Jaxon looked down for a second, then back up. “I’m an open book… I just don’t open often.”
“Fine,” Claire smirked. “Then I’ll talk about you, and you can fill in the blanks.”
“I can do that.”
“You’re a great cook. You have a stunning home. You clearly have a good job, and everyone in town seems to like you. So tell me—why are you single?”
Jaxon didn’t flinch. He just set his drink down and looked her dead in the eyes.
“I was wondering when that would come up.”
Claire leaned in slightly. “So?”
He paused—long enough to make her pulse skip.
“I’ve had good relationships. Ones that made sense on paper. Ones that were fun… for a while. But I haven’t had the hard one.”
“The hard one?” Claire echoed.
He leaned closer. Voice softer. Slower.
“The one you work at. The one where you fall for someone so hard, it bothers your soul to be apart. Where the connection is so intense it drives you both insane, but the second you’re not together, you ache for them. You forget why you fought. You only remember that you’d rather be losing your mind beside them than at peace without them. And when you finally make up… it’s not just makeup sex. It’s sacred. It’s breathless. It’s magical.”
Claire sat back, stunned.
No man had ever said anything like that to her. Not with that much conviction. That much rawness. He wasn’t playing a role. He wasn’t trying to impress her. He was just telling the truth.
And it wrecked her.
She picked up her beer, took a long sip to quiet the ache in her throat, and nodded once, slowly.
Because she didn’t need to say it.
She felt the same damn way.
And maybe—just maybe—she was already starting to feel that hard one… too.
12
Love Like
Neitherofthemcouldtake another bite. Full from both the food and the moment, Claire leaned back in her chair, breath catching slightly as the breeze danced across her skin.
Jaxon stood, gathering plates with a quiet confidence that made her stomach flutter all over again.
“Don’t worry about a thing,” he said with a soft grin. “Give me a few minutes to take these inside. I have something to show you.”
And just like that, he disappeared toward the house, arms full of dishes, leaving Claire alone beneath the golden glow of the pergola.
She let herself exhale.
The view in front of her—moonlight casting shadows on still water, trees swaying in rhythm with the tide—was stunning. But her mind wasn’t on the water.
It was on him.
She didn’t know how this night became what it was. She only knew that she didn’t want it to end.
The screen door creaked open. Claire turned to find Jaxon walking back toward her, the same calm purpose in his step. Without a word, he reached for her hand and led her through the backyard toward a narrow dock that stretched into the sound.
