Chapter 6
Chapter
Six
Preston
It had been years since I shared a living space with anyone. Growing up, I’d shared a room with my brother Spencer for a while, but sharing a mostly square space with your youngest brother was nothing like sharing it with your fake fiancée. My thoughts stuttered a bit as I turned over those words in my mind. What in the world was I going to tell my family? I hated the idea of lying to them, but it seemed like it flew in the face of the benefits of a fake relationship when too many people knew the truth. Laurel already knew it wasn’t real. How many people in the know created a liability?
My hands cradled my head as the water from the shower shut off, unsure how I found myself here. I had never thought about any decision less in my life before I made it, and never thought about any decision more in the time since. There were just so many ways it could backfire and blow up in our faces.
I knew I needed to get it together before Jax came back out here. She presented herself so collected and aloof. I didn’t want to let her know our situation—living and otherwise—got to me. During our dancing practice, I managed to hold my own. I just need to channel that energy. Fake it till you make it and all that. With a nod to seal the deal—with myself—I stood up and headed over to the kitchen to wash the three dishes I used so far today, just for something to do.
The bathroom door opened out of sight, but even if the sound hadn’t alerted me, the steamy air carrying the scent of jasmine and lavender would have. I took a deep breath in, inhaling the pleasant scent. Eventually, Jax entered my line of sight. The blue towel I set out for her wrapped tightly around her body in that magical way all women seemed to know by the time they were showering around men. Did towel manufacturers offer a secret course on how to drive men you just moved in with wild? How did they keep it a secret?
She bent over to rummage in her drawer of the dresser, causing the towel to ride low and high at the same time. That towel seemed a lot wider when I folded it out of the dryer than it did spanning Jax’s torso. I turned my gaze back to the glass drying in my hand, plunging it back under the water in an instant, the hot water a shock to my system. I hope she didn’t catch me looking at her in her towel. My eyes locked on the mug rack in front of me, laser focused so they didn’t stray. Anything to keep my attention off my very attractive, mostly naked roommate.
“So how long until we need to leave for this thing?” Jax asked, her voice calm and steady, seemingly unaware of my racing thoughts.
I answered, still not looking at her. “We need to be there by 5:30, so I’ve scheduled a car to pick us up at five.” My voice held steady. Keep it up, Brandt.
“Okay, great. Do you want to jump in the shower now, and I’ll finish up after you’re done?”
Turning to answer, I found her applying lotion to her long legs, her wet hair dangling from where her head was turned upside down to reach her ankles. A strangled noise climbed up my throat, desperate to escape. I covered my mouth with my fist, attempting to turn it into a cough.
“Um, yeah sure. I’ll head in there now.” I moved to the dresser to grab a pair of boxers. After another moment, I grabbed a shirt and pair of shorts; as many layers as possible couldn’t hurt this scenario. The lavender of Jax’s lotion reached my nose again.
“That lotion smells great. The scent is nice and light. So many lotions can be so fragrant heavy,” I found myself saying. What the hell? Why am I talking about fragrances?
Jax flipped her hair over her shoulder, lifting her head to meet my eyes with a smile. “I totally agree. This is the only lotion I buy. Plus, it makes your skin extra soft. You’re welcome to use it if you want.”
The mixture of thinking of Jax’s soft skin, and the silky feel of her lotion while I jerked my cock up and down entered my mind unbidden. I ground out a “thanks” and cleared the distance to the bathroom in what seemed like three steps. I closed the door behind me and leaned against it, Jax’s scent was even more overpowering in the steamy room. My cock plumped the rest of the way up and I squeezed myself once through my pants before releasing just as quickly. My self-control disappeared around this woman. I saw many a cold shower in my future if I didn’t get acclimated to having her in my space.
J ax and I managed to orbit each other in the apartment while we finished getting ready. Our movements carried an ease that surprised me for two people who barely knew each other.
“Can you zip me up?” Jax came out of the bathroom, her brown hair falling in loose waves over her shoulders, her forehead covered by artfully messy bangs. She turned her back toward me and I worked the zipper up on her navy dress. I tried to make as little contact with her skin as possible. She turned around to face me, fidgeting with the skirt of the dress. The dress was modest, very appropriate for a Senate campaign dinner. As the Rolodex of guests whirred in my mind, I knew she’d be one of the most beautiful women there.
“You look great,” I said, realizing I had been staring.
“Well thank you, fiancé,” Jax purred, a wide smile on her face. “You don’t clean up half bad yourself.”
“I wear a suit literally every day to work. There’s nothing exciting about my outfit.”
“How do you know I don’t wear this every day?” Jax asked while she put earrings in her ears. “Besides, you’re adding a shiny new accessory tonight—a fiancée on your arm.”
I let out a laugh.
“Yes, I guess you’re right. Also, speaking of shiny accessories, I think you’re going to need this.”
I reached into my pocket and pulled out a ring box. Her eyes homed in on it immediately.
“Is that what I think it is?”
“Well, yeah,” I said dumbly. “Last I checked, the engagement ring is a pretty important part of being engaged.”
“I figured we’d just say the ring was getting resized or something.”
“Oh,” I nodded. “I mean, I guess that would have worked for tonight, but eventually...”
“Yeah, eventually,” Jax said, her eyes still trained on the box in my hand.
“Do you want to see it?”
Jax nodded, her bottom lip between her teeth, the rest of her face unreadable.
I opened the box and handed it to her, box and all.
“Wow, it’s beautiful,” Jax said, removing the ring from its velvet covered perch.
“My mom died when I was ten. My dad remarried a wonderful woman after I started college. She found out my dad still had a bunch of Mom’s old jewelry and asked the youngest four of us if we’d like rings made of one of the pieces for us when and if we needed it. I had her make one for me a years ago when... well, in any case, I have this ring now.”
Jax stared at me, her expression hard to read. I thought I saw a flicker of understanding pass through before her eyes returned to the ring in her hand. As the silence stretched on, my tie suddenly felt tighter around my neck, my sleeves constricting my arms.
“You don’t have to wear it. We can get something else. It’s dumb,” I said, my face heating. I reached to take it back from her.
Jax moved the ring out of my reach, sliding it onto the fourth finger of her left hand. “No way. It’s perfect. Thank you for letting me wear it.” She held her hand out, admiring the way the diamond sparkled in the artificial lighting of my living room. The main stone sat between two small pieces of sapphire, my mom’s birthstone, on a band of white gold.
We stood in silence for a few beats.
“That was a weird moment, right?” Jax said, breaking the silence, and once again, saying exactly what she had on her mind.
“Somehow, not the weirdest moment I’ve had today, and probably not the weirdest we’ll have tonight.” Jax looked inquisitive, like she wanted to know more, but the vibration on my watch forced me to drag my eyes away from hers.
“Our car’s almost here. Shall we?” I busied myself with grabbing my wallet and keys. She slipped on her grey wool coat, and I followed her out the door, locking the apartment behind us.
We slid into the backseat of the car, which pulled away from the curb, taking us toward the dinner venue at a hotel in the Northwest part of the city.
The driver listened to NPR, playing a review of a new memoir written by a former child star. This made me think of Charlotte and whether she would have read it yet, which reminded me she and Hayden would be there tonight. I couldn’t believe I hadn’t thought of that earlier. Fuck. How could I have forgotten? Too much brain space allotted to fragrances.
Trying to sound nonchalant, I said, “Oh, I should probably tell you, my brother Hayden and his girlfriend will be at the dinner tonight.”
Jax twisted to look at me, her eyes wide in the dusky light of the evening.
“What? Why?”
“Charlotte, that’s his girlfriend, works for a non-profit focusing on independent bookstores that the senator is a big champion of, so they’ve been invited, along with Charlotte’s boss. Honestly, Duncan, my older brother, would probably be there too if he wasn’t traveling this weekend. His company donates to the senator.”
“I’m sorry. Let me expand my question: What do you mean your brother will be there? Why didn’t you tell me that hours ago?”
I let my forced calm slip, some of her panic seeping into my tone. “I’m sorry, you’re right. There’s just been a lot to keep track of and the fact that they’d be there slipped my mind.”
“Well, catch hold of that thought. Quick, Brandt. Are we going to”—she darted a quick look in the driver’s direction—“tell them the truth? Or go with the flow?”
“I don’t know,” I said honestly.
“Well, it’s your family, so it’s your call. You’ve mentioned three brothers so far, two of which seem to live here in DC. From the photos, there’s one more who hasn’t come up. That’s potentially problematic, at least four more people knowing, but I won’t make you lie to them.”
I nodded. “Hayden and Duncan are the only ones here full time. Spencer is finishing up his post-doc and Hunter still lives in Holly Ridge near my dad and Margaret. They both visit a decent amount, though.”
Jax nodded. I could almost see her locking the information away for later.
“What do you want to do in regard to telling your family?” I asked, wanting to be sure we were on the same page.
“That won’t be a problem,” Jax responded, her face suddenly devoid of all emotion.
The car moved on while we sat in silence for a few moments. The roll of the tires on the pavement and the honking horns from drivers frustrated by the Friday night rush hour traffic joined the quiet chatter of the radio. Staring at the passing blocks, I came to a decision.
“I won’t tell them. They’ll have some questions, but it won’t entirely surprise them. It wouldn’t be entirely out of character to show up with a serious partner. There’s only one area of my life I’ve ever been known to be impulsive, and this falls under that category.”
I saw in her eyes when her analytical mind pieced together exactly why I had a commissioned ring so readily available to give her. Jax nodded, a look of understanding on her face.
My phone dinged in my pocket. A message from Mitchell with a question about his speech that evening awaited me. We rode the rest of the way in silence while I made the changes he requested and reached out to my contact at the hotel. I hoped we’d be able to use a printer on the premises to print an updated version.
The car arrived at the curb of The Dupont Circle Hotel and I got out, walking quickly over to the curb side of the car to open Jax’s door and helped her out onto the sidewalk. The hand she placed in mine for balance twisted in my palm and our fingers interlocked. I glanced down quickly at our entangled hands and then up at her face.
“Ready?” she asked, her smile genuine and reassuring all at once.
“Ready or not,” I said, smiling back.
W e mingled a bit before dinner. I briefly abandoned Jax while I followed a hotel employee to a dark office and made a new copy of the speech for the senator that evening. I returned to find her engaged in conversation with one of our largest donors, her laugh carrying to my ears twenty feet away. I smiled and walked up to the group, sliding my hand onto her lower back, just like we had practiced.
“So this sparkling young woman is here with you this evening, Preston?” Donovan Fitzgerald asked, reaching out to shake my hand in greeting.
“Yes, she sure is. This is my fiancée, Jacqueline.” I introduced her the way she had in my office yesterday. She smiled up at me, pleased I had picked up on the subtle detail of how she preferred to be addressed in professional settings.
“Oh, I love meet cutes,” Donovan’s wife, Olivia, practically squealed. “Please tell me how you all met.”
I looked down at Jax, unsure how we hadn’t anticipated this question. My gut started to knot in panic. “Well,” I opened my mouth to start spewing bullshit, when I felt Jax’s hand on my arm.
“It’s my turn to tell the story, sweetie,” she said, and I snapped my jaw shut, happy to have her take the lead on this one.
“I was a reporter, covering politics in the city. We kept crossing paths at different events, Preston always made eyes at me from across the room. Finally, I walked up to him and said, ‘Will you just ask me out already?’ He did, and well, here we are.”
The group laughed at my expense and I found myself joining in because it fit like a story plucked from my actual life.
At that moment, a member of the hotel staff came up to our group and encouraged us to find our seats. Hands were shaken, promises of lunches and drinks exchanged, and Jax and I headed for table three.
“I made eyes at you, huh?”
Jax smiled up at me, as I pulled out her chair.
“Your eyes tell the story, Preston.”
A fter everyone took their seats for dinner, I scoured the room for Hayden. I didn’t find him at any of the tables. Noticing movement by the doors, I spotted him and Charlotte sneaking in late to join the party. From Charlotte’s flushed cheeks and my brother’s shit-eating grin, it wasn’t hard to guess what had delayed them.
Our eyes met, and I rolled my eyes at him, softening it with a smile. He waved his hand in greeting at the same moment Jax laid her hand on my arm. I leaned in to hear her, laughing gently at her joke. My gaze returned to Hayden’s. He glanced quizzically between Jax and myself, nudging Charlotte and pointing—somewhat obviously—to the two of us. She pulled his hand down, shaking her head at his behavior, leading him toward the empty seats at their table. The look Hayden speared me with before he turned to help Charlotte into her seat left no room for doubt. I’d be getting the third degree from my younger brother before the night was out.