here to take a look at your car,” he said, and I had to walk fast to keep up with his long-legged pace.
I blinked rapidly. “You don’t—”
“Got a friend at a body garage a few miles back toward the mall. He owes me a favor,” he went on as if I hadn’t spoken. Ripping the door so open and so fast I thought it would fly off the hinges, he stormed inside, tugging me along.
“Stay right here,” he said, sending me a look of warning.
“But—”
Letting go of my hand, he turned to me fully and got right up in my personal space. His boots to my toes, his scent surrounded me, and then he dipped his chin. Out of habit, I turned my cheek to the left, and then gasped when I felt his fingers curl around my chin, coaxing my face back to his.
“Stay right here,” he said again, his gaze locking with mine. “I’ll only be a minute. Tops.”
Minute for what?
“Promise.”
Knocked off kilter again, I found myself whispering, “Okay.”
His gaze held mine for an instant longer, and then he wheeled around, and all I could think about was what he said. I definitely want to get to know you better. With long, graceful steps, he disappeared back by the pool tables, heading into the kitchen area.
I stood there.
No less than a minute later, he reappeared with car keys dangling from his fingers. Stopping near the waitress I’d seen carrying baskets earlier, he caught her gently by the elbow. “Can you handle the bar until Roxy gets in?”
The woman glanced at me and then back at Jax. “Sure, but is everything okay?”
Jax guided her over to where I stood rooted to the floor. Up close, she was really pretty, and while I thought she was maybe in her thirties, I didn’t see a wrinkle on her face. “This is Pearl Sanders.” Then he extended a hand toward me. “And this is Calla—Mona’s daughter.”
Pearl’s jaw dropped.
Ugh.
And then the woman snapped forward. With one arm, she gave me a quick and tight hug that left me being the one standing there with my mouth hanging open.
“It’s real good to finally meet you, Calla.” She turned to Jax, pulling the pen out from behind her ear. “You take care of her, okay?”
“Of course,” muttered Jax, like it was the last thing he wanted to do, which was stupid, because I didn’t need to be taken care of, and I sure as hell didn’t ask him to do it. And what the hell happened to him wanting to get to know me better?
“I think I need—”
“Come on.” Jax got a hold of my hand again. The next thing I knew, I was being spun around and ushered out the door, back into the night, and then we were next to the truck that was in front of my poor car. He was opening the passenger door. “Up you go.”
I halted. “What?”
He tugged on my hand. “Up you go.”
Pulling my hand free, I pressed back against the car door. “I’m not going anywhere. I need to take care—”
“Of your car,” he finished for me, cocking his head to the side. The silvery moonlight seemed to find his high cheekbones, caressing over the angles of his face. “I got that, and like I said, I got a friend who’ll take care of that for you. Clyde’s already getting in touch with him, which is a good thing.”
My brain was shorting out. “Why?”
“Because it’s going to rain.”
I stared at him. Was he a weatherman also?
“You can smell it—late spring, early summer rain.” He leaned in, and my head immediately tilted to the left. “Take a deep breath, honey, and you can smell the rain.”
For some damn reason, I took a deep breath, and yeah, I smelled it, the musky damp scent. I groaned. No windshield meant rain damage.
“So we’ll get your car taken care of so it’s not out here when it starts raining,” he finished.
“But—”
“And I don’t think you want to drive around with your pretty ass sitting on glass and wind blowing in your face.”
“Um, okay. Good point, but—”
“But I’m getting you out of here.” He sighed, thrusting a hand through his messy hair. “Look, we can stand out here and argue about it for the next ten minutes, but you’re getting in this truck.”
My eyes narrowed. “Let me remind you of something. I don’t know you. Like at all.”
“And I’m not asking you to get naked and give me a private show.” Pausing, his gaze seemed to drift down my body again. “Although, that is way interesting. A bad idea, but way interesting.”
A second passed before those words sank in and my jaw dropped.
Muttering under his breath, he stepped around me. A moment later, he had his hands under my armpits, and I was shocked by the contact. His hands were incredibly large and that meant they were super close to my chest. The tips of his fingers brushed the underswell of my breasts. A sharp wave of shivers, tight and unexpected, radiated from my ribs.
Then he hefted me up. Literally. Feet off the ground and all. “Dip your head, honey,” he ordered.
I obeyed because, seriously, I had no idea what the hell was going on here. I found myself sitting in his truck and the door shutting on my other side. Christ. I smoothed my palms down my face, lowering my hands just in time to see him jog around the front. He was up in the truck in no time, closing the door behind him.
Once I was buckled in, I shot him a look and said the first thing that popped into my head. “You drive a Chevy?”
He smirked. “You know what they say about Chevys.”
“Yeah, you’d rather be pushing one than driving a Ford?” I rolled my eyes. “Because that makes sense.”
Jax chuckled as he shifted out of park. I didn’t say anything as he pulled out of the parking lot and hit the road. Wondering about him flirting with me earlier and worrying about a MIA mom weren’t at the forefront of my thoughts as I started nibbling on my lower lip.
“How much do you think it’ll cost to repair the windshield?” I asked.
He slid me a look as he hit the stoplight near the mall. “At least a hundred-fifty, and with the whole thing being gone, probably more.”
My chest constricted as I mentally deducted that from what I knew was in my checking account and groaned. “That’s just great.”
Jax was quiet as the light turned green and he coasted out into the intersection. “You staying at one of the hotels?”
