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He head-bunted my legs as I bent to drop a scoop of food into his dish, purring all the while. I patted his head, running my hand down his body and along his tail before standing and walking away, replacing his dish of food in the fridge.
I looked at my purse on the counter and sighed in frustration. Jace hadn't even bothered to call me yet! Hadn't he noticed I was missing? Or was he still in my office talking to Gabe?
Mumbling to myself, I rummaged through my bag of belongings for my phone. I pulled it out and gasped at the screen. Sixteen missed calls. All from Jace! My phone was on silent. I thought about ignoring the fact that he'd called, but I didn't want him flying in a rage through New York City. He would turn over every building, scour through every street and trample over every person that got in his way of finding me. I knew he would, just as well as I knew the sun would rise in the morning.
With a sigh, I called him back. It rang once. "Olivia?"
"Hi," I squeaked. Jeez, could I sound more meek?
"Where are you? Are you all right?" His tone was commanding, but beneath the expected control he exhumed I could hear his obvious fear. It was a fear for me. Something I was certain he wasn't used to exercising. Jace Rush didn't fear for people. Through all the Google articles I'd read about him over the past few months since meeting him, this was something I knew with certainty. Jace Rush didn't allow himself to care enough to fear. But he cared for me.
"I'm fine." I promised.
"Where are you?" He growled into the phone. I thought I heard the roar of his engine in the background and I wanted to scold him for his distracted driving, but it would be pointless. In reality, scolding him would only prolong the inevitable - telling him where I was.
"I'm at home."
"My house?" He sounded surprised.
"No, Jace. Your house is just that. It's your house. I'm at my house." I spoke tiredly and he sighed.
"Your house is where I am." He stated factually and I rolled my eyes. I was happy he wasn't here to see it. He would have barked at me.
"See you later, Jace."
"You know I'm on my way to you, Olivia." He pointed out.
"I assumed." I muttered.
"Don't be coy." He warned. "I love you."
I didn't want to want to say the words back. But I loved him and I had to. "I love you too."
Jace hung up the phone and I knew it was only a matter of time before he barged into my space. I knew he would be furious with me for leaving the Café when he'd told me to wait for him. But I was offended. How dare he think he had a right to speak to Gabe in my office, about me, without me? It was plain old rude and I wouldn't stand for it. The man I wanted to spend the rest of my life with should respect me enough to talk to me about his concerns. He shouldn't want to hide them from me. I knew he only wanted to protect me. But he wouldn't be doing that by hiding things from me. He wouldn't protect me by keeping me in the dark. Surely he understood that?
I plucked Moo-moo from the floor and carried him to the couch. I needed to lie down and rest my tired mind. Cuddling with Moo-moo was second best to cuddling with Jace. He curled into my chest as I settled onto the couch, pulling a blanket up over us. I rested my head against a pillow and shut my eyes. It didn't take long before I fell into sleep.
***
"Olivia?" A hand shook my shoulder. "Wake up."
I stared up into piercing blue eyes and my heart jolted. He looked mad and afraid. The combination of emotions was not one I liked seeing in Jace. He was always so calm and controlled. I wanted my calm man back.
I sat up, pulling the blankets with me. "How did you get inside?"
A ghost of a smile lit his face. "Trisha gave me a key?"
I frowned. "What? When?"
"When I asked for one."
"Why would she do that? Why wouldn't you ask me?"
He cocked his head. "Does this displease you?"
"Well," I shrugged. "No."
"Honestly?"
"Honestly. It doesn't displease me, Jace. It surprises me." And that was the truth. I never in a million years thought Trisha would give my egomaniac boyfriend a key to our living space. It was a shock if there ever was one.
"Well," he stood from the side of the couch and produced his phone from his pocket. "I should let Gabe know you're fine."
I nodded. "You probably should."
I watched as Jace walked into the kitchen. His conversation with Gabe was short and blunt. It consisted of our location and that I was fine. I felt so out of control of my life, it was beyond frustrating. But I didn't know what to do about it. With the crazy man who considered himself my savior creeping about the city, I didn't feel safe enough to just live. It was sad, but the man made me want to crawl into a hole and sleep. For eternity. The only thing that made me want to fight was Jace. Seeing him so furious and afraid for me made me angry. He deserved more from this life then the hand of cards he'd been dealt. I wanted to be the one to give him more. But he first needed to accept me as his teammate, not his dependent. Until then, we would get nowhere.
