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“You talked to Cash?”
Tanner shook his head. “Not yet.”
“Well, whatever you decide, we’ll support you. I know we were both proud of you for passing. You’d make an excellent sergeant.”
Tanner kicked at a pebble with his work boot. “I’d prefer to be excellent a little closer to home.”
“Well, you can always take the position and wait for something to open up here.”
Tanner simply nodded and Jax knew he was torn up over the life-changing decision looming over him. But Jax would have his back no matter what. It would suck to have his best friend move, but two hours wasn’t terrible. It wasn’t down the street like they were used to, but it could be worse.
“I need to get to the school,” Jax stated. “I’ll see you this evening and keep your mouth shut about Livie around Piper.”
Tanner tossed a dimpled grin. “I know how to handle a toddler. It’s Cash you need to worry about.”
Jax ignored the warning and climbed into his truck. Cash and Tanner had been there for Jax from the beginning of this whole parenting thing. The three of them often took Piper out fishing or to the park and on occasion they’d all pile into the movie theater. Nothing like three guys and a little tomboy heading in to see the latest kiddie flick.
Jax was convinced Tanner liked to use Piper to pick up ladies, but Piper was so damn adorable, it was impossible to ignore so much cute.
As he drove away, his mind circled back to Livie. She’d melted when she’d spoken to Piper and Jax couldn’t deny a piece of him had softened. The way she’d squatted down to speak to Piper on her level stirred something deeply within him. He didn’t want anything to stir, he didn’t want to find Livie even more attractive. Between the kiss and the way she seemed to adore Piper, Jax was having a difficult time remembering they were on opposite sides of the spectrum.
Tonight he was going to have to answer to his cousins. There was no way in hell Tanner wasn’t spilling everything to Cash. Most likely they were on the phone now chatting.
Regardless, he had more important things to address than what they thought. Livie wasn’t going anywhere and it was only a matter of time before he was face-to-face with her again. Jax doubted anything would prepare him, because as much as he wanted to end this property dispute, he wanted to touch her, kiss her, and forget they were technically enemies.
Chapter Seven
“Sweet tea?”
Olivia glanced up from her laptop and smiled at Jade. “Perfect timing. I just submitted the quote.”
Jade sat two glasses of sweet tea on the small table by Olivia. Jade folded her lean frame on the chaise and let out a sigh.
“Where’s Melanie?”
“She said she was going into town.”
Into town was code for Haven. There were many cute specialty shops that had popped up since Olivia had left years ago. The once run-down, sad area was now thriving with day-trippers from Savannah and the locals who appreciated their beautiful, quaint area.
Oliv
ia took a sip of her tea and welcomed that extra kick of sugar and caffeine. After working all day in the bedroom closets, she was more than ready to relax.
“I’ve been thinking,” Jade stated in a slow, careful tone. “Just hear me out before you shoot down my idea.”
Olivia sat her laptop beside her on the cushion and gripped her cool glass. “When you lead in like that, you’re already making me nervous.”
Stretching her long legs in front of her, Jade crossed her ankles and stared out into the spacious backyard. “I had an epiphany while going through your guest-room closet. Maybe I was trying to figure out a way to find a happy medium with the airport or maybe I was trying to distract myself from pictures of you with a bad perm, I don’t know. Regardless, something kept sticking out in my mind and I think it’s worth surveying.”
Olivia sipped her drink and was almost afraid to hear the rest of Jade’s line of thinking. Her friend was a brilliant businesswoman and she was always working her mind in overtime. She was successful, but lately had been second-guessed and really put through hell at work. Some may say she was running from her problems, and she may have been, but getting Jade out of Atlanta so things could die down was the smartest move right now.
“Let’s have it,” Olivia sighed.
“Don’t sell the airport.” As soon as Olivia opened her mouth, Jade closed her eyes and held up a hand. “You said you’d hear me out.”
“I said no such thing,” she argued.
“It was implied.” Jade waved her hand and crossed her ankles. “As I was saying, don’t sell the airport. You’re half owner, so anything you do would benefit you as well.”
