“Okay,” Ace spoke softly, studying me with concern. “Okay, I think it’s time we talk.

Let’s cut this panic of yours short before it starts to snowball, yeah?”

He helped me sit up with gentle hands and wiped my hair out of my face.

“So.” I gulped when I noticed his hand massaging my thigh. “Y-you want to…be with me?”

“More than anything,” Ace confirmed. The broad, loving smile on his face made more than just my stomach flutter. “I’ve dreamed of this day since the moment we met.”

Despite my overwhelming feelings of love and relief, unexpected anger rose too.

“So, then, why didn’t you tell me that, you...