Page 62 of Undeniable Love
Leaning against the island, Lucy took a small sip of her wine before replying. “Definitely not Blake, so don’t worry.”
“Okay, whew! That’s a relief.” Then she grinned. “Can we skip the part where I keep guessing incorrectly and you just tell me?”
All day long, she’d agonized over how this conversation was going to go. Part of her really wanted to keep things between her and Jax private, but…Gemma was her best friend and they told each other everything. She knew that whatever they talked about here tonight wouldn’t go any further. They were each other’s vaults. Still, Lucy was just a tiny bit nervous that her bestie was going to tell her she was making a colossal mistake.
Only one way to find out…
So, with another sip of wine to fortify herself, she decided to just confess.
“It’s Jax,” she said, placing her glass down. “I’m sleeping with Jax.”
For a moment, Gemma simply blinked at her as if she didn’t understand.
“Gem? You heard me, right?” Sighing, she practically sagged against the counter. “It happened when I went to Wichita with Ty last month. Once we cleared the air and got over all the misunderstandings, I realized I genuinely liked him. How weird is that?”
No response.
“Anyway, every night we hung out in his hot tub and would have these great talks and then one night Ty went home with this girl he only sees when he’s in Wichita. I have no idea what that’s about, but it left Jax and I completely alone and we both acknowledged that there was an attraction there. It was only supposed to be that night, but then we sort of sneaked in the following night and then he showed up at my house yesterday afternoon after the whole luncheon thing.” Pausing, she studied her friend. “Gem, come on. You’re freaking me out. Say something.”
Taking her own sip of wine, Gemma’s eyes never left hers. When she put her glass back down, Lucy knew she was gearing up for something major.
“I cannot believe that you’re standing here telling me that you—Lucy Dawson—went and slept with the man who has been your sworn enemy since you were thirteen years old!” Gemma cried. “I mean…I have had to listen to you bitch about Jax for all these years and then you’re all like…ooh…sorry for the misunderstanding, Jax. Wanna hop into bed?”
And yeah, she was using a mocking voice.
“It wasn’t like that. It was…”
“It was what, Luce?” she demanded. “Are you seriously out of your damn mind? Not only were you openly hostile toward Jax all this time, but have you forgotten he’s your brother’s best friend? Do you have any idea what will happen when Ty finds out? Or Wyatt? Or even Charlie? They’ll want to kill him!”
Lucy fought the urge to laugh as she waved her off. “Are you kidding me? Jax is a freaking NFL quarterback! I think he can handle himself.”
Groaning, Gemma stood up and began to pace. “That’s not what I mean, and you know it! You’re going to ruin Jax and Tyler’s relationship! I know your brothers pretty damn well and I can guarantee you they are going to freak out about this! You’ve given Ty so much shit over his friendship with Jax. I just…I don’t understand how this could happen!”
“Seriously? Have you seen Jax?” she asked, hoping to inject a little humor into the conversation. “Even when I thought he was a total jerk, I thought he was hot! When he showed up at the pub that day, it was really hard to remember that I hated him because he was so damn good-looking! No man should be that good-looking! And if memory serves, you pointed that out to me in the ladies’ room!”
“Yeah, but I was just trying to defuse the situation! I didn’t think you’d actually pay attention to how he looked or jump into bed with him!” Shaking her head, she continued to pace. “I can’t even imagine what your brothers are going to say.”
“Well, for now, they’re not going to say anything because we’re not telling them. Jax and I are just testing the waters here. His schedule is pretty much not his own until mid-February if the Warriors make the playoffs. As it is, we have no idea how this is all going to work—or if it's going to work—so there might not be any reason for my brothers to find out. You’re the only one who knows, Gem! You can’t say anything to anyone.”
That made her stop pacing. “You know I would never.” Her sigh was long and loud. “I know I’m being a major downer about this, but I just hate the thought of you arguing with your family. It seemed like you finally came to grips with Ty’s accident and all that. I’d hate to see things go south again.”
“To be fair, I was never angry with my brother. We were always good.”
“You know what I’m saying, Lucy.” Another sigh. “Of all the guys in the world, why Jax? And after hanging out with the entire Warriors team, why Jax? I’m sure there were plenty of eligible players for you to spend time with while you were in Wichita.”
Shrugging, she picked up her wine again. “Believe it or not, my brother kept pushing me and Jax together. I think he was so happy we were getting along that it never occurred to him that maybe we might actually…you know…like each other.”
For a moment neither spoke, but Lucy could read the disapproval on Gemma’s face. They each sipped their wine and the only thing that saved them was the knock on the door telling them their Chinese food had arrived.
It was almost painfully quiet as they set up their dinner and sat down, so much so that Lucy couldn’t take it anymore. “I deserve a little bit of happiness,” she stated, her tone more than a little defensive. “This has been a really, really shitty time for me after the whole engagement thing. So if my brother—or brothers—want to take this from me, I’ll fight them on it! I misjudged Jax for a long time and…and…this may not even be anything other than a fling, but dammit, I’m entitled to it!” With a huff, she stared at the assortment of food. “Now pass me a dumpling and tell me what’s going on with you and Mike.”
Luckily, that put them back on track for their usual easy conversation and girls’ night. She hated feeling like she had to explain herself to anyone, but more than anything, Lucy hated the thought of her best friend thinking less of her.
Unfortunately, only time was going to tell if she and Jax were going to be more than a couple of friends fooling around.
It was almost midnight and Lucy was curled up in bed and just about to fall asleep when her phone vibrated on her bedside table. Blindly, she reached for it and had to squint to see who was texting her at this hour. She and Gemma were cool, so this was either an emergency or…
Jax.