“Sure.” Jax grabbed a glass bowl laden with dark-red sauce and shoved it at his older brother’s chest. “You can take this.”
“Watch it,” Connor cautioned with a grin that surely had to run in the family. “You’ll get it on my shirt, and then I’ll have to send you the bill from my dry cleaner.”
“Connor’s the biggest cheapskate you’ll ever meet,” Slade advised her, seemingly taking pity on her at last. “It’s why he almost lost his finger. He was doing a project at his house when he should’ve hired someone who knew what he was doing instead.”
“I knew what I was doing,” Connor argued.
“Yeah,” Jax agreed. “You were shooting yourself in the finger.”
Kassie stifled a laugh. Now that she’d had a few minutes to adjust, she had to say that the banter between the three brothers was as endearing as it was entertaining. They all seemed to truly love each other and enjoy each other’s friendship, no matter how much they teased and grumbled. It warmed her heart, and she really liked seeing this side of Jax. She was falling for him even harder now, if at all possible.
Oh no.
* * * * *
Jax watched Kassie’s taillights fading around the bend in his driveway, willing his raging hard-on to subside before he headed back inside to face his brothers. He hadn’t been able to resist a good-night kiss, which had somehow turned into a tongues-tangling-Kassie-pressed-against-her-car series of kisses instead. By the time they’d both come up for air, he’d been ready to hop into her car with her and leave his brothers in the dust. But he was a grownup. He had control over himself. Barely.
And so, he’d kissed her on the cheek, seen her into her car, closed the creaking door for her and watched her leave instead. Even if running away with her had seemed like a far more appealing prospect than remaining behind with Connor and Slade. Thinking about his brothers helped his problem considerably. He took a few deep breaths before turning on his heel and making his way back through the night to his house.
His belly was full of the best damn chocolate cake he’d ever tasted, he was more smitten than ever and he had a pair of ornery dickheads probably pressing their noses to the window, watching him. He sighed as he stepped back inside and strode to the kitchen, where Connor and Slade were making themselves at home on the stools at his island. So maybe they hadn’t been spying, he decided. Behaving like mature adults? His brothers? Couldn’t be.
“Well?” he asked, knowing they were just waiting to pass judgment. “What did you think?”
“She did the dishes,” Slade said in the tones he’d reserve for a classic car. Almost reverent. “That settles it for me.”
Kassie had insisted on helping him clean up, and Jax had to admit that he was more than willing to let her take the reins in that department. Dishes were not his favorite chore, not by a long shot. “You’re easy,” he told Slade with a grin.
“She made cake,” his brother said as if that explained everything.
And maybe it did, at least as far as Slade was concerned. “Better than Mama’s cake,” Jax agreed.
“Now that’s taking it a little far,” Connor interjected, ever the pessimist.
“Speaking of Mama,” Slade said before Jax could form a retort, pulling his cell from his pocket. “She’s calling me.”
“I wonder what scrape Levi has gotten into now,” Connor muttered.
“If he needs to be bailed out of jail, he can count me out,” Jax said. It was the favorite joke amongst the three older brothers that one day, a call from or about Levi would result in a bail request. Lord knew it was the only trouble he hadn’t managed to get himself into. Yet.
Slade answered his phone, and from his replies, it was clear that the call was indeed about their wild youngest brother. Jax took a long sip of his beer, considering Connor’s reaction to Kassie. While he’d been reasonably polite—for him, anyway—at dinner, it was apparent that his brother wasn’t exactly a fan of the new woman in Jax’s life. But why? She’d been herself tonight, charming and sweet with a healthy sense of humor that was a must-have for the Taylor boys. In his mind, she’d fit right in. Slade was sold on her. So why not Connor? He didn’t like to admit it, but it bothered Jax. Something didn’t sit well in his gut.
Slade ended his call and stood. “Looks like it’s my turn in the barrel. Levi’s not answering his house or his cell phone. She wants me to go check on him.”
“Better you than me,” Jax drawled.
“Thanks for dinner.” He patted his flat stomach. “And thank Kassie for the dessert. Damn, but it was good.”
They said their goodbyes, and then Slade was out the door, leaving Jax with Connor, who looked as if he had a lot on his mind. Great. Nothing like a good, brotherly talk.
“Good. Now that the youngster is gone, maybe we can talk,” Connor said, confirming Jax’s suspicions.
He looked at his brother, having a feeling he wasn’t going to particularly enjoy the talk Connor wanted to have, especially if it involved Kassie. “What exactly does that mean?”
Connor shook his head. “Seems like you’re taking things pretty quickly is all.”
Jax felt his back go up. So maybe he was insanely attracted to Kassie, and maybe she’d gone straight to his head. But there was something about her that was right. He felt it in his gut. Even as his brother’s words started needling him with tiny pricks of doubt. “I like her,” was all he said past his tightening jaw.
“You’ve known her for about a week, Jax.” Connor’s tone was skeptical.
True. Screw Connor for pointing that out. When he put it that way, Jax did sound pretty damn crazy. But he didn’t want his asshole big brother to see as much, so he shrugged. “So?”
“So how well can you really know this woman after a few short days?” Connor pressed, the type-A personality banker in him coming out in full force. “She seems nice. She’s got great legs and a set of awesome—”
“Watch it,” Jax cautioned, knowing exactly where his brother’s thoughts were going. The gutter. Not that Jax’s hadn’t been firmly entrenched there since the moment he’d laid eyes on Kassie. That was different. She was his.
Connor gave him a look. “All I’m saying is that I saw you with Mandy. I know you went through hell. I’d hate to see you getting in over your head.”
When things had ended with Mandy, it had gone badly. He’d been fucked up for a few months, if he were honest. He’d drank too much, hit on way too many bar stars, and ended up with more than his fair share of regrets. Yeah, he’d reached his quota of misery back then. He didn’t want to go back to that dark place. He wasn’t proud of himself for turning into a complete jackass over a woman who hadn’t been worthy of him. But Connor was right. He’d done it. And he hadn’t seriously dated a woman since.
But he still didn’t like the direction of Connor’s thoughts. “I’m a big boy, Con. Leave off.”
Slade sauntered in the back door just then. “False alarm, boys. I didn’t even get to turn on my truck. Turns out Levi is staying at the flavor of the week’s place and that’s why Mama couldn’t reach him.”
They all should have known. Levi went through women faster than most men changed their shirts. “It figures,” Jax muttered.
“Whoa.” Slade stopped in his tracks, his gaze going from Connor to Jax. “What the hell happened to you two? You look like you’re ready to start swinging.”
Jax felt that way, but going a good, old-fashioned round with his brother wasn’t going to squelch the sense of dread Connor had sent skittering through him like a fawn taking its first steps. “Nothing,” he bit out, not wanting to delve further into the conversation. Now or ever again if he could help it.
“I was just warning our brother here to take it easy,” Connor said, successfully pissing him off.
Slade looked like a dog about to grab his favorite ball in his teeth as he joined them on a stool at the kitchen island. “Not a bad plan, but I can see why old Jax here is thinking about giving you a shiner. H
e never did like advice, you know.”
“Fuck off,” he growled at neither of his brothers in particular. Great time for Slade to decide to play for the opposing team. They could both fuck off for all he cared. He invited them to a nice, innocent dinner with Kassie, and all he got was grief. Connor was being his typical, know-it-all self. Slade was being his typical irritating-as-hell self.
Just wonderful. Brothers. One of the true joys of the world.
“Testy,” Connor observed with a nasty grin. “I can see I’ve hit a sensitive subject.”
“He’s got it bad for Kassie,” Slade agreed. “She must have a magical—”
“Hey,” Jax interrupted before his asshole younger brother went there. “Watch it. She’s a lady.”
Slade grinned. “I never said she wasn’t.”
“Look, all I’m saying is that there’s nothing wrong with going slowly,” Connor said. “Trust me on this, Jax. You’ll thank me for it later.”
Jax tossed back the remainder of his beer. “If I wanted your advice, I’d have asked for it.”
But he couldn’t help wondering if maybe his stubborn older brother was right to play his conscience. Maybe he was taking things way too fast with Kassie. Maybe it wouldn’t hurt to hit the brakes, just a little. She’d all but told him that she wasn’t ready for a relationship. And the more he thought about it, the more he didn’t know if he was either. Hitting the brakes with her wouldn’t necessarily be a bad idea. Given some time, maybe the insane lust that took over him whenever he was around her would calm down. Besides, the last thing either of them needed was another heartbreak.
“Give it a week or two,” Connor pressed. “Time and distance isn’t a bad thing.”
Shit. He had to admit that Connor had a point. Damn it all.
Chapter Five
It was Wednesday morning. And Kassie had been a lifelong hater of Wednesdays. But to make it worse, she’d been awake since six a.m. and here she sat, coffee in hand, staring at her computer screen. Since the renovation on her office had begun the week before, she was relegated to working from her dining room. Which wasn’t bad, exactly, but in addition to not being a morning person, Kassie was a creature of habit. She liked her space. She liked her routine. She liked her office, which was currently torn into a million pieces.
Yeah, she was pretty darn irritable. She’d met all her deadlines and then some. There was no reason for her to be up this early working on reading new submissions. Except that she needed to be ready to let in the reno crew this morning. The reno crew that didn’t involve Jax. And of course, the other reason she was up so early was that she just couldn’t sleep.
She’d been replaying her dinner with Jax and his brothers over and over for the last week and a half. Had she done something wrong? Said something wrong? She didn’t think so. Had she forgotten to put the sugar in her chocolate cake? No, she had tasted it, and it had been just fine. She had to have made some fatal error that night, because all she’d gotten from Jax since then had been a phone call thanking her for coming to dinner. And she’d been out on a walk when he’d called, so in the end, she’d only gotten a voicemail.
A pathetic, I’m-brushing-you-off voicemail. Thanks for coming for dinner. It was nice. I guess I’ll see you around.
There hadn’t been anything more, no need for her to return the call. The rejection stung. She couldn’t deny it. She’d thought they’d had something going, something she hadn’t been entirely ready for, but something she’d really wanted. Their chemistry had been outrageous, their sex hotter than anything she’d ever experienced. She had genuinely liked him. Had started falling for him.
But he apparently hadn’t felt the same way. Because his silence said it better than any polite setdown could have. He wasn’t interested in her any longer. The reason didn’t matter when it came down to it. Even if she really would have liked to know.
Ugh. She was a complete moron. She needed some fortification. It was time to call Elle, never mind that she was probably not even out of bed yet. Kassie wanted to hear a friendly voice, or else she’d go off the deep end and head down to the mom-and-pop grocery store and buy a lifetime supply of rocky road ice cream.
She grabbed her cordless and dialed Elle’s number by heart. Three rings went by, and she was starting to think her friend wouldn’t answer.
“Kassie, what the fuck?”
She smiled at the sleep-rasped voice of her bestie, irritation and all. “Did I wake you?”
“Oh, no. I always wake up two hours early on a work day,” her friend deadpanned.
“Sorry,” she said, but she wasn’t. Besides, Elle would get over it. She was all bark and no bite. “I just really needed to talk. It was either call you, or go raid the grocery store for ice cream.”
“Well, I’m glad you chose me, you walking cliché, you.” Elle paused for a beat. “So what’s up? Something wrong?”
“Everything’s great,” she said in a bright voice she didn’t feel. “I’ve gotten a ton of work done, and the renovations are almost done on my office.”
“But?”
Okay, time to bare her soul. “But, I haven’t heard from Jax ever since I went to dinner at his house. Other than a voicemail, that is.”
“Forget him,” Elle advised. “Forget him and the ice cream. They’re both bad for you.”
Kassie grimaced. “Yeah, you’re right. I just needed to hear it from someone else.”
Forget about Jax. Forget about his honey-sweet drawl, his knowing hands, his hot kisses, those gorgeous dimples, the way he made her feel without even trying. Oh God. This was going to be a tall order. But she had to do it.
“I’m sorry, hon.” Elle let out a loud yawn. “But think of it this way. He was your rebound. The next one who comes along will be the real thing. Before you know it, you’ll be all loved up again.”
All loved up.
Kassie grimaced. For some reason, the phrase only made her think of Jax. Man, she was a desperate case. “After first Adam and now Jax, I’m ninety-nine percent certain that the last thing I need is to be all loved up with anyone.”
Exactly. She needed a break. A chance to clear her head, get herself together. A chance to block all thoughts of a ravishingly sexy alpha man from her brain. For good.
Yeah, right. Who was she kidding, anyway? As if he were that easy to forget.
Elle sighed. “We both know the one percent is the only part that matters. It gets a girl every time.”
“You’re right.” She frowned, thinking about Jax and the whirlwind that had hit her life from the moment she’d rammed into the back of his truck.
“I usually am,” Elle told her. “Love is like eating cheeseburgers. You know they’re bad for you, but they taste so good.”
Kassie laughed. “Tell me you didn’t come up with that just now.”
“It’s true,” her friend said, her voice mock-serious. “I’m that good. Even at this godforsaken time of the morning.”
She winced, recalling that she had interrupted Elle’s coveted sleep. “Thanks for letting me wake you up. You’re a great friend.”
“I know,” she said in typical Elle, not-a-modest-bone-in-her-body fashion.
Thank God for Elle. Kassie needed some common sense and a good laugh at a time like this. Not to mention a healthy dose of distraction. Before she did something stupid, like get tempted to call Jax. “I better let you get back to sleeping. I’d rather not be responsible for the heads that will roll later on if you don’t get your beauty rest.”
“Let’s just say it would be ugly,” Elle agreed.
They hung up just as her doorbell rang. Kassie saved her document out of habit and stood, padding to the door in her bare feet. It would be the crew from J.T. Contractors, ready to put the grout on her tile. After her renovation was complete, she’d never have another reminder of Jax. But she had to admit that she didn’t think she’d ever be able to be in her office without thinking about the day she’d fallen on top of him.
And
for him.
“Shit,” she muttered to herself as she reached the front door and took a deep breath before pulling it open. The cordless phone she hadn’t realized she was still holding in her left hand fell out of her fingers and clattered to the hardwood floor of the entryway. “Shit,” she said again, this time with feeling.
Jax raised a brow at her. “Something wrong?”
She stared at him. So much for forgetting about Jax as she’d just vowed to do. He stood at her door as if he hadn’t a care in the world, as if he hadn’t ignored her for the last ten days. He wore his customary faded jeans, a pair of work boots and a black shirt. His scruff was darker than usual on his handsome face.
He’d asked her if something was wrong. The urge to slam the door closed on him was strong. “What are you doing here?” she asked, not in the mood to pretend his presence didn’t affect her. She had shockingly few manners before eight in the morning.
“I came by to tell you that we’ve had to rearrange a few of the men today. We had a deadline to meet at one of our other projects, and we didn’t have a choice but to pull them from your office reno.” To his credit, he looked a little uncomfortable. “I’m sorry.”
He had a lot more than that to apologize for, but she didn’t suppose she’d get anything more from him. “You couldn’t have just called?”
He grinned, those damn dimples of his coming out to melt her insides. “Judging from the state of your phone, it wouldn’t have worked.”
Belatedly, she looked down at her feet and the phone she’d dropped. The battery compartment had opened and the battery was hanging out. She sank to her knees to retrieve it at the same moment he did. Their faces were a mere inch apart as he handed her the battery cover. Her heart thudded against her chest.
“Thanks,” she said, snatching it from his hand and hastily standing. She tried to gather her thoughts and a pretense of nonchalance. “Will they be back tomorrow?”
“Yes.”
He lingered, his gaze traveling over her face. It occurred to her that he hadn’t said why he hadn’t just called her instead of showing up at her door unexpected. Not that it mattered. “Great. Thanks for letting me know. If you’ll excuse me, I really have a ton of work to do.” Complete lie, but screw it, she wasn’t about to act as if she’d been pining away for him, contemplating sobbing into a half gallon of rocky road. Which she totally had.
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