The Art of Taking Chances Read online

  “Alright. Thanks, Courtney.” I hung up and sat down on the bed, the one I called mine when I stayed here for the summer, and looked at the clothes I had brought with me. Most of my wardrobe was still at my parents’ house, just a few minutes away.

  I stood up and paced again. What in the world was I thinking when I agreed to go out with Jace? I must have had a crazy moment. I wanted to call him back and tell him I changed my mind, but then work would be even more awkward than it already was. I might as well get to know him as Courtney suggested. I could always use another friend—even if he was a member of the opposite sex.

  I plopped myself back down on the end of the bed and stared at my clothes for not more than a minute. I had to make up my mind and fast. I tried on the jeans and nice shirt, but the jeans fit a little snug. I didn’t remember that when I had worn them last. I yanked them off and tried on the little black dress. It was an A-line so it fit perfectly, as always, but I was afraid of being overdressed.

  I glanced at the clock. Jace should be here in a few minutes. I quickly shoved some makeup on my slightly tan face.

  Once we were situated in Jace’s truck, we were on our way to the little steak house in town. Lake Stevens only had about six thousand people, so fancy restaurants were not in abundance.

  For the first few minutes, we rode in charged silence. Finally, Jace said, “You look beautiful, by the way.”

  “Thanks.” I had decided on the simple black dress. I was glad I had packed it. “You look great yourself.” He wore a nice pair of jeans that almost looked brand new, and a T-shirt hugged his muscular arms. I almost couldn’t take my eyes off of him.

  “Have you eaten at this restaurant before?” he asked.

  “Yes, a few times. My parents know the owners.” I fidgeted with my hands in my lap, attempting to calm my nerves.

  “So, what do your parents do?” Jace apparently didn’t like the quiet.

  “My dad is a surgeon, and my mom is a doctor.”

  “Your mom practices here in town?”

  “Yes.”

  “I thought I saw your last name on a sign and wondered if it was any relation to you.” He turned into the small parking lot next to the steakhouse and parked two places away from the door. “I’m guessing they met in med school or at a hospital?”

  “Med school.”

  “So why are you staying at your grandma’s house?” He peered over at me in the passenger seat.

  “No reason.” Yes, there was a reason, but at this point, it was none of his darn business.

  “Boy, you’re a woman of little words.” Jace turned off the Chevy truck, pulled the key out of the ignition, and studied me.

  The way he said it—clipped, disappointed—had me feeling defensive. “You made me go on this date.”

  He shook his head. “No, I didn’t make you.”

  Coming from the guy who physically stopped me from leaving the bakery? “You wouldn’t let me get in my car unless I agreed to go out with you.”

  “All you had to do was walk around the car and get in,” Jace began, “or ask me nicely to get out of your way. Either way, you could have gotten in your car.”

  I stared at my hands in my lap. I had no words for him. How could I have been stupid enough to agree to this?

  “Do you still want to do this?” Jace asked, his voice soft and low. “I can take you back home if you really don’t want to be here.”

  I looked up at Jace. For a brief couple of seconds, I thought about making him take me home. But I told him I would go on this date, and go on this date I would. I wasn’t backing out now. “No, let’s go inside.” I undid the seatbelt and started to open the door.

  “Hold on. I’ll come around and get the door.” He got out and jogged around the front end of the truck.

  I waited patiently for the few seconds it took Jace to get to the door. I hadn’t experienced this after Ethan. He certainly never opened any doors for me.

  Inside, the hostess seated us right away. We scanned the two-sided menu—lunch, drinks, and desserts on one side, dinner on the other.

  Within a couple of minutes, the waitress took our order, leaving us alone to talk.

  “This is a pretty nice place,” Jace said, rubbing his hands together and gazing at me across the table.

  I glanced around at the rustic décor and white cloth-covered tables. Goosebumps danced on my bare arms. I wished had brought along a little sweater like I usually did. It’s what I get for talking to Courtney too long and hurrying to get ready. “It’s the best restaurant within 25 minutes of town,” I said. “So, you haven’t lived here for very long?”

  “Oh, so you can say more than a couple of words!” he chuckled.

  I smiled a little at him. “As a matter of fact, I can.”

  “Anyway…no, I moved here a couple weeks ago.”

  “Why here?”

  “I thought it looked like a nice little town. It’s close to IU. I’ll be transferring there in the fall.”

  Moving to a small town thirty minutes away from school didn’t make any sense to me. “Why didn’t you move to Bloomington then?”

  “My grandfather lives here. I’m using his address so I don’t have to pay out-of-state tuition.”

  “That makes sense.” I took a sip of my Coke. If only Courtney could see me now, actually having a conversation with a guy and not totally hating it! “So where are you from?”

  “I thought I would be the one doing all the talking and asking all the questions.” Jace smirked.

  I folded my arms across my chest and fought a smile. “This is a date the last time I checked, so we might as well get to know each other.”

  “You’re right. We should get to know each other. It might make things at work a little more fun.” He winked at me and then gave me that big grin of his.

  I attempted a smile back, but faltered. Could I do this?

  “I’m from Missouri,” Jace said. “I needed a change of scenery, so Grandpa said I could move in. I’ve stayed with him before over the summers, Christmas break—things like that. I’ve seen you over at your grandma’s, but I’m pretty sure you didn’t see me.”

  For as long as I could remember I spent summers at my Grandma’s. But I was pretty sure I’d remember Jace is his shining dark eyes. How long had he been watching me? How long had I been missing him.

  Jace’s eyes stared into space for a moment and he gave his head a little shake. “Have you ever lived anywhere else?”

  “I’ve lived here all my life.” I fumbled with the silverware wrapped up in the napkin.

  Jace shifted his gaze toward the table and watched what I was doing. “So have you considered leaving town?”

  “Maybe someday. I’m going to college in Indy this fall.” I finally managed to unwrap my eating utensils.

  “Where are you going?”

  “U of Indy,” I said.

  He fidgeted with the straw in his drink. “That’s a pricey school.”

  “Well, yeah, but I got quite a few scholarships to help pay for it. My parents’ll cover the rest, even though they’re not at all happy about it.”

  “Why would they be mad? It sounds like money isn’t a problem.”

  “It isn’t. They just like to give me a hard time. Said I was a disappointment to them. That’s why I stay with my Grandma. She supports me no matter what.” I took another drink. “I got this job to save money so I can buy my own stuff and not have to depend on them as much.”

  I didn’t even know why I shared this stuff with a guy I barely knew. What in the heck was I thinking?

  The waitress brought our food. We ate a few bites in blissful silence.

  “So, this boy that broke your heart,” he began.

  My entire body tensed, my heart instantly freezing to ice and my hands turning to claws on my silverware. “I’m not going to talk about it.”

  “Okay.”

  We took a few more bites in uncomfortable silence.

  “But if I’m going to get
to know you, I think we should talk about it,” he pressed. “I need to know what I’m up against.”

  “And I don’t think it’s necessary.” I stabbed at my steak so hard my fork hit the plate. “I thought you weren’t supposed to talk about exes on dates? Especially first dates.”

  “This is different. I’m asking you about it because you seem to think everyone’s like your ex.”

  I still wasn’t going to talk about Ethan on this date. It didn’t matter what Jace’s reasoning was. I wasn’t sharing this personal stuff with him no matter how much he tried to convince me otherwise.

  I sawed on the steak, cutting easily through the meat. “I can’t talk about it. I’ve put it behind me, and that’s it.”

  “But you haven’t put it behind you.” He reached across the table and put his hand on my arm. “If you hate me because of this boy, then you haven’t moved on.”

  I put my fork down and pulled my arm away. “I want you to take me home right now.”

  “Why? Because I called you out on something?” Jace glared right back at me.

  “Because I told you this topic was off limits, and you kept on going.” I snatched up my purse and slid to the edge of the booth.

  “Wait,” Jace said, grabbing my wrist across the table. “Sit back down.”

  He waited on me to sit back down, but I had no intentions of doing that. I shrugged him free and headed for the door. I’d made it quite a distance from Mel’s Steakhouse, even in my heels, when I heard Jace yell my name.

  I continued walking and ignored him.

  “Peyton, wait!” he yelled again.

  I kept walking and called Courtney to come get me. I couldn’t make it two miles to my grandma’s house in heels, and I wasn’t going to call Grandma to come get me. She would play an intrusive version of twenty questions on the way home, and I wasn’t in the mood to talk, especially not about this.

  I hadn’t heard Jace for a few minutes, nor the sound of him running after me. Good, I’d had enough of him for one night—for a lifetime.

  A vehicle pulled up next to me, and I glanced over long enough to see that it was Jace and not Courtney.

  “Peyton, please get in the truck, and I’ll take you home,” he said through the open window on the passenger’s side.

  I never slowed my walking. If anything, I walked faster. But Jace continued driving beside me, and I continued ignoring him.

  The sound of his engine died down, and some strange blend of relief and regret coursed through me. Finally. Some time to sort through my thoughts, through this mess.

  “Peyton, wait!” Jace called, followed by the sound of his quick footsteps. He caught up and walked along beside me. “Please stop.” He got in front of me.

  I tried to go around him, but no matter which way I tried, he blocked me.

  “Get out of my way,” I growled, refusing to make eye contact. Anger. That was an emotion I felt comfortable with.

  “No, I won’t.”

  “I’m done with this date.”

  “Peyton, let me apologize, please.” He gently grabbed my arms.

  “I still don’t want to talk about Ethan.” I fought to hold back the tears until I couldn’t any longer.

  They streamed down my cheeks, and Jace pulled me close. He wrapped his arms around me, leaning his chin on top of my head. I couldn’t reciprocate—not yet, maybe not ever.

  “I’m so sorry that I upset you,” he said. “I had no idea things were that bad between you and that guy.”

  We stood there in this one-sided embrace for a few more seconds until he finally let go of me.

  “Why don’t we get in my truck, and I’ll take you home?” Jace asked.

  I wiped at my nose with the back of my arm. “Courtney is on her way to get me.”

  “Call her back and tell her I’m taking you home.”

  I looked at him, not sure I wanted to do as he asked. But something deep down told me to give him a chance. After all, he had apologized, something Ethan had never done. I called Courtney back. She hadn’t left yet so it wasn’t a big deal.

  Once we were in Jace’s truck, heading back to my grandma’s house, I said, “Ethan and I had been dating for a couple months when I saw him kissing someone else.”

  My throat got thick, and I swallowed, fighting more tears. “He had no intention of really dating me. It was all a joke. But I had fallen in love with him, and I thought he felt the same way. Apparently, most of the school knew it was going on, but no one bothered to say anything to me.”

  “Oh, I’m so sorry, Peyton.” Jace grabbed my hand and squeezed it. He pulled over to the side of the road.

  “I was so stupid. I was a nerd—good grades, no life. He was the captain of the basketball team. Why I ever thought a guy like him would ever be interested in me…” I glanced at him then stared hard at the dash. I couldn’t keep crying about this. I’d already cried enough. “So that’s why I don’t want to talk about this.

  Jace let go of my hand. “I’m not like that.” He didn’t say anything for a couple of minutes. “I don’t share my story very often, but I got hurt by a girl back home.”

  I took in his muscular arms, his angular jaw, his soft eyes, and wondered how a girl could ever find it in her to hurt a guy like him. “You did?”

  “In fact, it’s the reason I moved in with my grandpa this summer. She cheated on me.” He pinched the bridge of his nose, blinking hard. “We were opposite of you and Ethan. She was the popular girl. And I fell in love with her. Hard. I thought we were great together. That she really liked me. We’d been together for nine months when she cheated on me….”

  My heart wrenched, his pain mingling with my own. “I’m sorry.”

  “No reason for you to be sorry. It was my own stupid fault.”

  “Cheating’s wrong—no matter what the situation.”

  “That’s true.” Jace looked over at me and smiled. “But that’s in the past. Here, now, that’s what matters.” He reached out and cupped my cheek. Stroking the curve of my cheekbone with his thumb, he said, “I’m not like Ethan. Let me prove it to you.”

  I froze, caught somewhere between his eyes and the fear wracking my chest.

  Jace broke the silence. “I would like to get to know you better, if that’s okay.”

  I reached for straws, grasping for any reason why I shouldn’t be dating him, feeling this interested in another guy after what happened. “But we’re both going off to college in the fall. We’ll be an hour apart.”

  “We have all summer. Can we just see what happens?” He dropped his hand to cover my own and squeezed.

  I didn’t say anything. Part of me wanted to keep this relationship strictly as friends. Hang out, go swimming, do things as friends, and nothing more. And part of me wanted nothing more than to see what would happen next. Could I really fall for another guy?

  “It’ll make work more fun, and who knows? We may decide we’re not right for each other or we may fall madly in love.” He batted his eyes and gave me that big smile of his. “Either way, you have to get over this hatred of the opposite sex. Don’t you want to move on? Experience the summer, college, life?”

  More than anything. I’d do anything to get this painful, shameful feeling out of my chest. But my fear had me saying, “I don’t know, Jace.”

  “We could have the best summer together, but we won’t know unless we try. What do you think?”

  A smile tugged at my lips. This felt vulnerable and crazy and scary, but I wanted all the adventure he was talking about. And I wanted it with him. “I’m willing to give it a try.”

  He smiled and gave me a quick peck on the cheek before putting the truck in drive and taking me to my grandma’s house. In the driveway, he got out of the truck and walked around to open my door.

  He held my hand on the way to the front door and stopped on the porch. Only a couple hours ago I’d wanted nothing more than to never see him—or any other guy—again. Now, I didn’t want him to leave.

 
“So,” I said.

  He wrapped his arms around my waist and hugged me, and this time I hugged him back, loving the warmth of his chest and the smell of his cologne.

  Still holding me, he said, “Goodbye. I’ll see you tomorrow at work.”

  He pulled back, his hands on my waist, and grinned at me.

  My stomach dropped, a freefall into something I couldn’t help but be excited about. “See you in the morning.” I matched his smile with my own, then went inside.

  With my back pressed against the front door, my smile grew even wider. I had no idea what would happen tomorrow at work or at the end of the summer, but I did know one thing. I was starting to like Jace, and there was nothing I could do to stop it. And why would I even try?

  His smile melted my insides every time he looked at me. He treated me with respect in ways that Ethan had never done. That spoke to me. Jace made me realize I needed to move on with my life. The only way for me to truly know whether Jace was the right guy for me was to give him a chance. It was time for me to start living my life.

  Connect with Michele

  Thank you for reading Unstoppable Love by Michele Mathews! To connect with Michele and learn more about her books and special offers, visit www.michelemathews.com.

  Editor’s Note

  Thank you so much for taking a chance on this book. In a lot of ways, this anthology came to rest in your hands by a series of chances. I took a chance by editing my first anthology, my fellow authors took a chance by trusting me with their stories, our rock-star foreword writer, Cookie O’Gorman, took a chance by representing nine fellow authors, and you took the biggest chance of all by trusting us with your time. I am so grateful for that.

  The authors you’ve met through their writing embody so much of what The Art of Taking Chances is about. They put themselves and their work out there, risking criticism from those they aim to serve. They love hard, as great friends, sisters, daughters, spouses, and mothers. And they work for what they want, oftentimes writing late into the evening or early in the morning, waking before the sun to let their imaginations see the light of day. I’ve never worked with a group of people so selflessly dedicated to helping each other and leaving a lasting impact on readers. What a privilege it has been.