Breathe (Sea Breeze #1)(23)

Jax squeezed my hand. “Wait here, let me grab my cell and have Kane get our ride brought around front.”

I nodded and watched him go to the coat closet and open it. He reached inside and took out the black leather jacket I remembered seeing him wear in a recent magazine photo.

He took a slim flat phone out of his pocket and tapped it a few times, and then slipped it into his pocket. He turned his smile on me and crooked his finger. My heart picked up its pace at the expression on his face.

“Your carriage awaits, my lady.”

I walked up to him and slipped my hand in his extended arm. “Ever the gentleman,” I teased.

“Whatever it takes to make the lady smile.”

Once home, I lay in bed staring at the ceiling and wondering how I could pack a lifetime into two short months. I wouldn’t be enough to hold Jax’s interest. But I’d love him enough to enjoy the short window of time we’d have together. When the summer ended, and he left, I’d have my mother and the new baby to be concerned about. If I threw myself into keeping my grade point average of 4.0, school may be an outlet to keep my mind off of the pain. But then again, I might never breathe again once he walked away from me.

* * *

Chapter Seven

I walked into the kitchen the next morning and hung my backpack up on the hook before glancing at the stove where I knew Ms. Mary would be working on the Stone’s breakfast.

“Morning, Ms. Mary, I will be back to help as soon as I get changed.”

Ms. Mary cut her eyes toward me and back toward the table with a frown. I followed her gaze. Leaning back in a kitchen chair, looking ridiculously sexy for seven in the morning, sat Jax. He gave me a crooked grin, and my heart went into a frenzy.

“Hey,” I said this without sounding affected by his presence. I knew he’d said he would be hanging out in the kitchen more often, but I hadn’t realized he meant this early in the morning. “What? Why are you here?”

He raised his eyebrows and grinned at me. “I would have thought that would have been obvious.”

I knew I was blushing. I turned to Ms. Mary and back at him. I knew she wasn’t happy about his presence, and I realized this might cause a problem.

“It’s okay, Sadie. She isn’t mad at you. She’s upset with me. You happen to be who she’s protecting.”

“I, um, need to go change. I’ll be right back,” I said, hoping Ms. Mary’s scowl wasn’t for me.

I walked toward the laundry room. My heart was racing from the frustration of my mixed feelings. Knowing Jax wanted to see me made me extremely happy, but I also didn’t want to upset Ms. Mary. Jax whispered something that sounded defensive. I needed to hurry up. I didn’t want to leave him by himself with Ms. Mary. Which seemed silly, since she worked for him.

“I am not going to hurt her. I know she is special and I tried to stay away, but when I’m with her I don’t feel so cold and alone.”

Jax stood in front of the table with his attention on Ms. Mary. I froze outside the door.

Ms. Mary turned from the stove and pointed a wooden spoon at Jax. “I understand that. But that girl has a lot on her shoulders for a kid her age, and, well, you can’t help it, but you'll break her heart when you leave.” Her whisper wasn’t very quiet. She went back to stirring the pot and shook her head. “I just don’t want her hurt.”

Jax didn’t reply right away. Finally, he said in a whisper, “I’m trying to figure out how I’m going to keep her from getting hurt. Hurting her is the very last thing I want to do.”

I waited a minute more, and then walked back into the kitchen. “Okay, Ms. Mary, where do I start?”

Ms. Mary held out two plates for me. “You go on ahead and enjoy your breakfast with Master Jax.”

I turned toward him as he walked up beside me. “Don’t argue, please,” he whispered, and then took the plates from my hands and went back to the table. I stared helplessly at Ms. Mary. She grinned and handed me two tall glasses of orange juice.

“Just eat with the boy before he starts begging and embarrasses himself,” she said loud enough for him to hear.

He set the plates down grinning.

“It’s the truth and you know it,” she said.

I couldn’t help but smile. I took the glasses and went to the table. Jax pulled out my chair, and I sat down. He sat down beside me and reached under the table and took my hand.

“Thank you for having breakfast with me.”

I smiled at him and nodded. I didn’t think saying “you’re welcome” sounded right. I should be the one thanking him.

I was so hungry, and today’s breakfast tasted much better than what I normally scarfed down after the Stones finished their breakfast. I picked up a piece of bacon and chewed, but the weight of Jax’s gaze made me uncomfortable.

I swallowed and whispered, not wanting Ms. Mary to hear me, “I won’t be able to eat if you are watching me.”

He grinned. “Sorry, it is just something I’ve never seen before.”

I frowned, not really sure what he meant. “You’ve never seen a girl eat?” I asked, confused.

He laughed. “Well, now you mention it, no, I haven’t seen many eat. They normally can’t eat in front of me, or they just don’t as a rule. But what I meant was I’ve never seen you eat, and it’s cute. I didn’t mean to stare. I’m sorry.”