Page 222 of The Fire We Make

Ace sat back in the leather seat, watching her like he’d been waiting for her.

She made her way to him slowly, suddenly shy. The weight of what she’d done settled over her. Ace had come to get her, but did that mean he forgave her?

Ace saw her timidness and extended a hand.

“Come here, Rose,” he said.

She crossed the space between them and climbed into his lap. His arms encircled her immediately, his familiar scent and warmth instantly bringing her comfort.

“You good?” he asked quietly.

Joy nodded, resting her head against his shoulder.

“Yeah.”

His hand moved slowly up her back.

For a long moment, neither of them spoke. The hum of the jet filled the silence before Joy finally broke it.

“I thought eventually I’d become a problem for you,” she admitted. “That all the shit attached to me would start bleeding into your life and you’d realize loving me wasn’t worth what it cost. That the fire you say you love so much wouldn’t be worth it if I burned you by accident.”

Ace’s expression hardened. “You thought I’d leave you?”

“Or start trying to change me.” Her gaze dropped to his chest. “Make me easier. Softer. Something that fits better into your life. I’ve tried that and I don’t know how to do it.”

His hand slid beneath her jaw, holding her gaze on his. “I saw what was in you from the beginning. Before you were ready to show it to me.”

Something tightened in her chest.

“It called to me,” he continued. “Because I knew it. I got the same shit living in me.”

He placed their interlocked hands over his heart.

“Everybody else either acts like they don’t see it or keeps enough distance that they never have to,” he said. “You looked right at me and you didn’t flinch.”

“Neither did you,” she whispered.

“Exactly.” His thumb brushed her cheek. “You think I’m gonna ask you to cut away the part of you that understands me better than anybody?”

Her eyes burned, and she blinked the feeling away.

“I don’t want you easier or softer. I want you to give me a chance to love every part of you.”

“Even the fucked up parts?” Joy whispered.

“Especially those,” he said. “I had a whole life before you. A purpose, a family. I never needed anything but that. I didn’t even know I was walking around with something missing until I met you. You’ve been walking around with a missing piece of my soul and now that I found you, on my soul, I’m not letting you go.

“I love you Joy, every fucked up part.”

“I love you too,” Joy said.

A moment of silence stretched before Ace spoke again.

“You left me,” he said.

Joy sighed. “I know. I'm sorry…” she said, holding his face in her hands.

“You're sorry?” Ace’s jaw worked beneath her palms.