Page 41 of The Encounter
She shrugged and looked anywhere but at his face. “I wasn’t sure if you’d have another woman with you.”
He gently took hold of her chin and turned her face up to his. “Why would I have another woman with me? I’m dating you.”
A small smile found her lips. “But you’ve only been on a few dates with me.”
“And I believe I asked you out to coffee tomorrow, too.”
“That’s true.” She stared up at him with an expression he couldn’t read.
“I’ll admit, I was worried you were going out drinking with another guy tonight.”
“Why would you think that?”
“Jealousy, I guess.”
She furrowed her eyebrows. “You’d be jealous of another guy with me?”
“Of course I would. Look at you. You’re gorgeous. Any guy would be insane not to want to be with you.”
Her smile dipped briefly. “Not any guy,” she mumbled.
Before he could respond, there was a knock on his door. He tugged Maddie away from it before opening it to find Reggie, one of his security officers, standing there.
“The bar is full. Haley is asking for help.”
“I’ll be right there.”
Reggie nodded his head and walked away.
Jace stepped over to Maddie and stroked her cheek. “I would like to continue this conversation later. I’m needed out front.”
She nodded. “We don’t need to.”
He dipped his head to catch her eyes. When she looked back at him, he said, “I want to.”
“Okay.”
He took her hand and gave it a squeeze. “Is Kayla here with you?”
“Of course.”
He looked down at her wrist to find the VIP band strapped to it. “Drinks are on me tonight. Seth is the bartender in the VIP area. Try not to get too wasted.” He threw her a wink.
She laughed. “Don’t worry. I have no desire to be hungover tomorrow.”
* * *
Maddie satin the VIP lounge looking over the balcony down onto the bar where Jace was working as a bartender alongside Haley. They were busy and didn’t catch a single break for the last few hours. Kayla spent most of her time on the dance floor with various men while she waited for Robert to get off for the night.
Maddie wished she could be as carefree as Kayla, but dancing with another man felt wrong. Kayla made her way back up the stairs and dropped onto the sofa next to Maddie.
“You should come dance,” Kayla shouted into Maddie’s ear over the music.
Maddie shrugged. “I don’t feel right about it.”
Kayla gestured toward the dance floor. “It’s not like you’re going home with one of them. You’re only dancing.”
Maddie looked over the balcony railing again down at Jace before turning back toward Kayla.
