Breathe (Sea Breeze #1)(15)

He smiled at her, and her face lit up. She left her mother’s side and her mother reached out to grab her arm but missed. “I’m sorry, she’s convinced you’re Jax Stone.”

Jax only smiled and shrugged, and then he squatted down to her level. “Hello,” he said in a voice I swear could melt butter.

“You’re Jax Stone, aren’t you?”

He glanced up at the mom and back down at the girl and put his finger over his mouth. “Yes, I am, but can you keep it our secret?”

Her little face lit up, and she grinned from ear to ear. The mother appeared stunned. Jax reached into his jeans pocket and pulled out a card. “Here, this has my contact number and email address on it. Do you have a pen on you, Sadie?”

I was as mesmerized as the little girl. It took me a second to register what he asked. I grabbed my backpack, pulled out a pen, and handed it to him. He signed it and asked her name.

“Megan Jones,” she replied.

He pulled out another card and wrote her name on it. “Now, Megan, get your mom to call my agent. He will be expecting a call from a Megan Jones. I am going to be stopping in Pensacola, Florida, on my tour this fall, and this will get you a backstage pass and front row seats.”

The little girl began to squeal, and Jax put his finger over his lips again. She nodded vigorously and covered her mouth.

“Just keep my secret about being here, all right?”

She nodded, and he kissed her forehead before standing up. The mother’s eyes glistened with tears. I realized tears were burning the back of my eyes too.

The mother smiled through her tears. “Thank you, I don’t, I mean I can’t....” She took a deep breath and smiled. “Thank you. She loves you. You’re all over her bedroom walls.” More tears started spilling down her face, and she wiped them away. “I’m sorry I am being so silly, but this year hasn’t been easy on her. Her dad was killed in Iraq, and things have been tough.” A small sob escaped her, and she shook her head, smiling. “Thank you so much.”

The little girl ran over to her mother and handed her the card. She turned back to Jax and put her little finger over her mouth and grinned. He bowed and blew her a kiss. Her small little hand reached out, grabbed the invisible kiss, and placed it on her lips. My heart melted as I watched them walk away, the little girl gazing back and smiling at him until they were out of sight.

I wiped the tears off my face. “Yeah, that one got to me too.”

He walked over to me, wiped a tear off my cheek, and tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. “However, I didn’t mean to make you cry. I just have a soft spot for my younger fans.”

“No, I loved getting to see you with her. It was precious. You were so sweet to her, and I got to see the highlight of her life.”

Jax grinned. “I doubt it’s the highlight.”

I raised my eyebrows and countered, “Well, you’re wrong. When she is thirty years old, she will be telling about the night in a grocery store where she met Jax Stone. ”

Jax smirked wickedly. “If I give you back stage passes and blow you a kiss, will it be the highlight of your life?”

I managed to keep from getting hypnotized by his incredible eyes focused on me so intently. “No, only works on fans.”

He frowned and placed his hand over his heart. “Ouch.”

I laughed and turned toward the cereal aisle, leaving him to follow along behind me.

We managed to get the rest of the things I needed without another spotting. Jax kept his eyes down. He appeared to be really interested in the things in the grocery cart to the casual observer. However, I knew he didn’t want to make eye contact with anyone. He grabbed a large package of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, and I found his Big League Chew at the checkout lane and added it to my cart while he wasn’t paying attention.

Once the groceries were bought, he loaded them into the cart, and we went outside. Kane stood waiting on us and again went slowly behind us. The vehicle beeped, and the lights came on as we got near it. Jax started to load the groceries into the back of the vehicle not noticing or either ignoring Kane hovering behind us.

“I’ll do it,” Kane said in a deep, rough voice.

Jax looked back at the giant and smiled. “I can handle it. You just drive.”

Kane nodded, stepped back, and let Jax finish, but he didn’t move until he went to open the door for us. Jax sighed and motioned for me to go in first. He slid in behind me, this time sitting beside me instead of across from me.

“He’s determined not to let me impress you with my chivalry and is taking all the glory.” He smiled.

I no longer saw him as shallow and self-centered. Not after the scene I witnessed in the grocery store. I would never forget the little girl’s face when Jax kissed her head for as long as I lived.

“Are you going to share those deep thoughts with me?”

I shrugged. “I’m just remembering the little girl’s face. What you did was really nice. I didn’t picture you like that.”

He frowned. “Like what?”

“Well, I guess I didn’t think you would have acknowledged a little girl, and not only did you speak to her, you made a dream come true for her. I mean, you could have just blown her off and acted like you were not Jax Stone.” I stopped talking and gazed up at him because his mouth had formed a crooked smile. “What?” I asked.