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“Good… goodnight!” I scurried off to my room, ready for bed and trying not to dwell on what Tabitha might think of me now after catching me coming out of Theo’s room.
Maybe that part can stay a dream.
19
JAX
Had we really done that?
The early morning sun glazed through the window of the kitchen, creating a delicate pattern on the countertop as it bled through the lace curtain. I studied the pattern as I nursed the steaming cup of coffee in my hand, but my mind was elsewhere. On Summer and how our drunken escapades last night had resulted in one of the sauciest nights of my life and the best orgasm I’d had since… well I couldn’t remember anything that had felt that good. All night I had tossed and turned, fighting with myself because the urge to go to Summer’s room and hold her had been too intense to ignore. I’d made it as far as far as her hallway before I’d turned back, not wanting to be overbearing. She was her own woman; she was likely fine.
Yet that desire stayed with me, even now.
“Morning!” Luke wandered into the kitchen with a yawn, stretching his hands high above his head. “Fuck, I slept amazing last night.”
“Oh, I wonder why,” I mused over the edge of my cup.
“Summer in December, who would have thought.” Chuckling at his terrible joke, Luke poured his own cup of coffee and added far too much milk for that drink to still be classed as such. “I saw Summer was up with the kids. Ava told me to leave because she’s havinggirl timewith Summer. Apparently, Theo doesn’t count so he was allowed to stay!”
Luke rambled on and I half listened, enjoying the drone of his voice as thoughts about Summer ran rampant through my mind. Then he turned to me, cup in hand, and immediately frowned.
“Jax? What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” I replied immediately. Luke raised one unbelieving brow and I sighed. Nothing got past these guys, not anymore. “I’ve just been thinking. About Summer.”
“Ah,” Luke grinned. “About last night?”
“Yeah, but more… I think I’ve put her in a terrible position with this fake engagement thing. I didn’t mean to do it at all, it just slipped out, but Marina was standing there with that look on her face, like she’d already won and I’d never see Bonnie again. And it just… came out.” I waved one hand and then stared down hard at my coffee. “I’m fucking lucky Summer went along with it.”
“Jax…” Luke sighed deeply and slid into the stool opposite me. “We all know you’re in a tough spot with Marina. That bitch doesn’t care about anything other than her name and her status. Hell, we know the only reason she wants Bonnie is that being declared an unfit mother would stain her family name and nothing more. Summer might not know all the details, but I think she understands enough.”
“You think so?” I lifted my gaze to him and a chill stole down my arms. Everything about Marina was enough to make me feel ill. It was hard to believe I had loved her enough to marry her; her true colors had been nothing but nauseating.
“I know so. Summer is smart and nothing forced her to go along with it,” Luke pointed out. “Besides, we all know Marina would pitch a fit if she discovered that Summer was the nanny.”
“She’d say I was unfit; no time for Bonnie,” I murmured. “I can hear it already. Every time she looks at me, I’m right back in that bar with her yelling at me for taking the job at Helix.You’re working for a company my family employs? How low can you sink?!” I mocked softly.
“Hey, you deserved everything about that job, and look at you now. I can’t imagine life without you,” Luke grinned.
“That’s because I saved yours,” I pointed out with a chuckle, but he was right. I worked my ass off and saving Luke’s life had given me an opportunity. All the work I put in to rise up the ranks was mine and mine alone.
“Not the point I was making but sure,” Luke grinned.
“It’s not… just that,” I continued cautiously. “I can’t actually get Summer out of my head. I’m thinking about her all the time and last night was just… I’m feeling things I haven’t felt in a long time. Mostly things I was certain Marina had crushed in me but…” I sighed and set my cup down, dancing my fingers along the rim. “I feel like a teenager.”
“She is quite the woman,” Luke agreed. “And I feel… similar. But we don’t really have the luxury of entertaining that, do we? With the children and all the responsibility of keeping their lives safe and not confusing.”
“The kids love her,” I pointed out, but I wasn’t sure if I was trying to persuade Luke or myself.
“They do,” he agreed, “but Summer never signed up to be a parent.”
“That is… true.” Regardless of my feelings, Summer hadn’t come here looking for anything. The sex and the flirting were amazing, but if I wasn’t careful, my unruly feelings would result in nothing but heartbreak. For Luke too, and Theo if I knew anything about him.
“Speaking of parents,” I said, eyeing Luke as he drained his coffee not coffee. “Is Flora going to make it for Christmas?”
A shadow passed over Luke’s face, and he thunked his cup onto the counter.
“No,” he grimaced. “I’ve been on her for months trying to get something out of her, anything for Ava, but she’s been so flakey. Then she had the cheek to ask me to bring Ava to France. I told her no. Ava barely knows her, and she needs to actually use the plane tickets I send her to come and get to know her daughter.” Luke’s shoulders slumped forward and his lips pressed into a thin line. “She just doesn’t care.”
