Broken Hearts (Light in the Dark Book 5) Read online

  “I’ll go check on your food,” he says, turning on his heel and heading for the kitchen.

  I ogle his ass shamelessly.

  But who could blame me?

  He returns a few minutes later with a plate of potato skins and places it in front of me. “If you want something else, tell me.”

  “This should be good, but I might gain ten pounds.”

  He chuckles. “You’re beautiful at any size.”

  “You have to say that because you’re my boyfriend and I’d kick you in the balls if you said otherwise.”

  He winces. “Not the balls.”

  “Always the balls. It’s every man’s point of weakness.”

  “You have an unfortunate point there.” He wags a finger at me as someone else sits down at the bar. He sighs and glances at them. “I’ll be back.”

  He moves down the bar, greeting the man, and gets his drink. Once the man is satisfied he moves back to me. It’s still early, so the crowds haven’t gathered yet. Most nights there aren’t empty seats at the bar.

  I eat a potato skin, repressing a moan because potato skins are seriously the best thing ever.

  Jace chuckles at my reaction but makes no comment.

  I finish chewing and say, “Oh, I forgot to tell you—”

  Jace interrupts with, “Why do I have a feeling I’m not going to like what you say?”

  “Um, because you won’t.” I don’t even bother to try to fool him. “Owen’s parents want to take everybody to dinner—me included—so I asked Owen if you could come and he said yes. Please don’t make me be alone with them.”

  Jace cringes and crosses his arms before laying them on the bar top. “It means a lot to you for me to be there, doesn’t it?”

  “Of course. The last thing I want is to be alone with those people.”

  “And I certainly don’t want you alone with Owen, so I guess I’m going.”

  I grin at him. “Thank you.”

  “Anything for you.”

  I smile even bigger. We’ve come such a long way.

  The bar starts filling up more then and Jace has to return to work. I finish my meal and place some bills on the top—just because Jace works here doesn’t mean I get free food—and head home.

  I take a quick shower, rinsing off, and slip into a pair of shorts and a bralette.

  It’s not late yet so I watch some TV before I finally grow too tired to stay up and wait for Jace. I slip into the bed, the moon reflecting through the large paned window behind the bed, and fall asleep almost instantly.

  “Mmm,” I moan at the feel of lips against my neck.

  “Did you seriously expect to wear this lacy little thing” —Jace glides his fingers under the bottom of my bralette— “and expect for me to not get turned on.”

  I smile, still half asleep. “You’re incorrigible.”

  “Fuck yeah I am. I have the hottest fucking girl in the whole world in my bed. How can you expect me not to be?”

  I laugh softly and roll over to face him, blinking sleepy eyes.

  He curls his finger into the strap of my bralette, tugging it down to expose the smooth skin of my shoulder, and presses his lips there.

  “God, I love you,” he murmurs.

  I grip the hairs at the back of his head and tug him closer.

  “I love you too,” I breathe before lifting my head and pressing my lips to his.

  The kiss starts slow but quickly builds into a fiery inferno. I moan low in my throat, my hips jutting up to meet his and feeling the growing length there.

  He kisses down my neck. I breathe in a ragged breath as his fingers reach for my shorts and panties and pull them down my legs slowly where they lie hidden at the bottom of the bed. I sit up and remove my bralette. He rakes his eyes over my body like he’s never seen me before and my stomach dips. I think you know you’ve found your soulmate when no matter how long you’ve known each other you still look at each other like it’s the first time seeing the other person.

  “You’re wearing too many clothes,” I whisper into the darkened room.

  His lips quirk up. “Give me a minute.”

  He licks his lips, his eyes grazing me from head to toe. My body feels the slow glide of his eyes as if he was touching me with his fingers.

  After a minute—well, probably less—I gasp, “Please.”

  He rubs his nose against mine before moving his lips to my ear and murmuring, “Take what you want and you’ll get it.”

  I don’t hesitate. I slide my fingers beneath his t-shirt and slide it up, up, up, and he lifts his arms, helping me remove it. With desperate fingers I reach for the button and zipper on his jeans. He makes a noise in his throat as I push his jeans down and then kicks his boxer briefs off before I even have a chance to get to them.

  Before he presses into me, he stares at me as if contemplating something. Finally, he blurts, “No condom this time?”

  I realize he’s giving me an out if I’ve changed my mind. It warms my heart at his thoughtfulness, because he did bring up having a baby pretty much out of nowhere. But I didn’t lie when I agreed. This feels right.

  “No condom.”

  “This is going to be the best thing that ever happens to us, I promise you,” he says softly.

  He pushes into me then and I gasp. “Jace,” I breathe.

  He kisses me in order to silence me.

  He thrusts in and out, slow at first, and my hips rise to meet his.

  He presses his face into my hair and then moves his lips down the place where my neck meets my shoulder.

  I push at his chest, getting him to roll over so I’m straddling him.

  He looks up at me as I roll my hips against his. I grow frantic, unable to match his slower pace.

  I press my hands to his solid chest, my dark hair sweeping forward to form a shield around us.

  He grabs my chin, and I lean closer, allowing him access to my lips. He kisses me softly, but then I yelp when he bites my lower lip, he lets me go with a grin.

  “Confession, I want you to feel me everywhere tomorrow. I want to be the only thing you think about.”

  “Confession,” I whisper in his ear, my chest pressed to his, “you already are.”

  He groans. “Fuck, I love you.”

  I silence him with a kiss like he’d done with me.

  He rolls me over, pinning my hands above my head. I gasp, my breath stolen from the fast movement.

  “You make me crazy,” he breathes.

  I smile, because the feeling is completely mutual.

  But I like our crazy. It makes life interesting.

  Nova

  I turn from side to side, appraising my outfit, the third I’ve put on.

  “Nova,” Jace groans, “you’ve looked beautiful in everything. Let’s go. Who cares what those people think of you?” he questions, referring to Owen’s parents.

  “I don’t really care,” I defend. “I want them to see how well I’m doing despite their wickedness, so they can suck it.”

  Jace chuckles at that, rolling up the sleeves of his dress shirt, exposing the tattoos that color one arm.

  He moves in behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist, and kisses my neck.

  “They don’t deserve to know or think anything about you. They lost the right to judge you—good or bad—when they abandoned you and forced their son to do the same. You’re so much better than them.”

  I sigh. “How is it you always know the exact right thing to say?”

  He grins. “I’m fucking brilliant.”

  I roll my eyes, but I can’t help but laugh. “What do you think of this outfit?” I ask, turning to face him so he can see the blouse and skirt combo.

  “You look like a fucking librarian and not like you,” he answers honestly.

  My shoulders sag. “You’re right. Forget this.”

  The restaurant is dressy—hence Jace’s dress shirt and slacks—and I don’t own a lot of nice things; I’m a simple girl.

 
I pick up the first dress I tried on—a simple black number—and slip it on.

  “See, you looked perfect the first time,” he says with a smirk.

  “Yeah, yeah, yeah,” I intone, searching for my heels. I finally find them under the bed and pull them on, leaning against the dresser for support. “God, I hate these things,” I mutter. I’m positive heels were invented as a torture device to keep women from running away.

  “Ready?” Jace asks.

  “No,” I answer honestly.

  His face softens. “You’ll get through this. We both will.”

  He wraps his arms around me, pressing his face into my hair and inhaling the scent. He bends, kissing me softly, and grabs my hand.

  I let him pull me out of the apartment, swiping my bag off the table before we’re swept into the hallway and down the hall to the elevator.

  It feels like it moves at a snail’s pace down to the ground floor. I lean against Jace for support, breathing deeply. I keep trying to remind myself I’ll also be having dinner with Greyson and he makes all this better.

  Seeing my little boy fills me with so much joy.

  Although, he’s not so little anymore. He’s nearly ten years old. When did that happen?

  The doors slide open and we step out, heading outside. Jace holds the door for me, his eyes roaming up and down and stopping at my heels. I never wear heels.

  “Don’t. Say. A. Thing.” I warn through clenched teeth.

  He chuckles. “I was only going to say your ass looks fan-fucking-tastic.”

  I smack his solid stomach, which only makes him laugh harder.

  He leads me to his ancient truck, which he refuses to get rid of even though he has the money, and I slide into the passenger seat.

  The truck still carries the faint hint of cigarettes despite the fact that he stopped smoking years ago.

  Jace gets in and glances at me. “It’s going to be fine,” he reminds me, and I let out the breath I was holding.

  When I get nervous about something, I hold my breath, and when I was little I used to pass out because of it. Thankfully, I don’t do that anymore.

  He pulls away and heads to the restaurant which is all the way on the opposite side of town. It’s a place I’ve never heard of before, but when I looked it up, it’s all shiny marble and chandeliers. Nothing but the best for the Mitchells.

  With traffic it takes us a good thirty minutes to get to the restaurant. They have a garage below ground which we quickly take advantage of. No way am I allowing him to park blocks away so I have to walk back in heels.

  We get our parking ticket and find a space. Jace hops out, adjusting his dress shirt, while I slip out slowly, still not wanting to do this.

  There’s an elevator and it leads from the garage up to the restaurant. I squeeze Jace’s hand as it ascends; I know it has to hurt, but he makes no comment.

  The doors slide open with a pleasant ding and we walk toward the hostess station. She looks up with a pleasant smile.

  “Do you have a reservation?”

  “It’s under Mitchell,” I reply.

  She looks and smiles brighter. “Right this way.”

  I hold my breath as we follow her through the restaurant. I don’t even have time to appreciate the beauty of it.

  Besides, things that are beautiful usually are a mask to a bunch of ugly.

  “Here you go.” She waves her hand at the table.

  I let out the breath when I see Greyson and his adoptive parents, Sarah and Jimmy, are the only ones at the table.

  “Angel!” Greyson cries, diving out of his chair to wrap his arms around my waist.

  “Grey.” I smile, loving our nicknames. It’s our thing.

  He used to call me his Angel Mommy but now he’s older so it’s dropped to Angel.

  I kiss the top of his head, ruffling his hair.

  He pulls away and smiles up at me. He’s the cutest little boy I’ve ever seen, and I can’t believe he’s a part of me.

  “Sit beside me,” he pleads, taking my hand and showing me the empty spot beside him.

  “I’d love that,” I say, taking the spot. Jace slides into the chair on my other side.

  “How are you guys?” Sarah asks, sipping at her glass of water.

  “Good. Some big life changes coming up,” Jace replies, grinning at me.

  “Oh, really?” Sarah asks. “Like what?”

  I wave my hand dismissively. “It hasn’t come to fruition yet, we’ll let you know when it does.”

  “You’re not moving, are you?” Jimmy asks.

  “Oh, God no.” I snort, like the idea is ridiculous. Which it is. I wouldn’t leave here if my life depended on it. Not with Greyson here.

  “Good,” Sarah breathes. “That was my first thought too.”

  I turn to Greyson at my side. “What’s new with you?”

  “I got an A on my spelling test.”

  “Awesome.” I smile at him.

  “Give me a high-five, bud. Good job.” Jace leans around me, extending his hand, and Greyson high-fives him as hard as he can. Jace pretends to wince and shakes out his hand. “Man, you’re strong.”

  “I have to be strong. I’m going to be a hockey player one day.”

  “Still want to play hockey, huh?” Jace asks him.

  “Of course,” Greyson replies.

  There’s a noise behind us and I turn to look, seeing Owen standing in front of his parents while the hostess walks back to her station.

  Owen clears his throat and takes a seat, his parents falling into place.

  “I’m Harry,” Owen’s dad introduces himself to Sarah and Jimmy. “And this is my wife, Claudia.”

  I resist the urge to roll my eyes but from the squeeze of Jace’s hand against mine beneath the table, I’m not sure I was successful.

  Oh, well.

  “I’m Sarah.” She waves at the couple.

  “Jimmy.” He raises his hand.

  “You look good,” Owen comments to me, and Jace gives me a look that clearly says I told you so.

  “How’s New York treating you?” I ask, changing the subject.

  Owen pushes his dark hair from his eyes and shrugs. “Not bad.”

  An awkward silence descends on the table, and I shift uncomfortably in my chair.

  If it wasn’t for Greyson, I swear I wouldn’t be here right now.

  Harry clears his throat, his eyes zeroing in on Jace.

  “Jacen Kensington, I’m surprised to see you here.”

  “It’s Jace,” he grinds out between his teeth. “And I don’t know why you’d be surprised considering you knew Nova and I were dating years ago.”

  Harry’s lips twist. “I figured with Nova’s age she’d move on. She certainly moved on from my son.”

  My jaw drops to the floor and my face heats with anger. Harry and his wife forced Owen to leave me. I didn’t end the relationship. I was the one who was a teenager and pregnant and absolutely terrified.

  Jace’s fists flex and he opens his mouth, ready to defend me.

  I beat him to it.

  I don’t care who’s at this table, I will not let Harry Mitchell walk all over us.

  I may have done it once, but not now.

  “How dare you,” I snap, my voice rising. “Owen broke up with me. He’s one who left me alone and pregnant, because you” —I shove a finger in his direction— “made him. You’re nothing but a nasty excuse for a human being. I don’t even know why you’re here. You don’t deserve to know this little boy.” I place my hand on Greyson’s shoulder. “He’s good and you’re … you’re … not.”

  Jace looks at me with admiration in his eyes and mouths I love you.

  I smile back at him. If I didn’t find my soulmate when I met Jace then I came pretty damn close.

  Harry clears his throat and fiddles with his tie, his face growing increasingly red.

  To Jimmy and Sarah, he says, “I’m terribly sorry. Novalee has always been unstable.”

  I gasp. I want
to throttle him.

  Everything that comes out of this man’s mouth is a fucking lie. I guess that’s why he’s such a good politician.

  Sarah tilts her head, appraising him. “Funny, because I’ve now known Nova for … what? Five years?” She turns to her husband and then back to Harry. “And I’ve never, not once, found her to be unstable.” She throws his word back to him. “You, on the other hand, this is our first time meeting and I could say the same about you.”

  Harry’s eyes bulge out of his head.

  Go Sarah. I mentally fist-bump.

  Harry sputters and finally comes to a stand. “I will not be insulted this way.” He stands up, buttoning his suit jacket. “Claudia, Owen, let’s go.” He moves away, expecting them to follow.

  Claudia does, but Owen stays seated.

  “Owen.”

  Owen lifts a steely jaw. “No, Dad. I’m staying.”

  Harry hates being defied and anger flashes in his eyes, his top lip snarling, but he says no more, putting a hand on Claudia’s waist and guiding her away. She glances back over her shoulder, and our gazes collide, she stares at me with anger and then her eyes move to Jace and she shakes her head in disapproval before turning around.

  Owen clears his throat. “Should we go somewhere … less formal?”

  Jimmy breathes out a sigh of relief. “That’d be great.”

  “Can we have pizza?” Greyson pipes in, lifting his hand in the air like he’s in school and needs to be called on.

  “Sure, bud.” Greyson smiles at him and my heart lurches because they look so much alike. I don’t often get to see Owen and Greyson together. Usually when Owen visits him I let him have time alone with him—that’s what I get since I can see him more often.

  We leave and end up at a place a couple blocks away.

  Before heading in I switch out my heels for a pair of black Converse I had left in the back of Jace’s truck. He laughs, because they definitely don’t go with my dress, but I am not wearing those heels if I don’t have to.

  Dinner goes smoothly with lots of smiles and laughs. I don’t think any of us misses Harry and Claudia, but especially Harry.

  Ain’t nobody got time for judgmental assholes.

  The meal ends and we each take care of our own bills.

  I hug Greyson goodbye, inhaling his scent until the next time, and then Jace hugs him.