I nearly lost my train of thought, but as good as the kiss felt, I needed to talk to him about what happened with Nora. Reluctantly, I pushed back. “I have to tell you something, and you’re not gonna like it.”

A look of alarm crossed his face. “What’s wrong?”

“The girl next door, Nora, she saw us earlier…when we were in the kitchen.”

His eyes widened. “She saw us…having sex?”

“Yes.”

“What? How the fuck did that happen?”

“She was home sick from school today. She saw my car and figured maybe I was home. She peeked through the pool area and could see right into the kitchen through the sliding glass door apparently.”

He closed his eyes. “Fuck.” Shaking his head, he said, “That’s not good. It’s the first day we’ve snuck around, and someone already caught us?”

“I know.”

He bit his lip. “Can you trust this girl not to say anything?”

“She won’t. Don’t ask me how I trust an eleven-year-old…but I do.”

“You’d better be right.” Jace scrubbed his hand over his face. “Well, this is a fucking wake-up call. Did we mess her up?”

“I hope not. She claims she’d walked in on her mother and an ex-boyfriend once, but obviously that’s not the right way for a kid to learn about sex.”

“I can’t believe I wasn’t more careful—taking you like that in the middle of the kitchen in broad daylight. What the fuck is wrong with me?” He held out his palm. “Wait, don’t answer that. I’ve been letting my dick make all the decisions lately.”

“I can relate. I couldn’t wait for you to get home. It’s why I went next door. I was feeling so damn restless.”

“I thought about you all freaking day. I practically got into an accident driving so damn fast to get back here.” He exhaled. “Did you eat lunch?”

“No. I’ve been too wired to eat.”

“Me too. Why don’t I make us something?”

If he was hungrier for food than he was for me, Jace clearly wasn’t in the mood to have sex. Now that I’d unloaded the news about Nora seeing us, I couldn’t say I felt any differently.

We ended up making sandwiches and taking them out into the living room. After we ate, Jace held me on the couch for a while as we watched TV. Even though he was silent, I could somehow feel the thoughts floating around in his head. He was worried—worried about his decisions, worried we were going to get caught. We had a clear view to the front of the house from the living room window, in case Nathan were to walk in early.

I looked at the clock. “Nathan should be home in a half hour.”

As much as I knew it was risky, I’d still sort of hoped Jace would initiate sex. But he never did. The closer it got to the time that Nathan normally returned, the more of a smart decision that became.

When my brother’s car finally pulled in, Jace got up from the couch like a bat out of hell. I had to laugh at how swiftly he disappeared to the opposite side of the house. Was this how it would always be when Nathan came home now? Jace and I would act like a couple of scrambling birds?

“Hey…” my brother said as he entered, throwing his keys on the small table near the front door.

I stretched as I stood up from the sofa. “Hey! How was your day?”

“Good. Sold another car.”

“Oh my God. Really? That’s freaking awesome!”

“I know. I’ve been on a roll.”

“What happened with you today?” he asked.

That was kind of a weird way to phrase the question. Riddled with guilt, I said, “Nothing much. Work was boring.”

He drew his brows together. “No, it wasn’t.”

I thought I might pee my pants. “Hmm?”

“You weren’t at work today.”

My stomach sank. “What are you talking about?”

“I hit the drugstore on the way home and ran into that chick you work with. Denise, I think her name is? She said you were out sick and asked if you were okay.”

My heart hammered in my chest.

“Oh.” I looked down at my shoes, feeling so freaking guilty for lying. And he didn’t even know the half of it.

“Why did you lie to me?”

My brain scrambled for an answer. “I…took a mental health day.”

“Is this about that guy? Did he do something?”

Blinking, I had to think for a moment. “Colton? No. We’re not seeing each other anymore, but that was my choice. This has nothing to do with him. I just needed a break today and didn’t tell you because I didn’t want you to think badly of me for lying to my boss.”

His expression softened. “You know I wouldn’t think that. Is everything okay? You struggling or something?”

As his genuine concern for me grew, so did my regret for having to lie to him. “No. I’m fine. I just felt weird admitting to you that I skipped out on work.”