I wish I could turn back time. I’d take back all of that bullshit regarding Miles Frampton.
Instead, here I am with a very real shattered heart.
Who knows, maybe I had it coming, too.
After a long afternoontesting the limits of our blood sugar levels, Jax and I decide to reconvene at Starry Nights for another carbohydrate-laden bite. I head over to meet him there and snuggle in a seat near the back as the house band plays sappy love songs for my bleeding heart.
At office, running late. See you in a few!
Instead of scowling into my phone, I offer up a dreamy smile. This is exactly what it would be like if I really were married to Jax. After all that talk about engagement rings and how great my boobs would look in a sweetheart neckline, I’ll admit I’ve indulged a bit in all things wedded bliss. Jax would be a great husband. For one, he can handle just about anything my acid tongue dishes out. And secondly, that face, that hair, that body. Jax Stade is a king, and I would gladly sign up to be his lifelong queen should the proposition arise. But after listening to the spiel about our childrenmaybesomeday going on play dates, it doesn’t sound like the throne next to his awaits me.
I spot Mack sitting in the back of Starry Nights, and she waves me over like she’s the lastTitanicsurvivor on a floating door waiting for rescue.
“What’s up?” I offer a quick embrace as I take a seat. Mack’s J’Adore perfume permeates the area, and I take in a huge gulping sniff. I’ve always appreciated the way having Mack in my presence makes me feel as if I’ve just had a nice refreshing bath. I need to pick up a bottle just so I can spritz it every now and again when I miss her.
“You’re up.” Her eyes spin like Vegas slot machines. “Mom has lost her ever-loving mind! She actually took her wedding dress down from the attic and said she was going to gift it to you at your engagement party in the event you wanted to alter it. Did I miss something?”
“God!” I squeal, giddy over the prospect of an engagement party. It’s safe to say I’ve been swept up in Hurricane Char and Deb. “We’ve created a category five monster.”
“I can’t wait to see their faces once you do the big reveal.” Mack gives a devious chuckle. “Have you thought about how you’re going to do it? At first I was thinking a big blowout might be the way to go, but knowing those two, they’ll spend the rest of the night shooting for a reconciliation.” She purses her lips, and they touch the tip of her nose. “A straight forward,this was all a big fat lie in your honormay be the better option. You might want to throw ahuzzahin there and maybe a high five with Jax. I bet you’re both ready to have this behind you. I mean—he’s not bad on the eyes, but come on—drooling over one another the way you two have—is really taking one for the team. No one can accuse you of not being all in.”
“I do like to commit.” With my entire heart and soul and every fiber of my brokenhearted being.
Mack glances over my shoulder and grunts, “Well, look who’s here on our brother’s arm looking crispy as a chip in a bag.”
I turn to find Larissa headed this way while Conner makes a stop at the bar. Is it wrong that I hate how stunning she is? That perfect, long, wavy dark hair, those puffed out severely colored in red lips. I’d die to have both.
“You know”—Mack’s eyes get squirrely as she spies our brother—“there’s something I need to talk to Conner about. I’ll be right back.” She skips to the bar, and Larissa plops right in her seat. It never fails to surprise me the way she carries herself so impeccably perfect. When we were in high school, Sadie nicknamed her “The Mannequin” for her unchanging hair and makeup that seemed to be fade and wind resistant. Everything about her is as fake as her personality. If the inside matched the outside, I’d fear she’d steal Jax out from under me—not that he’s actually mine. That revelation alone pulls me under.
“So your mother’s big shindig is coming up this weekend,” she trills, guffawing at me as if that little shindig she just referenced were reprisal of our senior prom.
“And?” I steal a sip of Mack’s Long Island Iced Tea and immediately regret it, using her chips and salsa as a chaser.
“And”—she tips her head so severely I’m half-afraid she’s having a seizure—“a little birdie told me that you and lover boy are nothing but a big fatfake.” She bounces in her seat, unable to hide her uncontainable glee.
“What little birdie?” I ask curt with a sudden urge to find the nearest 12-gauge and do a little hunting.
“The proud peacockhimself. Jaxson Stade.”
My entire body stings with surprise. “What exactly did he tell you? And when?” I’m about to reach over and shake the details out of this vindictive piece of plastic when she holds up a finger in an effort to subdue my rage.
“Don’t worry. I’m not saying a word.” A cat who ate the canary smile takes over, and I can practically see the peacock feather preening from her lips. “He’s sworn me to secrecy. Jax knows I can be trusted. We’re good friends.”
A fist forms in my throat, and I painfully swallow it down. “When? How did he bring this up?”
She chortles out a short-lived laugh. “When the person you’re practically living with suddenly up and gets a girlfriend, things can get dicey. He just wanted to assure me—you know, set the record straight. We’re pretty tight. He told me you’re leaving in a few days.” She winces. “I hope that’s enough time for you to comfort your poor mother once she hears the truth. This is going to send her into an early grave. Boy, when you hit back, you go for the jugular.” She gives a little wink as Mack and Conner join us.
Conner wraps an arm around her as if claiming her for his own. I may be embroiled in a fake relationship with Jaxson, but it’s clear to me Larissa is currently in one with my brother. Larissa mentioned that she and Jaxson were practically living together. I doubt that since he’s actually living with his mother at the moment, but she does work with him—and Oak Grove is a very small town. I’m pretty sure he’s dipped his wick into that toxic sludge she has sloshing between her legs. That sex graph they show you in sixth grade comes flooding back to me. If I slept with Jaxson, that means I’ve technically done the deed with everyone he’s ever mattress tackled. It’s like some syphilis pyramid scheme that I’ve unwittingly become a part of.
“Here’s the man of the hour.” Larissa hops to her feet and assaults Jax before he has the chance to say hello. I watch with a newfound scrutiny the way his hand glides down her back, how he leans into that kiss she plants on his cheek, and a raging fire pulses through my veins. So it’s true. They have a thing.They have a thing?I still can’t seem to reconcile that thought.
Jax sits next to me and offers a friendly side hug—friendlybeing the operative word. So, all that I love you stuff was just something akin to whitewashed feelings you might have for some distant relative? A part of me was hoping that he would wake up and smell our fresh-baked future together. I thought it could truly be as rosy as we built it up to be.
“Have you eaten?” He leans in with that sexy smile, and it kills me to see him looking so good, smelling like fresh washed clothes mixed with expensive cologne. He’s wearing a blue and white checkered flannel that sets off his eyes like a blaze, and I would do anything to dip my tongue in that dimple winking my way at the moment. But he’s not mine. And just like that, it hits me. He never will be.
“Um—I haven’t.” I touch my fingers to my temple. “I’m actually starting to get a bit of a headache. I think I’d better get home. It’s been a long day, and we have a big celebration coming right up. I might need all of tomorrow just to prep for the big day.”
Conner and Larissa break out into laughter over something she said—I’d accuse her of slighting me, but I doubt Conner would tolerate that from Larissa or anyone else. He’s always been a rather protective big brother.
