Rich People Problems

xxxxv | heartstrings

KIMBERLY

"JACKASS, I FELL in love with you."

I have never seen a man so rigid as Jace was now. Seeing him this frozen reminded me of the permanent frost-bite I was about to get on my ass. In the heat of everything this afternoon, I ran out in practically nothing but satin shorts and a crew-neck sweater.

Thankfully, it hadn't been snowing, but the fucking ice on the ground was biting me in the ass... literally.

Jace finally moved when I shivered, immediately taking his jacket off and handing it to me.

"I don't care how much body heat you produce," Jace said. "Run out in nothing again, and I'm donating all your clothes."

He wouldn't dare.

"I tell you I love you and you're admonishing me about clothes," I stated incredulously.

Jace shot me an icy—even icier than the ice on the ground—glare. His gaze lowered to see my bare legs as he pulled me onto his lap. "First off, you ran away after my confession. The least you could do is let me get mad at you over fucking clothes. Second of all, this... feels interesting."

He sounded so sheepish and embarrassed at the last part, I couldn't help the inordinate urge to lift his face into my hands and just stare into his eyes.

"I'm sorry," I admitted, apologetically. "You deserve so much better than me, Jace."

"Don't say that."

"It's true," I cut him off. "Jace, you're so fucking... you. You're right. I know I run away from everything, but you've always been patient with me and never forced me to be someone I'm not."

Jace shook his head lightly, making sure he didn't move my hands. "Venus... If only you could see yourself the way I see you."

"What? Annoying... or even better, an infuriating vixen?"

"One-hundred fucking percent," Jace chuckled deeply. "But I mean it. You piss me off, but it's because I love you. It's because I haven't been able to stop thinking about you since the day you walked into the office like you owned it... like you owned me."

It's only been a little over five months since Jace and I met but so much has happened since. I didn't fall in love easily, but when I did, it was fast and hard and over-fucking-whelming.

There were many things I could attribute to being the reason I fell in love with him.

Sure, there was the proximity and the obvious tension, but Jace was beyond that. He fell into my life at a time when I needed someone like him the most. Humble, kind, understanding, patient, and everything else that made him the perfect husband.

He was by no means perfect, but we perfected each other.

We pushed each other to a point where others didn't want to push us.

It's why we understood each other so well.

"You are my bitch," I teased lovingly. "In all seriousness, I'm done running away from my feelings, Jace. I've been pushing this down for so long that when you told me you loved me, I panicked even though I was already head-over-red-bottoms in love with you. Talking to Lia was oddly clarifying. Like, I swear she should become a therapist in her limited free time. She helped me realize a lot of shit, but most importantly, she helped me realize that I was finally opening up and healing. You helped me heal, Jace. I don't think I could ever thank you for that."