The Avoidance of Love (The Daniels' Sisters Book 2) by J. L. Monro Page A

those differences, but they reminded me that ideas of romance and love were futile.
    We talked some more about this and that until we both began to yawn. It was pitch black outside and I did not dare check the time. “Jace, I need to be getting home. It’s late and I have work in the morning.”
    “Oh, God. Yeah, I forgot. I guess it’s easy for me to forget. When I’m not racing, I don’t really run on any time schedule.”
    “Don’t worry about it; I had a good time.”
    Jace got the bill and paid then proceeded to walk me to my car.
    “Mara, I was thinking and don’t shoot me down until you’ve had a chance to think about what I’ve asked. I mean there is only one answer, but I’ll give you a few days to let it sink in.”
    My heart raced at the number of things that he might say.
    “You said you were struggling a little with the concept of blending a race track with the house. I’ve got a race coming up in Italy and I want you to join me.”
    “What? I can’t. My work.”
    “Blah blah blah. That’s all I just heard. There will be Internet so if there’s anything that’s pressing, you can work from your laptop. In any case, it says on your website that you do everything in your power to make sure that your clients leave happy. I want to make sure that the design is authentic, and you can’t do that if you don’t understand the first thing about racing. Therefore, it makes sense as an invested designer that you come and learn.”
    My jaw opened and closed several times without words escaping.
    “I understand this is a lot to swallow, which is why I’m going to give you a couple of days to let it sink in. Especially since when I say the race is coming up, I mean it’s this weekend.” He was petting my hand as you would a damn poodle. I was beginning to feel the urge to slap him.
    What the fuck! “Jace, I can’t.”
    “I’ll wait for you to get the part where it’s not up for debate. I’m a client and this is what I require. Don’t worry. I’ll sort all your travel arrangements out. I’ll even be a gentleman and make sure you have your own room, even though I’d prefer if you stayed in mine.”
    I needed a minute. No. An hour. No, I needed way more than that to take in what he was asking me to do. It wasn’t an unusual requirement from a client in itself, but what it meant was that I’d be spending more time with Jace. Something I really wasn’t sure I could cope with.
    “I need to go to the bathroom. I’m going to go back inside. You don’t need to wait for me to come back. I’ll be fine.” I took off in a walk that resembled a sprint back inside to the restaurant and made a beeline to use their facilities. I headed straight for the sink and splashed cold water over my face before dabbing it dry with a paper towel. I needed time to think. There was too much to process. There was a little chair in the corner, so I took a seat hanging my head between my legs. What I wouldn’t give for a table to bang my head against right now.
    “Are you okay?” The voice made me jump out of my seat.
    What the hell! Boundaries! “What are you doing in here? This is the women’s bathroom. You can’t be in here!”
    “You’ve been in here for ages. I was just checking you were ok.”
    “I’m fine. You can go now.”
    “Mara.” Oh my God, he growled. Shit. These panties needed to be destroyed. They’ve been soaked beyond redemption.
    He moved in closer, backing me up. I turned, but that was a mistake because suddenly my back was against the door and there was no way it could open unless he gave me space to step forward.
    “I’m going to kiss you now, Mara. Before you protest, I wouldn’t be doing this if I didn’t know that you wanted me to.”
    I didn’t say anything. My brain couldn’t compute what he had just said, and I did want him to kiss me. I wanted that more than anything right now. My rules and boundaries had gone right out the window. All I could think of right then were