Page 27 of Undeniable Love
“Yeah, well, we arm wrestled for it and she beat me,” he murmured, making both Jax and Lucy crack up. “Shut up!” That’s when he stormed out of the room.
Turning to look at Lucy, he noticed the smile of pure delight on her face. “You seriously challenged him to an arm wrestle?”
She nodded. “Hell yeah! I got us the upgrade on the flights and then he wasn’t going to give me the better room? No way! Tell me you wouldn’t have done the same with your brothers.”
“Oh, I totally would have wanted to do that with them, but it wouldn’t have been fair!”
One perfectly shaped brow raised. “Meaning?”
“Lucy, come on. You know my brothers. Noah’s not athletic at all. I mean, he can totally hold his own, but I’m bigger and stronger than he is.”
She groaned quietly.
“And Simon? He wouldn’t even challenge me. Or anyone! He’s the nicest guy in the world and he’d sleep on the floor before arguing with anyone over a bedroom.”
“The only reason I’m not making a comment about your colossal ego is because I know your brothers and you’re right. I think Noah would give you a run for your money, and if you even tried that with Simon, you’d be dubbed the world’s biggest bully.”
She wasn’t wrong.
Taking a sip of his water, he figured now would be a good time to maybe test the waters about why she was here. With Ty out of the room, it seemed like the perfect opportunity.
That and the fact that they were joking around and getting along.
“So…what made you decide to come to Wichita?” he carefully asked. He was standing on one side of the kitchen island and Lucy was on the other.
She didn’t shy away from responding. “Tyler and I had a long-overdue conversation the other day. He cleared up a lot of misconceptions I had about…you know…things.” Her shoulders sagged a bit as her big eyes looked up at him. “Why didn’t you correct me? You let me go on and on and on, spewing all kinds of awful accusations at you. Why?”
Jax took another sip of his water before answering. “You were already pretty antagonistic toward me and I figured anything I tried to say, you were going to think was an excuse or like I was passing the blame onto your family.” He shrugged with a grin. “And we both know that’s exactly what you would have thought, so don’t even try to deny it.”
Her expression turned a little sad. “As much as I hate to admit it, you’re right. That’s exactly what I would have thought. My only excuse is that…I reacted based on the facts as I knew them. So…I’m sorry.”
Don’t act surprised…don’t act surprised…don’t act surprised…
“Really, Jax,” she said softly. “I’m genuinely sorry.”
Smiling, he leaned over slightly even though the island was massive and it didn’t really do much to bring them closer. “Apology accepted. Now, let’s get ready to go out and have a fantastic dinner and no more talking about the past. Deal?”
She nodded, and if he wasn’t mistaken, she blushed slightly. “Deal,” she whispered before walking away toward her room.
Watching her go, Jax finished his water and for the first time that day, he felt like he could genuinely relax.
It was late and Jax knew he should be sleeping, but his brain just wouldn’t shut down.
Dinner with Lucy and Tyler had been awesome. They ate some amazing food and he watched Lucy try spaghetti carbonara and Osso Buco for the first time. Turns out when she’s not hurling insults at him, Lucy Dawson is a pretty awesome person. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d laughed so hard or enjoyed himself so much. Of course part of the reason was Ty, but it was Lucy who was on his mind right now.
You should not be thinking about your best friend’s little sister…
Easier said than done.
Once they called a truce, Jax couldn’t seem to stop noticing things about her.
When she smiled, she had dimples.
When she laughed, her green eyes sparkled.
Ugh…what is wrong with me?
No sooner did he ask himself that question than more things about Lucy began to play through his mind.