The ride home began in silence. I didn't know what was on his mind. Maybe he was wishing he'd never tried to find me since I ended up tricking him into something I knew he wouldn't want to do. I wasn't sorry, though. After all, he'd done the same to me.

However, instead of turning into the whiny, entitled rich boy I thought he might, he'd turned the tables on me once again. Rather than sulking in a corner or calling a taxi, he'd shoved up his proverbial sleeves and gotten to work helping Shane. I'd been covertly watching him, especially after one such glance I saw how his muscles flexed across his back and strained the seams of his shirt. Jax wasn't huge like a bodybuilder or linebacker. He was more streamlined, tall and narrow-waisted, but broad-shouldered and well-muscled.

And watching him get Micah to talk—well, my heart might have melted a little bit. I didn't know the details about Micah's past, but enough to figure out that his mother had recently gotten out of an abusive relationship. I wasn't sure how much the young boy had witnessed, but given his sullen attitude, at the very least, he hadn't been blind to what was going on around him. I admired his mom who'd had the strength to leave, but so far none of us had been able to break through to Micah. And in one meeting, Jax had done the impossible. Remembering my blabbering of the mouth at the reception, I was starting to wonder if getting people to talk was how Jax became so successful. An interesting thought given how mute he was about himself. It made me curious to learn more about him.

"It must have been hard losing your dad at a young age."

Great dialog opener, Grace! Obviously, my mouth still ran away with my thoughts. "I'm sorry. That was blunt."

"It's fine. I didn't realize your mom was such good friends with my aunt."

Given the seriousness of the topic I'd blundered into, I decided to go with his obvious effort to change the topic. I guessed I wouldn't want to talk about my dad much either if he were dead. The very thought gave me chills.

"I didn't either, but I shouldn't be surprised. Sometimes it seems like my mom knows almost everyone, and if she's not directly friends with them, then she knows someone who is. Kind of like the six degrees of Kevin Bacon, you know?"

He laughed. "Your mom is something else. I'm not sure anyone has gotten me to agree to something so quickly before. She pretty much steamrolled me. I should hire her to negotiate contracts for me."

I laughed, glad he saw the humor in it. "She's pretty amazing. There's not much I haven't seen her be able to do."

We fell silent again as I pulled into the reserved parking place in front of my townhouse-style apartment, next to his car. For a few awkward seconds, I sat there, unsure of how to end our time together.

Almost as if he could read my thoughts, Jax said, "Should I add showing up this afternoon to my growing list of transgressions?"

"I was annoyed at first. I didn't expect to see you again. But like a bad penny, you keep turning up."

He chuckled. "I think we settled on more than a penny, but I get your meaning."

"At least you made yourself useful. That was an unexpected, but pleasant surprise."

"I have my moments." He hesitated, then added, "I had fun today."

"You sound surprised."

"I am. I had ideas of spending time with a beautiful woman alone, not with a bunch of noisy, nutty, and mopey creatures known as teenagers."

"Now I feel like I should apologize."

He snickered. "But you won't, will you?"

"Yeah, no." I snorted. "The look on your face when we pulled up was priceless."

"I liked spending time with you, even there."

"Again, you sound surprised."

"I guess I am. That isn't how I normally spend my time with women."

An image of what he probably did do with them played in my mind. I felt my face flush and wondered what it would be like to feel his hands caress my skin all over followed by his lips.

"Grace?"

I jumped as his fingers waved in front of my face. "Um, sorry, I was thinking about something else." I was pretty sure by his smirk that he knew exactly what I'd been thinking about.

He reached into his back pocket, pulled out his wallet, and removed a small piece of paper and held it out to me. "This is for you."

My eyes shifted to his as I tentatively accepted it, our fingers brushing during the exchange. Was it just my imagination, or did they seem to slide along mine unnecessarily?

I unfolded the paper, still warm from his body, and found it to be a check to the tune of fifteen thousand dollars and signed by Jaxson Carter. I was stunned. After a check bearing the logo of JAC Enterprises came in my mail earlier this week, I figured that was the end of our association.

My fingers trembled as I gaped at it. "What is this?"

"It's a check, a piece of paper authorized by a bank and commonly used in place of cash but just as valuable."

I rolled my eyes. "I know what a check is."

"Then why'd you ask?"

I waved the paper in his face. "Because this is a huge amount and the name is left blank. I don’t understand."

"Because I promised you that I'd get you a replacement check, and I'm a man of my word. My company will pay for the dinners. I wanted to make my own donation. I wasn’t sure who to make my donation out to.” He sounded sheepish.

"But you already sent a check. And how do you know I won't run off and take a cruise around the world with it?”

"If you do, I recommend spending extra time in Italy. Beautiful country. Lots of history and art and great food."

I stared at the check in my hands and pretended to ponder the suggestion. "I'll send you a postcard as a courtesy thank you."

"Your manners are impeccable." When he smiled, I understood the old cliché; his face did light up, from the relaxing of his features to the glimmer in his eye.

I tried to get back to the matter at hand. "Seriously though, you could've asked to sign the old one. Or handed this one to me earlier. Or with your obvious skills of tracking me down, I'm sure you could have mailed it. Why go to all this trouble? Why come here today?" I waved the check in his face, eyeing him suspiciously. "Was this just to impress me? A way to try to buy me?"

He looked horrified. "No!"

"Then why, Jax?"

He playfully tugged a section of my hair that had fallen forward before tucking it behind my ear. He let the back of his fingers linger on the sensitive skin of my neck before trailing along my cheek to my jaw. I had to fight not to close my eyes and lean into his hand.

"The first time we spoke, right after you kneed me in the balls,”—I flushed at the memory and started to look down, but he held my chin in place—"you said you wanted to make me smile. And you did. And you have each time I've talked to you." His expression grew more serious. "I had a rough start to my day. I wanted to see if you could do it again." His eyes lightened as he smiled again. "I'm starting to think it's your superpower."

Wow. I think that's the best compliment I'd ever gotten. "I, um, I'm sorry I hit you there."

He smirked. "Let's just say it was predestined because if I didn't deserve it then, I certainly did after the way I treated you in my office. There's no excuse for my behavior. I promise I was raised better than that."

I missed his hand as it dropped from my face, only to tingle as he grabbed both of my hands. "Grace, I'm sorry for many things, including abandoning you at the reception, embarrassing and harassing you in my office, as well as invading your privacy to seek you out today, although I'm less sorry about that last one than the rest." He drew my hands to his mouth, pressing his lips first to the back of one and then the other.

Any anger I harbored for him was snuffed out. I wasn't one to linger on much anyway, but his look that accompanied his apology was genuine.

Damn. He'd be so easy to fall for!

"I'd still like to take you out to dinner."

He's emotionally unavailable.

But he seems so sincere!

He doesn't do relationships like you deserve.

But you're not in a relationship like that.

My mind spun as the angel on one shoulder argued with the devil on the other.

"You don't give up, do you? Wasn't our phone conversation answer enough?"

Shrugging, he said, "I guess not." He lifted his eyebrows at me and leaned closer. "Go ahead and check my report cards. It always said, 'needs improvement' next to 'listening skills' and 'follows directions.'"

"Next to ‘plays well with others’ as well, I imagine," I added dryly.

"You'd be wrong about that," he said. "I played very nicely with others. Still do." He winked at me.

I smacked him on the arm. "Dork."

"So, I'm forgiven?"

"Yes, you're forgiven. That was a pretty amazing apology, by the way."

"So, you'll let me take you to dinner?"

I wanted to say yes. It turned out I enjoyed his company when he wasn't behaving like a jerk. He was funny and willing to admit mistakes. But his earlier statement about how he usually spent time with women had left its mark. I was sure Jax didn't do relationships, and I didn't do casual sex. One of us would have to change to be together, but neither of us was likely to do that.

I stared at my lap, so he couldn't see the truth in my eyes about wanting him. "I don't think that would be a good idea. I think we want different things. In fact, you don't need to accept my mother's invitation. I'll make excuses for you."

"I think it's one of the best ideas I've had. And trust me, I've had some good ones. And, I'll be there for dinner." He bent his head, trying to get a direct look at me when I wouldn't lift mine. His action put us close enough I could feel his warmth and smell the subtle but spicy cologne he wore. Instinctively, I looked into his eyes.

Big mistake.

He was staring at me the way a dieter might longingly stare at cheesecake, wanting it, but knowing they shouldn't. I couldn't move, not even as his head grew larger in my vision. My eyes closed right as his mouth breathed a kiss on my cheek. Just a tiny navigation of my head was all it would take. My brain was rapidly firing 'abort' messages, but my body had other ideas. On a sigh, I turned ever so slightly.

Only instead of the warmth I sought, I met air. I opened my eyes to discover Jax had retreated a few inches.

Oh, my God! How had I read that so wrong?

Embarrassed, I jerked back and yanked the keys from the ignition. "This was fun. Thanks for the check. It will do a lot of good, I promise. I'll make sure you get a good table at the dinner party."

"Grace—"

I tossed him a quick glance and slight smile. "I should get going. I've got to get ready for dinner tonight, and I know you have things to do, too. Thanks for all the help and the pizza today. You were a big hit with the kids, and I know that Shane appreciated your skills. He's terrible when it comes to building things."

It took a couple of attempts, but I found the door handle behind my back and jerked on it. Why wouldn't the damn thing open?

Jax's hands settled on my thigh. "Grace."

I stared at my lap.

"Grace?"

I hesitated, then slowly looked up. He was staring back at me with an intensity that nearly took my breath away. Neither of us moved. I was afraid to break the moment. I had no idea what he was thinking behind those dark eyes.

My phone suddenly lit up and started playing the 'Amen' chorus from Hosier's Take Me to Church.

"Hi, Daddy."

Jax groaned and retreated to his side of the car, leaning against his door.

"Yes, everything's fine...okay, I'll see you soon."

The back of his head lolled against the window. "I swear, does he have some divine notification system?"

I tried to smile but failed. Seconds passed while neither of us spoke. Wanting to put an end to it, I cleared my throat. "I guess I'll see you on Friday, then? Don't be late. Daddy doesn't like to be kept waiting."

He sighed. "Dinner's going to be awkward, isn't it? Should I be ready for a lightning bolt or plague or something worse?"

With his exaggerated comment, he'd managed to lighten things between us once again. "Coward," I teased. "Don't worry. I'll protect you."

He laughed and opened his door, then whirled back around and pressed a kiss to my lips. By the time I thought to react, he was out of the car. "I'll see you later," he mouthed before getting into his car. I was still in the same spot with my fingers to my mouth when he pulled away.

I might have made a promise to protect Jax, but now I was starting to wonder, who was going to protect me from him?