Solana clung to the edge of the desk, willing her feet not to move. The betraying muscles yearned to follow Jack. Damn the consequences.

What had she expected? That he would sweep in here, kiss her until she couldn't think and demand she return with him.

Heat pooled in places it had no right to at the thought of Jack's lips on hers. No, she reminded herself. This was simply lust and in time, the feeling would fade. The hairs on the back of her arms refused to believe the lie. The ache in her chest mocked her attempts at denial. The pounding in her ears tried to drown out the false statement she'd repeated for days now.

Jack wasn't a fling. Cassius had been a fling. One her pride had forced her to continue the lie for far too long. Lincoln was a temporary infatuation. Sex with him lost its luster long before he ran away with her money. There was more feeling in simply holding Jack's hand than there had been in any of her previous relationships.

Her knees abandoned her, and she tumbled to the ground. It was too hard. Being the strong one. Always keeping up this stance of being impenetrable. She'd convinced Jack to show vulnerability with his project and he'd earned the respect of his client, got the deal he'd been working on. Why couldn't she take her own advice?

Maybe it wouldn't work between them. Maybe it would hurt more if they had more time together. Maybe that time would be worth the pain.

A few weeks with Jack had been... Frustrating. Challenging. Invigorating. Exciting.

The best of her life. She was weak, after all. She wanted more. If there was a chance.

Solana scrambled to her feet and pitched toward the door. How long had she sat on that dingy floor in Alfonso's office? Running down the hall, her mind scanned the major hotels and tried to determine where Jack might be staying. Distracted, she slammed into a broad chest.

"Move." Her hand pushed against hard muscle.

Familiar hard muscle.

She lifted her face to him. A jaw made of stone. Dark sunglasses denying her access to his gaze. Jack. "You're still here?"

A muscle ticked in his neck and Solana itched to press a kiss against the bulge, ease the strain. His finger brushed against her cheek so lightly she might have missed the touch had she not craved contact with him so desperately. Still, the tender move stirred a whirlwind of desire, robbing her of breath. Desire to be touched by him. Desire to be near him. Desire to talk to him.

But Jack didn't say a word. Before his fingers had barely settled on her skin, he withdrew his hand, turned and silently strode down the stairs.

"Jack?" The word was less than a whisper. He was walking away from her. A flare of pain sliced through the paper wall she'd built around her feelings for him, incinerating the defence. "Wait."

He descended further, almost at the bottom of the stairwell.

She forced the word out, louder this time. "Wait."

Jack froze in place. He didn't turn. Didn't move. Simply stood there, his back to her.

She bounded down the steps, tugged on his shoulder and pushed him against the cracked paint of the stairwell. He was like putty in her hands, easily doing her bidding, allowing himself to be backed against the wall. Yet he refused to look at her. "Why did you come here?"

His throat worked like speaking was an effort. When he did talk, his voice was again hoarse. "I told you. Ximena needs you."

"I get that. But you could have sent a message." Adrenaline surged through her. "Delivered the tickets by courier. Hell, you could have sent a singing telegram. But you came. Why?"

"You..." His body vibrated with strained tension under her palm. "Someone needed to speak to you directly."

"Why didn't you send Abraham?"

Jack growled, and the sound struck a chord in her. The corner of her lip threatened to curl at his revulsion at the thought of sending her best friend to her. "Why you?" He shook off her hand and slid along the wall, perhaps trying to escape. She snagged his bicep and clung on. "Oh no. I want an answer."

"Well, we don't always get what we want." The venom in his words hit her like a tsunami and her fingers dug into his arm to support herself from being bowled over.

She inched closer to him and the aroma she'd craved for days invaded her space. A calm, almost surety she hadn't experienced in a week descended. This absence of the gnawing insecurity bolstered her confidence. "Not unless we fight for it."

His head jerked her way, those stupid sunglasses still robbing her of the ability to read his reaction. With her free hand, she whipped off the barrier between them. Cold water dumped on the flames flickering in her core and her stomach dropped a foot. Red-rimmed eyes full of pain flashed at her before they fell to the ground.

For the first time tonight, she really looked at him. The dark bristles covering the pale skin of his sallow face. Yellow skin marred his cheekbone. The result of a bruise, maybe. His unbuttoned shirt. Was that a wrinkle in his suit jacket? This was not the Jack she knew. The Jack who shaved every day and collected starched shirts like kids collected baseball cards. Dishevelled was the word that came to mind. If a photographer caught a picture of him like this, they'd have a field day guessing at the cause. They'd speculate on his sobriety.

Her hand flew to her mouth. "What's going on?"

Jack snatched the glasses back and attempted to return them to their perch. She yanked them back and tossed them down the stairs. The clatter of plastic against concrete echoed off the walls.

"Hey." He glared at her.

Her skin tingled at the electricity snapping in his irises. Finally. An emotion. Maybe not the one she was looking for, but he wasn't hiding anymore. She could see the real Jack. Her Jack. Her hand reached out to skim his newly formed beard, but he batted her hand away before she could touch a whisker. "Jack." Her own voice a whisper. "Are you ok?"

His fingers pressed into her wrist, and his hand shook. "Like you care."

"Oh, I care." She broke free of his grasp and removed her hand from his chest. Her back hit the far side of the stairwell, and she crossed her arms to keep from touching him again. "Far too much, you ass."

"You have a funny way of showing it." His sneer caused her skin to crawl. Fake Jack was back. The pompous asshole who'd paid for a night of her serving him and his friends drinks simply to toy with her. Because he could. "I'm not well versed in how relationships are supposed to work, but usually the people they love don't run away, disappear without a word."

Did he say love? Solana's chest ached at the heartache lacing his outcry. He was so obviously in pain, and she moved to gather him up in her arms and console him. The memory of the report on his desk, the assessment of their relationship, held her where she stood.

The door to the club squeaked open and the pounding music from the dance floor spilled into the silent space. Alfonso glanced at them, pursed his lips, and shook his head. Solana expected him to demand she get back to her waiting customers, but instead, he reversed course without a word and pulled the metal door closed behind him.

Solana returned her glare to Jack. "You were saying."

Jack ran a hand over his chin, then grimaced. "Why did you run away?"

Embarrassment crept across her skin. "I did not—"

"Don't lie. We don't lie to each other. Give me that at least." Jack straightened to his full height and an electric spark coursed between them. "You left your grandmother with a note. You broke her heart." It was Solana's turn to study the floor. The worn tile scuffed with years of use mocked her. "And mine."

She pressed her eyelids shut. After leaving the Blackhorne & Caldwell offices that day, she'd convinced herself that ending their relationship with one swift stroke was the best option for both of them.

"Not like you wanted me to stick around." She wrapped her arms around her stomach as if to staunch the pain.

Jack inched closer, just not close enough. "I wanted nothing more."

Wanted.

Past tense.

She'd done it. Severed the tie between them. Mission accomplished. She squeezed her middle, trying to hold it together even though she felt like everything was falling apart.

Hey everyone. D L here. Last week someone commented that these two should talk. Not sure this is what they had in mind. But at least Solana stepped up and went after Jack. Right???

On a separate note, I'm super excited because my holiday romance, Kisses, Lies, & Us is now available for you to own. You can get the ebook on Amazon or read it on KU. Or you can put the paperback on your shelf. 

This romance is for you if you like:

🌫️Hidden identity

👦🏻New boy in town

📽️Movies

👀Right person wrong time

⏲️Read in an afternoon

💖 angsty feels

🥰 slow burn

👩‍❤️‍💋‍👨 friends-to-lovers

🎄Christmas romance