Hold On to Me (Return to Haven 3)

A knock sounded on his door and Cash muttered a curse, then stepped back . . . which was a good thing because Jax strolled right in.

Cash didn’t have to look behind him to figure out that Jade likely had cringed and her face was completely flushed. But they hadn’t been caught touching, which was a miracle because he’d been about a second from ripping those sweaty clothes off her and clearing off his desk.

“Hey, Jade,” Jax said with a nod, then looked back to Cash. “Am I interrupting something?”

“Just trying to get her to work for me.” Cash didn’t hesitate, and opted for at least some of the truth. “She’s still refusing.”

“I have my reasons,” Jade stated from behind him. “I’m done here, so I’ll let you two talk.”

Cash wanted to reach for her as she slid by him. He wanted to tell her to stay, that he’d kick Jax out, but that wouldn’t fall in line with their plan of keeping this affair a secret.

Considering they shared a close unit of friends, this may prove to be more difficult than they thought. At least he was already having a difficult time because right now, he preferred Jade’s company over his cousins’.

“Wait,” Jax told Jade before she could leave. “It’s actually good that both of you are here.”

“What’s up?” Cash asked.

Jax closed the door and plopped down on a short stack of shipping boxes. “The press release Jade created is supposed to run tomorrow in the local paper.”

Cash wasn’t aware she’d already written one up. They’d been a little too busy to discuss things they should actually be talking about.

“I emailed it to Livie between classes earlier,” Jade stated. “Is something wrong with it?”

Jax shook his head. “Not at all. But I think this is a prime opportunity for us to really boost the marketing. We can use this time to gloss over the mishap and push for the exciting venture that will be the future of the airport.”

“And how do you plan on doing that?” Cash asked.

From the corner of his eye, he could see Jade. Not once had she looked at him since Jax came into the room. No doubt she was mortified they’d almost gotten caught. Also no doubt he’d hear about it later—to which he’d remind her that she’d come to see him.

“I haven’t talked to Livie yet, but I wanted to see what you all thought about doing a mock open house.”

Confused, Cash shook his head. “What?”

“An open house,” Jade reiterated louder, as if he hadn’t heard. “A mock style would show residents exactly what the airport will look like, what we’ll offer, what clients and customers can expect. Right, Jax?”

He nodded and rested his hands on his thighs. “I ran into Sophie Monroe, and she said she’d help and we could even use her real estate office to host the event.”

Sophie Monroe had married Zach Monroe, one of the infamous bad boys of Haven. The Monroe brothers had revamped an old antebellum house and turned it into a women’s-only resort and spa to honor their sister’s memory. The guys had certainly had their fair share of issues to overcome, but they’d ultimately come together and were making a name for not only themselves, but also Haven.

Sophie was the top local real estate agent and was more than eager to see the town thrive.

“I think it’s a great idea,” Jade stated. “But you know you have to run this by the boss first.”

Jax laughed. “I just let her think she’s the boss.”

Considering Livie’s father was the original owner, most people would believe Livie to be the one with the final say. But Jax had been as close as a son to the man, and now that Jax and Livie were married, they made all the decisions together. Well, they made the decisions and then the financial backing team of Tanner, Melanie, Jade, and Cash threw in their opinions.

“I say we move on this,” Jade proclaimed.

Cash focused his attention on her as she started speaking with her hands, and he watched as she shifted flawlessly from yoga instructor, to temptress, to businesswoman within the next ten minutes right before his eyes.

She went on about contacts she had who could create a 3-D model of the finished product, then something about a kids’ workshop to learn about aviation and a sample menu from the diner they planned to put in the renovated main building.

As each idea rolled off her tongue, Cash’s admiration for her shot up. She was a beautiful, sexy woman; any man with breath in his lungs would agree. But she was brilliant. Jade’s mind worked overtime, and Cash shot a glance to Jax, who also sat in complete amazement. There wasn’t a doubt in Cash’s mind that she’d been at the top of her game back in Atlanta. The firm that hadn’t believed her regarding the sexual abuse wasn’t worthy of her. He couldn’t even imagine the paycheck she’d left behind, let alone the life she’d built. But he knew her well enough to know her integrity and reputation were much more important than any salary.

But Jade absolutely flourished here in Haven.

Flourish? Had he seriously just thought that word?