After he was done getting ready, Jax left the bathroom and went down the stairs. Wonderful smells hit his nose immediately, and his stomach grumbled. When he entered the kitchen, Ryder wasn’t there, though. “Ryder?”
“In the dining room,” Ryder called out. Dining room? How fancy! They hadn’t taken any of their meals in the dining room so far. He’d seen it, of course, when Ryder had shown him around the house once he’d felt better. But it had always seemed too formal.
Jax left the kitchen and went down the hallway to the dining room. When he entered it, his jaw dropped. Ryder stood behind the table. He’d lit two candles, their flames casting a warm, romantic glow in the room. Ryder was beaming, looking proud, but Jax didn’t miss the tension in his body. Nor did he fail to notice just how handsome his mate looked.
“What’s all this?”
Ryder shrugged. And was that a blush on the alpha’s face? “I just thought I would throw something together. For us ...”
Jax chuckled. “Throw something together?” He looked at the beautifully set table. “This looks like it took a bit of planning.”
Ryder pushed his hands through his hair. “And if it did? What would you think about that?”
Jax caught himself smiling widely and taking another step into the room. “I’d say it’s a wonderful surprise, and the food smells delicious.”
“Good!” Ryder’s lips began to curve. “Well, dinner is served.” He removed the lid from the one platter on the table. Jax moved forward and Ryder hurried to pull out a chair for him. He looked up at Ryder, who hadn’t moved to take his seat. “So, let me get this straight … You planned all of this?” he asked. “Down to Tabby going with Ro and Ollie?”
“Actually, that was a little bit of fate,” he admitted, moving to his seat at the head of the table while Jax was to his right. “Ro and Ollie offered, and it seemed kind of perfect timing, I guess.” Ryder paused, holding the wine bottle he’d picked up over Jax’s glass. “I hope you know you could have said no to having Tabby go?”
Jax inclined his head, not breaking eye contact. “Yes. I did ... do?”
That seemed to release some of the tension from Ryder’s shoulders, and he finally began to pour the wine into Jax’s glass. He smiled when he saw it was a rosé. Ryder didn’t like it, but Jax had mentioned he did when they’d been over at Ryder’s parents’ home for brunch a couple of weeks ago.
“I’m glad,” Ryder said. “I really want us to talk, but I never want you to think you have to do anything you don’t want to.”
“Thank you.” Jax smiled.
“But how about we eat first, though?” Ryder said, taking the lid of the platter.
Jax chuckled when he saw it was spaghetti with chicken, bacon, and broccoli.
“You remembered,” Jax murmured. “Even the part where I said I prefer broccoli over spinach.”
River had taken them, Ollie, and Devon out to dinner, and this what he’d ordered. Jax had mentioned wishing he’d ordered the same, and somehow Ryder had remembered.
He met and held Ryder’s eyes. “I remember everything you say,” Ryder simply replied.
They finally looked away, and Ryder served him first before dishing food out to his own plate. And if that wasn’t a perfect representation of Jax’s life since he’d met the alpha, he didn’t know what was. Ryder put him first.
He wasn’t sure how much time had gone by while they enjoyed the delicious meal when Ryder finally spoke, which Jax was grateful for since he’d been cracking his brain all night, trying to think of where to start.
“I know this will probably be difficult,” Ryder started, “but I want us to be completely honest with one another tonight. This is a no-holds-barred conversation we’re going to have, and it’s only going to work if we both remember that. Okay?”
Jax lifted his glass and took a sip of his wine before nodding. “Okay. Yeah, I think I can do that.”
Ryder beamed at him. His voice got softer. “I hope you know that you can trust me, right?”
Jax reached out and put his hand over Ryder’s on the table. “That, I’m completely sure of.”
He watched Ryder down a large gulp of wine and then draw in a deep breath. He guessed they were about to start the talk they’d both been dancing around.
“You can ask me anything,” Jax said, all the while ignoring the small voice in his head asking if he was crazy.
“We haven’t really talked much about your past.” Jax should have known that was where this would start. “I just want you to know that you can tell me anything or don’t tell me anything.”
Jax didn’t speak. Everything in his brain felt like a radio out of area coverage.
“I can’t imagine what you’ve been through, and I know …” Ryder’s brow furrowed, and Jax could tell he was searching for how to say whatever it was he wanted to say next.
