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“Hopefully soon you’ll live here too.”
I stared up at the house in front of us, words failing me. My mind hadn’t made it that far. Ash chuckled and kissed my temple. “You want to come inside?”
“Yeah.”
He didn’t try to carry me this time, but he laced our fingers together on the way up the stairs. “I shouldn’t be nervous, right?”
“No,” he said. “You should absolutely not be nervous.”
The code lock on the door beeped, and he pulled me into a small entryway where there was another door and another lock. “You trying to keep people in or out?”
“We just feel better having more than one lock between us and everyone else. It helps in case you have angry men show up at your door.”
“He got his money. He won’t be back.”
“I’m not so sure about that,” Ash muttered, pushing the door open. “Hello?”
Oh mygodthat smelled incredible. Someone was cooking Italian, and I was too hungry to know what the smell was. Just that it was incredible and my stomach wanted itnow.
“Hey,” a voice called from straight down the main hallway. “In the kitchen.”
In front of us, stairs rose and curled back on themselves. A formal sitting room to the right, dining room to the left. But they seemed like the display rooms where people didn’t spend much time.
Ash tugged me down the dim hallway toward the warm brightness spilling out of the kitchen. Someone stood facing the stove in front of a steaming pot, and a low curse echoed over the boiling water.
I got my first look at him. Well-built shoulders and a shirt that stretched over them. Medium brown skin, and hair shaved close. I wasn’t tall, and I guessed he had a few inches on Ash, which meant he was probably a full foot taller than me. Through the food cooking, I found his scent.
My mouth watered.Butterscotch. Smooth and delicious, full of memories. I hadn’t had a butterscotch in forever, and now it was all I wanted. Were butterscotch and chocolate chip cookies a thing?
They should be a thing.
Asher cleared his throat.
The man turned around, eyes skipping over Ash entirely. They locked on me. His chest expanded once. Twice. “Holy shit.”
He abandoned the food entirely to stand in front of me. He wasgorgeous. Hazel eyes that picked up the brown in his skin and added a mixture of green I wanted to get lost in. “When Asher said you were beautiful, he way,wayundersold it.”
Heat rose to my cheeks. “Thank you.” I didn’t bother mentioning that after twelve hours of rehearsal, I doubted I looked my best.
“This is Jace,” Asher said.
“Hi.” I couldn’t take my eyes off him. Pretty sure I was in heaven between their two scents. “Whatever you’re cooking smells incredible, but not as good as you do.”
Ash took my bag and set it on a nearby chair, moving to rescue the pot which was now almost boiling over. Jace and I remained entranced by the other. “Sorry. This has all been kind of strange.”
He smiled, taking my breath away all over again. “I don’t mind strange. Let’s be real, this is all strange. Scent-sympathy is strange.”
I nodded when he reached for me, letting him pull me into his arms. A low, rumbling purr started in his chest, and I was tired enough that it would put me to sleep. I turned my head and leaned it on his chest, enjoying the sound and being held.
“Jace, she needs your professional skills,” Asher said, the sound of steam and pouring water covering his voice.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing a month’s worth of sleep won’t fix,” I mumbled into his shirt.
I hadn’t moved, but I heard the clinking of dishes and glassware. “Ian Chambers is more of an asshole than I remember, and he’s pushing too hard.”
Jace’s arms curled more protectively around me. “Need me to rough someone up for you, baby girl?”
