enough times she’d start believing it.

She kept going over it, going over letting him go, going over what had been said, what he had said.

You know, I told you before, I can’t say no to you. Can’t say no to anything that involves your happiness.

Which was why he’d left, why he’d walked out the door, because that was what she’d said she’d wanted.

I didn’t realize it until this week, didn’t realize that for the last six years there has been something inside of me that’s just wanted to see you happy.

Happy. That wasn’t a word that in any way described how she felt. It hadn’t been an emotion she’d been anywhere close to over the last few days.

I thought I could be a part of that. Thought I could be a part of your life as more than a bystander. Thought we could be together.

Except there was no together. Not for them. It wasn’t a reality. Once Jace was back in Jacksonville, back on the ice, back to his life, he’d get over things. Get over what had happened at the cabin. Get over her.

It was the outcome she’d always expected. But still, thinking about it hurt like hell. So much so that when she did think about it she couldn’t stop the tightening in her throat, or the burn at the corner of her eyes, or the chain reaction of her emotions that left her a sobbing mess. It was like she was forever living in that hour after Christmas day, when she’d left a sleeping Jace in bed and cried her heart out on the bathroom floor.

She’d never been more alone in her life, which was something she desperately needed to change and was why she’d headed to Atlanta and Felicity. She didn’t care about encountering anyone from the media. It had been almost two weeks since that damn photo was taken and picturegate had commenced, so maybe they no longer cared about her and Troy.

To be honest, it didn’t really matter to her anymore. She didn’t care about any of that other bullshit, not after what had happened with Jace. He was her real heartbreak. But this damage was nothing to what could’ve happened, to what would’ve happened if she’d let herself think there was a possibility of a future with him.

There was no future for them. There never had been. It might take a little time—okay, fine, a lot of time—but sooner or later, she’d be able to breathe without feeling that constant ache in her chest. And until then, she just needed to hold it together.

Yeah, she failed on that front almost the second she and Katie walked into Felicity’s house.

As was to be expected, Katie immediately went off to play with Felicity’s Great Dane Moses, and Adele was pulled into one of Felicity’s all-consuming embraces. It was full of love, just like Felicity was. And just that quickly, Adele broke down into full-blown sobs. Ones that moved through her entire body, making her shake uncontrollably.

So much for holding things together.

“Oh my gosh. Adele, honey, what’s wrong? What happened?”

But she just started crying harder, unable to say a single damn word.

“Come on.” Felicity grabbed Adele’s hand and pulled her through the house and into the living room. They sat down on the sofa, and Felicity pulled Adele into her arms again, holding her tight as Adele cried and cried and cried on her shoulder. Letting it all out until she couldn’t cry anymore.

Felicity held her through it all, moving her hands up and down and rubbing Adele’s back. “I’ve got you. I’m here.”

It took a while, but when Adele was finally able to compose herself, she pulled back, a wet, snotty, disgusting mess. Felicity leaned over, grabbing a box of tissues on the side table and handing them to Adele.

Pulling out a tissue, Adele blew her nose before getting another one and dabbing at her eyes. “Thank you.”

Felicity reached out, covering one of Adele’s hands with her own “Honey, what was that about? What happened? Not Troy?”

“No.” Adele shook her head, biting her bottom lip before letting it go. “No, not Troy.”

“Oh, thank God. Because if you were crying over him I’d have to slap you.”

A laugh bubbled up through her chest, one that grew into more laughter. And then she was laughing so hard she couldn’t breathe.

Felicity smiled as she reached up, holding Adele’s face in her hands. “Well, this is better than the crying. You want to talk?”

“Yes.”

“You want a drink?”

“God, yes.”

“Come on.” Felicity stood up, holding her hand out for Adele. “I’ve got a really nice bottle of Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand in the wine fridge.”

Adele grabbed Felicity’s hand and was led through the house and to the kitchen. With whatever chaos and turmoil was raging around inside of her, she felt more than just a little bit better. Letting out some of the pain had helped, but it was also being around her best friend.

It had been six years since Adele had met Felicity during the first season of Ponce. They’d hit it off from the get-go, and had only gotten closer over the years. Without a doubt she was Adele’s best friend, which was funny as they were almost complete opposites.

Adele was tall, with tanned skin and dark hair, had tattoos and piercings, and had a tendency to be a bit outspoken. Whereas Felicity barely cleared five-foot-four, had golden blonde hair that she hadn’t dyed once in her life, only had her ears pierced, and was very much on the quieter side. That being said, she was more than capable of speaking up when the situation warranted. She might be one of the sweetest people Adele had ever met, but she still had a backbone.

“Sit down,” Felicity said, pointing to the white leather, high-backed barstool at the counter. “So let’s recap first. You left me before Christmas pissed off and wanting to get away from everyone and everything. You go and stay at your family’s cabin and then you come back to me a crying mess. What happened between point A and point B?”

“I wasn’t alone up there.”

Felicity pulled a bottle of wine from the fridge and turned around. “Who was there?”

Adele took a deep breath and let it out, something that was slightly hindered by her now stuffy nose. “Jace was there.”

Felicity set the bottle on the counter, her eyes now huge. “What?”

“He went up there to get away during Christmas, too. And we got snowed in together.”

“Why didn’t you tell me? We’ve talked multiple times since you went up there.”

“Because.” Adele looked down at the counter, tracing a pattern in the white and gray speckled marble. “I knew you’d warn me against making bad choices.”

“And did you make bad choices?”

Adele looked up, her golden brown eyes meeting Felicity’s navy blue ones. “I don’t regret anything I did with him.”

“I’m guessing you guys had sex.”

Adele nodded. “A lot of sex.”

“All right, let me open this.” Felicity pulled out the drawer next to her and grabbed a corkscrew. “We’re going to need alcohol for this conversation.”

“A lot of alcohol,” Adele agreed.

Jace had been dating since he was thirteen years old, and never had he gone to a girl’s house to pick her up with a looming father holding a shotgun and waiting for permission. But as he went to Logan’s house that evening he was pretty sure he was about to face a freaking firing squad.

The feeling of imminent doom might also be because it wasn’t just Logan he was about to face. Before the locker room brawl had happened, Jace had been invited to spend New Year’s Eve with the entire James clan…well, entire minus Adele.

It was not only Logan and his wife and son, but Adele’s other brother Liam along with his wife and their daughter, and their parents. One big happy family.

Or it would’ve been.

They might tell Jace to leave, tell him he wasn’t welcome, that there was absolutely nothing to be said. Or they might give Jace a chance to explain. All he knew was he had to try to fix things. He had to try to do something. To do anything.

He wasn’t giving up. He couldn’t. He knew that beyond a shadow of a doubt. He was going to fight for what he wanted. He was going to fight for Adele. This was just the first step.

Jace got a small reprieve from his firing squad because of who was on the other side of the door when it opened. It wasn’t the angry, looming form of Logan. Instead, it was a petite, beautiful redhead, otherwise known as Abby James, Logan’s wife.

“You two are idiots. You know that?” She shook her head as she reached up, cupping Jace’s jaw and lightly skimming her thumb across the bruise that was already forming.

“He told you what happened?

“Yes. And as previously stated, you two are idiots.”

“You think he’ll talk to me?”

Abby dropped her hand before she moved to the side, making room for him to step into the house. “If he doesn’t, he’s sleeping on the sofa.”

“Don’t you guys have like four guest bedrooms?” He moved past her so she could shut the door behind him.

“Yeah, we do. But he doesn’t get one if he’s a stubborn ass.”

Jace turned to look at her at the same moment that she turned to look at him. “Why are you giving me a shot?”

“Because, there are two sides to this story with you and Adele, and I haven’t heard either of them yet and neither has Logan. And Jace,” she reached out and grabbed his forearm, “no one knows about this whole thing besides me, so there is no need to look like you’re about to meet your maker. Come on,” she gave him a half smile as she nodded her head behind him and down the hallway.

They moved further into the house, the scent of marinara and Italian seasoning getting stronger as they went.

“Look who’s here,” Abby announced as they cleared the hallway and stepped into the dining room that opened up to the kitchen.

All eyes turned to him as they walked in, an excited reaction from everyone there. Even Liam and Harper’s little French Bulldog, Luna, was dancing around, wanting the attention from the new human in the room.

Edie—the matriarch of the James family—was in the kitchen with Liam and Harper, all of them preparing the pizzas that were scattered out on the counters. Meanwhile Dustin—the patriarch—was sitting at one of the barstools at the counter with the almost two-year-old Sofia sitting in his lap. She was watching all the commotion going on around her with her big violet eyes.

“Jace!” Edie was the first to come around the kitchen island, arms outstretched. “I’m so glad you’re here!” She wrapped him up in one of those mom hugs that really had no comparison.

He leaned down to press a kiss to her cheek and when he pulled back she got a good look at him. Some of that happiness in her expression dimmed.

“What happened to your face? A three-month lockout and you boys forget how to not hurt your own teammates? Logan looks like he got into a fight too.”

“You know how it is, sometimes things just get a little out of hand during practice. It’s fine, don’t worry about me.”

“Hmmmm.” Her eyes narrowed, the skepticism on her face clear. “Well, I’m glad to see you. Even if you’re a little banged up. We missed you at Christmas. But I was happy you and Adele had each other for company. You have a good time with her?”

Jace looked into Edie’s eyes, the same golden brown eyes as her daughter’s. He couldn’t lie about it, not even a little. So he told the God’s honest truth, trying to express in every single one of his words just how much he missed Adele. “It was one of the best Christmases I ever had. I didn’t want it to end.”

Surprise flashed in her eyes before it turned into something that looked an awful lot like understanding. Like everything had just clicked into place in her head.

“You know, when I talked to her, she said the same thing.” She gently patted the uninjured side of his face, not breaking her gaze. “I think she misses you too, Jace,” she whispered for only him to hear before she let go and took a step back.

It was the first time in five days that he felt even an ounce of hope.

For the next few minutes, he was passed around from person to person, giving hugs and kisses, being welcomed into the fold just like he usually was…that was until Logan came into the room.

He pulled up short when he saw Jace, a muscle ticking in his jaw. The new tension in the room was very evident, flickering around the space and missed by absolutely no one. Jace felt everyone’s eyes bouncing back and forth between him and Logan. Meanwhile, Logan was taking deep, steady breaths through his nose, like he was counting.

One…

Two…

Three…

And then he turned to Abby, handing her the baby monitor in his hands. “Matthew went down pretty good. I think he’s out, but can you be on baby duty for a bit?”

“Yeah,” she took the monitor from him. “You guys want to go outside and have a beer while we finish up with dinner?”

It was then that the fear of God ran through Jace. Talking to Logan and Liam he was prepared for, but he wasn’t ready to have this particular conversation with Adele’s dad.

Not. At. All.

Dustin James might be a big ol’ Irish teddy bear …but when it came to his baby girl, all bets were off. And really, there was something about losing the respect from this man that scared him more than anything else.

Maybe because Dustin was the father Jace never had, just like Edie was the mother he’d been missing for most of his life.

This was his family and he had to fix things. Absolutely had to. Otherwise, he could lose it all. Just the thought of it tore him apart. He’d never realized how much he had until it was all about to slip through his fingers.

And there was one person he couldn’t lose above all of them.

Adele.

He knew she was it for him. She was what he’d always been waiting for. He just hadn’t figured it out until he’d lost her. How ridiculous was that?

“What do you want to drink, Jace?” Liam asked as he opened the refrigerator.

“I’m fine with whatever.”

“Dad? Logan?” Liam’s focus moved from Dustin to his brother.

“Whatever you’re drinking,” Logan answered.

“You guys go on,” Dustin said adjusting Sofia on his hip. “I’m going to put this little one to bed.”

At his words Sofia wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face against his chest, sleepily mumbling, “Gampa.”

“I think she’s staked her claim,” Liam nodded as he grabbed three bottles of the same beer from the fridge.

“I don’t mind.” Dustin smiled as he kissed the top of her head.

“Can you grab my jacket?” Liam asked Logan as he headed for the door with the bottles in his hands.

The temperature had dropped to the low forties that night, so it was good and truly chilly. Jace hadn’t taken off his jacket when he’d walked in—partially because he wasn’t sure if Logan was going to kick him out or not—so there was no need for him to cover up.

Logan’s back porch looked out onto the Intracoastal Waterway. The sun had set about an hour ago, so all there was to see were the lights from the surrounding houses, a lot of them still sporting Christmas decorations.

Just the sight of it made Jace ache for Adele. But Christmas decorations or not, he’d always ache for her. That much was beyond evident to him.

Keys jangled behind Jace and he turned around to see Liam using a bottle opener on his keychain to pop the top off one of the bottles.

“Thanks,” Jace nodded as Liam handed him the beer.

Liam grabbed another bottle from where he’d set it on the wooden railing, popped the top, and passed it to Logan before he opened one for himself. “Happy New Year.” He held his bottle in the air.

“Happy New Year,” Jace and Logan chorused before they all clinked the necks of their beers together and tossed their heads back to take a sip.

Liam set his bottle down on the wooden railing, grabbing the jacket Logan had brought out for him. “So, you guys going to start this whole conversation with why you’ve made minced meat out of the other’s face?” He asked as he slid his arms into the sleeves and pulled his jacket up and onto his shoulders.

Logan said nothing, just gave Jace a look that clearly said you talk.

Jace cleared his throat, setting his beer bottle down next to Liam’s, keeping his hands free just in case Liam had the same reaction as Logan had. “Something happened with Adele while we were snowed in at the cabin.”

Liam’s eyebrows rose high, and he made a move that had Jace taking a step back. But instead of punching Jace, he was just reaching for his beer bottle. “You think I was going to hit you?” he asked as his mouth split into a grin.

Jace lifted his hand, indicating his face.

Liam grinned wider as he lifted his bottle to his mouth. “Fair point, but I’m not as much of a hot head as my brother.”

Logan said nothing, just glared at Liam.

“Anyway,” Liam continued, “without getting into too much detail, what happened with you and Adele?”

“I feel like I need to start with the fact that I’ve known the boundaries from the beginning of our friendship,” he moved his focus to Logan. “Adele was off limits, and I never had any intentions of messing with her. Ever. You’re my best friend and she’s your little sister. I wasn’t going to do anything that would affect our friendship. And then it became more than just our friendship. I got close with you too, Liam,” Jace looked to the other man. “And your parents. And Adele was always there, not in the background, but just as much a part of the picture as anyone else. The thing is, I didn’t realize how important she was in that picture until now.”

“And how important is that?” This time it was Logan who was asking the question, the first words he’d spoken since they’d cheers’ed their beers.

Jace looked down at his hands for a second, trying to come up with words that could adequately express how he felt about Adele. None were adequate, but he was going to have to try anyway. When he looked up a moment later it was to find Liam and Logan staring at him. Waiting.

“More important than I ever thought possible. For my most of my life, I’ve been trying to get through it without feeling too much. It was better that way. Easier. So I just coasted through, getting by with the bare minimum. After a few days spent with Adele, my eyes are opened up to so much more.”

“She made you feel something,” Liam said.

“No,” Jace shook his head. “She made me feel everything.”

“Then why isn’t she here?”

“Because when I told her I wanted more, she said she didn’t.”

“Wait, Adele was the one who walked?” Liam was clearly confused.

“Yeah.” Jace nodded looking down at his feet, unable to look at either man as he relived that moment in his head. “She didn’t believe me. Didn’t believe that I could commit to her. Didn’t believe that I could follow through with a relationship because I never have before.”

“And you think you can, Jace?” This question was from Logan.

“No.” He shook his head, as he looked back up. “I know I can. I’m in love with her.”

“You told her you loved her and she still said no?” Liam was getting more and more confused as the conversation went on.

“I was trying to tell her.” Jace stared at his feet as he rubbed his hand across the back of his neck. It was a second before he looked back up, his gaze moving between both men. “She was so damn adamant that it wouldn’t go anywhere. That it couldn’t. And I…I chickened out. I was too terrified to put more of myself on the line and have her reject that too.”

“I’ve been there,” Liam nodded.

“Yeah, but I should’ve done it anyway. I should’ve told her. I didn’t have anything left to lose, but I did have everything to gain. Her. I had her to gain.”

“Well. Shit.” Logan stared at Jace for a couple of seconds as acceptance took over his expression. “Okay. Sit down.” He pointed the neck of his beer bottle to the rocking chairs. “Let’s figure this out. Figure out where to go from here.”