Chapter 10
Kate
“So,youwantto admit it now?” My sister’s question catches me off guard as I accept the tape from her hand to attach one of the baby shower decorations to the wall. I’ve been filling my sister about my latest run-in with Jaxon as we set up for Dani’s baby shower.
It took every ounce of strength to not look up as I walked out to the mailbox. Instead, I counted the cracks in the pavement along my driveway. Once my back was to him, I exhaled a breath of relief, even as the soundtrack of the lawn mower continued behind me.
I knew I should head back inside. Yet I stalled, sorting through the various envelopes—nothing but junk and bills. When the mower abruptly cut off, my mind instantly went back to the fantasy that had played on repeat for days. I made the mistake of glancing over my shoulder at the exact moment Jaxon leaned over and moved some sticks that had been in his way. Even with the brief distance between us, I could see the defined corded muscles of his back. The slight pink hue to his skin told me he’d been out in the sun a while—probably a typical man, not wearing sunscreen.
I pulled my bottom lip between my teeth as I imagined massaging suntan lotion into his skin or aloe to treat the sunburn. Sweet fucking Jesus.
Before I could stop myself, I opened my mouth. “Put some clothes on, for the love of God! You’re scaring the neighbors.” Or turning them the fuck on, and they don’t have time to rub one out.
Jaxon turned around at the sound of my voice. Fuck, the front is even better! He crossed his arms so that the muscles in his biceps tensed, drawing my eyes directly to them. I followed the drops of sweat that dripped down his skin. Seriously, it was unfair that this man looked like a fucking god. When did he even have time to work out? If he wasn’t home, he was typically at work or at my sister’s—not that I knew his schedule or anything.
My mouth went dry because every drop of moisture in my body went straight to my panties. I rubbed my thighs together, trying to relieve the ache that blossomed.
When my eyes lifted, I met his. He had the audacity to smirk at me as if asking if I liked what I saw. I just rolled my eyes. The man knew he was hot—no need to stroke his ego.
“You know, that’s funny. I hear something quite different.” He started walking closer to me, and my breath hitched. “I hear I have a little fan club that meets once a week over there.” He pointed his finger at my house.
Fuck! I clenched my fists by my side, nearly crushing my mail, and gritted my teeth. “I’m going to kill my brother-in-law.” I knew Finn had to be the reason he knew. There was no way that Lauren would have told him nor Tweedledee and Tweedledum, also known as Dani and Haylee. I’d made the mistake of mentioning it to the girls once, and they made it a point to stop by on Saturday mornings for the view. So that narrowed it down to one other person.
Jaxon threw his head back in laughter, and it only furthered my scowl at him.
“Does the sacred vow of marriage mean nothing,” I exclaimed.
The laughter died down, and his brow furrowed in confusion. “I’m not sure I follow.”
“You know, the sacred vow of marriage.”
“Yeah, I’m familiar with it, thanks,” he bit out. His confused expression shouldn’t bother me, yet I explained further.
I placed my hands on my hips and continued. “Well, Lauren and I share DNA, so I’m included in that, too. Therefore, anything I tell Lauren or Lauren does, she may tell Finn. However, the buck stops there. He’s supposed to become a vault.”
He shook his head and mumbled something I couldn’t quite make out. “And what, bro code means nothing?”
“Nope,” I said, popping the p sound. “Twin card trumps that.”
He rubbed his temples with his stretched thumb and middle finger. “Okay, whatever. You can take your crazy talk away so I can finish mowing. Some of us have shit to do.”
I ignored the dig and turned, heading back to my house, when Jaxon shouted, “Oh, and Kate? If you’re gonna stare, maybe next time you can bring me a lemonade. I don’t put on a show for free.”
I flung my middle finger in the air at him, and the sound of the mower soon drowned his smug laughter.
Hopefully, he ran over his foot or something.
I tilt my head to the side and purse my lips. Did I miss something? Did talking about Mr. Grumpy Pants make my brain mush and I blacked out?
“Admit what?” I accept the next item from Lauren’s hand to hang.
“That you like him.” Lauren says those four words as if it were a normal conversation, like talking about the weather.
“What?” I shout, dropping the decoration in my hand. “Are you insane?” My sister is downright certifiable if that’s what she thinks.
“Are you?” Her brows raise to her hairline. “I’ve had to listen to you go on and on about him for the last twenty minutes.”
“Yeah, but not in a good way.” My chest tightens, and I can feel the thrum of my own pulse. I glance around the room to see if anyone else needs help and I can escape this conversation.
“No.” She shakes her head. “You might think that, but if you didn’t care, you wouldn’t notice these things or constantly watch him. This has enemies to lovers written all over it.”
“You have seriously lost it.” Of course my sister compares my life to one of her romance novels. If there’s one thing she loves more than Finn Reynolds, it’s books. He even incorporated books into his proposal and got her favorite author involved.
“Say what you want”—she points her finger at me—“but I know the truth.”
I step off the stool and cross my arms in defense. “Oh yeah? And what’s that?”
“You. Like. Him.” She enunciates each word. “And it scares you,” she says in a softer tone. “It’s okay to admit it. Remember how scared I was with Finn coming back?”
Scared is an understatement. My sister, who typically has a calm demeanor, was thrown for a fucking loop.
“This is nothing like that. You two had a history. Finn was the love of your life. Jaxon McAdams is just another asshole in my life.”
She smirks and makes a clicking noise with her tongue. “If that’s what you want to go with, fine. I’ll let you believe that for now.”
“Okay, I think you and Finn need to switch up your sex positions, because it’s obvious he has fucked your head into the headboard one too many times. Maybe try taking him for a ride sometime.” I swivel my hips, pretending to be riding a mechanical bull.