Page 63 of Succumbed

Jax grins and holds out a fist. “Nice. Jackson, but I go by Jax.”

Linc taps Jax’s fist, then turns to me. “Should I order food?”

“Wait, nephew?” Declan glances between me and Jax. “You’re her nephew.”

“Guilty!” Jax runs a hand through his dark blond waves. “I live in the pool house.” He gestures to the backyard.

“How old are you?” Declan presses.

Jax shrugs. “Age is just a number, man.” He turns to Linc. “You said something about food?”

I sigh, putting a hand on Jax’s back and directing him to the kitchen. The guys follow close.

“Get yourself a glass if you want wine, yeah? We’re having a business dinner, so you might be bored–”

“Nah, sounds sweet. But, uh, I’ll go grab a beer from mine. Be right back!”

As Jax jogs to the sliding door, the guys crowd around the island. Linc smiles as he pulls out his phone.

“He is not what I expected.”

“What did you expect?”

“Nerdy little college kid, not a surfer dude.” He looks at his phone. “Pizza work?”

I shrug. “Better than–”

“Crackers and wine,” Linc drawls, arching an eyebrow. “I know.”

Shane narrows his eyes at me.

“What?” I blink innocently, opening the bottle of red. “Wine?”

“No, thank you,” Declan grunts, setting his bag on a stool. “Can we start?”

“Red, please,” Shane says.

I fight the urge to smirk at the dismissal of his friend’s snarky comment. “You have somewhere to be, Declan?”

I pour a glass and hand it to Shane.

Declan sighs, resigned. “I just want to make the most of the time.”

“Oh, we always make the most of Lex’s time,” Linc teases. He shoves his phone in his pocket, then opens the fridge. “Next time I’m bringing beer.”

“I got you,” Jax calls as he enters the room. “Brought a six.”

“Thanks.”

“You got it. So, what business are you all up to this late?” Jax offers a beer to Declan, but he waves him off. “Didn’t expect a party when I came over.”

“It’s a business meeting, not a party,” Declan mutters.

“Dec,” Shane warns, deep voice calm.

“Linc ordered pizza,” I say, moving to take a seat at the dining table near my laptop.

“My man!” Jax offers another fist bump, which Linc returns with amusement. “Tell me you’re a pineapple on pizza guy.”

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