JACE

smoke is probably pouring out of my ears right about now because I am so pissed off. I slide into the back seat of the Maybach and tell Ronaldo to take me home. Traffic is a bitch, and my knee bounces up and down as I try to figure out why Bailey's ex-boyfriend was at her place. And why he was questioning me.

I had to walk out, or I would've slugged the idiot.

Trying to reel in my temper, I force myself to lean back and take a deep breath. Clearly, Bailey and I have unfinished busines: but does she also have unfinished business with Evan? I clench my fists and I'm so f*****g jealous that I can’t see straight.

I have never been jealous before in my life. Ever.

But I have had endless trust issues and finding those two together makes me start questioning everything. Bailey and I haven't talked in weeks and ever since I got back from LA. I've been trying to call and text her. I assumed she was ignoring me, so I decided to confront her tonight. Just didn't expect to see the ex.

Selene lied to me for months then left me. Now I have a sinking sensation that the same thing is happening all over again with Bailey. It fucking hurts. And it occurs to me that I'm more upset about Bailey than I was about Selene.

Losing Selene was a humiliating experience, but when it comes to my feelings, I care about Bailey so much more. There reall isn't even a comparison.

50 why can't you just admit itzl ask myself. Why am I fighting it?

“I love her,” I say aloud, unable to deny it a moment longer.

Ronaldo eyes me in the rear-view mirror with a knowing look.

“F**k, Ronaldo. Why am I such a dumbass?”

Up in the driver's seat, Ronaldo smiles. “I knew you were smart enough to figure it out eventually, Mr. Montgomery. It just took a minute”

“It took way too long” I say, and rake a frustrated hand through my hair. I'm racking my brain, trying to figure out what to do next when we pull into my building's underground garage, and I see my sister and Grandma.

Ronaldo pulls into the parking spot, and I jump out, hurrying over and hugging them both. “What the hell are you two doing here?” I ask.

“Nice to see you, too," my grandma says in a dry voice. “Now let's get inside before I freeze my patootie off. You've got some explaining to do, Jace Alistair Montgomery.”

Uh oh. Shes middle naming me so I know that she means business. She may be little, but she’s a force of nature.

My feisty, diminutive grandmother looks positively ready to do battle and I glance over at Kendall who shrugs. With a sigh, I say goodnight to Ronaldo and lead them up to my place. Big mouth Kendall must've spilled everything and now my grandm is upset.

Once we're upstairs and settled, I lean forward, arms on my thighs and clasp my hands. “Go on, Grandma,” I say. “Tell me what an idiot I am."

“Oh, honey, I'm not going to state the obvious."

I'snort out a laugh. Leave it to Marty to not mince words.

“Kendall told me what was going on and if you let Bailey go, we're going to have a big problem.”

“I don’t want to let Bailey go," I tell them. Relief and happiness wash over both their faces. “In fact, I've just come to the conclusion that I love her”

“0h, thank God,” Kendall exclaims. “We came ready to do battle"

“No need. But I may need a little help convincing her to take me back” I give them a sheepish look.

“0h, God. What did you do now?” Kendall asks in a wary tone.

“I may have just come from her place,” I admit. “And her ex was there so I kind of lost my shit and stormed out."

My grandma shakes her head. “Jace, dear, do you believe Bailey loves you, too?”

Doz

I heave out a frustrated sigh. “I have no idea,’ I admit, even though the words practically kill me to say.

She and my sister exchange a look. “Well, we have a pretty good idea that she’s just as crazy for you as you are for her. C'mon, Jace, you're a smart guy. We all saw the way you two acted around each other.”

“How did we act?" I ask Kendall. I need to hear it from someone who had a better perspective of the whole thing. An impartial viewer, so to speak. Because I was so lost in Bailey's ocean-colored eyes and vanilla-scent that everything else jus: sort of faded away.

“Like a couple in love,” Kendall says with a smile. “I've never seen you so happy.”

“And the way she looked at you..” my grandma adds a little dreamily. “Like she had little hearts in her eyes.’

“Really?” I want to believe what they're telling me so badly, but doubts plague me.

“I have something for you,” my grandma says and reaches into her purse. She pulls out a velvet box and hands it to me. Frowning, I take it from her and open the lid. A huge, sparkling diamond solitaire winks back at me. It's her engagement ring from my grandpa. For a moment, I have no idea why she’s giving it to me. I know she complains that it's too heavy for her dainty finger, so she only wears her wedding band now.

“I want you to give it to Bailey,” she tells me.

My gaze snaps up and meets hers. “Grandma...” I don't know what to say and I'm hesitant.

“Please,” she insists. “I was lucky enough to marry the love of my life and we had almost 60 wonderful years together. I wish you the same thing, Jace. It's all I've ever wanted for you. If Bailey is the one then I want this for you. So badly."

I'get up and hug her hard, trying to ignore the wetness in my eyes. “I love you so much,” I say and then pull back and kiss he wrinkled cheek.

“Well, what are you waiting for? Go propose!” my sister exclaims.

With a nod, I straighten up and a plan starts coming together in my head when my buzzer rings.

“Maybe that's her!” Kendall exclaims gleefully.

I check the app on my phone and my heart jumps into my throat. “It's her,” I confirm, my voice wavering.

“Yay!” Kendall screeches and high fives my grandma.

I don't want to kick them out but I'm going to need some privacy with Bailey.

But they both head straight for the door. “We're staying at the Ritz” my grandma announces. “Call us later and let us know how it goes.” She squeezes my arm, and they sneak out the back door.

“Thank you,” I say.

“Get your girl, Jace,” my grandma says and Kendall nods, a huge grin on her face.

“I'm going to try like hell I assure them. After they disappear, I buzz Bailey inside the building. Leaning against the door jamb, waiting for Bailey to appear, my heart slams against my chest and my pulse careens out of control. This is it. The moment of truth.

Will I be able to win my girl back? Or is she going to tell me she's done with me? With us?

I know without a doubt that Bailey is the only one for me. If she doesn’t accept my proposal, I don't know what I'm going to do.

My nerves kick up a notch and suddenly there she is, heading up the hall toward me. I realize how beautiful she is with her dark hair pulled back in a simple ponytail. Our gazes lock and I immediately straighten up.

“C'mon in," I say and she steps inside. After closing the door, I turn to her, and we both start speaking at once. She gives a nervous laugh and I reach out and brush a snowflake off her coat.

“You first,” I murmur.

Bailey pulls in a deep breath and unwraps the scarf around her neck. “Everything has been such a mess lately- ever since New Year's Eve- and I just wanted you to know a couple of things. First, Evan and I aren't back together. He wanted to try again, and I said no. told him that I couldn't be with him.”C0ntent © 2024 (N/ô)velDrama.Org.

“Why?” I ask.

She swallows then meets my gaze, her pretty blue-gray eyes swirling with emotion. “Because I'm in love with you."

I'suck in a sharp breath and relief floods every corner of my body. “I'm in love with you, too, sweetheart."

“You are?” she asks softly. “But what about Selene? Kendall said you two were in LA. together and she wanted you back” “I'm going to murder my sister," I say darkly. “Yes, Selene approached me and wanted to start things up again, but she’s not the woman for me." I reach out and take Bailey's hand. “sit with me?”

She nods, sliding her coat off, and I guide her over to the coach. We sit down beside each other, and I squeeze her hand. “I should've told you what happened with Selene weeks ago, but I don’t normally talk about it. Once I realized the depth of my feelings for you, I should've told you the whole story instead of just yelling it out in the car”

Bailey waits patiently for me to continue.

“Selene and I met at a party through a mutual friend who introduced us. We started dating and eventually became engaged. “You loved her, Bailey says softly.

“I thought I did, but now with hindsight, I had no clue what love was. I still had no idea until I met you. I think back over the tumultuous relationship that Selene and I had. “To be honest, Selene exhausted me. She was always on and when I'm not working, I just want to hang out with my friends and family. I don't feel the constant need to go out and be seen. So, I ended up focusing more on work than her, and she didn't like that. Since I was pushing 40, I thought a proposal should come next, 0 we ended up getting engaged. For a year, she planned a huge wedding and I worked. We barely saw each other, so it shouldn't have been a surprise that our relationship crashed and burned. But the fact that it happened on the day we were supposed to get married... I heave out a sigh. “She skipped out right before we were supposed to walk down the aisle."

“I'm so sorry, Jace."

“She also was cheating on me. That day, my trust was shattered. I stopped believing in love and avoided serious relationships. I never wanted to be that vulnerable with a woman ever again."

“That makes perfect sense, and I don't blame you.”

“In retrospect, she probably did me a favor because we would've ended up divorced. No doubt about it. But after that fiasco I refused to get serious and kept my walls up.’

“I don't blame you."

“Then I met you and everything changed. You made me want to try again. I know this all started as a charade, but my feeling have always been real. You made me see that love can exist and be beautiful. I fell so hard for you, Bailey, and I'm not walking away from you. From us.”

I reach for the velvet box on the coffee table and Bailey grabs my hand, stopping me.

“There's something else I have to tell you,” she blurts out.

“You can tell me anything.”

suddenly, she looks nervous, and she releases my hand and starts twisting the edge of her sleeve.

“What is it?" I ask.

She lets out a breath, meets my gaze and says, “I'm pregnant.”

For a moment, everything stops moving and, as her words sink in, I remember the first night we were together and the condom busting apart. Maybe two months ago, I would've freaked out and panicked. But not now. Not anymore. Reaching out, I grab both her hands and grin.

“We're going to have a baby?” I ask, my voice tinged in awe.

Tears fill her eyes. “Yes”

“Do you know what that means?” I ask, brushing her tear away with my thumb. “You're never going to be alone again, sweetheart. We're going to have our own little family. Because I hope you realize, I'm not going anywhere."

I'grab the box, open it and lift my grandma's ring out.

“I want you as my wife, Bailey Briggs. And I want to walk down the aisle with you, promise each other forever and raise a family with you. I want to grow old with you and spend the next 60 Christmases together.”

Dropping down in front of her, I hold the diamond ring up.

“Bailey, will you marry me?” I ask, heart in my throat.

“Yes!” she cries and throws herself into my arms. We tip back and laugh, tumbling to the floor. I manage to slide the ring on her finger, and she starts dropping kisses all over my face. It doesn't take long before those playful kisses turn hot and need pulses through us.

I'stand, lifting Bailey up into my arms, and head straight down to my bedroom. These past few weeks without each other have been nothing short of torturous and the moment I reach my bed, we're already pulling our clothes off, fast and furious, We fall back onto the comforter, and I can't get enough of her. I kiss her deeply, reveling in the feel of her tongue sliding against mine and the way her soft curves press against me. 'm hot, hard and so ready to plunge into her welcoming warmth Need propels me forward and I vow to make it up to her later more slowly.

But now...now I'm on fire. I grasp her hips, angle them just right and begin to sink my weeping length inside her hot core. “Ahh, Christ," I hiss as she raises her center up, pulling me deeper. The overwhelming need to drive deep and claim her as mine once and for all overwhelms me. I thrust hard, over and over again, reaching down between our bodies and finding he; ¢**t. Working her just right until she’s arching and whimpering beneath me. Pleasure threatens to take over and I hold back, waiting until she comes first.

“Jace!” she screams a moment later, shuddering beneath me in a powerful climax.

Her inner walls tighten around me, pulsating, and I can't hold back any longer. The world around me seems to explode in vibrant color and my release is Earth shattering. I drop down beside her, breathing hard, and realize that nothing has ever meant as much to me as this woman.

She's so very precious to me and shes mine, I realize, looking at the diamond on her finger.

From the beginning, there was never anything fake about our attraction or feelings. And even though she started as my fake fiancée, now things couldn't be more real.

“I love you," I whisper and press a kiss to her lips.

“I love you, too,” she says softly, laying her head on my chest. “Always.”