I Want You Back (Want You #1)(49)

“She’ll only care about one thing: whether or not she gets to try hockey. The minute we say yes, we’re golden.”

I grinned.

“Anything else we need to dissect right now? Because I didn’t get to eat dinner and I’m starving.” Almost on cue, her stomach rumbled.

The reference to her date doused my good mood. “Sorry about ruining your date, Luce.”

“No, you’re not.”

She’d said it teasingly, but I wasn’t sure if I could match that light tone.

“You’re right. I’m not. If your sister called him a Pencil-Neck Geek . . .”

She groaned. “Mimi rarely pays attention to what Aunt Lindsey says, especially after the wine starts flowing, so of course she picked up on that. I’ll be more careful in the future.”

“Regarding future dates with this Demon guy?”

Lucy laughed. “Damon. And no. That ship has sailed.”

Good fucking riddance.

“Seriously, Jax? Good fucking riddance?”

“I thought I’d said that under my breath.”

“Since I’m only half a face away from your breath, you knew I’d hear that.”

Of course I did. “Is ‘half a face away’ a new measurement I missed in math class?”

She poked me in the ribs. “You know what I meant, jerk.”

“And you know that I meant good fucking riddance to him.”

“Why?”

Because I want you—I want this—back.

But instead of blurting that out, for the first time tonight, I deflected. “How many times have you been out with Darwin?”

“Damon,” she corrected. “I met him for coffee and drinks before I agreed to a date. We went out for dinner two weeks ago. Then dinner tonight. But I didn’t count the friendly meet ups as dates, although apparently he did. He seemed insistent on calling it our fourth date, when I considered it a second date. But since tonight’s date got interrupted, it doesn’t count. So we’ve gone out once.” Her eyes searched mine. “Why?”

“Just thinking about our first and second dates. Wondering how they compare.”

“There’s no comparison, as you’re well aware.”

“Yeah? Do you remember what we did on our fourth date?”

She shook her head . . . not very convincingly.

“How about our fifth date?” I prompted.

Lucy blinked those enormous brown eyes at me. “Um. Actually no, I don’t remember.”

I whispered, “Liar.” Then, “Did you catch my meaning from half a face away? Because I can come in closer.”

“Or I could make you back up.”

I snagged her hand when she tried to poke me again. “No tickling.”

“Hey! That’s the only way I can level the playing field, because you’re so much bigger and you’d squash me like a bug.”

There’d been a time when she begged me to fully press my larger body over hers. With this body-to-body contact and the easy way we’d fallen back into being together, I was tempted to check her response if I tried to kiss her.

Patience, man. You pushed boundaries tonight and she hasn’t pushed you away. Consider this a win.

Her stomach rumbled again.

I nudged her until she was upright. “The least I can do is feed you. Since we already have a babysitter, do you want to go out?”

“God no.”

“Pizza delivery it is.” I dug my phone out and called up the closest delivery place. While I waited for them to pick up, I said, “The usual?” to her.

“Sounds perfect, and don’t forget to order—”

“Breadsticks with ranch, yeah, I remember.”

Lucy stared at me with that “I’m ready to bolt” expression when she realized how quickly and easily we’d slipped back into being Jax and Lucy, the couple. Then she started to back away from me.

Oh hell no. She’d come this far on her own, and I couldn’t let her retreat. “What’s wrong?”

“I can’t . . . We can’t . . . I mean, what are we doing, Jax?”

I played dumb. “I’m ordering pizza.”

“That’s not what I meant and you damn well know it.”

“This doesn’t have to mean anything more than us sharing a late-night meal, Lucy Q, as we discuss our daughter’s future activities.”

Maybe she wanted to believe that lie as much as I did, because she smiled and said, “Fine, but if you’re going to be here awhile, better add one of those big cookies onto the order.”





Nine





LUCY




Jax and I stayed up late talking and online browsing the multitude of hockey clubs and ice centers that offered classes. When I realized it was one in the morning, I suggested he stay overnight on the couch instead of driving home. I even managed to pull off a joke about his previous drinking habits that he laughed at. It felt good to be breaking new ground with him.

It’d felt really good being with him like we used to be. I don’t know why I hadn’t fought him on how we positioned ourselves, both of us stretching out on the sofa, with me tucked against his chest and our arms and legs tangled. Maybe it had been ingrained behavior like he’d claimed when he’d given me that soft kiss last week. Maybe we needed the physical connection to deal with our emotional issues. Whatever the reasons, I wasn’t about to regret it now, especially when our discussion had delved deeper than I believed it could.