Alex ruffled his hair. “Thinking you want to go to sea or maybe learn to fly?”
“I want to fly,” Noah said. “And go really, really fast.”
“Excellent goals,” his father said. “Especially the really, really fast part.”
They all laughed, then started for the car. Ryleigh fell into step with them, thinking she was glad Alex had suggested the two of them come with her. Visiting San Diego alone wouldn’t have been very much fun, but with them, she knew she would have a great time.
Chapter Nine
Jax stared at her phone thinking the obvious response to the unexpected text was “no.” Simple, direct. Easy. Only even as she started to type the word, she found herself thinking that saying no would mean sending a message of some kind. Which should be fine—if none of this was about her. But it wasn’t. She had her kids to consider and to quote that TV campaign,the more you know.
“I’m going to have to kill him,” she muttered even as she typed.
Sounds like fun. See you there.
That was followed by her sending Harris an annoyed text.
Your future mother-in-law and Shawna want to have lunch with me so we can all get to know each other better. You have to fix this. I’m not a part of your relationship or your wedding.
She waited several seconds, but didn’t see any dots. As it was Saturday, Harris wouldn’t be working and she didn’t think theteam had a rare Saturday game, so there was no excuse for his silence. Still, she doubted she would hear from him anytime soon. He was a master at avoiding anything he didn’t want to deal with and this would be no different than all the times she’d had to nag him to take out the trash.
“Men,” she muttered as she went to check on Lucy. She found the cat sunning on a wide windowsill.
So far Lucy was settling in nicely. She was eating well, and yesterday Jax had given her the run of the apartment. Next week she would start the introduction with Ramon. In the meantime she was doing her best to make friends, but that was very slow going. Lucy made it clear she much preferred Ryleigh or even Cheryl and that her relationship with Jax was based on tolerance rather than affection.
As if to prove the point, when Jax reached out to pet her, Lucy stiffened slightly, then exhaled as if reminding herself that Jax was the one who provided the meals so an effort must be made.
“I’m actually a good person,” Jax told her. “I rescued you from the shelter.”
Lucy glanced at her, obviously unimpressed by the information. She went on to point out the obvious—which was she hadn’t been adopted for herself, but instead as a pet for Ramon.
“Well, yes, there is that,” Jax murmured. “But he’s a great bird and I think you’ll really like him once you get to know him.”
Lucy’s tail flicked, no doubt a sign of annoyance, and her body tensed, as if wishing Jax would stop touching her.
“Whatever.”
Jax retreated to the bookstore, trying to forget her upcoming lunch. Unfortunately she’d never been very good at avoiding her personal responsibilities, so right on time she walked down the street to the cute bistro on the corner. She paused by the door, braced herself for the weirdness that was to come, then went inside.
Shawna and her mother were already there. The younger woman beamed when she saw Jax.
“You made it! Thank you so much for joining us on such short notice. I know it’s Saturday and you’re probably busy at work.” She turned to her companion. “Mom, this is Jax. Jax, my mother, Lindsey.”
“Hi,” Jax said, smiling at both of them. “Nice to meet you.”
Shawna and her mother looked a lot alike. They were both of average height, with blond hair and big, brown eyes. Lindsey was a little curvier, but still very youthful looking.
“Jax.” Lindsey shook hands with her. “So good to meet you. And as my daughter said, thank you for agreeing to meet me. I know this is probably a little strange and awkward, but we’ll get through it.”
“I’m sure we will.”
Lindsey turned to the hostess. “We’re ready to be seated now.”
“Of course. Follow me.”
They were shown to a pretty corner table with a view of the garden in back. As the temperatures were warm, the windows were open, allowing the scent of roses and hydrangeas to drift into the restaurant. Jax breathed in the scent and told herself everything would be fine. It was just lunch—an hour or so out of her life. Once it was over, she could pretend that it never happened. Later, she would take one of the heavy coffee table books from the store and threaten Harris with a good beating.
She and Lindsey settled across from each other, with Shawna on her right. The older woman ignored her menu as she leaned forward.
