Page 60 of The Comeback Road (Leaving #2)
Lexie
The rich aroma of coffee wafted through the air, pulling me from the depths of sleep.
I blinked against the soft morning light that filtered in through Jace’s barely-there curtains.
I felt the delicious soreness that radiated from all parts of my body.
After our shower, he had woken me up twice more throughout the night.
I was feeling like a limp noodle, but a very, very happy limp noodle.
I stayed under the covers, trying to ignore the smell of coffee and the ungodly hour, hoping memories would lull me back to sleep.
Instead, they only had me grumbling a bit as I mentally prepared myself to get out of bed so I could start my quest to find him and coffee.
I could still feel the warmth of Jace’s touch, the weight of his whispered words in my ears sending a jolt of anticipation through me.
We had crossed a line, and everything felt different now.
Good different, but different nonetheless.
Pulling his comforter around me to combat some of the chilliness in the air, I swung my legs over the side of the bed, my feet touching the cool floor.
I shivered, debating just crawling back into the warmth of the blankets.
I was finding the allure of morning coffee with Jace irresistible as it was routine for me now. I quickly made my way to his kitchen.
As I entered, I found Jace at the stove, his back to me as he moved with a casual grace, flipping what smelled like bacon in a pan.
I halted at the sight of him, dressed in a simple T-shirt that hugged his shoulders just right, his hair tousled from sleep.
He turned slightly, catching my gaze, and a sleepy smile broke out across his face.
“Good morning, my Starlight.” His voice was still thick with sleep, but reminded me of a warm butterscotch candy.
“Morning,” I replied, trying to keep my voice steady. There was something significantly more intimate now that we slept together and I’d woken up with him, sharing his space.
“Coffee’s almost ready,” he said, motioning to the pot. I stepped closer, the aroma that pulled me out of bed finally so close.
“Are you making bacon?” I asked, tilting my head toward the pan.
“Of course. Only the best for you,” he said, glancing back at me with a playful look that sent a rush of warmth through my chest.
The air between us felt charged, and I knew that we should probably talk about what had happened and where I was at.
“Jace…” I started to say, in a soft but steady voice. “About last night…”
He turned to me, his expression terrified. “Yeah?”
I took a deep breath, ready to let it all go and let him all the way in. “I’m all in. Like, all in. In fact, I don’t think I ever wasn’t in, even when I didn’t want to be. Am I making sense?”
His eyes widened with surprise at first, but then floated into something like adoration as I fumbled over my terrible explanation of how I was feeling.
“I’m all in too, Lexie. So in , you have no idea. “
“You are?”
“Yeah, Starlight. I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life.” He came over to me and placed a kiss on my forehead.
“You’re mine as much as I am yours,” I said with every ounce of feeling I had. “I’m in love with you.”
“Oh, Lexie, I love you so much.” For a moment, the outside world faded away, leaving just the two of us and our confessions in the quiet kitchen, surrounded by the morning light and the promise of something new. Something that was the start of forever.
Jace pulled me into him. “This is it Starlight. Just you and me, forever.”
We sat in that moment, the air charged with words spoken and unspoken. Jace leaned in, brushing his lips against mine—a tender promise of what was to come. He only pulled away when a timer dinged from somewhere.
As we dug into breakfast, laughter and playful banter flowed easily between us. A new chapter had started, one months in the making, and with our promise of love, that would only grow stronger with time.