Page 24 of His Secret Obsession

The bell over the door chimes, and I groan. I pull my shoulders back, pasting on a polite smile as a light gust of wind blows through the open doorway. It makes me shiver, and a little bit of dread crawls up my throat. Winter is going to be here soon, and I hate the weather that comes with it. It reminds me too much of the accident that killed my parents and, even after five years, their loss still hurts some days.

“I think it’s my turn,” I offer. “I’ll go greet them.”

“Don’t bother.” The devilish smirk on Hazel’s face has my eyes narrowing. Unlike Hazel, I don’t have a clear view of the doorway from my register, so I have no clue who’s headed this way. But I can hear the study thump of boots approaching. “He knows exactly what he wants, and he’s coming to get it.”

My eyebrows furrow. “What do you—”

“Maddison.”

I jump at the sound of Jax’s voice, my head snapping up as my heart leaps into my throat. And then there he is, standing in front of my cash register, looking just as surly and pensive as ever. He holds my gaze with that brooding, somber stare of his. And he’s still in his work uniform. The buttons of his dark denim jacket are open. The white shirt he’s wearing clings to his muscled torso and, even with grease stains, it looks good.

Why did this man have to be just my type?

“Jax! What are you doing here?” The thought of him trying to convince me to give Luke another chance makes my stomach sour. “I’m not going back to Luke,” I warn him. “Nothing you say will change my mind, so if that’s what you are here for, then I’m sorry, but you are wasting your time.”

“I love my brother, but we both know he doesn’t deserve you,” he murmurs. His words hit me like a punch to the gut, and my head rears back. A light dusting of pink coats his cheeks as he clears his throat.

That’s high praise coming from a man like Jax.

“Where are you staying?” he asks, continuing like he didn’t almost knock me off my feet.

“I—uh…” I pause, swallowing as my eyes dart to Hazel. She arches an eyebrow, remaining silent as if to say, “This is your circus, not mine.” “Hazel is letting me sleep on her couch.”

“That’s not acceptable.”

“Excuse me?” I ask, unable to keep the shock out of my voice. Behind me, Hazel coughs.

“How long do you plan to sleep on a stranger’s couch?” He crosses his arms as he waits for me to answer.

“She’s not a stranger. She’s my friend.”

“Answer the question,” Jax demands. His voice is firm, a little harsher than before.

Irene the Wicked Witch decides to choose this exact moment to stalk out of her office, her beady eyes immediately landing on me.Shit.“I’m not allowed to have visitors at work,” I warn him, lowering my voice to a whisper. “You can’t be here.”

Theclick-click-clickof Irene’s high heels make me tense.

Fuck. That woman has no mercy.

Jax grabs an armful of decorative pillows off a nearby display and dumps them on the register between us. “She can’t kick me out if I’m a paying customer.” His gaze follows Irene as she turnsback around, the corner of his lips tugging into an infuriatingly sexy smirk. “Now answer the question.”

“I don’t have to answer to you,” I whisper-hiss. Then I glance down at the small mountain of pillows, my forehead wrinkling. “You don’t really want these, do you?”

“Just ring up the damn pillows,” he growls. He reaches into the back pocket of his Wranglers before slamming his wallet down on the counter.

I lift my eyebrows. “This has got to be like a hundred dollars’ worth of pillows.”

“You’re a really shitty salesperson, you know that, right?” He gives me such an exasperated look that I want to laugh, despite our heated words.

“This is so fucking good,” Hazel mumbles. We divert our attention to where she’s standing off to the side, quietly munching on a bag of cookies as she openly stares at us. I’m pretty sure she’s talking about the show we’re inadvertently putting on for her and not the cookies.

“How did you sneak those past Irene?” I ask. It’s honestly an impressive feat. Hazel shrugs. Her posture is casual but her eyes dart between us like she’s invested in a really good movie.

“Maddie,” Jax warns. Right.

“I haven’t decided yet,” I reply, crossing my arms and sticking my nose in the air. Who does he think he is right now? I’m not beholden to him.

“Why are you staying on a friend’s couch when I have an empty guestroom?”

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