Gianna: How's your first day?
I bite back a laugh. That almost sounds like a normal job. Not spying on one mafia family for another.
Me: I have a plan. Report back soon.
I shove the phone back in my bag.
"Who was that? Lover boy?" Ace asks, eyes on the road.
"No. A mafia princess in LA that frightens men when she walks into a room."
A smile twitches on his lips. "See. Harper loves runnin' into trouble. You can't help it, even in LA."
I laugh. "Yeah, it seems that way. Maybe one day I'll stop finding trouble."
He nods, slowing for the red light. "Maybe you'll have to stop running for that to happen, Harps. I guess at least I know now you haven’t lost all abilities to reply to a text."
I flinch. "Ouch."
He chews his lip. The truck idles. The music fills the silence as he builds toward something.
"How did he propose?"
I frown. "What's gotten into you? I explained it's all fake. A business deal. It's nothing."
He nods. "How did he propose?"
I roll my eyes. He isn’t letting this go.
"Don't do that, Harper. Don't roll your eyes at me when I can't punish you for it."
I almost choke on air.
"He did it in front of his parents. At their fancy-ass mansion," I say.
"Sounds cozy. Ain’t that the life you wanted? A big fancy mansion in the hills? Kinda seems like you’ve got everything you went running to."
A sharp pain radiates in my chest
"It isn’t even close to what I want." I say flatly.
He blows out a breath and rests his arm on the window ledge. The muscle in his jaw is ticking.
"Have you… had sex with him?"
I cough. "No. God, no."
He runs his finger along his bottom lip, and I straighten my spine.
That was always our tell. The start of a scene. He'd do that, his finger along his lip, eyes on mine, and it didn't matter where we were. I'd run. He'd chase.
Except this time, it isn’t that. He's pissed. Overthinking. Doubting everything. Maybe realizing the fantasy of me is better than the reality.
"All that’s happened is a kiss. He kissed me. It was like kissing a wall. And he won't be doing it again."
His jaw twitches. He pulls away from the light harder than he needs to.
"Well, this is awkward." I shift in my seat. "I don't know what you want me to say. I get it, you don't like it. I'm not overly pleased with myself for getting into this situation. You're pissed. But the Ace back at the barn seems to have disappeared and been replaced with this grump."
