Page 34 of Dr. Stone (Billionaires’ Club #9)

THIRTY

Andie

Everything that happened from when Jace picked me up from work—the bike ride, the casual dinner, and now this evening walk on the beach—felt like more than just a breath of fresh air.

It was a complete reset. The adrenaline from the ride had kicked everything into a supercharged new gear, and now I was just hanging on with excitement.

I glanced over and smiled at Jake and Duke, seemingly getting along on our walk. “Looks like you might’ve dodged a bullet with Mr. Duke,” I said.

Jace smiled over at me, his silver Ray-Bans reflecting the golden sheen covering the ocean.

“I had a feeling Jake was being melodramatic about having a small dog around the house,” he glanced down to where Duke proudly trotted next to the jogging stroller I was pushing Brandon in.

“Cute handkerchief,” he said, looking at me.

“It looks like you couldn’t resist dressing him like John Wayne, eh? ”

“He’s got to live up to his namesake,” I teased.

“It’s funny because ever since we brought him home, it seems his straight-shooter personality has really blossomed,” I said as Jace laughed.

“Even out here on our sunset walks, just look at him. It’s like he owns the beach and is just allowing us to join him on it. ”

“I’m really glad he’s worked out for you two,” he said.

Brandon squealed when Duke got ahead of the stroller, urging me not to let the dog beat him.

“So far, so good, is what I’m thinking,” I said. “The competition between Brandon and Duke is another thing to keep an eye on.”

“Oh?” he answered curiously.

“He loves to take Brandon’s favorite toy and run around the house with it, almost like a game of keep away, which sometimes gets out of hand. It’s only when Duke’s barking and Brandon’s babble-hollering happen simultaneously that it turns into chaos.”

“I guess taking the toy away would be the easiest solution,” he said casually.

I turned the stroller to head back to the house as we reached my usual endpoint on the wet sand of the beach. “I’ve tried, but their yelling and barking at each other just turns up at that point,” I chuckled.

He laughed. “Well, if it gets to be too much, we’re practically beachfront neighbors. I can just jog up the shoreline and pick up Duke on the crazy nights when you’re not in the mood for his bullshit.”

Unexpectedly, Duke barked a couple of times as if he understood what Jace had said. I narrowed my eyes at the cocky trot Duke bounded into, pulling on his leash and seemingly irritated.

“I think he just yelled at you,” I chuckled.

“I think you’re right,” Jace said, his voice more curious than humored.

“Let’s get the subject off Mr. Duke, and focus on the fact that you’d just jog to my place? That’s like four miles up, four miles back?”

“If I get tired, perhaps I could just stay the night?” he teased.

“Something tells me you wouldn’t get tired after a ten-mile run up the beach,” I eyed the simple black tee he wore, seeing that its tight fit accentuated every muscle.

“You know,” he smiled at me, “I’ve been thinking how dumb I’ve been for jogging south on the beach every morning instead of coming this way.”

“Ah,” I smiled. “You’re one of those early risers, hmm?”

“That’s why I’ve just realized I’ve been running in the wrong direction on my morning runs,” he chuckled. “Now I know you’re out on your patio watching all the shirtless men taking their morning jogs, and my stupid ass has been running the other way like a dumb fuck.”

“If you and I think about it, we’ve both been running in different directions since the morning we walked away from each other on the yacht,” I said, becoming more serious, curious about how he would respond.

“I know we have,” he answered. “I swear, I wasn’t planning for any of this to happen.” He glanced over at me, “I’d be so fucked if you’d stuck to your word, leaving you and me at just that one night.”

I grinned at him. “Well, if the rumors are true, I guess karma could’ve bit you in the ass and used me to do just that.”

“If the rumors are true…” he said with amusement.

“Yes, the rumors are true. And yes, karma could’ve easily used you to hand me my ass for the careless way I used to toss women aside.

That’s actually something I wanted to talk to you about.

” He sighed and continued, “I was a total playboy dick, and I don’t want that shit creeping back to bite me. ”

We stopped just before the path that led to my condo, overlooking the beach. He pulled off his sunglasses, and his blue eyes locked on mine with a sincerity that almost made me forget how much of a mess this was.

“Seriously,” he said. “If who I was the night we met is a deal-breaker? Fine. I’ll take my karma and move on. But I needed to know.”

I pinched my lips together, his nervousness shining through like it did the first night he and I spoke. “You’re just now giving me this option after the competition with Titus is out of the way?”

“No, it’s not that. I just?—”

“If it were a turn-off, I wouldn’t have let you take Brandon and me to the ER. And I sure as hell wouldn’t have taken a dog from you either.”

I smiled when he did, but it faltered quickly.

“I don’t know what happened between us that night.” My voice dipped. “All I know is…I can’t get it, or you , out of my head. Or my heart.”

“I feel the same damn way,” he said with a smile.

“With that said,” I nodded. “And if we’re really going to do this, if I let you into my life, I won’t let you hurt me.” I glanced down at Brandon, then back to Jace. “I’ve been through some bad shit with his dad, and I don’t know how I’d survive going through it again.”

He chewed on his bottom lip, and I understood why. If this man had commitment issues—something most men who were known players had—I needed to scare him off now before we got deeper.

“I swear I have no intention of hurting you,” he answered.

“Okay,” I said, walking up to the gate that led to my small patio and into my house.

“That wasn’t the right answer,” Jace said as I used this moment to think about his response. “I will not hurt you. I have no idea what his dad did to you, but I have no intentions of loving and leaving you.”

“It isn’t just me you’re dating, Jace,” I said, pulling Brandon from his stroller and carrying him inside. “You’re in this with more than one heart.” I squeezed my son against me, protective instinct surging. “Brandon’s starting to get attached to people…and that scares me.”

My chest ached as the words slipped out.

“His dad can’t hurt him—he’s not in his life. Hell, I don’t even think the bastard knows if I went through with the pregnancy. That’s how hard he ghosted me the night he found out.”

“Jesus Christ,” Jace said. “I had no idea.”

“You couldn’t have known. We’ve barely talked beyond small talk, and tonight, we were headed that way before we ended up talking about Duke instead,” I shrugged.

“Hey, give me a second to lay him down. There’s beer in the fridge…

or something stronger if you want to stick around for the hard part, figuring out if we should give this a try,” I winked.

“I’ll be right back. I just need to get this little guy to bed. ”

I was thankful that Brandon was such a peaceful baby. Between the sitter’s schedule for him and the schedule I kept to, this boy fell into a routine that was like a well-oiled machine. As a result, he slept soundly through the night when he wasn’t teething, which was a godsend.

“Ah,” I laughed as I rejoined Jace, who was on my patio lighting my torches. “I see you opted for something harder tonight, Dr. Stone?”

He chuckled, “I must say, I didn’t pin you for a Jack Daniels kind of girl?”

I sank onto the small sofa lounge, the space softly glowing under solar lights and the trickle of my little fountain blending with the waves.

“I like a little whiskey now and then,” I said, curling up on my side and pulling in a throw pillow to my stomach.

“You look pretty damn hot right now, you know?” he laughed. “What the hell are you trying to do to me?”

“Oh, please,” I rolled my eyes. “And you’re trying to get off the subject we were discussing before I put Brandon down.”

He shook his head, pointing at me with the same hand holding his glass. “That white button-down shirt, your sleeves rolled up like that, four buttons undone, and those cut-off jean shorts? All I can say is holy shit, gorgeous…”

“Careful,” I teased. “Duke might be sound asleep in his bed, but if he hears you coming onto me like this, it might just wake him up.”

“Well, that will be your fault,” his forehead wrinkled in humor.

“Mine? I beg to differ, sir,” I played back.

“Yup,” he took a longer sip this time. “Your sexy ass has been tempting me since we got here, and you said you wanted to change into something more comfortable .”

“This is comfortable,” I said. Oversized cotton button-downs were my favorite articles of clothing to lounge around in. “What did you think I was changing into, sweats?”

“To prevent anything crazy from going down between you and me tonight? Yeah, I thought that would be your choice.”

I shook my head and took the glass he poured for me. After a sip and feeling the warmth of the whiskey searing down my throat, I exhaled. “I’ve spent too many months in sweats,” I smiled at him. “In fact, this lounge furniture hadn’t been used for over a year until about a month ago.”

“I’m sorry you went through such a hard time,” he responded. “Do you mind if I ask what happened?”

“Not at all,” I said while my eyes drifted toward the shoreline. “I was in a relationship with Brandon’s father, Jonathan, for five years. Then, I found out I was pregnant, and when I told him—well, that was the last I saw or heard from him.”