Grant’s chest puffed out. “Ain’t happenin’.”
Austin stepped towards his truck. “I’ll see you at the fair later.”
Grant yelled out. “Hey, Austin, I bet you a dollar I can eat more fried pickles than you.”
Austin smiled over his shoulder. “I’ll take that bet, Buddy.”
Jax was beaming, and I felt lighthearted after witnessing the sweetest wrestling match in the whole damn world.
Grant ran ahead of us, giving me the opportunity to grab Jax’s ass surreptitiously. WTF kind of game was I playing? I needed to check myself. I was sendingallthe wrong signals. But as I looked back at the sexy man, leaning against his sexy truck, running his sexy eyes down my body, I decided I really didn’t give a shit about being smart anymore. Nope, maybe it was okay to be a visitor and embark on the wholeJax treatment. A shiver cartwheeled up my spine at the thought.
CHAPTER16
JAX
We bumped along Highway 370 toward Springfield and the Sarpy County Fair. It could’ve been a peaceful country drive, but instead, Grant and Madison had been chanting, “We’re going to the fair!” for the last five miles.
My eyes glanced to the woman next to me in the front seat, who threw her fist in the air as she continued to chant and giggle. Who knew a seven-year-old could getherso riled up? If she wasn’t so smoking hot, I’d wonder if she was a bit of a dork. A second later, the answer became clear as she quickly unbuckled her seatbelt and hopped/fell into the back seat with Grant, who squealed with laughter. So, okay; she was a hot dork.
You know that feeling you get on a Friday night, after a long work week, when you pop open a beer and have total peace, knowing you’ve got the whole weekend ahead of you? As I snuck a peek in my rearview mirror at the two yelling goofballs in the back seat, it was the same kind of peace.She leaves on Sunday; stop it with this shit!
We rolled up to the ticket booth and joined the line of many. Madison bit her lip as she checked out the ticket prices.
“Do we buy tickets for each ride?” She wore stress on her face. “What’s the wristband? Do we need tickets and a wristband?”
I couldn’t figure out this rich girl worrying about a twenty-dollar wristband, but she clearly was. “Nope. Today is on me.”
Her emerald eyes shot to mine. “No, I want to pay for myself?—”
“Listen, if you’re willing to put your life on the line at the fair today, the least I can do is buy you a damn wristband.”
Her hand went over her heart before she grabbed me for a hug. “Thank you.” She pulled back. “So, you can ride all the rides with a wristband?”
“Yup. As many times as you want.”
“Are you kidding me right now?” She bent down to Grant. “Did you hear that, Grant?Everyride, as many times as we want!”
Grant snatched Madison’s hand as they both jumped up and down. What in the hell was going on with these two? The foster kid and the world-traveling socialite seemed to fit together like Captain Morgan and Coke, gin and tonic, or copy and paste; things that make you go hmmm.
Grant beamed at me. “Can we go on the zipper first?”
He didn’t wait for an answer, just skipped ahead of us.
Madison drew in a breath. “I see cotton candy! AND funnel cakes?” Her head shook at me in disbelief. “This is pretty fucking amazing, Jax.”
Walking towards us was a large woman, wearing skin-tight jeans, with her big old double “D’s” barely contained in her,I’m inappropriate. Kiss my ass!T-shirt.
I swear I saw stars in Madison’s eyes as she slapped my arm. “Look at that. I think I love the damn fair! Can you believe this?”
No, I could not. But the flicker in those eyes made me want to pick her up, throw her over my shoulder, and see what kind of fun we could have behind the Houses of Mirrors.
My eyes dropped to those baggy jeans beside me, held up by only that little ribbon, which I had plans for later. With one little tug, they’d drop to the ground, but instead of grabbing the body I was dying to get to know completely, I’d wait for her cheeks to flush for me.Ido that to her. Me.
The more hours she was here, close enough for me to feel her energy, the more I was telling my brain to shut the fuck up. True, she was leaving in a few days, but I couldn’t run away. Not from her.
I literally proposed to Abby two weeks ago in an attempt to keep her around yet hadn’t thought of her in days. Everything was upside down; what was I doing? No freaking clue, but it felt a little too damn close to jumping in the deep end, for better or worse.
“Grant, let’s get Miss Madison some cotton candy, okay?”
