Page 124 of First in Line

Jax snickers and turns to me to say, “You know the answer to that. And that’s why you’re back with m—”

“Jackson, that’s enou—”

Nathan’s fist flying toward Jax’s face cuts off my words to replace them with a gasp. Because he’s focused on me, Jax realizes slightly too late what’s coming his way. His quick reflexes allow him to move back fast enough to avoid the full blow, but Nate’s knuckles still weakly collide with his chin.

Jackson’s gaze turns lethal as he glares down at Nathan. His hands ball up into tight fists at his sides, and before he can decide to retaliate, I rush between them.

“Enough!” I shout. “Nathan was here to pick up the rest of his stuff. And regardless of that, I’m allowed to welcome whoever I want in my home, Jackson! And you,” I continue, turning around to face Nate, “I’ve never seen you violent before. What’s going on with you?!”

“He asked for it!”

I should probably argue, but Jackson’s behavior was offensive. I understand why Nate took it personally.

“Apologize,” I demand. “Both of you.”

It seems that whatever testosterone-induced madness they were prone to is gone, because they now look like two little boys being scolded. But I don’t let it deter me, standing my ground.

“I’m sorry, Evie, I—” Nathan starts.

“To each other,” I clarify.

It takes longer this time for one of them to comply, and Jax surprises me by being the first one to do so. “I’m sorry. She’sright, you’re allowed to be here. I shouldn’t have reacted the way I did.”

I twist to Nate, who, after a few seconds, answers, “I’m sorry I hit you.”

They’re looking at anything but each other, but this is good enough for me. “Good. Now, Nate, do you want to come inside to finish your coffee?”

“No, I’ll just take my box and leave.”

“Okay, stay here.” When I move to return inside, I see Jax come forward, seemingly to follow me. “You too,” I order.

When I come back with Nathan’s things, they’re both where I left them, waiting in awkward silence. With a forced smile, I hand the box to Nate. “There you go. Sorry about… his manners.”

“Not your fault. But you should probably reconsider dating him again.”

He gives Jax the stink eye before walking away. Silence stretches as he goes to his car. We watch him drive off, and it’s only when he’s out of sight that I turn to Jackson.

“What the heck was that?”

He winces. “I don’t really know.”

“You just verbally attacked a friend of mine.”

“Hey now, he’s a little more than a friend, isn’t he?”

A random car passes by slowly, and I realize that sparring with him on the front porch might not be a great idea. So, grabbing his wrist, I drag him inside and close the door behind us.

“We are friendly,” I explain. “And he’s been incredibly gracious throughout the whole breakup. He didn’t deserve that.”

“In hindsight, I realize, yes. I’m sorry, princess. My only excuse is that I’ve been in transit for fourteen hours straight, and I’m exhausted.”

Now that he’s said it, I can see the strain on his handsome face. It’s somehow enough for my anger to diminish a little. “Why are you here?”

“I’m not really sure, to be honest. I was missing you, and you told me you were working from home today and tomorrow, and I figured it was the perfect opportunity to come spend time with you.”

He flew fourteen hours just to come spend the day with me? My brain finds it wasteful, but my heart doesn’t care, beating wildly against my ribs.

“You came because you missed me?”