Nobody. I was just watching a CSI episode and wondered if that was true.
Zoey:
Stop watching TV! You’re in Montana. Go ride a buffalo or pick some wheat or something. See you Thursday!
I took the ice into the bedroom. I’m no doctor, but it appeared to me he had a swollen shiner brewing. I placed the ice on his eye, causing him tojump.
“Shit, that’s cold.”
“I didn’t mean to startle you. Let’s try to keep this on your eye, okay? Does it hurt?”
“What?” His eyes were closed.
“You fell on the coffee table, and now your eye is swelling. I’m putting some pain relievers and water on your nightstand. So, I’ll ask again. Does it hurt?”
He sat up quickly. “I hit my eye?”
We were face to face, and I froze. He grabbed and kissed me again before I pulled back and stood up quickly.
“Jax, we can’t do this.” I looked down to see him lying with his eyes closed and a smile on his face.
I couldnotmake out with Jax. He was not in his right mind.
Wait, I could make out with hot Jax and see what that would be like, and he would have no memory of it in the morning? So, I would be the only person in the universe to know that I made out with Jax? No, no. It wouldn’t be right. Only a perv would take advantage of someone who’s not in full control of their faculties. And never let it be said that Madison Clark is a perv.
I sat next to him on the bed, gave him a light kiss on his forehead, and moved to tuck him in. His eyes opened halfway, and a sexy ass grin spread across his face. “I like you.”
“Well, I like you too, Jax.” Sounding like an old matronly kindergarten teacher, I patted his hand under the duvet.
Big mistake. My mouth formed a surprised ‘O’ when he yanked me down on top of him and kissed me silly. His muscular arms held me tight and tighter still as I tried to wiggle my way out of his embrace. And then—Oh. My. Gosh. There it was, Jax Junior, tenting the covers.
I finally broke his embrace and took several steps away from the bed, taking one last look as he rolled over, hugged the pillow, and fell asleep as if nothing had happened. Oh, thank God, he wouldn’t remember this in the morning.
Shaking and feeling all wobbly from the voltage of his kiss, I took a few deep breaths and paced the floor a minute to pull myself together. How could this man, with one kiss, have my body and soul feeling electricity that I never knew existed?
I imagined, for a second, what it would be like to be wrapped up with him all night, causing my stomach to plummet with recognition. Chemistry. Holy macaroni! That is what people talked about. Chemistry, which I thought I had with Steve, but now knew there was no effing way that was true. Even with Jax as high as a kite, in a matter of seconds, he had my body feeling things it had never known before.
When my heart rate normalized, I walked over to the bookshelf, where photos of Jax as a teen with Austin and Jax fishing with a group of guys were on display. The one that really grabbed my attention was a framed picture of Jax, Austin, Daisy, and my dad. They were on horses with beautiful mountains as a backdrop, looking like a happy Montana family.
Examining their smiles, I felt a sadness for all the time lost. Jax and Austin looked like they were in high school, so I would’ve been in high school at that time too. My dad was on some horse-riding extravaganza with his new family while Zoey and I were thousands of miles away.
Nope, I wasn’t going to go there. Letting go of the past is what I had to do, and damn it, I was going to pull it off.
Next, I did some serious detective work, AKA snooping, while Jax was passed out. On the fireplace mantel, behind a picture of Jax playing hockey was a metal box. Inside, I found his adoption certificate and a picture of a pretty woman in her twenties with a little Jax sitting on her lap, wearing a huge smile on his face.
Jax had her eyes, and I wondered how a kid would get through such a huge loss. When I even thought about losing my mom, I got misty.
I imagined being taken from his mom, going into foster care, and then her death would cause all sorts of detachment issues for him when it came to relationships. In fact, I was certain of it. Iwasa psychology major for two semesters, so there you go.
I carefully put everything back in the box exactly as it was. I then watched “You” on Netflix, which was about a serial killer. While this wasn’t my typical jam, I’d seen the first few episodes and couldn’t stop watching, just like Joe couldn’t stop taking people out.
I realized, as I watched Joe obsess over yet another woman, that the whole setup of the living room was wrong. The television was at an angle, so why wasn’t the couch at an angle? That way, Jax could watch T.V. and enjoy a fire at the same time.
While I hadn’t known Jax or his decorating preferences for long, I spent the next thirty minutes rearranging the living room, and I was pretty sure he would be thrilled. I had a way with putting rooms together; it was kind of a gift.
My mom insisted I help her decorate and even assist with renovation selections in the hotels. There was almost nothing better than shopping on someone else’s dime.
Just when I thought I was done giving Jax’s living room a breath of fresh air, I realized that if I switched the mirror by the front door with the painting over the mantel, it would be like the salt on the rim of a margarita glass, perfection.
