“Can I see your guitar?”
“What?”
“Your guitar. Can I see it?”
“Uh, sure.” I turned to grab the case and handed it to him. He backed out of the closet, the case in his hand. “Come on. I’ll show you back to the living room, and then I’ll go change and take care of your shirt. Can I get you anything?”
“I’m good,” he answered. “Why don’t I go ahead and order us some food while you’re doing all that? What sounds good to you?”
“You like Thai food?”
“I love Thai food.”
“There’s this great place called Bow Thai.”
“Consider it done.” He grinned. “What will you have?”
“Soy sauce noodles with tofu,” I answered. “Spicy level four.”
“That sounds amazing. May have to make that two.”
“Make yourself comfortable.” I gestured at the navy-blue sofa as Mama came out from her hiding place, hissing in Jax’s direction.
He looked taken aback for a moment before his mouth stretched into a big grin. “Hostile kitty?”
I laughed. “Yep. That’s Mama. I’ve had her for two months, and I’m pretty sure she’s been plotting my death the entire time.”
“Hi, Mama,” he said, as she scampered off toward the kitchen.
“Don’t take it personally.” I snorted. “She’s an equal opportunity hater.” Our eyes locked for a moment, and I suddenly remembered I was standing there looking like I’d showered with my clothes on. “I’m going to go and… take care of all of this.” I gestured at myself with his wet shirt in my hand. His shirt that I noticed still smelled deliciously like him.
“I’m going to order the food,” he said, settling in on the couch and opening the guitar case. “Take your time.”
I heard the faint strumming of my guitar as I proceeded down the hall, through the kitchen, and to the laundry room. When I reached my bedroom, I paused for a moment in the doorframe. I could hear Jax’s sweet, emotive voice singing a song off Steven Tyler’s solo country record from a few years ago. It was one of my favorites off the album, a song called “Love Is Your Name.”
Chapter 8
Jax
Iordered the food and settledin on Liv’s sofa. My fingers absentmindedly strummed her old Taylor guitar to the sounds of the thunderstorm outside. Occasionally, Mama would make her way into the living room and peek at me suspiciously. I leaned my hand down to pet her once, but she hissed at me before darting down the hallway.
My mind wandered to Liv looking at me, her chestnut hair drenched. Her sweater had soaked through so that it hugged every soft curve of her gorgeous body. Every moment, I found myself more and more drawn to her.
Finding out she had this guitar made me feel like I’d been handed a huge piece to the mysterious puzzle that was Olivia Sinclair, though I wasn’t entirely sure why. She seemed so indifferent about it, but I felt like there was more to the story.
“Sorry. My hair felt disgusting, so I took a quick shower. You want anything to drink? I was thinking about opening a bottle of wine.” Liv’s voice startled me out of my thoughts. I found myself staring at her, completely speechless. Her hair was damp from the shower, and she wore a pair of grey leggings with an oversized T-shirt that fell casually off her shoulder. If she had any makeup on, I couldn’t tell. I’d never seen a woman look more beautiful than she did at that moment. “Jax? You okay?” She eyed me curiously.
“Yeah. Sorry.” I raked my hand through my hair. “Wine sounds great. The food should be here soon.”
“Is red okay?” She turned and started toward the kitchen.
“Perfect.” I returned the guitar to its case. A couple of moments later, she returned with two wine glasses filled nearly to the brim and handed one to me.
“I’m a generous bartender,” she warned. She sat next to me, leaving enough space that a whole other person could have fit between us.
“My favorite kind.” I smiled and held my glass out toward her. “To donuts and chance encounters.”
“I’ll drink to that.” She gently clinked her glass with mine.
