Fever (Breathless #2)(67)

“Thank you,” she whispered. “Not for offering to buy me new stuff. I’m sure I have plenty to choose from in that huge closet. I have stuff that still has the tags on it! But thank you for making such an effort for me not to feel awkward.”

He squeezed her to him. “Don’t want you in any situation that you don’t feel good in, baby. So get what you need. Pick out something that makes you feel good.”

She raised her head despite his effort to keep holding her against his chest and she kissed him hard, wrapping her arms around his neck as she slid her tongue over his.

“You’re so good to me, Jace,” she said quietly. “But I thank God every single day for you.”

Chapter twenty-four

Bethany’s anxiety was through the roof. She’d dressed with extreme care because she didn’t want to disappoint Jace in front of his family. There had been plenty of outfits to choose from in her closet, many, as she’d told Jace that still had the tags, unworn as of yet. She’d chosen a sparkly silver cocktail dress because it seemed festive and appropriate for Christmas, and after debating and a huge amount of guilt, she’d bought matching sparkly silver heels to go with it.

Jace had sensed her anxiety and had gone to great lengths to reassure her. As she’d been in the bathroom putting her hair up in a silver clip that matched her dress, he’d come in and slipped a beautiful diamond necklace around her neck and fastened it while she stood gaping in the mirror.

“Jace!” she protested. “This is too much!”

He grinned and pressed a kiss to her neck just underneath her ear and then reached around her, holding a box with a matching pair of earrings.

“Then you’ll definitely think this is too much, but deal with it, baby. Can’t have my woman going to Christmas with my family and them thinking I don’t spoil you ridiculously. I’ll lose all credibility. So put them on. I like seeing my jewelry on you. And you look beautiful without it, but I want you to feel just as beautiful as I see you. There isn’t a woman alive who doesn’t love diamonds. You can’t be the exception here.”

Put that way, there wasn’t a whole lot she could say.

He kissed her again and then patted her affectionately on the ass. “Need to leave in five minutes, so put a move on it.”

She sighed as he left and then caught her reflection in the mirror as she fumbled with the box so she could slip the earrings in her ears. She was smiling. Happy. Her eyes warm with a contented glow. He always knew just how to make her feel more at ease. Not that she wasn’t still a nervous wreck.

Christmas was a holiday she’d never really marked. In the beginning, particularly the first year she and Jack had been homeless, Jack had tried his best to infuse the occasion with holiday cheer. He’d gotten a shrub, which they’d decorated and set up in their tiny corner of a deserted park using discarded wrapping paper from a nearby shop.

They’d fashioned bows, little stars and a few other shapes that couldn’t exactly be classified as recognizable symbols of Christmas, but Bethany had loved Jack for the effort he’d made. He’d also managed Christmas dinner, though he’d never told her how and she hadn’t asked.

Where was he today? It was cold and snow had begun falling, covering the sidewalks in a white blanket. Did he have a place to stay? Was he warm? Did he have anything to eat?

She felt extremely guilty as Jace ushered her into his waiting car, warm and comfortable, on their way to Gabe’s apartment, where they’d eat, enjoy time with Jace’s loved ones and celebrate the holiday. She was well taken care of. Jace had seen to her every need. And Jack was out there alone for the first time in all the years he and Bethany had been together.

She put a hand to her hair for the sixth time since they’d left her apartment, worried that the careful arrangement would plummet down her neck at any moment.

Jace put his arm around her, pulling her to him so he could kiss her temple. “You look gorgeous,” he murmured. “Stop worrying. You’ll love them and they’ll love you.”

She smiled—or rather, she tried to. It was bad enough she was meeting his sister, her fiancé who also happened to be Jace’s other best friend and business partner, and Gabe’s parents, but Ash would also be there. This would be the first time she’d seen him since that night of their threesome and her stomach was in knots over it all.

How awkward would it be to exchange pleasantries with a man who’d f**ked her with Jace? Jace couldn’t be any more comfortable with it than she was. He’d made his feelings very clear on the matter. He didn’t even like to discuss it, and so she’d avoided the issue, adopting firm denial that it had ever happened.

That would all change tonight.

And then another thought struck her. One that horrified her. What if the others knew that she’d slept with both Jace and Ash?

“Baby.”

Jace’s soft voice broke into her thoughts and she turned in his direction.

“You’re tying yourself into knots over nothing.”

He squeezed her hand and then brought it up to his mouth to kiss. He kissed every single one of her fingers, prying them loose from the fist she’d formed.

“It’s Christmas. I want you to enjoy the holiday. Our first together,” he added with a smile.

“I’m terrified,” she blurted out.