“That’s the one. Next time you’re in my apartment, you’re coming in here with me.”
I chuckle, hopping on one leg as I pull off my shoes. “Why are you calling me?”
“I wanted to ask how the bachelorette went. Lola says you were a ‘doll,’ which I think means she likes you.”
“It was good,” I say. “Your sisters are nice. They think the world of you.”
“They’re pains in my ass, is what they are. Where are you now? You home safe?”
My fingers clench around the phone as I pull on a thick wool cardigan that belonged to my mom and curl up on the bed.
“Yeah. Just got back. My brothers scared the living shit out of me in the street, but otherwise I’m home safe.”
“Why did they do that?”
“Ugh, they were trying to surpr— Uh. Never mind. They just were acting crazy.”
“Surprise you?” he asks, as I bite my lip, annoyed for revealing that. “About what?”
I stare at the clock on my wall as it ticks around to one minute past midnight.
“Uh, today’s my birthday,” I say quietly.
There’s a pause on the other end of the phone, and then the sound of splashing water.
“Your birthday is today?”
“Uh-huh.”
“You should have told me. I would have helped you celebrate on my office floor.”
I smile, lying back in bed, soothed by the sound of his voice. “It’s not a big deal.”
“I’m going to be appalled at the age you’re turning, aren’t I?”
“Twenty-five.”
He groans. “Oh, god, you’re so young.”
“Shut up. I feel like an old lady.”
“Well, your body’s hot as fuck if that helps.”
I don’t say anything, fighting the smile that seems to be permanently stuck on my face right now.
“Happy birthday, Jax,” he murmurs after a little while, and a pulse of happiness moves through me, from my toes all the way up to the top of my head.
“Thanks, Gray,” I whisper. I stare at the clock, wishing I could talk to him all night, and then I suck in a sharp breath, my insides shriveling as I take the phone away from my ear and end the call without another word.
Gray Jones is not my boyfriend, Gray Jones is not my boyfriend, Gray Jones is not my boyfriend.
Lying there in the dim light of my room, with the first minutes of my twenty-sixth year around the sun ticking by, I have an overwhelming sense of fear engulf me for a moment.
I can’t afford to get attached to this man, and yet, try as I might, I can’t shake the feeling that the most special birthday greeting came from him.
Chapter 33
Jax
