Page 28 of Game Changer
“Those are balsamic blueberry and goat cheese,” Lacey tells me.“So good.”
“Yum.”I hope I’m not making a pig of myself, but damn, I like food and I’m hungry.I try one.“Delicious.”
Jax detaches himself from the family he’s been talking to and slides over next to me.“Okay?”he murmurs in my ear.
I nod, smiling.“Yeah.Getting to know these amazing women.”
“Need more wine?”He gestures at my glass, which is nearly empty.
“Yes, please.”
He takes my glass and crosses to the dining room.
Four other pairs of female eyes follow his movements, then turn on me.I blink back at them.“What?”
They all smile.
“So,” Riley says.“How did you happen to end up here with Jax?”
I roll my eyes.“Well.Let me see if I can make a long story short.I jilted my ex at the altar.I needed to get the hell out of there, so I asked Jax to drive me.We went to his place.”I hold up a hand.“Jax and I are friends.We’re a team at trivia nights at some local bars.”
They all nod slowly.
“I didn’t want to face anyone, so I stayed there.He was leaving today, and I begged him to let me tag along so I could get out of town.”I shrug.“That’s it.”
“You left your fiancé at the altar?”Riley asks, wide-eyed.
“You didn’t hear about it?”
“No!”
I suck my bottom lip briefly.I could say more, but I don’t.“Well, it’s probably on YouTube.”
They all burst out laughing.
“You’re probably right,” Everly says, amusement glinting in her eyes.I like that much better than the detached looks she gave me earlier.
Jax returns with my wine.“So, what are you up to for the summer, Rye?”he asks his sister.
They chat, eventually getting to the things they want to do while Jax is here, and Riley, the sweetie, tries to include me.
“I don’t want to interfere with your family time,” I tell her.“I’m going to lay around the pool at the resort.Maybe go for a hike and find the beach.”
“We should get together, the ‘young ones,’ ” Everly says to Jax.“You missed all the fun of the family meetings.”Her voice has a bit of an edge.
Jax shoots his grandpa a concerned look.“How’s he doing?”
Everly’s eyes shadow and her lips droop.“Okay.Sometimes good, sometimes…not.”
Right.It had slipped my mind that her dad has Alzheimer’s.“I’m so sorry about your dad’s illness,” I say quietly.
“Thanks.It’s been hard.”
“Yeah, we should get together,” Jax says.“We need to talk.”
“You sure?”Everly eyes him skeptically.“You didn’t seem to want to have much to do with it.”
“I was on the other side of the country,” Jax replies, with a hint of defensiveness.
