He let out a long sigh, and he suddenly looked so much older than his thirty-one years. “Bad shout, stress of a new job, a new job where I’m in charge, living in a hotel for the foreseeable as the house I was buying fell through… it’s just been a week.”
“Bad shout?” I hated how upset he seemed.
“Yeah, kids, home alone when they shouldn’t have been, fire. Everyone’s okay, but it took a while to find the youngest.”
“Shit. How old was she?”
“Five. Her eleven-year-old brother and seven-year-old sister were left looking after her.”
Before I could reply, he seemed to snap out of his mood. “Helen, it’s freezing out here, and you’re only wearing a dress.”
“I was just heading home when I saw you.”
He tilted his head slightly. “Heading home from?”
“A date.”
“Right.”
“I got stood up. Whether he came and took one look at me and ran because I'm too old or it was obvious this was my first date ever or he was just an arsehole and never intended on coming…”
His rich chocolate-brown eyes flashed over me. “He was a dick and you’re better off without him. Wait, did you say yourfirst ever date?”
I shrugged, my arms feeling numb from the cold air. “You eaten?”
Jackson shook his head.
“I have pizza and dessert in the car. Do you want to share?” He stared at me for the longest time and it got so uncomfortable that I started to panic. “God, sorry. I’m your friend’s mum. That is so weird. Just ignore me.”
“I haven’t eaten since breakfast,” he mumbled.
“It’s 9.30. You must be starving, but I’m too cold to eat out here. Do you want to come to mine? It’s just up the hill.”
I stood and Jackson followed, and as he climbed into the car behind me, I tried to ignore the nervous energy that rippled through me like a dangerous undercurrent.
Jax
I walked in through the door of Helen’s house, suddenly feeling at home. I’d planned to stay in the hotel I was living in for a few weeks before my house sale went through but today, the buyers further up the chain pulled out, meaning it could be months before I could move or I’d have to start looking for a new place all over again.
The first thing I noticed was how her sweet scent filled the space and the second thing was how good she looked, standing in front of me, dressed for her date. I hated that someone had stood her up and hurt her feelings, but I couldn’t help feeling grateful that her failed date had led her to find me having my bench meltdown.
“Are you working tomorrow?” she asked as she moved through the open plan space, flicking on lamps and closing the blinds.
I shook my head. “Shift work, so I’m off for four days now.”
Helen pointed to the dining table. “Wine? Beer? Tea?”
I fell into one of the chairs, suddenly feeling as drained as I had on my run, which was why I’d ended up sitting on that bench staring out across the waves.
“Whatever you’re having.”
She placed an open pizza box on the table, along with two enormous slices of baked cheesecake; the smell invading my senses. “Eat, Jackson… sorry. Jax.”
She moved to pour two glasses of wine as I lifted a slice of pizza, loving how the cheese stretched before it broke. I inhaled two slices, not realising how hungry I must have been, before I really focused on Helen, who had bypassed the pizza and was eating her dessert with a spoon, making me chuckle.
I allowed my gaze to skim over her, the shape of her body stirring a feeling inside me I’d not felt in a really long time.
“You didn’t want the pizza?” I asked, before taking a sip of the ice cold white wine.
