He chuckles. “It’s fine. I doubt they trashed the place.”
Still, her stomach knots. She can’t explain why she suddenly cares so much.
Jaxon grabs the luggage and they walk to the porch. Claire hesitates before he opens the door, bracing herself for chaos.
But when the door swings open, the house is spotless.
“Sara?” Claire calls out.
“Hey Claire. Hey Jax,” Sara says casually from the living room, flipping through a magazine like she lives there.
Claire blinks. “Did y’all clean?”
“Uh, yeah? Why?”
“I just… figured it would be a little messy.”
Sara smiles, saccharine sweet. “Nope. It’s the least we could do for him letting us stay.”
“Thanks,” Jaxon says, genuinely surprised. “And you did laundry?”
“We restocked the fridge, too,” Sara adds. “If this’ll be an everyday thing, who wants to get married?” she jokes.
“We could all fit in this house,” Taylor chimes from the kitchen.
Claire forces a laugh, but her jaw tightens.
“Okay, y’all stop,” shesnaps.
Jaxon disappears upstairs to change while the girls gather on the couch. Claire hovers in the doorway, arms crossed.
“Do y’all have your bags packed?”
Macie raises an eyebrow. “Damn, Claire. You just walked in and you’re already kicking us out?”
Claire’s tone sharpens. “This isn’t your house, and I imagine Jaxon might want to settle in.”
Sara looks up slowly. “You haven’t forgotten this isn’t your house either, right?”
Claire opens her mouth, but nothing comes out.
“Every time someone talks to him,” Sara says, rising to her feet, “you get weird. Like you’re trying to mark territory.”
“That’s not—”
“If you want to be technical, we’ve spent more time here than you. So who should be the one leaving, exactly?”
Silence.
Sara heads upstairs to get her bag. The others exchange a look but don’t say a word. Claire stays standing, heart pounding, the weight of that moment pressing heavy on her chest.
Upstairs, Sara knocks gently.
“Yeah?” Jaxon calls from inside.
“Can you hand me my bag? I didn’t want to barge in.”
A few seconds later, he opens the door with her bag in hand.
