Chapter 2
His words lingered in the air like heat off a flame.
"Next time you kiss me, angel... kiss me like you mean it."
I blinked, my heart stupidly betraying me with a stuttered beat. I wasn't here to play his games. I wasn't here to remember what his lips tasted like or how they used to whisper promises at 2 a.m. I was here to prove something—to him, to myself—that I was over it.
Over him.
But the way his eyes locked onto mine, like they were pulling secrets from my skin... it made me want to lie.
"I didn't come here to flirt," I said, setting the drink down harder than necessary.
"You never had to," he replied, leaning closer. "You just walk in, and I forget how to breathe."
God. He was still smooth. Still dangerous. And it was unfair how he still looked like a living heartbreak in a white see-through shirt, his tattoos barely hidden underneath.
I turned away, needing space, needing air, but he didn't back off. Of course he didn't. Jace Carter had never known how to leave well enough alone.
"You're quiet," he said. "That's not like you. The Dani I knew would've thrown a sarcastic grenade at me by now."
I swallowed. "Maybe I'm not the girl you knew."
He tilted his head, and for the briefest moment, the smirk dropped. "Maybe not. But you still walked into my bar."
Touché.
I didn't know what I was doing here anymore. I'd told myself it was just a drink. One harmless visit. But the moment I saw him, the past wrapped around me like smoke—thick, choking, and impossible to ignore.
He tapped the bar gently. "Still playing violin?"
"No," I said quickly, a little too sharp. "Not since... well. You know."
He nodded slowly. That silence between us stretched again, filled with unsaid things—apologies, blame, maybe even regret.
Then, just like that, he broke it. "Come upstairs."
My heart flipped. "What?"
He leaned in, voice lower. "There's a private lounge. You need space, I get it. But I also know you didn't come here to sit at a crowded bar and pretend you're not looking at me."
My jaw clenched, and my pride screamed don't follow him, but my feet had other