Less Than Ten Years Earlier
Hannah Michaels
THE HEATER IN the station wagon stopped working somewhere between Iowa and Nebraska.
We had been in the car for more than twenty hours and Ethan refused to allow Jace or me to drive. Insurance issues.
Wrapped in a mound of blankets, I was laying down in the backseat when we reached the heart of the Rocky Mountains.
“Take a right,” Jace directed, blowing on his hands. He had been sitting shotgun and giving direction the entire trip. Wherever we were headed in Vail, he’d obviously been there before.
Snow-covered mountains surrounded us, and when we started up a driveway, I sat up and looked out the window through the dozens of evergreens that surrounded it.
The closer we got, the further my jaw dropped open. I’d expected to see a small A-frame building in really bad shape or a manufactured home tipping on its concrete base. What I hadn’t expected to see was a huge stone-covered house that looked like it belonged on the television show The Homes of the Rich and Famous.
Ethan stopped the car and put it in park, and then he glanced over at Jace. “This place is over the top.”
Jace had raised his hips and was searching his pockets. He pulled out a single key and then turned around. “Come on, let’s get inside and warm up. It’s fucking freezing in here.”
Tongue-tied, I couldn’t even speak. I opened the car door and got out, and then I followed Jace up to the huge wooden double doors and watched him unlock it.
Flicking the lights on, he walked in and dropped everything in his hands right where he stood. He moved around like he’d been here before, turning up the heat, lighting the fireplaces, and checking the refrigerator.
Ethan came in with the rest of our stuff, and unlike Jace, set it neatly on one of the bottom steps.
“Beer?” Jace offered to each of us.
As he searched for a bottle opener, I sat on the huge sectional sofa and took everything in from the wood paneling to the fine furnishings to the sheepskin rugs. The extravagance reminded me of the house I spent a lot of time in as a child. It was the house that was never my home.
“Whose house is this?” I asked Ethan, who had crashed down beside me.
Just then his phone went off. “Crap, I forgot to call my parents,” he said, standing and answering it while walking into the dining room which had a table that sat at least twenty.
Jace handed me a bottle of imported beer. “Told the rents he’d call every night at nine.”
A glance at the grandfather clock told me it was well after ten. “Guess he’s a little late.” I smiled at him and took the beer, letting my fingers linger over his for a few long seconds. We hadn’t so much as kissed without Ethan in the room since the night he told me we’d be together soon. What we had done was spend a lot of time together, and the sexual tension was off the charts, but we somehow managed to fight it.
Ethan strode back in the room, stretching and yawning before grabbing the open beer on the table. “What do you say we grab a bucket of these and hit that hot tub out there?”
I glanced over my shoulder to the snow-covered deck that was bathed in moonlight and surrounded by mountains and trees. “Isn’t it a little too cold for that?”
“Hell, no!” Jace exclaimed, pointing to a control box. “The water temperature heats up to one-hundred and four.”
Unbuttoning his pants, Ethan wasn’t waiting for anyone.
“I didn’t bring my bathing suit,” I said.
A wicked grin crossed Jace’s mouth. “You won’t need one,” he said, reaching for my hand. “Now, come on.”
After turning it on from a panel near the bank of sliding glass doors, Ethan removed the rest of his clothes.
Jace grabbed the beers and sent me for the towels, and then we joined Ethan, and like him, we stripped out of our clothes.
This thing of three we had created had become comfortable. The awkwardness had long passed, and most of the time when I was with the two of them I felt like a queen.
That night we celebrated spring break by getting drunk and first fucking in the hot tub, and then moving to a huge king-sized bed that the three of us fit in very comfortably.
It was to be our last hurrah after all . . . and I figured why not.
The next morning, I didn’t exactly feel that way.
When light prickled my eyelids in the most unwelcomed way, I regretted the drinking immediately and vowed I would never get drunk again.
I groaned, turning my head on the comfortable pillow, and smiling when I did. Jace was laying on his stomach, facing in my direction. He looked so peaceful and relaxed that the smile that already tugged my lips only grew wider.
Ethan had left us alone in the bed, admitting he was such a light sleeper that he preferred to sleep by himself.
All of us had only gone to sleep a few hours ago, so I snuggled up to Jace and closed my eyes.
I think I slept more peacefully that morning than I had in a long time.
“Hannah.” The low voice rumbled in my ear and lulled me to consciousness.
“Hey,” I said, opening my eyes, feeling refreshed.
“Come on, it’s almost noon. Let’s take a shower, grab some food, and go check out the slopes.”
I groaned.
His lips twitched. “If you hurry, I’ll wash your back, love.”
Love.
That woke me right up.
I was out of bed and following him into the shower within minutes.
In the huge marble expanse with at least six jets, Jace took his time rubbing the soap up and down my body. He was erect, and I tried not to notice, not that it was possible not to. Still, I forbade myself from getting on my knees and taking care of him.
When his palm lifted to my shoulder, he looked into my eyes, and there was a light in them I had never seen before.
It came all at once. The knowledge so heavy I nearly lost my breath. But I knew what it was. That gleam in his eyes was love.
This I knew because I felt it too.
Jace stepped closer to run the bar of soap down the center of my chest. I shivered under his touch. When he bent to kiss my neck, I shivered again.
“Are you cold?” he asked with coyness clear in his voice.
I shook my head.
He smiled then and pulled me to him, but not to warm me. Instead, he dropped the soap and reached lower. Just as his hand found my clit, a very naked Ethan came trumping in.
Surprise flared in both our eyes, and I jumped back. Jace did too, and slammed right into the glass wall.
I gulped, suddenly wondering if this was going to end badly after all.
Ethan walked past us to the small commode room, leaving the door open while he used it. He acted as if finding us together was an everyday occurrence.
Flicking my eyes over to Jace’s, I pleaded for direction. He was in the middle of blowing out a breath and gave me none.
Stay.
Or go.
We hadn’t done anything wrong, but it looked really bad.
Stay.
Or go.
My heart beat in warning as I started to step out, but then thought better of it. I still wasn’t sure which was worse—getting caught or looking guilty about something we hadn’t done.
“Hey,” Ethan said as he walked out and paused in front of the huge glass expanse to talk to us. “I think I’m going to pass on the skiing today.”
“You sure?” Jace said, keeping his voice even.
“Yeah, I’m exhausted, and going back to bed. Wake me up when you two get back,” Ethan said, and then started out the bathroom door. He paused in the doorway that led to the bedroom. “You two have fun.”
Jace and I were looking at each other, but neither of us said a word as we allowed the spray from the multiple jets to hit us, and Ethan’s have fun comment to sink in.
I tipped my head back and rinsed my hair without saying a word. I was so confused. Did Ethan know? Had he known all along?
“Jace,” Ethan said seconds later, a bit of a strain in his voice. “We have a bit of a problem.”
Thinking it took him a while to process what he saw, we both looked toward the door just as Ethan backed into the bathroom. Confusion furrowed my brow, but then I saw why he was walking backward. On the other side of him was a very tall, regal-looking, gray-haired woman in an expensive cashmere sweater, and she was pointing the tip of an ebony carved cane at him.
“Who are you?” she said, poking him in the gut with her walking stick.
Startled, I jumped when I heard the stern voice, and then began to worry we were in a house we didn’t actually have permission to be in, and that we were going to jail.
“I’m Jace’s friend, I swear.” Ethan was pleading with his palms raised in surrender. “Tell her, Jace,” he called.
What was going on?
Jace cranked the water off and was stepping out of the shower just as the woman pinned Ethan into a corner.
Instantly, my entire body turned cold.
“Grandmother!” Jace yelled, grabbing a white fluffy towel and tossing it to me, before snagging another for himself.
As soon as I wrapped the towel around my body, I jerked my head toward Jace in question. He wasn’t looking at me. He was staring at the woman with contempt in his eyes.
“What is going on here?” The woman’s voice was icy.
“Leave him alone,” Jace snapped. “I invited him here.”
Her eyes narrowed as she slowly scanned the rest of the bathroom, passing by me with the same contempt I saw in Jace’s gaze when he looked at her. “What are you doing here?” she asked.
After wrapping a towel around his waist, he snatched one more and tossed it to Ethan, who was shaking. “I’m on vacation. What are you doing here?”
The woman was not at all pleased, but she left Ethan alone and used her cane to slowly cross the bathroom. “You should have asked me before coming.”
With his arms crossed over his chest, Jace leaned against the sink. “Why would I do that?”
Ethan scurried out of the room, but I was frozen where I stood. Was this some kind of sick joke?
She stopped about a foot away from Jace. “Because this house isn’t yours and isn’t one of your toys to play with, Jace.”
His temper exploded in a way I had only seen pieces of. “This was my father’s house. Not yours. It is mine to do with whatever the fuck I want!”
Disbelief was all I felt.
Her face was a mask of hostility. “You will not use that tone with me, young man. Get dressed and then come talk to me when you are presentable. I’ll be waiting for you in the study downstairs.”
Jace only glared at her.
Slowly, she turned and walked out of the bathroom without the aid of her cane. She did not close the door behind her.
All I could do was stare at Jace as I felt an anger boil up inside me. “Who is she?” I asked through gritted teeth, even though I already knew she was his grandmother.
When he didn’t respond, there was nothing I could do to prevent my entire body from shaking.
Finally, I was able to move my feet and found myself standing in front of him before I knew what I was doing. I jabbed a finger into his bare chest. “Who are you?” I took a different approach.
He reached for me, curling a hand around the nape of my neck to draw me closer. “Hannah,” he said, his voice guttural.
Without hesitation, I reached back and peeled his fingers away. “Who are you?” I snarled.
He ran his hands through his wet hair. “Not now, okay?”
Ignoring him, I could feel the hostility rolling off me, and I supposed he could too. “How can you afford this house when you don’t have any money?”
Instead of answering me, he repeated himself. “Later, Hannah.”
I knew what he was doing. Shutting me out. But this time I just didn’t care. “Tell me!”
He paced the small space in front of the vanity before he stopped and looked at me. For a while we just stood there facing each other, and still, Jace saying nothing. Not answering a single question. Just staring at me as if shocked by my reaction.
Water dripped down my face from my wet hair. “What? Are you suddenly rich?”
Jace turned around and put his hands on the back of his neck.
“It’s not like you could have forgotten to tell me,” I bit out.
He turned back around. Again, he just stared at me as if I wasn’t the same person he’d spent almost every day with for the past three months. And in a way, I wasn’t. This hurt, hurt deeper than he could ever know. A pain so familiar I just wanted to push it away. Push him away.
When I couldn’t take the balled up outrage I was holding in anymore, I blurted out my feelings. “It’s not as if I haven’t figured out that you have been playing some kind of sick game with me since the day we met. Pretending to be poor like me. Why? Did you get off on it? Did it make you feel like a big shot?”
Flinching, he took a deep breath. “Is that really what you think?”
My pulse was roaring in my ears as I made certain to stare right into those intense, brooding gray eyes. “Tell me otherwise. Tell me you don’t own this house. That you aren’t rich. That you haven’t neglected to tell me what you should have.”
Normally, Jace was a hotheaded dick in situations where he was pushed against the wall, and I braced myself for his shitty temper. Instead, what I got was a lot of breathing, Jace lulling his back on his spine and glancing at the ceiling in an attempt to try to calm himself down as I had taught him.
“Tell me,” I demanded. “Tell me you haven’t been a lie.”
“Maybe sometimes the truth hurts too much,” he murmured.
The features of my face twisted into a glower. “Look at me and tell me why?” I shouted. “Tell me why,” I said again, but this time in a whisper.
Lowering his chin, there was hurt in his eyes, disappointment, and perhaps a bit of regret, but no anger. “I think it would be best if you go. I’m going to ask Ethan to drive you to the airport.”
Unable to stop myself, I poked him in the chest again. “And do what there, let you buy me a ticket because you’re such a big shot? Well, fuck you! I don’t need your money. I don’t need anything from you.”
Jace wrenched his gaze from mine and looked away. “I’m not a big shot.”
Shaking my head, I turned on my heels and walked right out of the room, slamming the door behind me.
As I grabbed my things, I thought he’d fling the door open and tell me I had it all wrong.
He didn’t.
When I went to the room Ethan was in and dressed, I thought he’d storm in and tell me I had it all wrong.
He didn’t.
Getting in the car with Ethan to drive back to Michigan because he thought it was best we both go, I thought he’d run down the snow-covered driveway and tell me I had it all wrong.
He didn’t.
Ethan was talking. Telling me not to be upset. That Jace hadn’t pretended to be anyone he wasn’t. That he wasn’t a big shot. That his grandmother had cut him off, and he really was just like us.
Just like us?
That was far from the truth.
He was just like them—the people I grew up with who always treated me like the hired help and claimed I was family at the same time.
Unable to listen any longer, I tuned Ethan out.
The blinker was signaling left by the time I forced myself to turn around. Snow flurries caused the house to fade from my sight before the distance did.
And I vowed right then the big shot would do the very same thing . . .
Vanish from my life.
Forever.
And I would make sure of it.