Page 91 of Close to Heaven

He smirked again, but before he could answer, they were interrupted by Smoky barking.

“See, I told you he’d smell our breakfast.” Jax pushed back from the table and went to let in the dog.

“Brr. It’s cold out there this morning.”

At the sound of Cody’s voice, Avery bobbled her fork, and the eggs fell off it and onto the table.

“What are you doing here?” Jax said.

“I tried calling you last night and this morning. Where the hell were you?”

Avery glanced down at Jax’s flannel shirt and boxer shorts. Ohmigod. Please don’t come in here, she thought, squeezing her eyes shut.

“I was busy,” Jax hissed.

“Well, we’ve got a problem with one of the cabins. Wait a minute. Is Avery here?”

Her eyes popped open, and she frantically searched for somewhere to hide.

“What are you talking about?”

“Her coat and purse are right over there.”

Shit, shit, shit! There was no way out of this now.

Jax was silent for a few beats, and then Cody yelled, “Hey, Avery, you can come out now.”

She shook her head, wishing she could make herself disappear. Instead, she drew herself up to her full height (which wasn’t saying much in her bare feet) and padded into the living room to face the music.

Jax was leaning against the back of the couch, head in his hands and staring at the floor.

Cody took one look at her in Jax’s clothes and burst out laughing. “Cute.”

Jax jerked his head up. “Fine. You caught us. Now, get out.”

She came closer and placed her hand on Jax’s arm. “What he meant to say is, please don’t tell anyone.”

Cody chuckled. “Don’t worry. I can keep a secret. Isn’t that right, Jax?”

Jax gave her an apologetic look. “He already knew.”

Her eyes went big. “He did? When? How?” She was more surprised than upset. Besides, Jax seemed upset enough for them both.

“I saw him drive you home the morning after you sprained your ankle, and I assumed he did more than take care of your boo-boo.”

Here she’d thought they’d been so secretive, but she should have realized the resort wasn’t that big. If Cody had seen them, someone else might have too. Luckily, Dakota hadn’t. The thought of that made her shiver.

Jax rubbed her arm. “If you’re going to stay, at least shut the door,” he barked at Cody.

Cody kicked the door shut, rubbed his hands together, and said, “So, what’s for breakfast?”

Jax scowled, and his hands curled into fists. She shot him a scolding look. “There’s coffee and some toast left.”

“Sounds good to me.” Cody strolled past them and disappeared into the kitchen.

She moved directly in front of Jax and forced him to meet her eyes.

“I’m sorry,” he muttered.