Read Online Something to Talk About by Dakota Cassidy - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Dakota Cassidy
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sport. How thoughtful.
Though she’d bet neither of his brothers matched the silent, almost-caged prowess Jax emanated. He was so many things: sleek, rough, unkempt but totally in control. Yet, he moved with such grace while his muscles bunched and flexed. Contradictions aplenty.
Still, no way it was legal to have another two just like him in Plum Orchard all at once.
Em inched a little closer to him. Just close enough to behave as though she wasn’t on high lusty-goo alert, but far enough away that she couldn’t quite smell his cologne. Which changed the game entirely.
If his presence weren’t already hard enough on her dirty, dirty libido, his cologne would surely trump all varieties of goo. She’d gotten a lingering whiff of him when he’d left Call Girls for the night and she’d had to drop some reports on his desk. Clean and fresh. Like Tide and sunshine.
Jax’s step closer roused her from her thoughts. “Em?”
“Your brothers, right. How nice of them to offer their services. So they’re here, too? That must be so comforting for your little girl—bein’ in a strange, new town and all. Having your wife and your brothers around must have made the move much easier on her.” Fishing. She was going fishing. Throwing her line into the pool of unanswered Jax questions, waiting to see what her hook snared.
For a week, she’d refused to ask Caine or any of the girls if they knew what Jax’s relationship status was because of the razzing she knew she’d get from them. Maybe he was just separated from Maizy’s mother? Maybe it was his turn for visitation, and Maizy was just here temporarily?
She’d wondered all sorts of things about Jax, thought up every scenario imaginable.
Then she had to talk herself out of wondering. Her wonder was treading on the personal information she’d sworn not to wonder about. Yet had wondered about endlessly all week long.
Complications—she was gifted at creating them for herself.
“I don’t have a wife. Just some brothers. Two, to be precise. Gage and Tag.”
Relief flooded her veins when his voice cut into her thoughts. Jax didn’t have a wife. So, her lusty goo wasn’t breaking any girl codes. Phew. “A single dad, huh?”
“Yep. You’re a single parent, too, right?”
Her cheeks flamed hot and red. She gripped the screwdriver harder in some bizarre effort to force the magic Jax-Away-A-Nator juice into oozing from its metal tip. Had he inquired about her personal status? Things like that didn’t come up in general conversation unless you made it a point to bring them up.
“I am. Two boys. Clifton Junior, and Gareth. Eight and five.”
“We have a lot in common then. Bet your boys don’t call phone-sex lines, do they?”
Her laughter tinkled from her throat without consulting her. It slipped with ease from her loose lips. “I’m sorry I was so harsh and judgmental with you. It’s not easy to parent with two people, let alone one. Especially if they’re precocious and as smart as your little girl, but I’m about as overprotective about Call Girls as I am about my boys. I work hard to maintain our integrity—so you caught me off guard, and I got a little high on my horse.” And tipsy—he’d caught her very tipsy.
He held up a hand with a wrinkled Band-Aid across the broad back of it. “No. You were right. Maizy, that’s my daughter’s name, shouldn’t have had access to a number like that. My brother took a message from Caine for me. He just didn’t take the entire message, and he left it right on my desk where she could find it. She’s pretty smart, and very curious. She’s a handful to keep track of—but when she gets an idea in her little head, there’s no telling her otherwise.”
Em nodded with a grin of single-parent solidarity. “Oh, I know all about stubborn little mules, dead set in their ways. I have one of my own.” A picture of Clifton Junior found its way to the surface of her mind’s eye.
A picture of him happy and
Though she’d bet neither of his brothers matched the silent, almost-caged prowess Jax emanated. He was so many things: sleek, rough, unkempt but totally in control. Yet, he moved with such grace while his muscles bunched and flexed. Contradictions aplenty.
Still, no way it was legal to have another two just like him in Plum Orchard all at once.
Em inched a little closer to him. Just close enough to behave as though she wasn’t on high lusty-goo alert, but far enough away that she couldn’t quite smell his cologne. Which changed the game entirely.
If his presence weren’t already hard enough on her dirty, dirty libido, his cologne would surely trump all varieties of goo. She’d gotten a lingering whiff of him when he’d left Call Girls for the night and she’d had to drop some reports on his desk. Clean and fresh. Like Tide and sunshine.
Jax’s step closer roused her from her thoughts. “Em?”
“Your brothers, right. How nice of them to offer their services. So they’re here, too? That must be so comforting for your little girl—bein’ in a strange, new town and all. Having your wife and your brothers around must have made the move much easier on her.” Fishing. She was going fishing. Throwing her line into the pool of unanswered Jax questions, waiting to see what her hook snared.
For a week, she’d refused to ask Caine or any of the girls if they knew what Jax’s relationship status was because of the razzing she knew she’d get from them. Maybe he was just separated from Maizy’s mother? Maybe it was his turn for visitation, and Maizy was just here temporarily?
She’d wondered all sorts of things about Jax, thought up every scenario imaginable.
Then she had to talk herself out of wondering. Her wonder was treading on the personal information she’d sworn not to wonder about. Yet had wondered about endlessly all week long.
Complications—she was gifted at creating them for herself.
“I don’t have a wife. Just some brothers. Two, to be precise. Gage and Tag.”
Relief flooded her veins when his voice cut into her thoughts. Jax didn’t have a wife. So, her lusty goo wasn’t breaking any girl codes. Phew. “A single dad, huh?”
“Yep. You’re a single parent, too, right?”
Her cheeks flamed hot and red. She gripped the screwdriver harder in some bizarre effort to force the magic Jax-Away-A-Nator juice into oozing from its metal tip. Had he inquired about her personal status? Things like that didn’t come up in general conversation unless you made it a point to bring them up.
“I am. Two boys. Clifton Junior, and Gareth. Eight and five.”
“We have a lot in common then. Bet your boys don’t call phone-sex lines, do they?”
Her laughter tinkled from her throat without consulting her. It slipped with ease from her loose lips. “I’m sorry I was so harsh and judgmental with you. It’s not easy to parent with two people, let alone one. Especially if they’re precocious and as smart as your little girl, but I’m about as overprotective about Call Girls as I am about my boys. I work hard to maintain our integrity—so you caught me off guard, and I got a little high on my horse.” And tipsy—he’d caught her very tipsy.
He held up a hand with a wrinkled Band-Aid across the broad back of it. “No. You were right. Maizy, that’s my daughter’s name, shouldn’t have had access to a number like that. My brother took a message from Caine for me. He just didn’t take the entire message, and he left it right on my desk where she could find it. She’s pretty smart, and very curious. She’s a handful to keep track of—but when she gets an idea in her little head, there’s no telling her otherwise.”
Em nodded with a grin of single-parent solidarity. “Oh, I know all about stubborn little mules, dead set in their ways. I have one of my own.” A picture of Clifton Junior found its way to the surface of her mind’s eye.
A picture of him happy and
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