Current Day

“Here, let me take that.” Jax grabs the leftover biskvitena and places it on the spotless floorboard behind the passenger seat. His grandma is a sly one, I’ll give her credit for that. After saving a portion for herself and her roommate, she insisted we take some home for our dessert tonight—code for inviting him back to my house.

“Thanks for having me come with you. Your grandma’s great.” I step into the gigantic four-by-four and slide across the rich, coffee-bean-colored leather. The interior’s immaculate condition is impressive, but I make a mental note to never allow him inside my messy Honda.

“I figured you two would get along, but did you have to gang up on me?”

“Whatever do you mean?” I feign innocence. There toward the end of our conversation, I knew we weren’t being fair to Jax, but I couldn’t help myself. The glimmer in his grandma’s eyes was too cute as she clearly enjoyed making him squirm. I love her.

“Okay, Miss Innocence.” He laughs as he shuts my door. The smile is still present when he cranks the engine. “I do want to thank you though.”

“For what?”

“For not telling her that I cheated on you.”

I drop my gaze. “Yeah, well, I guess you didn’t really, and besides, she doesn’t need to know exact details. That’s between us.”

“You know, to this day, I regret my actions back then.”

“It was a long time ago.”

“Yeah, but it altered our future.” The line between his brows deepens, and he shifts to stare out of the windshield.

“I’ve had some time to think about how we ended things.” I bite back a laugh. It’s been ten years, plenty of time for fuck’s sake. I proceed like I hadn’t said the stupidest thing in the world. “I probably overreacted.”

His eyebrow quirks. “Probably?”

“I honestly believed you cheated on me. The way you acted toward me after you came back from break, then your ex showing up. I mean, look at my history here. Can you blame me? Besides, I was only eighteen, immature, and a whole lot stubborn.”

“No, I didn’t cheat, but I should’ve fought harder for you. I was just as stubborn and a tad stupid. I thought I had time to win you back, but when I saw you with Carl”—his nostrils flare—“I was just plain pissed.”

“I have three wonderful kids from our marriage, so I can’t say I regret being with him. What I do regret is how things ended between us.” My chin dips as I brush imaginary lint off my jeans. “Or that they ended at all.”

His fingers weave through mine, and the light squeeze awakens my body, catching me off guard. Inside, his cab is anything but small, but the feelings of confinement are real as his touch becomes too much. I withdraw from his hold, but that serves to make things worse. His hand lands on top of my thigh, and it’s all I can do to keep my sanity.

“Me too. It’s the worst mistake I ever made.” His tone reflects the seriousness of his statement, and a pang of regret tightens my chest. “What’s your plans for the evening?”

I hesitate. With the kids gone, I have none, but admitting that leaves me wide open to him. “Nothing particular.”

“Let’s grab something to eat.”

“We just got done eating with Nana.”

A hint of surprise followed by a small smile crosses his face. He eyes me like he’s trying to figure something out before backing the truck up.

“I don’t want to leave you yet.”

I want to say yes really bad, but it’s a disastrous idea. We can’t go down this road again. It will end with my heart being broken. He can’t possibly be interested in anything long-term, and I need to meet someone who can handle a serious relationship.

“I’m not sure that’s a good idea.”

“Why not?”

“Jax, our lives are worlds apart.”

He focuses on the road as he seems to mull over my words. “I’m not asking for a full-fledged commitment, just dinner. Let’s grab a bite to eat, then I’ll take you home.”

Why did my heart sputter? This man drives me insane. “Jax, I’m not really dressed for a fancy meal.”

“We don’t have to go anywhere fancy.”

I’m going to regret this, but I have a bottle of white wine chilled, and I don’t feel like drinking alone. “Do you like chicken Alfredo?”

His lips twitch. “It’s my favorite.”

I laugh. He’s such a bullshitter. But a cute one. Especially the way he interacted with his grandma. They have a special bond, and I saw a side of him I never even saw in college.

“Let’s go to the store, head back to my place, and I’ll cook you a meal.”

“Are you trying to win my heart, Ms. Kennedy?”

“What? Oh…” My face heats with embarrassment as Nana’s words come to surface. “I’m not trying to win you over with food. I just like to cook.”

“Uh-huh, sure.”

I playfully smack his arm. “Don’t read too much into it. It’s just food.”

“Okay, I’ll let you win me over in other ways.”

“You’re impossible.”

Jax chuckles, and the sly grin that slides in place reaffirms how much trouble I’m in. He weaves through traffic as we head back to Brooklyn, and a few beats later, Jax breaks the silence.

“Have you gone anywhere on your ‘places to visit’ list? Boston? New England?”

“How do you remember that?”

“I remember everything about you.” His gaze shifts to mine momentarily before returning to the road.

His words. The way he pins me with the same look he had while we dated. It all causes my desire to flicker to life. I clear my throat to stave off the unwelcome feelings.

“To answer your question, no, the only place we visited was my parents, and that was only a couple of times. Mel hasn’t even been there.”

“What about your honeymoon?”

“I was pregnant with twins. We found a luxury hotel in the city.”

“So, you didn’t do anything on your list?”

“I pretty much stopped doing items on my list after our split.”

Jax grips the steering wheel tighter. He was always so adamant about making sure I did everything. I’m sure it kills him to hear this.

As we pull into the grocery store parking lot, the mood is somber. After Jax opens my door and helps me down, I switch to a lighter topic. “I never asked you how it felt when you got traded to Zach’s team?”

That dimple I’ve always adored pops, and I tamp down the girlie feelings threatening to bubble over. “When my agent called to tell me the Phillies were looking at me, I didn’t want to get my hopes up.” He turns to face me. “But I may have squealed like a girl…when I was off the phone, of course.”

“Of course.” I laugh. “I figured you two were ecstatic.”

“I can’t even begin to describe it.” He shakes his head. “When he threw the last pitch, and I fielded the ground ball… All I could think was holy shit, we just won the World Series. It’s pretty surreal to have won at the college level and national level.”

Seeing his face as he reflects is dangerous in itself. Jax when he’s neutral is pure beauty. Jax when he’s happy? I need a bucket of water—my hormones are raging.

We pick up the needed supplies, and when we are in front of the cashier to check out, he reaches for his wallet. I’m half-relieved since money is tight, but the last thing I want to do is pretend this is a date. It’s not. It’s just two old friends making dinner together. The obvious attraction to each other means nothing. Maybe I’m reading too much into it and his gesture is more like a charitable contribution. Shit, I’m a charity case.

“I got this.” I go to open my purse, but he bats my hands away and slaps his credit card down.

“Not a chance, Dixie.”

Okay, maybe more like a date?

Back inside the truck, I can’t relax. The word date keeps spinning in my mind. I don’t know how I got to this point—sitting in the cab of Jax’s truck and enjoying his company. That’s the problem, though. I’ve always liked his company. But it’s Jax Carrigan, the player. I haven’t been with anyone since the divorce. Not one single guy. And the first person I have over is the guy who broke my heart? I don’t realize I’m rubbing the top of my knee until his hand clamps over mine.

“Nervous?”

Yes. “No. Why would I be nervous?”

“You tell me.”

“I don’t know. It’s the first time since the divorce I’ve been alone with a man.” I glance at Jax and internally cringe from his slow developing grin. Nothing like admitting how pathetic you really are.

“I’ll be more than happy to keep you company.”

Sweet Jesus, I need to protect my heart from wanting more.

We turn down the corner of my street, and the excitement crashes to anger as soon as the black Mercedes sitting in my driveway comes into view. For the first time since Carl has taken the kids, I haven’t once checked my phone. Bad mother feelings wash over me, but damn it, he’s supposed to have the kids today. Unless one of them is ill.

Jax notices my change in posture. “Hey, why the sudden—” he stops as soon as he notices Carl’s car.

“Just park along the street.” My voice comes out low and precise but with a slight hint of panic. I dig in my purse for my phone.

“Is something wrong?”

I check my screen, and sure enough, there’s a message. “Bringing kids back. Have an appointment.”

At least no one’s sick. I shake my head as anger replaces the worry. “Damn it.” I glance at Jax. “Sorry, I don’t want to sound like a horrible mother, but he does this all the time. He hardly ever keeps the kids the entire weekend.”

Jax’s eyebrows shoot up. He opens his mouth to say something, but he must think better of it because he doesn’t say a word.

As soon as Jax parks his truck, I don’t wait for him to open my door, but he’s quickly by my side. Carl’s outside his car leaning against the back quarter panel with his arms crossed. He doesn’t bother to hide his scowl, which further pisses me off.

At our approach, Carl’s eyes narrow as they flick to Jax. The tick of his jaw muscle makes an appearance. He has no right to be upset with whoever I bring home.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Carl glares at Jax, but I’m not sure he’s the intended recipient of the question. Regardless, he needs to dial down his hostility toward Jax, considering Jax engulfs him. Not only in height, but in physique, too. One punch from Jax would send Carl into Ms. Neely’s yard.

Jax doesn’t say a word, but I swear I can feel the heat coming off them in waves as they stare each other down.