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As Cindy sweptup after her last customer of the day, she felt the telltale signs of a headache forming and took the medication she always had with her for when that happened. Hopefully, it would kick in fast and nip the headache in the bud. Sometimes it worked, other times it didn’t. Her stress level had been high the last few days as she’d navigated around a broody, quiet, withdrawn Jace.
Following his shift at the bar last night, he’d fallen asleep on the sofa and spent the night there.
After only a few nights sleeping together, she’d missed having his body wrapped around hers and had slept fitfully as she wondered if he was going to bounce back from the crushing disappointment. She totally felt for him in this situation and understood how hurtful it had been for him to be kicked off the gig with the boys because of his past. It was easy to see how he must be wondering what more he had to do to get past all that.
But she was also sad for herself. The few days before the incident had been among the best of her life, and since then, she’d been left feeling adrift inside her own relationship. He’d promised not to cut her out of what he was thinking and feeling, but he’d done it anyway, and she had no idea how to bridge the chasm that had formed between them.
The ache of their situation had hung over her all day as she’d made small talk with clients and gone through the motions at work, and it was probably why she had a headache forming. Stress had always been one of the worst triggers for her.
As she leaned on the broom, she closed her eyes, took a deep breath and released it slowly, determined to reset her heart and mind so she might stave off the headache and get herself back on track, whether that was with Jace or without him.
When she opened her eyes, movement outside the glass doors to the salon caught her attention. A huge bouquet of flowers appeared in the window.
Intrigued, Cindy went to unlock the door.
The flowers were lifted toward her.
“Who goes there?” she asked, amused.
Jace put the flowers aside to reveal his face. “’Tis I, asking the fair maiden for a chance to apologize for being a moody jerk for days.”
Smiling and filled with relief at the gesture, she said, “Come in.” After Jace stepped into the salon, she closed and locked the door again.
He held out the bunch of colorful blooms. “Peace offering?”
She took them from him and breathed in the fragrant scents of lilies and roses. “They’re gorgeous. Thank you.”
“I’m sorry about the last couple of days.”
“You seem better. Are you?”
“I guess so. Something shitty happened. There’s nothing I can do about it, so there’s no point in letting it infect the rest of my life, or so I’ve been told by people wiser than me.”
“I was worried about you.”
“I’m sorry for that, too.”
“And I was worried about us. It’s all so… new. I wasn’t sure how to handle distant, withdrawn Jace or whether I was welcome to try.”
He stepped closer to her, gazing down at her with the warmth and affection she’d missed so much. “You’re welcome in every corner of my life.”
“That’s good to know.”
Caressing her face, he said, “I’m sorry if I made you wonder about that.”
“I understand that what happened was a kick in the teeth for you.”
“It was just a reminder that you can’t escape the past entirely, no matter how hard you try.”
“No, you can’t, but you also have to remember that the past made you who you are today, and I like who you are today.”
“That makes me feel incredibly lucky.” He took the flowers from her, set them on the reception desk and then put his arms around her. “I’m sorry for checking out on you. That’s the last thing I wanted to do.”
“I’d say it was okay, but it was stressful, and stress isn’t good for me.”
“Do you have a headache?” he asked, brow furrowed with concern.
“The start of one.”
