FIVE
LILY
Alex Warren croons through my earbuds about a love so extraordinary that even the angels above are crying out in jealousy as I shove through the cracked door of the library’s community room at quarter to seven.
I stop dead in my tracks.
Jax is already inside, adjusting chairs around the table.
Unlike the last two meetings, he isn’t dressed in his mechanic coveralls but a pair of jeans that hug the curve of his thighs in the best way, and a fitted black T-shirt.
The ink crawls down his bicep, swirling and dipping along flexing muscles as he moves.
“Oh,” I gasp out a breathless laugh. “You scared me.”
“Sorry about that.”
His expression shifts as his eyes travel over me, and suddenly I’m smoothing my hands over the fabric of my navy blue and white sundress.
Stepping up to the table, Jax has already set out the book club sign, little notebooks, and pens that I keep in a basket on my desk at the front of the building. The carafe of coffee I had delivered from the café is already set up with a stack of paper cups and lids.
“I was off today, figured you deserved a day off from handling set-up,” he says with a small, guarded smile. He walks around the table, grabbing a coffee cup already topped with a lid and handing it to me. “Two hazelnut creamers. Three Sweet’N Lows.”
I stare at the cup before dragging my eyes to meet his gaze. He’s studying me carefully, gauging my reaction. Slowly, I take the cup from his hands, sniffing the steaming beverage through the opening in the lid.
“How’d you know that?”
He shrugs casually. “You do it every meeting.”
My heart dips, then soars at his words. He knows what I put in my coffee?
I don’t think anybody has ever known how I take my coffee before, not even John, and we were together for five years!
He slides past me, and I breathe in deep, the scent of fresh laundry, dark coffee, and something a little smoky filling my lungs.
A powerful combination that makes my insides hum.
I bring the cup to my lips, blowing softly and taking a sip.
It’s perfect.
“Well, I guess my secret’s out,” I say, with a nervous laugh, as I set the boxes of store-bought cookies on the table. I bite my lip, finally making eye contact with Jax. “I don’t actually bake the cookies.”
His eyes dance in the light, and then, he laughs.
It’s deep and unrestrained, and I realize it’s the first time I’ve heard him truly laugh. But it’s also rich and boisterous and melodic, and I want to hear it again and again.
“Darlin’, that was no secret. But a smart man knows better than to bite the hand that feeds him.”
Heat floods my cheeks, and I know I’ve just gone at least three shades pinker than I was a minute ago. Not because he caught me buying store-bought cookies, but because Jax Mason just called me darlin’.
“Oh, hush,” I say, batting toward him with my hand.
His grin widens, but he just inclines his head, silently letting me off the hook and giving me a free pass. We settle into our seats and don’t even wait for anyone else to show up before we dive into conversation.
As expected, Jax connected with this story a lot more than the why-choose. Which isn’t surprising. Underneath the gruff exterior and almost-permanent frown lines, he’s the kind of man who still believes in one great love. In soulmates and perfect matches.
His ears flush pink when we talk about the building tension between Lucie and Aiden at the arcade, and the steamy kiss in the supply closet. I loved this book the first time I read it, but watching Jax discover it—with all his earnest opinions and pink ears—might be even better.
Somewhere along the way, our conversation drifts away from the book.
We talk about the town, the library, his garage, and my apartment with the perpetually broken air conditioner, which he immediately offers to take a look at.
By the time I glance at the clock on the wall, nearly an hour has passed since book club was technically supposed to end.
“Oh, my God.” I sit up straighter, touching my fingers to my lips. “We should’ve been done forever ago.”
Jax looks over his shoulder at the clock. “I’ll be damned.”
“I should probably let you get home.” I sigh, not wanting the night to end but knowing I’ve taken up far too much of this man’s time already.
“Probably.” He agrees with a nod.
But neither of us moves from where we sit. He holds my gaze as he leans back in his chair. I slide my fingers along the smooth surface of the table.
The corner of his mouth twitches. “You hungry?”
I open my mouth to say no, but my stomach immediately betrays me with a loud growl. Jax barks out a laugh, pointing in my direction. “Don’t even try to tell me no after that.”
I shake my head, laughing and covering my cheeks.
He’s right—there’s no denying it, now.
Twenty minutes later, I’m sitting across from him in a booth at Miller’s Diner with a burger in front of me and a basket of fries between us, reminding myself for the seventh time that friends are allowed to eat dinner together.
This isn’t a date. It absolutely isn’t a date.
The fact that I’ve already checked my reflection in the diner window twice and can’t stop watching the way his throat works when he swallows is absolutely unrelated.
Miller’s is almost completely empty at this hour, save for two off-duty cops sitting on tall stools at the chrome bar and a busboy waiting for his ride home. Jax sighs, crumpling his napkin and tossing it onto his now-empty plate.
“All right, it’s time to come clean. What brought you here to our quaint little town? Bellewood isn’t exactly a place someone just moves to.”
“I already told you, I came for the librarian job,” I say quietly, eyes cast down and tearing at my napkin.
“You can do that anywhere, right? Why here?”
I flick my eyes over his shoulder, watching the waitress wipe down the counter at the bar while she chats animatedly with the two cops nursing mugs of coffee.
“You ever make a decision that looks really smart on paper?” I ask.
Jax leans back in the booth. “Frequently.”
“Well, moving to Bellewood was one of those.”
“Meaning?” His brow furrows.
I drag a fry through a puddle of ketchup before answering him. “The library offered better pay. Better benefits. More responsibility. It was exactly the kind of opportunity I’ve been waiting for.”
“Sounds like there’s a but in there.”
“But.” I smile weakly. “I didn’t realize how hard it would be to start over somewhere new.”
For a moment, neither of us speaks. I pop the ketchup-coated fry into my mouth, chewing slowly as I mull over what else to say about my situation. How much is considered too much on a first date—hangout..?
A first hangout, not a first date.
“I thought I’d make friends faster,” I admit. “Thought I’d have some kind of life outside of work by now, you know?” My fingers tighten around the edge of my napkin. “Most days it’s just me, my apartment, and whatever book I’m reading that week.”
Jax is quiet for so long that I’m forced to risk a glance at him. His expression has softened completely, like he knows exactly what I’m saying.
“Sounds lonely.”
The simple observation lands harder than sympathy ever could.
“Yeah,” I say softly. “It kinda is. But I guess that’s what happens when your boyfriend dumps you and you flee halfway across the country, right?”
Jax stiffens across from me, shoulders rising to his ears and staying there on a held breath. He blows the air from his lungs slowly, holding my gaze.
“Well,” he says finally, leaning forward to steal a pickle off my plate, “whatever kind of idiot let you go better be smart enough not to ever step foot in Bellewood.”
I blink. “Why?”
He crunches into the pickle.
“Because I’d really hate to have to explain the body.”
“Jax.” I huff out a laugh, staring at him incredulously.
“What?” He shrugs. “I’d feel bad about it afterward. Maybe… Probably not.”
I roll my eyes, folding my lips against the smile spreading across my face. I wrap my arms around myself, trying to hold all my feelings inside. Even though it’s only been a couple of weeks, Jax Mason might be the best friend I’ve ever had.