James (Resisting Love #3)(10)

I still remember the night he got it pierced. We were coming out of a rock concert, laughing, full of adrenaline. I mentioned before how hot I thought piercings were, and when we walked past a tattoo parlour that also did piercings, James pulled me in and got it done.

James opens my car door, bringing me back to the present. He opens Jye’s door and pulls our sleeping son out and into his arms. I can tell he's excited to show his son off to his family, like a proud father.

“You look beautiful,” he says in greeting. I glance down at my floor length blue maxi dress, and offer him a small grin. I had no idea what to wear, so I went with an all-purpose dress. My hair is down and flowing down my back, and I opted for a natural makeup look. James grabs Jye’s baby bag, and walks towards me, leaning forward to kiss my cheek sweetly. He smells so good, I can’t help inhaling deeply.

“You smell good, too. Like peaches,” he adds with a chuckle. I blush with embarrassment that he caught me. Jye wakes up with all the commotion, smiling when he sees James holding him.

“Hey, little man,” he says warmly.

“Okay, let’s do this,” I say to myself. James’ head snaps in my direction, his eyebrows rising.

“No one will be rude to you, they just want to see Jye. Relax, okay,” he assures me. I nod, pushing a lock of hair behind my ear. We walk to the door, and James opens it, motioning for me to enter. I hear the sound of laughter and the smell of barbecue as soon as I walk in.

“Smells good,” I whisper, suddenly feeling hungry.

“You always did love your food,” James says.

“There’s nothing wrong with that,” I huff.

As we walk into the kitchen I see Lucy, James’ mum, sitting at the table with Kade, Nikki and their daughter, Grace. James’ dad is away on business, and Chase and Layla are still on their trip which they decided to extend. All eyes are suddenly on me, making me feel uncomfortable. I look over at Jye trying to avoid their stares.

“Everyone, this is my son, Jye,” James introduces proudly, lifting Jye in the air. The way he does it reminds me of the cub on The Lion King when he is held up by the monkey. The three adults walk over to Jye instantly, Nikki stopping to give me a hug.

“Look at you, MILF,” she says with a cheeky grin. Married life is obviously agreeing with her, because she looks happier than ever. She is dressed in a pair of black jeans with a green singlet, looking casual, yet pretty.

Kade’s eyes are narrowed, and I can tell he’s not happy about this situation. At all. And who could blame him, really? I kept his nephew away from him. When I see tears in Lucy’s eyes, as she hugs Jye, I feel my own eyes water.

“Can we talk for a sec, Sasha?” she asks me in her soft voice.

I nod, dreading it, but knowing I need to face up for my actions.

***

James

When I hear my mum saying she wants to talk to Sasha, I cringe. I knew this was coming, but I don’t want anything to chase Sasha off or make her feel uncomfortable.

“Mum,” I say softly in warning.

“It’s okay, James,” Sasha says with a forced smile. I’m about to argue further when Kade suggests we go outside with the kids to play. Kade and I had gone to the shops yesterday and bought a play structure for Jye with swings, a slide and fort. We also got a trampoline, a sandpit, and any other outdoor toys we could think of. Kade bought him a soccer set, mini golf, and other various sporting games that he thought would make for good bonding. I give Sasha a look that says ‘are you sure?’ and she gives me a slight nod in return. My tough girl.

Jye is in Kade’s arms as we walk outside. I love the look on Jye’s face as he spies all the new playthings. His blue eyes shine as he blinks a few times in glee. Nikki takes him and Grace on the trampoline to play as I cast a glance towards the door for the third time.

“Mum’s not gonna kill her,” Kade chuckles next to me.

“I know, it’s just…” I’m protective of her.

“Remember our awesome fort we had as kids?” he asks.

“It was the best,” I say with a fond smile.

“Wasn’t it? It was badass,” Kade adds.

“Yeah until you set it on fire,” I mutter.

“That was Chase, not me!” Kade says adamantly. He’s lying, we all know it was him.

“Really?” I drawl, disbelief showing in my voice.

“Where’s the proof, bro?” Kade asks with a chuckle.

“Still scared of mum, aren’t you?” I tease.

“Not even. Mum loves me regardless. I’m her fav…”

“No, you’re not!” I cut him off. We always get into this argument.

“How’s business?” Kade asks, changing the subject.

“Good, actually. A few of my stocks have gone up,” I answer him. I’ve been playing in the stock market for a while now, and that’s how I’ve been able to afford my house and car, and have more than enough saved in the bank. It allows me extra time to work on other things.

“You’re good at what you do,” he says absently, a double meaning in his words. His voice sounds distracted, and when I glance at him I know why. He’s staring at Nikki’s tits as she bounces up and down on the trampoline.

“That’s a little disturbing, you know,” I tell him, blinking slowly.