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Jax used to think he was prepared for anything after serving overseas in the air force for so long, but nothing had prepared him for life with Olivia . . . or without her.
Resigned to the fact he wasn’t going anywhere—at least not by plane—Jax cursed himself for being all kinds of a fool. He jerked his keys from his pocket and headed out. After making sure the hangar and his office were locked up for the day, he hopped into his truck and headed to the one place he didn’t think he’d be again.
When he pulled into Olivia’s drive, she was sitting on the porch on an old rocker with her foot propped up. She immediately glanced his way, her eyes widening.
Was he really doing this? Was he really going to put himself in this path again?
Yes and yes. Because he was a damn fool.
He stepped from the truck and rounded the hood. Whistling as he headed up the sidewalk, he quickly rehearsed in his head what he wanted to say.
“Who told you?” she demanded. “Jade? Melanie? No, it was Tanner, wasn’t it? Took him longer than I thought.”
Jax stopped at the base of the steps and met her fiery gaze. “You didn’t want me to know you were injured?”
“It’s a twisted ankle. It’s nothing major.”
“If you’re hurt, that’s major.”
She shrugged and glanced out toward the street. “Now you’ve seen me. You can go, unless you needed to discuss the airport.”
So, she was going to be difficult. Fine. He didn’t need her to apologize for earlier or tell him she’d changed her mind and was staying. They could be civil and business partners and anything else that he’d hoped would just have to fade into the background.
“I actually do want to discuss the airport.”
Her eyes whipped back to him. That’s right. He’d thrown her off because she hadn’t expected him to say that. He wanted to continue to keep her world tilted because his sure as hell was.
“Fine. Have a seat.”
Oh, she wasn’t running this show. “I actually have something to show you at the airport. I’ll give you a lift and bring you back.”
Her eyes narrowed as she eased her foot off the railing.
The screen door screeched open and Jade stepped out. “Oh, hey, Jax.”
He gave her a nod in greeting. “Livie and I are heading to the airport to discuss some things.”
“No, we’re not.”
His eyes held hers. “We. Are.”
Jade laughed. “Go right ahead, Olivia. Melanie and I will finish here. We only need to run the sweeper, so it’s not like you could do that anyway.”
Jax raised his brows.
“There’s a showing for the house later,” Jade explained. Things were moving too damn fast. Was she that eager to leave? Damn it. He was going to put himself out there one more time and then he’d be done. He called himself every kind of moron and masochist, but the truth was he loved this frustrating woman. He loved her and he damn well knew she loved him. She loved being here, so why the hell was she so determined to leave?
He had to get her back to her roots. Just once more, he had to try. Then, if she truly wanted to go, he wouldn’t stand in her way.
Without a word, he mounted the steps. He shot Jade a wink as he bent down and lifted Livie up and over his shoulder. She draped over him like a sack of potatoes.
“Put me down, you Neanderthal.”
“I love when you talk dirty, but we don’t have time for that.”
He shot a glance to Jade. “Don’t worry about her. I’ll have her the rest of the evening. We’ll be back well after the showing.”
Jade merely offered a grin and headed back inside the house. Livie continued to smack at his ass while he walked toward the truck. She could throw all the temper tantrums she wanted, but until she could walk on two feet, she was at his mercy. Just where he wanted her.
