Page 101 of Reputation
What does that mean?
Eavie wanted to ask, but there was a knock on the door just then.Jax placed a quick kiss on her lips before he went to answer it.Izzy passed him some folded clothes, eyes landing on Eavie again before he closed the door.
Jax handed them to Eavie, a soft look on his face.“Come on.Put these on and come have brunch with my family.Simon will be here soon with my niece.I promise it’ll be fun.”
She didn’t like this.The whole thing felt out of control, and she fought back her anxiety about the disastrous first impression, but she sighed, relenting.This was important to him, so Eavie would do her best to rectify the morning.
“Fine, but I should probably shower first.”She squeezed her legs together where she could feel a residual stickiness from their activities last night.Jax’s eyes turned dark as he smiled like the Cheshire Cat.She narrowed her eyes at him.“Don’t give me that look,” she snapped, stomping toward the bathroom.
He’d been right.After the worst possible introduction she could imagine, Eavie came out of his room dressed in a soft, cream-colored sweater and leggings his sister had lent her and done her best to redeem herself.Thankfully, it hadn’t been too difficult.His family seemed to get over the incident quickly, although she could still feel his mom observing them.
“So Eavie,” his dad, Paul, said as they finished their full plates of food.Eavie, at ease in the kitchen and hoping it would redeem her, had helped his mom prepare a large brunch of pancakes, eggs, bacon, fruit, croissants and sliced bread, the remains of which were nearly gone.“Did you grow up in the city?”
Setting down her coffee cup, she was keenly aware of Jax’s hand on her leg as they sat beside each other.“No, I grew up on a farm about three and a half hours from here,” she answered, smiling at him.
“Really?”Izzy said from across the table.“You grew up in the country?”
Eavie had a feeling his sister was judging her, not that she was surprised.She did the same thing with all her brother’s girlfriends.Not that she was Jax’s girlfriend, she reminded herself.
“I can see it,” Jax answered, smirking.Eavie knew he was picturing her in cowboy boots and booty shorts.She kicked him swiftly under the table as she tried not to blush.
“What kind of farm does your family have?”Simon asked from two seats away.He looked identical to Jax.They were a perfect mix of both their parents.Honestly, talk about good genes.
Simon’s wife, Lucy, was sitting at the end.She was a little shorter than her, but where Eavie had light hair and fair skin, Lucy was the exact opposite.Their daughter, Joey, was between Simon and Eavie.
“Dairy, mostly, but we have a few crop fields.We also have a stable with five horses, some pigs, chickens, and a rescue goat named Geralt.”
“Geralt?”Jax asked.“Like fromThe Witcher?”
“Yep.Growing up, my brother and I loved the books, and when we rescued him, we bestowed him with the name.He’s the funniest creature you’ve ever met, drives the chickens mad.”
“Wow,” Jax said with a huge smile on his face.“You’re such a nerd.”
She tossed her head back and laughed.“Yeah,” Eavie said, turning her head to look at Jax.“But since you got the reference right away, I believe that would make you one too.”
“Touché,” he said, smiling at her.Next to Eavie, she heard Simon smother a chuckle.
They continued their staring contest until Andrea, his mother, cleared her throat.Eavie looked away quickly, but she could feel Jax still watching her.When Eavie looked around the table, all eyes were focused on them, amusement glinting from the various colors, even his mother’s.Eavie had expected to see judgment at their openly flirting in front of his family.To her surprise, as Andrea’s eyes moved back and forth between them, she was smiling.
They lapsed back into polite conversation, but Eavie found it hard to concentrate as Jax’s fingers rubbed small circles on her inner thigh.She could feel the heat of his hand through the material, and it drove her mad.
Holding herself still, despite wanting to squirm every time his finger brushed too close to the center of her, she focused on his family.
They were genuinely warm people and reminded her of family dinners with her own.His sister was a ball of fire, and Eavie knew she would break men’s hearts left and right when she was a little older.His dad was so sweet, she could see where Jax got his kindness from.
“You look like a Barbie,” came the small voice from Eavie’s right.
Turning, she smiled down at Joey, a laugh resonating in her chest.“Why, thank you,” she answered, assuming the little girl had meant it as a compliment.
“I’m sorry,” said Lucy from the end of the table.“She just turned three and received her first Barbie.She’s a little obsessed.”
“It’s okay,” Eavie said with a slight shake of her head.Looking back down into Joey’s curious dark eyes, she asked, “Which Barbie do you think I look like?”
“The ballerina one,” she said, giving her a wide smile.
There were various laughs around the table as Eavie nodded, lips pursing thoughtfully.“That’s a good one, but I was never really a dancer.”
“I always thought she looked like Cinderella,” Jax offered helpfully, leaning behind her to look at his niece.
