“Perfectly fine.”
“You sound . . . off.”
“Yeah? Well you sound annoying.”
He laughed.
Jerk. With the sexy jerk laugh.
“Mimi and I were about to go out for ice cream. Want us to bring you some?”
Yes. The bubbly had kicked in my sugar craving, but I answered, “Nope. I’m good.”
“You sure? I remember how much you loved MooLattés from DQ, Lucy Q.”
I closed my eyes. When he’d been around early in my pregnancy, he’d been so sweet and eager to feed my cravings. Whether for food or sex. Sometimes both as he’d licked whipped cream off my—
“That’s it. There’s something going on with you that you’re not telling me, so we’re coming over.” Then he hung up.
“You don’t just get to barge in anytime you feel like it, sport,” I said out loud, so at least I felt like I’d gotten the last word in.
Mature, Luce, real mature.
My phone buzzed with a text. I had to scroll through five GIFs to see what he’d said.
JL: Mocha or vanilla?
ME: You don’t have to
His demand of MOCHA OR VANILLA? popped up again before I finished typing my first response.
ME: CHOCOLATE JERKFACE
I pictured him laughing because my contrariness amused him.
JL: Is chocolate jerkface a new flavor? If they don’t have it is just plain chocolate OK?
I had no problem finding the middle finger emoji.
JL: ☺ C U in 30
* * *
• • •
I was still in my robe when they showed up twenty minutes later.
At least I’d managed to toss the empty prosecco bottle in the garbage so it didn’t look like I’d been lounging around having a liquid supper even though I totally was.
Mimi bounded over and hugged me. “Daddy said it wouldn’t be fair to have ice cream without you.”
“Did he now?” I said, smoothing her hair down.
“Uh-huh. And I sorta forgot my hockey bag.”
I gave her a smacking kiss on the forehead. “Lucky thing Daddy didn’t have anything better to do than to go for an ice cream run and bring you over here to fetch it.” I still hadn’t looked at Jax, but I felt his burning gaze on me.
“Are you mad, Mommy?”
“Not at all. I’m always happy to see you, sweetheart.”
She grinned. “You’re still coming to my hockey practice tomorrow? Even though you don’t have to bring my bag?”
Then it clicked. My eyes narrowed. “Milora Michelle. Did you forget your bag on purpose so I’d have to show up at the ice rink?”
“Uh . . . maybe. But I really, really want you there, and I don’t want Daddy sitting alone.”
I saw no machinations on her earnest face. She just didn’t want to leave me out—or maybe she didn’t want me to opt out. “You sweet, sweet girl,” I murmured. “Of course I’ll be there.”
“Yay! Can I eat my ice cream in my room?”
“Sure,” Jax answered. “Take your time. Your mom and I have to talk anyway.”
Mimi’s gaze moved from her dad to me and back to her dad. “You’re not gonna fight again?”
“Nope. We’re past that, aren’t we, little mama?”
“Absolutely, big daddy,” I cooed back.
As soon as she was out of earshot, Jax crossed the room and loomed over me.
I blinked up at him.
But his focus wasn’t on my face; he’d glued his gaze to the gap in my robe. A gap that left no question about what I had on under the fluffy terry cloth.
Not a damn thing.
“Where’s my ice cream?”
That caused him to shift back.
“Right over there. I’ll go get it.”
As soon as his back was to me, I scrambled off the couch and rounded the corner into the kitchen, where I oh-so-nonchalantly leaned against the counter, waiting for him.
Jax handed me the plastic cup with a muttered, “Here,” but he didn’t give me the space I expected.
“Thanks.”
“What’s going on with you?”
I plucked the cherry off the top and ate it. Then I dug my spoon in for the first taste of ice cream. “Nothing is going on.”
“Then why did you need a mental health day?”
“Why did you choose today to disclose every moment we’ve spent together to Annika? Yes, she’s your cousin, but she’s also my boss. So I had to field questions about what’s going on between us.”
“What did you tell her?”
I scooped more chocolatey goodness onto my spoon and slipped it into my mouth. After I swallowed I said, “Damn, this tastes so much better than I remember.”
“Lucy. Stop hedging.”
“Jaxson. Stop badgering. I’m trying to enjoy the ice cream that you insisted on bringing me.” Hah. He couldn’t argue with that.
But the man reached over, plucked the cup out of my hand and held it out of my reach.
“Hey!”
“When you answer my question to my satisfaction, I’ll give you a bite.”
“And if I don’t answer to your satisfaction?”
“Then I get a bite.” Smirking, he brought the ice cream–filled spoon to his mouth and ate it. “That was a penalty shot. Now . . . mental health day?” he prompted.
“The truth? You confuse the hell out of me. Annika noticed my distraction and demanded details. But since I don’t know what’s going on between us, how can I explain it to someone else?”
He held the spoon in front of my mouth.
After I sucked it clean, he didn’t shoot off another question. Hmm. Seemed Mr. Nosy was having difficulty concentrating.
Then he snapped out of it. “You aren’t happy that things are undefined between us?”
“They’re defined; you’re Mimi’s dad and I’m her mom.”
“Try again.” Jax overfilled the spoon with ice cream and a good swipe of whipped cream before he popped it in his mouth.
I made a frustrated noise. “I hate when you push me. Hate it.”
“I hate when you throw up a wall.”
Had we made any progress in changing our communication style or were we back to square one?
“You told me something you hate about me. Now tell me something you love—and I mean love, not like.” He held the spoon to my lips again. “Have a taste while you’re narrowing down the list—I know it’s hella long.”
I laughed. “That, right there, is something I’ve always loved about you. You have a quick sense of humor.” I eased forward to take the ice cream. “Your turn. Tell me something you love about me.”
He said, “Your legs,” without hesitation.
“It can’t be a physical attribute.”
“Naming your tits isn’t an acceptable answer either?”
“Ya think?”
Jax helped himself to a bite of ice cream. Then he set the cup aside and caged me against the counter.
My heart rate shot up a hundred beats, and I craned my neck to look up at him.
“Everything.” He kept those beautifully troubled eyes on mine as his hand curled around the side of my face. “I’ve always loved everything about you, Lucy. As far as what’s going on between us besides parenting as partners? Maybe this will clear things up for you.” His mouth crashed down on mine.
Then I was kissing Jax like I hadn’t kissed him in a decade.
Nine years, my subconscious reminded me.
Whatever.
But as passion exploded between us, it felt like we’d never been apart.
Kissing Jaxson Lund wasn’t something I could ever forget. He poured every ounce of his lust into me, fueling mine, reminding me of h
ow it’d been between us.
Spontaneous.
Hot.
Desperate.
Fast and hard and hungry and dirty.
So very dirty and slightly obscene the way this man kissed me.
Every.
Single.
Time.
And time stopped for me. My head spun with each swirl of his tongue. My lips throbbed where he sucked on them. Nipped at them. Licked them in a long, sensuous stroke of his wicked tongue.
Jax felt my blood pounding as he slightly pushed his thumb into my carotid artery, as if he needed to gauge that my response to this—to him—was as powerful and all-consuming as before.
It was.
It so was.
When I shifted closer to him, that’s when his rumble of satisfaction vibrated through me.
He slid his hand down my throat, pressing his open palm on my chest before he slipped his fingers beneath my robe.
Jax never eased up on the kiss as he sought my skin with both hands. And where I expected his passionate greed, he gifted me with soft caresses bordering on devotion.
I spun further and further into the black hole of desire as Jax annihilated my walls with each sucking kiss, every insistent sweep of his tongue against mine.
I clawed at his shirt, needing something to anchor me as that need dug into my very existence. Having this physical connection was a frightening thing. Once I’d had it, I craved it. Which made it so much harder when it was ripped away.
No wonder I’d opted to build a wall around this part of me.
No surprise that Jax was the only man with the determination to knock it down.
Jax’s lips left mine so he could drag an openmouthed kiss from the base of my jaw to the hollow of my throat, and then slowly, slowly, slowly back up.
As he breathed heavily in my ear, chills skittered across my skin.
When he finally spoke, it wasn’t what I expected.
“Luce, I’m about five seconds from coming in my jeans, so I have to stop.”
I smiled and stroked his hair. “Okay.”
He nuzzled my throat and pulled me completely against his body.
That’s when I realized he was actually shaking. “Jax?”
“Fuck. Just give me a minute.” His hold on me tightened, and he’d buried his face so deeply in my neck I had no idea how he could breathe.
I hoped he got himself under control before Mimi burst in, as she was prone to do. I didn’t know how we’d explain it.
He released me and took a step back. He righted my robe—wearing his usual cocky smirk—and smoothed my hair back, before tilting my head to meet his gaze. “That’s what’s going on between us.”
When I started to speak, he shook his head.
“Please listen first. I want a chance with you. Maybe this is a surprise, maybe it’s not. But don’t discount how serious I am. Yes, it’s complicated as fuck-all, but there’s one way we can simplify everything.”
“How?”
“Tell me that this isn’t one sided and everything we’ve talked about has allowed you to believe that I’ve changed.”
“I know you have. That’s why I didn’t shove you away when you shoved your tongue down my throat.”
He smiled and pecked me on the lips. “You loved it.”
“Your take-charge side has always been impossible for me to resist, sport.”
His eyes searched mine. “You want this, right?”
My heart hesitated, but my mouth didn’t. “Yes. But I want to take it slow. Like baby steps slow.”
“I can do that.”
“And if it’s not working out, and we call it off, we act like adults.”
“You already act as if this is going to fail. Like it’s just us killing time with each other until someone better comes along.”
Jax had it all wrong, but the hurt in his eyes caused me to switch gears. “Fine. But both Channing Tatum and Josh Duhamel are single now, and if I run into them—”
His mouth was on mine again, owning mine again, every muscled inch of him plastered against me, his hands in my hair as he proved he knew exactly how to turn me on.
When Jax finally broke the kiss, he murmured, “Think about that if you ever ‘run into’ one of them.”
“Who?”
“Exactly.”
“Ah, yeah. Sure. No problem.”
Scrambled brain, please come back online.
When he started kissing my neck, I pushed him back. “You’re the one who said we had to stop. So keep those lips to yourself, buddy.”
He laughed softly. “Good point.”
“But I am serious about us letting this unfold organically.”
“Organically,” he repeated.
“We won’t make a point to tell Mimi we’re together; we’ll just spend more time as a family. That’ll ease her into it. We need to keep the schedule of her splitting time between us.”
“Agreed.”
“Organic also means no big announcements at a Lund gathering that you and I are moving forward.”
“Who am I allowed to tell?” he said tightly.
“Anyone who specifically asks.” I poked him in the ribs. “Don’t pout. I’m not denying that we’re in a relationship; I’m just not broadcasting it.”
An odd look crossed his face.
“What?”
“You won’t get all prissy if I want to put my arm around you? Or if I hold your hand in public?” His gaze dropped to my lips. “Or if I kiss the hell out of you?”
“I’m never prissy.” Okay. That had sounded prissy.
“I meant prickly. Shrugging me off. Scooting away.”
“Not unless you stick your hand down my pants.”
“Hey, I did that one time.” He grinned. “I much preferred slipping my hand up your skirt.”
“Every chance you could get. Not that I discouraged your amorous attentions, but we will have to act with more decorum with Mimi around.”
Speaking of . . . Mimi strolled into the kitchen.
“Got my stuff and I’m ready to go.” She wormed her way between us to give me a hug. “See you tomorrow, Mommy.”
I kissed the top of her head. “Sweet dreams, sweetheart. I love you.”
“Love you too.”
After she was out of sight, Jax kissed me with the sweetness I needed.
“Eat your ice cream before it melts.”
Then he was gone.
Fourteen
JAX
I’d had enough of playing the “hurry up and wait” game in every aspect of my life.
It’d been three weeks since Walker had obtained the first round of permits for the bar remodel. I’d seen four construction workers on-site during that time and none of them had been swinging a sledgehammer.
Whenever I’d tried to get answers, all I heard were crickets.
My apartment finally had paint on the walls. At this point I didn’t give a damn if I had to sit on beanbag chairs in the living room. I just wanted to be in my own space. I intended to hold that construction company to their “move in next week” promise.
Lucy and I were taking such tiny baby steps in this relationship that we’d come to a complete halt. We hadn’t spent family time with Mimi—or not as much as I thought we would. Lucy and I hadn’t been alone for more than five minutes since that discussion in the kitchen.
I understood she’d gotten swamped at work, which meant I’d had Mimi at my place four days out of the workweek instead of only on the weekend, but there weren’t texts between us or even phone calls. Definitely wasn’t any type of physical contact—even a damn hug would’ve been welcomed. And since I’d agreed to her pace, I couldn’t do fuck-all about it.
Then the other kick in the ass was the situation at Lakeside and Mimi’s hocke
y practices. No changes—except for now Mimi had a game once a week, a game none of them were prepared to play in with their lack of basic skills.
After spending the morning with Dallas and Simone regarding the bars’ reinvention, I was both excited to move forward with their plans and pissed off that we couldn’t move forward.
So Betsy, the office manager at Flint and Lund, was shocked to see me in person shortly before noon on Friday, especially when I sped past her and stormed straight into my cousin’s office, only to find Walker facedown on his desk, apparently taking a little snooze.
“Is this why my project is at a standstill? Because you’re literally asleep on the fucking job?”
Walker lifted his head, his eyes wild with the look of someone who’d been abruptly woken up and had no idea where he was.
“Jax? What the hell are you doing here?”
“Interrupting nap time,” I said with a sneer.
Betsy slipped in behind me. “Sorry, Walker, he blew past me before—”
“It’s fine, Bets.” Walker cracked a yawn and stretched. “Have Jase meet us in the conference room in five.”
“Will do.” She shut the door behind her.
Walker gestured to the chair across from his desk. “Have a seat.”
“I’ll stand. I don’t plan on being here long.”
His blond eyebrow winged up. “Because?”
“Because I owe you the courtesy of doing this in person.”
His eyes narrowed.
“Today I’m asking the city building permit division to reissue the permits Flint and Lund have obtained for my property to my real estate corporation, Stonewall Enterprises, so I can move forward with construction with another company.”
He pushed to his feet and slapped his hands on the desk. “Now wait just a goddamned minute. I—”
“I’m done waiting. While I appreciate your intention to take this project on with such short notice, it’s become apparent in the past six weeks that Flint and Lund has priorities other than this project.”
“You’re firing us?”
“Yes.” I set my hand on the door handle. “I checked to make sure that accounts payable had sent payments for all invoices. The last one was dated three weeks ago. Since new work hasn’t been done since then, there shouldn’t be outstanding invoices. But if there are, send them to my attention. See you.”
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