I Want You Back (Want You #1)(13)

“Something did happen with Mimi that we need to talk about,” Jaxson said.

My gaze zoomed back to him. “What?”

Jax barely took a breath as he relayed the incident, and I had to admit to myself that was probably my fault since I tended to interrupt him whenever we discussed a Mimi issue. I hadn’t known how often I did that until my sister, Lindsey, had been at my apartment when Jax had dropped Mimi off and she’d pointed it out. So I swore I’d try to listen fully before I cut in.

After a long minute or so, time that Jax allowed me to think without interruption, I said, “You did exactly what I would’ve done. Not letting her play with Calder over the weekend . . . clever little bonus punishment, Daddy, because you know how much she loves her cousin.”

He flashed a quick smile. “I hoped you’d think so.”

“I won’t bring it up with her unless she says something to me first.”

“Cool. What else is on the Mimi agenda this week?”

“I’m working from noon to eight P.M. on Wednesday, filling in for Jonna. Could you pick Mimi up from school and take her to your place until I’m done? Then I’ll swing by and pick her up.”

“Why don’t you have her spend the night with me? That way you can work as late as you want and not have to worry Meems is missing her bedtime. I’ll get her to school on Thursday.”

I glanced over at our daughter when I heard her laugh. My eyes narrowed on the one piece of cake she’d chosen that filled up the entire plate.

Then Jax’s hand touched beneath my chin, tipping my face back to meet his gaze.

“I’ll get her to school on time. I promise.”

“It’s not that.”

“Then what’s the problem?”

“She . . .” Just spit it out. Mimi is his daughter. “She’s really difficult early in the morning on school days.”

Jax’s gaze turned shrewd. “You think I don’t know this? Or that I can’t handle it?”

“You don’t know about this bratty behavior because I’m so mortified by it that I haven’t told anyone.”

“Not even me?”

“No. It’s my fault that I let her get away with it. I feel like a pushover and a failure, and yet I do nothing to change it.”

His grip increased on my shoulder. “Is that why you never let me take her to school?”

I nodded. “It’s a battle every morning. She yells and cries and is a total demon child from the moment I wake her up. When she’s with you on the weekends, she gets to sleep in. Same goes for summer vacation. Same goes for when she stays with her grandparents. She’s all smiles and sweetness. But on a day-to-day basis with me . . .”

“You’ve been dealing with this behavior with her for how long?”

“Since she was three.” My voice became quieter with that embarrassing shitty parenting admission, and I hung my head.

Jax cupped the side of my face in his hand like he used to when we were together—a countermeasure against me closing down during an argument. Early on he’d figured out the best way to force my attention to the subject at hand was to force me to focus on him.

Then he was in my face. “Dammit, Lucy. I’m her father. I’m supposed to know this about her, not just the sweet, shiny, bubbly unicorn stuff.”

“I know. I’m sorry. But you weren’t—”

“Around? Well, I’m here now and we’re partners. That means all of it; the good, the bad and the ugly. I get that it’ll take some faith on your part to believe that parenting isn’t a phase for me. I need to know you’re willing to talk to me.”

“That’s never been my strong suit.”

“Then it’s time for you to learn.” He smirked. “Practice makes perfect, babe. So let’s start now. Tell me about her demonic behavior.”

Babe again. Ugh. “Fine. I’ll give you the lowdown on my oh-so-fun morning routine without any sugarcoating.”

By the time I’d told him everything, his eyes had taken on a hard glint.

“No way am I putting up with that from her. No way. It’ll be a shock to her little world that weekday rules at Daddy’s are different than weekend rules.”

“Jax—”

He leaned in closer. “Do you trust me?”

“With her? Yes.”

He ground his teeth together with such force that I heard the tendons in his jaw pop. “You just had to qualify it, didn’t you?”

“Yes. This trust is about Mimi, not about me. I just wanted you to be clear on how far the trust goes.”

“It doesn’t extend to you and me.”

“Not yet.”

Jax smiled. “Then there’s hope for us.” Then he softly pressed his lips to mine.

I froze.

He froze.

Then he retreated and muttered, “Shit.” He scrubbed his hands over his face before he looked at me. “Kissing you after we exchanged words . . . sorry. Habit. An old habit that was more ingrained in me than I realized.”

I tossed my head and said, “No biggie,” even when it was.

Because Jax had been exactly right. It’d been so easy to slip back into those habits, those roles. Arguing. Him pressing his point. Me wanting to avoid confrontation. Him forcing me to listen, to be present with him in the moment. Then a compromise, followed by a kiss, which had always resulted in us getting naked and sweaty as fast as possible.