AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She picked up her chopsticks, not about to eat with her hands like him. “Where did you learn to speak the language?”
“I spent some months in Japan. My little brother was stationed there during his time in the Marines. I visited and spent some time sightseeing.”
Anthony glanced between them. “I can’t believe you two met in a Japanese restaurant but it never came up that your fiancé can speak Japanese. You know, I feel stupid. I never caught your name.”
Jace stuck a hand across the table. “Name’s Abel. And the restaurant where we met was nothing like this.”
Oh god, what was he going to say next? She couldn’t put the bite of sushi in her mouth.
“It was one of those little dives in the airport. We were both traveling. I had a long layover.” He looked deep into Bronte’s eyes again. “It was insta-love. I finally bit the bullet to end the long-distance relationship and came to San Francisco to be with Bronte.”
She narrowed her eyes at him.
“You two have a great story,” Anthony said.
She saw Jace’s index finger drifting toward her nose and snapped her hand around it before he could tap her nose again. She wrestled his hand under the table and bent his finger backward, satisfied when she felt him jerk.
“We have a very interesting story. Isn’t that right,Abel?”
ChapterThree
Okay, so Jace might have taken things with Bronte too far. But when that guy popped up on the street right after that explosion—or what he’d believed to be an explosion—his gut instinct was to shield Bronte from any danger.
And Anthony definitely seemed to be about to start trouble by calling the cops and reporting a mugging. The story about being engaged just rolled off Jace’s tongue. He always was great at coming up with excuses on the fly, but this one might win the Abel Family Award, and that was saying a lot when he and his four brothers told enough tall tales over the years to build a beanstalk up to the sky.
He flexed the finger that Bronte tried to snap. He couldn’t blame her for wanting to do him bodily harm, and he was sure to get a reprimand from Ross after she called and reported what he’d done.
There was also the problem Bronte would be left with, explaining to her client that they’d broken off the engagement.
None of this stifled Jace’s appetite, though, and he had to admit now that the chef had sent out the right type of fish, the tai sashimi was some of the best he ever had. He conveyed this to the server with his compliments to the chef.
After the meal, the three of them left the restaurant. He shouldered his laptop case that doubled as his go-bag. He never traveled without a change of clothes and a toothbrush inside it. A person never knew when a flight would be cancelled and he’d be stranded in a strange city.
Anthony and Bronte were saying their goodbyes. She promised him she’d be in touch by email later in the week about some support he needed for the software he purchased from Artemis.
“Nice meeting you, Abel.” Anthony extended a hand. “Thank you for the meal too. I feel bad that you paid for dinner after I invited you.”
“My pleasure. We’ll have to do it again sometime.”
A bony elbow jammed into Jace’s ribs. When he looked down at Bronte, she was smiling.
Anthony took his leave. As soon as he was lost in the crowd on the sidewalk, Bronte whipped her purse off her shoulder and smacked Jace in the chest with it.
“What. Did. You. Do. That. For?” She punctuated every word with another hit.
“Oww! That little frog charm hurts. I know I deserve it, but stop.”
Her eyes flared wide with outrage. “Stop? You could have stopped any time between saying you’re my fiancé and practically inviting my client out for another meal with us! Argh!”
She pivoted and stormed off a few steps. He caught up to her. “I don’t suppose you can give me a ride to the airport?”
She whirled, daggers in her eyes. “Give you a ride? We’re supposedly about to get married! Why don’t you buy me a car?”
He stared at her. “You don’t have one?”
“It’s the city. Parking costs a fortune.”
“How do you get around? Trolley?”
