“I guess that makes me Jax.” He straightens and extends his hand, palm up.
I hesitantly place my hand into his. “Juni.”
He deliberately brings my knuckles to his lips and kisses them, gaze holding mine the entire time. The motion sinks my heart. A lump sits in my throat. His lips are cold in comparison to Nick’s, breath a chill against my skin.
The smell of peppermint lingers in the air.
“Is that short for Juniper?” he asks.
I nod again, thighs squeezing.
Twins.
“You deserve the Eiffel Tower,”I remember Nick telling me last night.
I don’t know if one has to do with the other, but holy shit am I unable to think of anything else.
I clear my throat and close my mouth before I start drooling. “Are you… I mean, does Nick know you’re here?”
Jax scoffs and takes a seat. “He does. He said he’s trying to finish a job today. Do you prefer to be called Juni?”
“I don’t… I mean, it doesn’t matter to me. I think most people just end up shortening it,” I reply.
“What’s your middle name?”
“Do you not like my first name?”
“I’m curious if your middle name suits you better.”
I’m chewing on my tongue, deciding whether to tell him, when I realize he still has my hand in his. He’s toying with my fingers in such a gingerly manner that it’s suddenly all I can think about. The little smirk in his eyes makes me wonder if he can tell how restless my legs are—even though the heat on my cheeks is probably a dead giveaway of my fluster.
“You’re as nosey as your brother.”
Jax huffs amusedly. “Does he know?”
“Know what?”
Because I forgot what we were just talking about.
“Your middle name,” he replies.
“No.”
“Then it’ll be our secret.”
I stop breathing when he leans closer.
“Come on, darling. Give me something he doesn’t have already,” he says in a gravelly voice.
“Holly.”
The word practically makes me spit. Jeez, how am I evenmoreembarrassing than I was when I first met Nick?
“Holly? Your parents named you Juniper Holly?” he asks, brows raised.
I finally force my hand out of his. “Maybe.”
“Is your birthday soon?”
