Page 55 of In the Stars

His smile is so bright and beautiful it’s almost blinding. “I still like it. Have a seat. We can talk while we eat.”

Jaxon sits in the chair beside mine instead of behind his desk, and I remove the items out of the bag and place them on the edge of his desk. “I have water,” I say when I take out the bottles. “Didn’t know if you wanted something else.”

“Water is good. I’m hopped up on caffeine.”

I grin as I pass him the sandwich. “You had court today?”

“Yeah. I mostly handle divorces and property stuff. Wills and the like. Nothing cool like in the movies and shit.”

“I take it business is good?”

“Yeah. My dad had a bunch of clients that he transferred to me. And they trust me with their estates and whatnot.” He bites into his sandwich. “I can’t believe you went down to Sandford’s for these.” Sandford’s is a deli on theother side of town that’s always busy because the cold cuts are affordable and fresh.

“I used to love it when I lived here. It’s nice to have something familiar.”

We eat for a little while in silence, passing the container of grapes back and forth between us. I stuff one into my mouth and blow it at Jaxon, hitting him in the cheek with a wet thunk. I laugh louder than I mean to, bending over as I hold my belly.

“How old are you?” he asks with a smile, wiping his cheek.

“Twelve.”

“I can tell.”

We share a laugh as we continue to eat.

Once we’re done, Jaxon gathers the trash and migrates to the couch in his office. I sit beside him, resting my head on his shoulder.

“Tell me about California?” he asks, snaking an arm around me so he can lightly brush my hair with his fingers.

I close my eyes, soaking up the feeling for a few moments. His fingers are like magic. I still marvel that I don’t flinch from his touch, that it feels good instead of making my skin crawl.

“It was okay,” I say. “I lived in Long Beach when I was a kid, but my dad moved to Fresno when my mom took off with me. He had family there, cousins and shit. Fresno was different than Long Beach, but I liked it. Met Vic, Kas, and Mitch there. I wasn’t alone in school, just like I wasn’t when I was here. I had a better life there, that was for sure.”

“I’m glad,” he says. “How was school?”

“Fucking sucked,” I chuckle. “I barely graduated, but I managed to get my high school diploma. College was never on my radar, so I’m glad I made it as a singer.”

“A good singer. Got better with age.”

“You did too.”

I can feel his eye roll. “You’re so corny.”

“Are lawyers allowed to say corny? Sounds so…uncivilized.” I look up at him and wink. He giggles nice and sweet, and it makes me melt. “I just saw a fan in the elevator. I spent a lot of my career avoiding talking to them and not signing shit or taking pictures because I thought I was above it. But it’s actually fun. Not something I want to do every day, but yeah. It was good.”

“Do you think you and the band will get back together?”

“Not right now. Taking a break is nice. We needed it. We’ve been going at it hard for years. Now we rest.” I sit up and turn toward him. “Do you have plans after work?”

“Nah. Today is actually pretty light. I have some briefs I have to write and a few clients to call about their estates, but that’s about it. I should be out of here by five.”

“Can I come over after work? There’s something I want to show you.”

He nods. “Yeah. I want to talk to you, anyway. What time?”

“Call me when you get off, and I’ll head right over. It’s not like I have a job to get to.”

He smiles at me and pulls me in for a quick kiss. “You’ve had a demanding career for over ten years. I think it’s okay if you play hooky for a year.”

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