Page 24 of Savage

“What the actual fuck,” I yelled, almost imploding at such a crippling observation.

If I upset her by swearing, she didn’t show it. “He said things looked—heated between you.”

“Well, I wouldn’t disagree with that one. We had a brief workout and then argued.” Daisy’s eyes widened at that.

“What type of workout,” she questioned with raised eyebrows, freshly tweezed ones. Mum was always immaculate.

“Not like that,” I assured her wearily, my cheeks heating. I so didn’t want to be having this conversation with my mother, especially when I was barely functioning. I felt shattered as I’d spoken with Dominic on the phone last night for over two hours. Probably out of guilt after being so close with Jaxon in the gym. There was also that burning fact that we had kissed in front of him. I was surprised that Dominic hadn’t brought it up again but he probably wanted it squished. He had shown Lexi his junk after all.

Daisy slowly pushed to her feet and peered down at me through her blonde fringe. “You promise me that nothing’s going on then?”

I indulged her with a ‘you have nothing to worry about’ face. It was odd that Daisy was suddenly showing such parental concern.

I narrowed my eyes as she started to rub her bad wrist. It still pained her, she tried to hide it but I could tell. And to think she’d injured it in the gym all those years ago; that now being her favourite place to be. I wondered if she’d keep going once news of the baby was confirmed.

“Look, I promise you. Nothing is going on between Jaxon and me,” I replied smoothly.

The silence stretched between us. I wasn’t lying. Yes, we’d kissed a couple of times but that first one was during a moment of madness and the other one was part of a juvenile party game. Not exactly the ingredients for going steady.

My mother seemed to buy it and her expression became more relaxed. I shuffled further up the bed and she whipped the covers off me. Great; it appeared I was getting up.

“I’ll leave you to get dressed. I’m going to the gym and then Marcus and I have an appointment with the Doctor. What do you think, about the baby? You were awfully quiet at the table,” Daisy questioned with an unreadable look.

“I was shocked, but I’m happy for you,” I replied with a slight shiver now I had no covers on.

“Thank you, that means a lot. We’ve been trying since we got married and I was starting to get worried I couldn’t conceive again.” Daisy informed me.

I smiled reassuringly. “Well go steady in the gym then.”

She nodded and as I slid my feet to the floor, I was overcome with curiosity as to what she would have said if I’d told her Jaxon had kissed me.

“Why are you so worried about me and Jaxon anyway? I thought you liked him. You know we’re not related by blood, even when we end up with a half-sibling?” I pointed out as she trotted towards my door.

Her hand stilled on the doorknob and she turned to look at me. “I know that and I do like Jaxon, but he reminds me of your father at times and I wouldn’t want you wrapped up with someone like that. Not in a romantic way.”

I was surprised I didn’t choke on my tongue as she hardly ever mentioned my dad. I partly knew what she meant, Jaxon liked the sound of his own voice and could be quite vocal, but that’s where any similarity between him and my father ended. Yes, he was mostly a shit to me, but I’d seen how caring he could be with his brother and even his friends. He also occasionally dropped his guard with his father. From the few things my mother had said to me, my dad cared for nobody but himself.

“Well, don’t worry. He’s my stepbrother and a pain in my arse. Which is what he will always be,” I replied stiffly, ignoring the crack in my voice.

Daisy’s eyes roamed over my face before she declared in that soft voice of hers, “Just be careful Wynter. You’re so beautiful and sweet and I’ve seen him watching you and not in a brotherly way. He’s also a good-looking guy and you aren’t blind. If he turned on the charm, you may find him hard to resist.”

The thought of Jaxon watching me caused goosebumps to skitter across my flesh. I swallowed and pursed my lips, fully digesting her words. “Jaxon Savage is not the boy for me and you have nothing to worry about. And as for charm? I doubt he could even spell the word.”

This thankfully drew a line under that awkward, want-to-jab-a-pen-into-my-eye discussion.

As my mother left the room, muttering something about being late for the gym, I padded over to my bathroom and started my usual routine.

Thoughts of my father circled my head. When my mum met Marcus and I initially rebelled against the idea, I found out that my father owned a law firm in Norwich. I had attempted to see him at his office but his secretary (who I imagined had been more than that in the past) said I wasn’t allowed to see him. Her choice of words had been odd. That visit had been the final straw and I had decided to give up. It wasn’t like I was missing anything; he hadn’t been the best of dads when my parents were together from what I remembered.

As I made my way downstairs, my thoughts were swiftly interrupted as I bumped into Chris on the stairs. “Morning sunshine. Marcus is looking for you,” he informed me breezily.

My stomach dropped. Great. If he started asking me uncomfortable questions about Jaxon, I’d die on the spot. I walked down the rest of the stairs as though I were heading to my death.

My stepfather was in the kitchen and looked up when I walked in. “Good morning Wynter.”

I smiled and grabbed a banana, feeling suspicious. He seemed way too pleased to see me. He wasn’t ever moody with me, but he wasn’t this bright. Something was off.

“So, what are you doing on Friday?” he asked.

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