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Needed to taste her one last time, so he pulled her into a quiet corner.
She must have sensed the urgency behind his response because, with one of those little moans he loved, she ran her hands up his chest until she was clutching his collar and opened her mouth to him.
He deepened the kiss, inhaling her as if it were his last breath. And maybe it was. His lungs sure as hell knew something he didn’t.
He wasn’t sure how long they held each other, but slowly distant whistles started to break through the haze. By the time he pulled back the entire bar was cheering them on. Glasses tinkling, hands clapping, even a few cat-calls. And behind them were Peggy and Gennie, looking on as if that summer wedding was a reality.
“Just like the first time,” she said, not knowing that this would be their last. It was the universe’s way of hammering it home that they’d come full circle. “Only I didn’t have the blindfold.”
When he didn’t laugh, she tilted her head with curiosity. “Is everything alright?”
He didn’t want to acknowledge the emotion he saw swirling in her eyes. Because if he did, he wouldn’t do what he needed to, which was the right thing. “Can we go somewhere and talk?”
“Sure,” she said brightly and took his hand. “Where to?”
“Somewhere where we won’t be overheard.”
Her laugh ricocheted off each wall of his chest. “The last time you said that we ended up breaking a few rules.”
The reminder of the rules caused a painful ache to form behind his ribs. If he’d just followed through on his promise, just stuck to the plan, the next few minutes wouldn’t have to happen.
“Is that what we’re doing? Breaking some rules?” she asked, taking his other hand and leaning into him, her body pressing all the way against his, her mouth grazing his neck until it was next to his ear. “Because if so, I need to let you know that I might have forgotten my panties tonight.”
His mind flashed back to waking up with Milly’s naked body wrapped around him. The feel of her silky warmth beneath his hand as he ran it down her spine. The way his heart beat in rhythm with hers.
Shaking it off, Jax guided her further down the hallway that led to the manager’s office. When they were out of range of others, he turned her to face him.
“You look so handsome in your fancy shirt,” she said, coyly plucking at the bottom button. “And this?” She nuzzled his fresh-shaven cheek with her nose.
“I’m not really a starched kind of guy. Never will be,” he reminded her. The collar of his shirt was suddenly suffocating. He pulled at it, but it didn’t help. Not only wasn’t he a starched guy, but he also wasn’t a good enough reason for her to stay.
Wrong twin.
That’s how this whole thing started, right? Milly thinking she was with Lucas. Maybe somewhere along the way Jax had started wanting to be the right twin. And maybe in trying to be somebody he wasn’t, he’d given off signals that he shouldn’t.
“I’m betting you’d look even better out of it,” she said.
To stop her from unbuttoning his shirt, he trapped her hand over his chest. He was certain she could feel his heart thrashing. “I heard Brynn offered you the logistics coordinator job.”
She sighed and his gut twisted. He had no idea why the thought of her choosing Sierra Vista over New York unsettled him. But it did.
“My hope was to get to you before the gossip line, but it moves faster than wildfire around here,” she said.
“So, you’re staying?”
“I was thinking about it.” Again was that flirty coyness. She was breaking his heart.
“I looked into it and there is no way we can match the salary you’d get in New York,” he said. “You’d be taking a demotion.” Sierra Vista was a family-run company that did smaller events. They couldn’t offer the kind of projects she’d be working on in the publishing world. There just wasn’t that kind of career ladder available in Sierra Vista. Not to mention she’d be walking away from a city that she told him she loved.
Lucas had passed on his dream in order to help the Carmichaels, then kept everything a secret to make sure Jax went after his own dream. Jax couldn’t let that happen to someone else he cared about. “You said that your freedom was in New York.”
“I thought it was, but maybe not. I mean, freedom can be lonely and money isn’t everything. I’ve loved working on this kind of project. It’s exciting and challenging. Plus, my family is nearby. My friends are here. You’re here.” His inner turmoil must have shown on his face because her smile wilted with confusion. “Is that a problem?”
“I’m not here. In a few days I’m gone. I made that clear.”
“I know you’re leaving, but you’re going to be back to work with your family. And we’d be working together on the events that are sponsored.”
And this, right here, was what he was afraid of.
