Page 41 of Until Bax

Oh God, it cannot be healthy for someone's heart to pound as hard and as fast as mine suddenly is.

“What?” The question comes out in a whisper.

“After this afternoon, I realized I can either keep pretending I don’t want you and likely drive myself insane with jealousy because I will have no right to get pissed when you start dating someone else.Or… I can say ‘fuck it’ and deal with your brother and your parents when the time comes.”

“My parents love you,” I defend.

“Yeah, they’ve also been up close and personal with my past, babe, and I’m not sure they’d be very happy about me seeing their baby girl.”

Once more, he’s right. My mom has complained more than once over the years about how many women Liam and Bax have dated because some of them have been daughters of her friends from church or just friends in general. And even though my dad has always been of the mindset that boys will be boys, I don’t know how he would feel if one of those boys was interested in his daughter.

“I can see that you now get where I’m coming from.”

Yeah, I for sure see where he’s coming from, and I don’t know where to go from here.

“So what now?” He doesn’t have the chance to answer that question since Gemma starts barking as she takes off toward the front of the house right before the bell rings, and we both look in that direction. “I should?—”

“Stay,” he cuts me off as he closes the space between us and wraps his big, warm palm around the nape of my neck. A move that has my breath catching and my heart stuttering in response. “Please.”

Please.

Ugh. I wish that one word didn’t have me instantly caving.

“All right,” I agree, and he seems to relax.

“We’ll talk when everyone leaves.”

“Great. More talking,” I mutter, the idea suddenly not exactly thrilling. When I left my house, this whole situation seemed so simple. All I had to do was get him to admit he likes me, and everything else would fall into place. Now I see how naive I was.

“It’s not so bad.” He grins, dropping his eyes to my mouth while his thumb smooths along the edge of my jaw.

Okay, when he’s looking at me like he is right now and touching me like he is, itdoesn’tseem so bad.

“Hello?” a voice that sounds like Talon’s calls from the front of the house, startling me because he obviously let himself inside. I expect Bax to push me away or at least put distance between us, so I’m shocked when he smiles and brushes his nose across mine before shouting an answer over his shoulder.

“In the kitchen!”

Letting his hand fall away from my neck, he turns as a girl dressed up as a very cute fairy with colorful wings comes around the corner, a little boy dressed as a pirate right behind her, and behind him another boy, this one much younger and dressed as Spider-Man. From the pictures Talon showed my mom and me a couple of days ago, I know the little girl is Eleanor, and the boys are Tobias and Conor.

“Uncle Bax!” The girl rushes to her uncle and gives him a hug as my eyes go to the doorway when Talon and a very beautiful woman step into the room.

“Hey, Olivia.” Talon smiles at me before looking at the woman at his side, who I know must be his wife. “Babe, this is Olivia, who I was telling you about.”

“Hi, I’m Mia.” She smiles, stepping forward to give me a hug. “It’s nice to finally meet you.”

“You too,” I say as she lets me go.

“You got something on your nose,” Eleanor says, grabbing Bax’s face in both her hands, and I look at him, noticing that some of the black liner I used to draw a heart on the tip of my nose to make me look like a cat is now smudged across his.

My eyes fly over to Talon to check his reaction, and he turns to me, dropping his eyes to my nose before looking at Bax.

“Don’t start,” Bax mutters in his brother’s direction while wiping his nose with the back of his hand.

“I wasn’t starting anything.” Talon laughs.

“Um…” I scoot around Talon and Mia. “I’ll be right back.”

“What’s so funny?” Eleanor asks in her sweet little voice as I leave the kitchen and head down the hall to the half bath.

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