Page 12 of Until Ace

“I better get back,” I mumble and step back. Then I give her a small smile, go straight to the door, sidestep a confused Ken, and all but run out of the break room.

I breathe a sigh of relief, watching Mia and Talon stand in front of the glass entrance. All the while, she was talking quietly with Talon, and when they were walking out to go to lunch, she kept glancing my way. At one point, I was scared she was going to ask me to join them, and I couldn’t figure out a way to say no without slipping into my frosty shell and sticking my nose up.

I know I do that most of the time to people I work with. But that’s because I’ve always noticed the nasty looks they throw my way and have heard more than a few catty remarks about me mumbled behind their hands. It’s not like a hand is a soundproof barrier.

After the kindness Mia showed me earlier, I know she deserves only the same from me. But I can’t go with her to lunch. Not yet.

Thankfully, Talon basically dragged her out. The reason for it was clear the moment they stepped out the door. Before it fully closed behind them, he had her in his arms, and I blushed as I watched the kiss he gave her.

I also felt the sting of jealousy. But on the heels of my initial reaction at witnessing the tender-slash-hot stolen moment between the two came a sense of happiness for Mia.

When I first saw Talon, I had a fleeting thought that he could be mine. I would’ve been willing to do anything in my power to have him. The way he looks, any woman would. After he came in the second time—and also for the second time dismissed me almost instantly while his eyes hunted for Mia—I knew I didn’t stand a chance. I even held Steph at bay. He was her customer, and to say she was pissed Talon only wanted to work with Mia is an understatement.

And now, watching them through the windows as they whisper and smile at each other, I know all the nastiness I endured from Steph was worth it.

I want the best for these two.

I’m a sucker for romance, and they are meant to be together.

I glance one more time at them, to vicariously soak up their happiness, but my smile slips from my face when I see who’s now standing with them.

It’s Ace.

Ace Sterling.

Beverly’s nephew.

She mentioned him a few times, but for the last week, I got a sense she wanted me to meet him.

I couldn’t figure out why she was so eager to introduce me to the man she clearly loves and respects most in the world. Beverly is sweet, a little crazy, and hilarious. All she wants—no… almost demands—is that the people around her are happy and have a good time.

However, I dismissed her words about her nephew. And her attempts to set me up, I either softly and politely declined or just plain ignored. Until she lost patience and put the two of us in the same room together.

But nothing could’ve prepared me for him.

Ace.

Just seeing him is a shock to my system.

The mere sight of him leaves me powerless to do anything but stand and feel the intensity of his effect on me.

It’s only the second time I’ve laid eyes on the man, but I know that if I ever let myself want, he would be everything to me.

The beat of my heart resonates throughout my whole body. I can feel it in the tips of my fingers. The heat rises from my feet, over my legs, to my belly, where it kindles and starts burning. Goose bumps start waking up along my scalp, then start pouring down my face and neck, to my breasts, demanding the attention of my nipples before they meet the heat in my belly. Their tingling is robbing me of oxygen, making my breaths become shallower.

God, the man is beautiful.

I’ve never seen anyone like him.

My mouth dries out as my eyes travel down the length of him. Wide shoulders and a wide chest are what I stare at first. Then slowly, I follow the length of his arm and watch, fascinated, as his muscles flex and the veins in his forearms pop when he grabs the door handle and pulls the glass and steel open. All of that comes right at me on those long, powerful legs.

Good God.

I have to look away or I’m sure I will start salivating.

I don’t know what it is, but seeing him talk to Talon and Mia in the parking lot, doing nothing in particular, just his mere presence being in close proximity to me, it almost feels like coming home.

I’m positive that, out of a thousand people, each and every time, I would be able to find him.