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“I’ll take my chances.”
His breathing deepens as his hands grip my naked backside. “Let me give you something to help you sleep.”
As I come down from another round of fireworks, I’m already slipping into slumber, when I hear Jaxton whisper, “I love you.”
Sighing my content, I try to murmur, “I love you too,” in return, but by his chuckle it comes out jumbled.
Chapter Eight
Avery
The morning light filters against my consciousness and my first reaction is to reach out for Jaxton, but my sheets are cool to the touch. Prying my eyes open, I glance around the room. His shirts still crumpled on the floor where he threw it last night. We had planned on getting up and having dinner, but ended up sleeping through the night. Sleepily, I slap my nightstand for my phone, realizing that it’s approaching eight in the morning. With a sigh, I snuggled back into my soft mattress, elated that I worked part time this summer to focus on landscape designs. I’ll also be able to spend more time with Jaxton while he’s here. I’m nervous, wondering where our relationship will go when he heads to go back to San Diego. We spoke about it last night, so I know he wants me to go with him, but uprooting my life on a whim, leaving my dad, and my budding business—I just don’t know. Let’s be real. I literally just met him and now I’m thinking of twisting my life upside-down to follow him. Even as my mind races with doubts and contemplations, a smile breaks free, and my spirit runs wild. The little voice inside my head saysyes. Yes. Yes!
Instead of focusing on my internal battle of rational thought, I holler, “Jaxton! Where are you?” As the last word leaves my lips, he walks into my room carrying a tray full of food. A white rose in a small vase. The grin plastered to his face transforms him—sexy and toned with messy bedroom hair. He looks like the cat that got the cream.But then I guess he kind of did.
“Hey baby, how about some breakfast in bed?” My stomach growls when the scent of the food hits me. He laughs, setting the French toast, eggs, hash browns, and bacon on the bed in-between us. He sits the glass of orange juice on the nightstand, so there are no accidental spills.
“Wow, that’s a lot of food. You plan on helping me eat this, right?” I pop a piece of scrambled egg into my mouth and moan.
“Of course.” He laughs again. “I may have feasted on you, but I still need sustenance.” He leans over the food and captures my lips, rejuvenating the memories of hours ago. When he crawls back on his side of the bed, I whimper, drawing another heart stopping gaze. Attempting to squash the hormones rising to take over, I prop myself up and dig into the food.
“Jaxton, this is fantastic! Where did you learn to cook like this?”
Sadness touches his eyes for a moment before focusing back on me. “My Mom. She taught all of us how to cook. Said a man should always know how to take care of their family. Turned into a career for Kamden. You think my food is good? Wait until you try his.”
“Wish I could have met her.” My heart hangs heavy, wishing I could have introduced myself to the woman who raised this remarkable man. “She sounds like an amazing woman.”
He finishes chewing a piece of French toast. “She was.”
He reaches over to cup my cheek. “We miss her, but the weight of her loss lessens with time.” He pauses a moment. “I moved to San Diego from Louisiana, and shortly after, my brothers followed. When she passed, we were all with her. Kamden, Cash, and I had gone to her a month prior before we called the twin’s home. We were trying to avoid having to cancel their biggest modeling contract for a popular book series. Ma was always so strong for us growing up, we wanted to return her strength when she needed us most. Our father passed away when we were young, so her passing was especially hard on us.”
I shoved the tray out of our way and crawl onto his lap. My family consisted of dad and me, and if something happened to him, I’d be devastated. “I’m sorry you and your brothers had to lose her.” I snuggle my face into his neck.
His arms tighten as he kisses my hair. “I was on the phone with Kamden the first day we met. He called right as I left the shop. I told him all about you then. There was just something different about you.” I always wondered who he was on the phone with when I heard him outside. The thought that he gushed about me to his older brother brings warmth to my face.
“What are you thinking? You’re blushing,” he asks, amusement thick in his voice.
I pause a moment before answering. “I overheard you on the phone when I was trying to nudge the carpet from the door. You said my name—so I listened.”
He stared for a moment before laughing so hard I thought we were going to fall off the bed. “You’re… too cute.” He gets out in between fits of laughter.
My cheeks burn crimson, trying to duck down further from embarrassment.
“Don’t hide from me.” His fingers brush my chin, encouraging me to meet his eyes, which are dancing with laughter. “I felt it then too,” he whispers. “The pull. The racing of my blood, and the pounding of my heart.” His lips brush softly against mine. “Which is why I don’t mind putting myself out there. When you stared at me—with a little drool sliding down your chin—you were the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen.” His fingers trace the supposed drool line.
Our proximity is overwhelming, which is why it takes a moment for me to realize he’s goading me. My cheeks flare again as I nudge him, laughing. “You shit.”
Jaxton’s chuckle bounces down my body before he leans over to pick up the orange juice. “Want some?”
“Yes, please.” I snag another egg off of the plate in front of us and toss it in my mouth, as Jaxton hands me the glass.
“What’re your plans for the day?” His fingers trace my jaw when I sip on the citrusy drink.
“Nothing much. Why?”
A mischievous expression paints his features. “Would you like to come to work with me today—see the set?”
His words knock me for a moment. “Is that even a thing? Can you bring people with you?” I shoveled more food in my mouth, hesitant to ask directly about Sarah being there. I’d prefer to remain out of any ex-girlfriend drama.
