Page 156 of One Good Crash
Did they?
Afterwards, we lay together for a long, blissful moment, listening to the waves against the shore and the wind rustling the nearby trees.
I gave a sigh of pure contentment. And then, a sudden giggle escaped my lips. "You still need to tell me, you know."
He reached up and brushed a lock of hair that fallen over my eye. "Tell you what?"
I'd meant the story of that fight, or whatever had happened, on the night of that party. But that wasn'tallI wanted to know. So I answered with one breathless word. "Everything."
With a smile in his voice, he said, "How about this?" His tone grew utterly sincere. "I love you."
The words warmed my heart, and I gave another giggle. "I love you, too, but you'vestillgotta tell me what happened."
And so, after a little more prodding on my part, he did an hour later when we returned to the patio.
Chapter 63
"My brother's a dick."
We were sitting in separate chairs facing the ocean. I gave Jax a confused look. It was an odd way to start a story, and I wasn't quite sure how to respond.
Jadenwasa dick, but should I really agree?
He wasn'tmybrother, after all.
Trying to be tactful, I said, "Yeah, well, I guess he is sometimes, but he's um…"Damn it.I was trying to think of somethingniceto say, but nothing came to mind.
Allie hated him.
And Ihadto hate him, because he'd been so awful to Allie.
Now, the way it sounded, Jax hated a few things about him, too.
Lamely, I finished by saying, "…a good swimmer."
Jax lifted a single eyebrow. "A swimmer, huh?"
I cleared my throat. "Well, Allie mentioned that he swims in the ocean sometimes, so hemustbe a good swimmer, right?"
Already, I could feel the blush creeping up my cheeks. Sex – thathadto explain it. Normally, I didn't sound quite so ridiculous. But in my own defense, the sex had beenverygood, fabulous actually. No wonder my brain was mushy.
Eager to move along, I said, "So, what'd he do? You said he was being a…" Istilldidn’t want to say it. It reallydidseem rude.
Jax grinned. "A dick? You can say it, you know."
"I know. I just don't want to. I mean, he's notjustyour brother. He's also Allie's boss."
"No," Jax said. "He's not."
My stomach sank.Oh, no."You don't mean he fired her?"
I'd been worried about such a thing. I'dalsobeen worried that she might flat-out quit. I didn't know what was going on at work, but I knew that it couldn’t be good.
Wasthatthe reason Allie had been so quiet last night?
Jax said, "Don't worry. I'm not talking about Jaden."
"Oh. So, which brother did you mean?"
