Jace was here. I hadn’t expected that.


    Belongs ? to N?velDrama.Org.


    But it made sense. Tonight was the big lighting test, and as the owner of the amusement park, of


    course he’d want to check it out.


    Our Pe


    eyes met, and Jace started walking over.


    Hayden’s hand slipped around mine, warm and steady


    Gotta give him credit–when it came to pretending to be my boyfriend, he didn’t hold back. The


    second Jace showed up, Hayden’s protective vibe kicked in like it was second nature.


    Jace’s eyes darted to our joined hands, but he didn’t look fazed. “What time does it start?” he


    asked, his voice calm


    Hayden and I knew what he meant–the lighting test.


    “Ten minutes, Hayden answered.


    “Where’s the best spot to watch?” Jace asked, his tone still calm.


    Hayden’s grip on my hand tightened just a bit. I nced at him, and he looked back like he was


    leaving it up to me.


    He knew this ce better than anyone. He didn’t need my input.


    He was just giving me the choice.


    “There are different spots, all marked,” I said, sounding like a total tour guide. “The best one’s from


    the Ferris wheel.”


    Jace’s gaze lingered on me for a second before shifting to Hayden. “Where are you guys watching


    from?” Was he seriously hinting at tagging along?


    How could he not feel awkward?


    Then again, he’d clearly moved on. Whatever we’d had was history, so why would he feel


    awkward? “Keira and I are just doing a general walkthrough first. Plus…” Hayden paused, shooting


    me a quick look before adding, “Tonight’s not an official inspection. I’m just showing her around.”


    Something flickered in Jace’s eyes, but all he said was, “Hmm.”


    Hmm? What was that supposed to mean?


    I had no clue, and Hayden didn’t seem to care. “Do whatever you want. Please excuse us,” he said,


    not giving Jace another look.


    Hayden led me further into the park, and as we passed Jace, I couldn’t help but notice the cold vibe


    coming off him.


    “Let me know if you spot anything weird,” Hayden murmured to me.


    But I knew there wouldn’t be any issues. If there were, he wouldn’t have brought me here in the


    We strolled through the park, surrounded by glittering lights. It was insanely romantic, but I couldn’t


    let myself get caught up in it.


    Not with my ex trailing behind us. I couldn’t just act like he wasn’t there or pretend he was some


    stranger. Hayden, on the other hand, seemed totally chill. He pointed out different lighting setups,


    exining where there’d been wiring problems and which areas had bad bulbs, like it was no big


    deal.


    Gradually, I started to rx.


    I even started to believe Jace had given up and left us alone. But as Hayden and I reached the


    Ferris wheel, I realized I was dead wrong.


    Jace had been following us the whole time.


    We hadn’t done anything super couple–y, just held hands, but even that seemed like it was enough


    to make Jace ufortable.


    Yet, he still stuck around.


    What was he doing, torturing himself?


    Oh, right. He didn’t care about me anymore, so it wasn’t torture for him.


    I tried not to dwell on it, but it still stung, like all the feelings I’d poured into him were just wasted.


    “Mr. Johnston, would you like to go up?” Hayden asked way too politely.


    “Yeah.” Jace was unusually quiet tonight, way calmer than the guy who used to get all worked up


    whenever he saw me with Hayden.


    “After you,” Hayden said, still being weirdly polite.


    Jace, ever the confident one, stepped into the open Ferris wheel cabin.


    Hayden turned to me. “Shall we?”