Page 101 of Already Callin’ You Mine

Holy hell…is it hot in here? Or is it me?

My cheeks heat up, a wave rushing up the back of my neck at Jace’s words. On the surface, they’re perfectly innocent. I do love me some spicy food. But the look on his face—that devilish grin and the mischief in his eyes—tells me exactly how he meant it.

Jace Hayes was not talking about food.

He’s also not wrong.

“Sounds delish.” I wink back at him, hoping that he notices my reaction.

Jace finishes doling out dinner, and we settle in, all three of us cautiously digging into the hot meal. A medley of flavors bursts on my tongue, from spicy to tangy to salty, and I’m overwhelmed as I try to figure them all out. Each bite brings more and more—a burst of this, a crackle of that—leaving me on the edge of my seat as to what I’ll get next.

“You like?” Jace asks, the hesitation in his voice letting me know that he’s nervous about my reaction.

I smile, wanting to assure him that he knocked it out of the park.

“I love.”

Jace’s smile wavers for a second, like he wasn’t expecting that reaction. It morphs into a shit-eating grin almost as fast, that impish glint in his eyes burning even brighter. He looks prouder than a peacock. Who knew two little words about his cooking…

Shit. Did he think that I meant…no. He knew I meant the food. Right? Because this isn’t my coded way of telling him that I…you know. Because I…well, I’m not ready to say that.

“The dinner,” I squeak, panic rising in me that he’s now thinking something totally different. “What you made. I love⁠—”

“Me too.”

Jace winks, taking a large bite and then turning to Otis. Like he didn’t just flip my world upside down and inside out with that little nothing. Holy shit…

“So…” I need to change the subject. STAT. “You two had a productive day.”

“We did. Wanna tell Mama all about it, Little Man?”

Otis perks up, his eyes lighting up the same way Jace’s did a moment ago. If I didn’t know better, I’d think like father, like son. But I do know better. Jace has been there more for Otis than his biological dad ever has.

Fork dropping and clattering against the table, Otis shifts to face me, his cheeks covered in enchilada sauce.

“We went to see Lannon⁠—”

“Landon,” Jace corrects him with a soft chuckle.

Otis doesn’t blink though. Or stop to take a breath. “He let me play in the fire truck! I honked the horn and made the sirens go! And he gave me a hat!”

“Oh, wow!”

“And we visited Unka Antwon, and he let me ride the tractor!”

My heart bursts, hearing him refer to one of Jace’s brothers as Uncle. It’s not the first time either, solidifying that to Otis, that’s who Anton is. Like it’s nothing. Just this guy’s name. Only it’s not—it’s everything.

I choke back the emotions that are threatening to spill over, pushing a smile to my face. This is the happiest I’ve been in so long, but explaining happy tears to a preschooler is more than I can handle.

“The tractor? And the fire truck? Big day, dude.”

“And then haved lunch with Miss Belle. She made me dino nuggies!”

Dino nuggies? Belle Hayes owns dino nuggies? Of all the things I didn’t see coming…

“And she ’vited me to come back tomorrow! You too, Mama!”

Errrr…come again?