First

Chapter 50

"Do what?" he asked. Jace had been looking at the water but at the tone of my voice finally looked up at the deck, giving a strangled cry in the back of his throat. "Kadence..." I turned to him and saw raw panic in his eyes. On the deck sat so many people it was hard to count, laughing and talking. And now they were looking at us, smiles lighting up their faces.

Fury and panic engulfed my body. "She told me she'd hold off on doing this for a few days. Jason, I am so sorry."

"It's... it's okay," he replied, taking a few deep breaths to calm himself. My anger at my mother flared seeing how pale Jace had become. I'd been with Jace long enough for my mom to know what he was like when he came home. My heart sank further knowing that Jace was panicking inside and there was nothing I could do about it.

"God, baby..." I turned to face him and gently cupped his face in my hands. "Baby, are you okay?"

"Yeah... I'm... I'm fine," he stuttered, unable to tear his eyes away from the party going on above us.

I caressed his cheek with my thumb. "God, I'm so sorry. Listen," I cut my gaze back to the deck briefly before focusing once again on Jace. "We don't have to hang outside. We can go sit inside... take a nap... doesn't matter. Just because they're here doesn't mean we have to socialize, okay?" I paused and looked him in the eyes. "I know you're not up for a party right now—"

Jace cut me off before I could continue. "Kade, I'll be fine. Don't worry about me, okay? I can handle it." He covered my hands with his and lowered them to his lap. "Yeah, I'm not really the best guy to have at a party right now but I'll deal with it." Jace smiled and feathered kisses over the back of my hand.

I returned his smile and inwardly sighed as he kissed my engagement ring. It struck me again that in only three months I would be married to this incredible man. This incredible, strong man. Strong because he was going to put himself through hell in the next few minutes.

"Are you sure?" I asked one last time.

"I'm sure. I'll probably stick pretty close to you though," he admitted.

"I won't mind that one bit." I leaned over and pressed a quick kiss to his mouth before we both climbed out of the vehicle. Jace and I met at the back of the car so that he could grab his bags. I leaned into his side one last time before we linked hands and headed up the steps that led to the deck. I led the way; I could tell that Jace was still hesitant and seeing him like that killed me. Whenever he was hurting, I hurt ten times worse; it was the same for him.

I didn't have a chance to dwell on these thoughts because as soon as Jace and I set foot on the deck we were enveloped by people. In the chaos that ensued I got separated from Jace and that was my worst nightmare. They didn't even give us a chance to get acclimated, they simply surrounded us. I knew that Jace would be drowning in all this attention so I gently fought my way to him, dodging hugs and It's so good to see yous. When I finally got to him, I could tell just by the look on his face that he was about to fall apart. I latched onto his side and politely excused us. He followed me into the cabin and into our room without hesitation.

Jace dropped his bags on the floor and sat down heavily on the bed, his breathing quick and laboured. I gently closed the door to keep out any prying eyes and slowly approached him. I stepped between his thighs and let him bury his head in my stomach. I let out a soft sob and twined my fingers in his hair. "Sh, baby, it's okay," I whispered, my heart cracking and breaking each time I felt him shake. It wasn't fair to put him through this and I was cursing my mother for not doing what I had asked. Sighing, I eventually sank onto the bed and drew him down to lay beside me.