“You handled that well.” Kitty takes the spoon from me before placing it in the sink.
I might have been able to talk my way around Audrey’s questioning, but one look at Jax tells me that the discussion is not over between the two of us.
Chapter Seventeen
JAXON
After we finish the fancy pudding, the others disburse and Malia and I go outside to talk. We’re standing on the wraparound porch, watching Audrey in the distance with Preston, feeding the horses. The sun makes its decent in the sky, turning everything an orange-gold hue. A breeze brings Malia’s floral scent. I glance at her standing beside me, casually leaning against one of the beams, a look of joy on her face.
Malia was amazing today with Audrey. Everything went better than I could have imagined. It would have been a perfect evening, if only Malia’s name hadn’t been on the news. Rehab. A knot of worry tightens in my gut. How will it look to a judge that my girlfriend was in rehab? As soon as Brittany finds out, she’ll use it against me. Maybe I can convince Malia to come out with the truth. The whole thing is just insane. Pretending to be in rehab and to be with a guy who cheats? Malia is so much better than all of that. If the world could see her for who she truly is, they’d all fall in love with her.
“So,” I say. “Rehab, huh?”
Her shoulders stiffen. “I know, I know.” She shakes her head. “It’s ridiculous and I hate it.”
This might be easier than I thought. “Good, then you can call a press conference and tell the truth.”
She sighs. “It’s not that simple.”
“Really? Because it seems so easy to me. You’re not a drug addict.”
“Rehab isn’t just for drug addicts. I could be a cutter or an alcoholic.”
“And that’s better?”
She cringes. “You have a point. I’m sorry, Jax. I’m even more sorry that Audrey was exposed to the news report. That’s definitely not how I want her to see me. My publicist seems to think this will help my public image.”
“How does being hooked on drugs or cutting or alcohol help that exactly?”
She moves a lock of her hair
behind her ear. “You saw what they said on the news report. My fans are rooting for me. It’s exactly what JulieAnn predicted. The fans want someone to root for, and when I make my miraculous recovery, coming out of it even better than before, they’ll be thrilled. My name will be fresh on everyone’s mind just when JulieAnn is working on getting me the audition for the role I’m going after.”
“That all sounds very. . . complicated.” And completely unnecessary. “I can never understand why people try to make things a bigger deal than they have to.” I’m surprised that Malia allows herself to be sucked into the drama.
Her brows scrunch up. “It is complicated. Sometimes it’s more than I can take, but this silliness will be over soon. Then I’ll have the role in a blockbuster, and after that movie, I’ll be in a position to pick any role I want.” She slides her hand into mine and pulls me to the porch swing. And I let her. She’s the only woman I’ve ever sat there with. The swing was a special place for Mom and Dad, and has always held a sort of reverence for me.
Malia takes my face in her warm delicate hands. “What’s not complicated is us.” She leans forward and brushes her lips over mine, and the knot in my gut eases, replaced with desire. She pulls back and murmurs, “You and me. No complications. Simplicity at its best.” She brushes another feather-light kiss over my lips, pulls back again and whispers, “You love me, and I love you.”
It’s the first time Malia has voiced those words since we were eighteen. I hadn’t realized just how much I’ve been aching to hear them, but I don’t blame her for taking her time. I had broken her heart after all. And now she’s giving it to me once again, trusting me, trusting in us. And even as she says the words, I realize that’s what I need to do—trust in us.
I brush her hair from her face and nod. “I love you so much,” I whisper back and then lower my lips to hers. She kisses me fiercely, as if to seal the truth of her words through touch and taste, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. Maybe her life is a little convoluted, but she’s right. What we have is clear and simple and right.
Malia has gone home, and I’ve just tucked Audrey in for bed. I make my way downstairs and hear the hushed voices of my brothers talking. I take a deep breath before entering the kitchen. Preston is eating another helping of the fancy pudding; Landon is leaning on the kitchen counter, his arms crossed in front of him, his brows creased; and Dillon is pacing. Great, pacing is never a good sign. They all look up when I enter, and Dillon opens his mouth to say something.
I lift my hand to silence him. “I already know what you’re going to say.”
He lifts his brows. “Oh really? So you’ve already deduced that you’re screwed? That as soon as Brittany finds out that you’re dating a drug addict, she’ll have a ground to stand on and take Audrey from us?”
I sigh. “Don’t you think that’s a little dramatic?”
Dillon’s brows somehow rise even higher, and he throws his hands up in frustration.
Landon pushes off the counter and puts himself between the two of us. “This is a big deal, Jax.”
“Huge,” Dillon says from behind him. Preston just nods from his place at the kitchen table, his mouth full of pudding.
I cross my arms over my chest. “Look, how would Brittany even know that we’re dating? By the time it comes out that we’re dating, Malia will have the role she’s going after, and she’ll have recovered from rehab. And by the way, rehab isn’t just for drugs. You’re just assuming that Malia’s in rehab for drugs.”