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“What is the problem then?” Gemma asked.
“It all started the morning after our one-night stand.”
“Where you did shag?” Kat asked, and Gemma shot her a look. “What? Just clarifying.”
“Where we did shag,” she said. “My parents barged in on us. I was in nothing but his shirt and Jax was in his nothing but his jeans, unzipped low enough to show he hadn’t bothered to put on any underwear. My dad freaked, my mom looked worried, and Jax looked like the perfect knight in shining armor. Then my dad gave me the look.”
“I know that look,” Kat said. “I only saw it once, freshman year, when he caught Zoe and me drunk, and that was enough to last a lifetime.” She looked at Gemma. “Since you’ve never done anything remotely fun in your life, let me explain it to you. It’s the ‘You did something rash and irresponsible, and I am so disappointed in you’ look.”
“Then you get it,” Milly said. “One Howard brow raise, and it just came tumbling out that we were dating. But the worst part is I introduced him as Lucas.”
“Ho-ly shit,” Kat said.
Gemma’s response was a disappointed shake of the head. “How did Jax feel about that?”
“He was hurt and pissed, and I don’t blame him. How could I sleep with the wrong twin?”
“We saw him at the bar, too, remember. I totally thought it was Lucas. We all did. I mean he was wearing loafers,” Kat said.
“That’s what I said!”
“So your crush on Lucas is—?”
“Completely gone.” After talking to Lucas again last night, with his even demeanor and CEO energy, Milly didn’t get a single zing. But when she kissed Jax she had all the feels. Too many feels. She looked at Gemma who had yet to say more than a few words. “What are you thinking?”
“That you lied to us,” Gemma said, and the hurt in her voice made Milly’s heart sink. Gemma had a long history of people lying to her. Her parents, her ex-husband, even her other friends who said they’d stick with her through the hard times after she lost her baby. Milly had become just another person in Gemma’s life to bring her hurt.
“I know and I am so sorry,” she whispered. “I never should have lied. I was going to tell you the whole story, but then Jax showed up on my doorstep and gave me a proposition. If I helped him with, well I don’t want to break his confidence, but he needed help with his family, and I needed help with mine and it just seemed easier to keep the charade going than to tell everyone the truth.”
“I’m not judging you,” Kat said. “But Gemma is right, we’re not everyone. You could have told us.”
“I didn’t know how without breaking my word to Jax. I made a promise to keep it a secret.”
“Why are you breaking that promise now?” Gemma asked. “Unless the … I don’t even know what to call it.”
“A relationship.” No matter what was happening between her and Jax, it was a relationship. That she knew. “It might be only friendship on his side, but it’s a relationship.”
“And what is it on your side?” Kat asked quietly.
“I’m pretty sure it’s a tiny crush,” Milly said, and Gemma lifted a challenging brow. “Maybe more than a little crush.” Milly rubbed her eyes under her glasses. “I am in so much trouble. He’s here for another two weeks and how am I going to last that long without my clothes falling off again?”
“Then let them! Take the polar plunge into dating. Maybe it will jar you out of this funk and put a smile back on your face,” Kat said around doughnut crumbs.
“Yeah, what’s so wrong with enjoying every single second until he leaves?” Gemma added.
Milly closed her eyes with resignation. She’d already crossed the line and she didn’t see a way back. “Because I think I’m falling for him.”
She didn’t think. She knew. And damn if that wasn’t breaking another promise.
Chapter Eighteen
Take Life by the Balls
Fight for what matters.
Between training and helping with the Sierra Vista Cup, Jax had barely more than a few moments to himself. But he found himself wanting to spend those moments with Milly. Only she wasn’t there.
She’d spent the first part of the week with her parents and worked from home yesterday to see them off. At least that’s what she claimed. But Jax knew the truth.
