Page 19 of Undeniable Love

“I agree with Ty,” Wyatt said, smiling at their server when she put their drinks down. When he looked at Jax, he waved him off. “You have nothing to worry about. Lucy’s going to come back here and ask a hundred questions and then pretend to think about it. By the time we’re done eating, she’ll be all in. Trust me.”

If both her brothers were confident, then Jax figured he had nothing to worry about.

Reaching for his drink, he relaxed.

“Here she comes,” Wyatt said. “And she’s smiling. Maybe she thought about it while her and Gemma were in the bathroom.”

Trying not to look obvious, Jax focused on his sweet tea—he wasn’t allowing himself any alcohol until the season was over. He glanced up when Lucy stood behind the seat she had just vacated minutes ago. As Wyatt said, she was smiling, but he could tell it wasn’t a genuine smile.

“I appreciate you guys thinking of me,” she said, resting her hands on the chair. “But I’m gonna pass. Have a good night.” And then, with a cheery little wave, she walked away.

“Sorry!” Gemma blurted out before following Lucy out of the pub.

“What the…?”

“I’ll go after her,” Wyatt said, standing up.

“No, no,” Ty interrupted. “I’m the one who invited her here. I’ll go after her.”

It would have been easy to let either of them do it, but now that he knew he was the problem, it only seemed right that he be the one to go talk to her.

Which is what he said.

“Jax, come on,” Wyatt said with a small laugh. “You have no idea what you’re in for. Let one of us go and smooth things over first.”

But he was already on his feet. “I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

“Jax…”

“I deal with guys who are three-hundred pounds trying to tackle me for a living. I think I can handle your sister.”

“Famous last words,” Wyatt said as he sat back down.

Ty simply shook his head.

Several people tried to talk to him as he made his way toward the exit, but he was a man on a mission and simply smiled and promised he’d be back in a little while.

Out in the parking lot, he spotted Lucy and Gemma walking toward the back of the pub and jogged after them. Gemma turned and spotted him first, and he couldn’t tell if she was impressed or nervous. Either way, she nudged Lucy and they both stopped and turned toward him.

“What do you want, Jax?” Gemma asked, surprising him.

“Um…I’d like to talk to Lucy for a moment.” Then he wanted to smack himself because how lame did that sound? But for good measure, he added, “Please?”

The bored look on Lucy’s face wasn’t quite what he was expecting either, but for a moment he allowed himself to meet her gaze head on. Her green eyes flashed with annoyance and a soft wind blew her long wavy hair into her face before she swiftly pushed it away.

Gemma looked between them. “Uh…”

“Go back inside with Mike,” Lucy said, her eyes never leaving Jax. “I’ll text you when I’m leaving so we can go on with our plans.”

Nodding, she gave Jax an apologetic look before walking away. Then it was almost a standoff. If the dumpster didn’t smell so bad, he knew they’d probably be standing around a lot longer, but it was a little too much for him to take.

“Look,” he began, “I get it. You have an issue with me.”

A snort of derision was her only response as she crossed her arms over some seriously impressive curves.

“Think what you want, Lucy, but there hasn’t been a day that’s gone by where I don’t kick myself for what happened that night. But Tyler and I have talked about it more times than either of us can count and…we’re good. And as you saw inside, Wyatt and I are good too. We all had lunch with your folks earlier and they were happy to see me.”

No response.

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