Chapter TwentyTwo
Going to the Junipers for Thanksgiving was like coming home.
We flew to Kansas on Jaxon’s private plane. Neither of us talked about what happened that day in my office, just like our last sexual encounter.
I guess ignorance truly was bliss.
Instead, we fell into a perfect rhythm of working side by side. Jaxon was proving his worth every day. He sat in on every meeting, he helped me understand the basics of trying to run a huge company with a patience that knew no bounds, and he was the first to silence anyone that dared whisper any doubt.
While our work relationship blossomed, our private one was scarce.
Jaxon spent most of his free time running his own business in his office. His brother, who from what I overheard was in Monaco, was relying on Jaxon to pick up the slack for the two of them.
It was any wonder Jaxon wasn’t a walking zombie. I couldn’t remember the last time I saw him sit down to eat a proper meal, let alone drink anything that wasn’t coffee or bourbon.
I didn’t want to be the first one to bring up what had happened between us, not when I still didn’t fully understand what it meant.
He said I was his.
What did he mean?
Our whole relationship was temporary and fleeting, with him being vocal about his lack of interest in anything other than business.
Did he still see us as only business when he curled his fingers inside me, or when he was so obviously blinded by jealousy that he willingly blurred the lines of our relationship?
The more time we spent together, my guard crumbled away.
Every glimpse, every morsel he gave me, weakened my resolve not to form any attachment or feelings for him.
Falling in love with my husband was nothing short of a disastrous mistake.
A light dusting of snow started to fall, covering the streets and roads as we drove the rental car closer to the Junipers’ home.
I always loved spending Thanksgiving with Lola and her family. My own dad, before he got sick, used to come along from time to time. Most of the time, he worked the holidays. He was never big on the holiday traditions, with Christmas being his one exception—only because I forced him not to be a miserable miser.
It was hard to tear myself away this time, given Dad had done nothing but sleep the past couple weeks. Lola said she understood if I wanted to spend the holidays at home with him, but the moment Dad was able to hold his eyes open for longer than five minutes, he commanded that I spend the holidays like I usually did. Business as usual, he stated. He said it was pointless sitting around the house by myself, with Flynn spending Thanksgiving with his university friends and Poppy visiting her own parents.
Lola’s mom and dad always treated me like their own.
Unease wrestled within me.
I was about to walk into my surrogate family home and lie to their faces.
“We should come up with a story,” I said. “They are going to ask a lot of questions, and I don’t want them suspecting anything.”
“Fine,” Jaxon said. “How did we meet?”
“Through work,” I stated. “We met at one of the many events. There was always an attraction between us, but I was obviously previously engaged, so we never acted on it.”
The car turned several degrees colder. “Did Laurence come to Thanksgiving with you?”
“Once.” I looked out the car window. “He always had an excuse why he couldn’t come. He liked to spend the holidays playing golf with his friends. Last Thanksgiving was the first time he came.”
“Ah.”
“Anyway.” I swiftly moved the conversation back. “We bumped into each other at the last charity event, that one I went to a couple days after my breakup. The one raising money for the rainforest.”
“I usually hate those sort of events, but when I heard rumors of your latest relationship status, I attended in hopes of running into you.”
I swallowed the rumbles of butterflies erupting in my chest.
“The second we saw each other, we knew.” Jaxon ran a hand down his chin. “So, we ditched the party and went to the local bowling alley. You won with the bumpers up, which isn’t technically a real win, but I let you win.”
“I will have you know that bumpers are there for a reason. If we aren’t meant to use them to play, then why bother having them there?”
His throat bobbed with a chuckle. “After your so-called win, we went for ice cream.”
My heart fluttered. “Anything else?”
“I don’t normally like ice cream, but you persuaded me with your favorite.”
“Mint chocolate chip.”
“Chocolate toothpaste. Really?” His eyebrows raised as a whisper of a smile formed. “We’ll work on your abysmal taste another time.”
“There’s nothing wrong with my taste, thank you very much.”
Those damn dimples made an appearance. “After eating your dégo?tante ice cream, we walked for hours around the city until the sun rose. We didn’t want the date to end.”
Our eyes locked. “That sounds… perfect.”
He dropped his gaze first. “Sparks flew, instant connection, and all that usual rom-com shit that drives women mad. The rest is history.”
“A whirlwind romance.”
“Whatever you want to call it. That should be enough to satisfy any questions or doubts.”
My heart dipped.
We didn’t speak again until we drove up to Lola’s family home.
The Junipers’ home resembled that of a log cabin, but far grander. Thatch roofing, wooden exterior, and against the backdrop of the falling snow, it was the idealistic escape.
They put everything they had into the home. It was their pride and joy.
Lola’s parents, Samantha and Harry, stood at the front door grinning and waving like a pair of overexcited children.
“Show time,” I said when we parked the car.
Harry all but ran to the car, opening the door and pulling me out into a bear hug that had my back cracking. I didn’t care. I threw my arms around him and inhaled his smoky wood scent.
“It’s been too long, girl,” he said. “The old ball and chain has been giving Lola the business for not visiting enough. I suspect you will be the same.”
I laughed. From the corner of my eye, Jaxon exited the car and walked toward us. An earth-shattering, knee-jerking grin spread across his strong face.
I’d never seen him smile like that.
He stopped at my side, an arm encasing my waist as he extended his other hand toward Harry. “I want to thank you for inviting me to your home for the holidays, sir. I truly appreciate your generosity.”
Who was this Jaxon, and what had he done with my husband?
Harry’s eyebrows flew upward. He slowly looked Jaxon up and down before he took his hand and pulled the French man into a rib-breaking hug. “We don’t shake hands around here, son.”
Stifling a giggle as Jaxon’s body seized in the other man’s embrace, I left them and walked to the house. Samantha, much like her husband, wrapped her arms around me and held me to her as if she never wanted to let go.
Between her and Poppy, they more than filled in the role of a mom for me.
“Don’t think I am not mad at you, young lady. You’re just as bad as Lola,” she said, squeezing me harder. “Would it kill you to pick up the phone once in a while?”
“I know, I’m sorry.” I inhaled her perfume, the familiar scent settling me. “Life just got a little hectic recently.”
She chuckled. “Hectic, huh? Is that what you kids are calling it these days? He’s a handsome one,” she whispered in my ear. “Where did you find him?”
My spine stiffened. “At a work function.” I stepped out of her embrace. “Is Lola here already?”
Samantha nodded with a grin. “Her and Violet are in the kitchen, attempting to bake something. I told them to wait until you arrived. Those poor girls couldn’t bake to save their lives.”
Every year, Lola and Violet attempted to bake dessert, and every year, they failed miserably. It never deterred them with Lola using it as an excuse to distract Violet from the fact her mother once again canceled Thanksgiving plans with her.
Jaxon and Harry grabbed the bags from the car and carried them into the house. Samantha took her chance to fawn over Jaxon the second he stepped across the front door, hugging him—despite his rigid stance.
His uncomfortableness wasn’t obvious, but I could read it like an open book.
The twitch of his jaw. The tightness in his shoulders. The way his thumb rubbed the side of his index finger.
Jaxon didn’t like too many sensations at one time. Instincts told me to step in as I slipped my hand into his, squeezing it gently as I interlocked our fingers.
His throat bobbed. “I was saying to your husband, thank you both again for inviting me to your home for the holidays. I know I am a stranger to you, but Evelyn speaks very highly of your entire family, and I hope that this is a chance for us to get to know each other.”
“You are a breath of fresh air,” Samantha proclaimed. “You’ve picked well, Evie.”
Heat crept up into my cheeks as Jaxon’s gaze found mine.
We stood chatting in the open foyer, noise coming from nearly every direction of the house as the Juniper siblings made themselves at home, until Harry eventually grew bored and insisted that they show us to our bedroom.
“This room gets the best light in the morning,” Harry said proudly. “Best room in the house. Sammy won’t let me turn it into my man cave, but I’m working on it.”
He opened the door and my heart sank.
Inside the room screamed home comfort. Wooden beams, thick tartan rugs on the floor, an open already crackling fireplace, and a large queen-sized bed.
One queen-sized bed.
One bed.
“Take your time and freshen up,” Samantha chirped. “You both have been traveling for some time. Plane air always leaves me feeling dirty and sluggish. Take a nap and join us whenever you are ready. Fresh towels are in the linen cupboard.”
Jaxon and I stood there. His eyes were burning a hole into the same damn bed. Tension lingered in the air, tightening with each inhale of breath.
“I’m going for a shower,” he announced. “We’ll figure out sleeping arrangements later.”
He didn’t look back as he walked to the attached bathroom and shut the door firmly behind him.
I sat on the edge of the bed.
Three nights sleeping beside Jaxon. Having his body close enough that I could feel him, smell him, close enough to reach out and touch him.
Three nights. That was nothing.
Three nights.
I could do that, right?
“Don’t think you can get away with cheating again this year!”
“Screw you, I didn’t cheat!” I shook my head. “It’s not my fault you suck at this. You’re just a sore loser.”
Mal, Lola’s twin brother, flipped me off with a grin. “I may be a sore loser, but at least I am not a cheater.”
“Leave her alone,” Violet said between mouthfuls of her hot chocolate. “We all know you’re shit at pumpkin tossing, always have been. You’re so bad you have to go around and accuse people of cheating to make yourself feel better.”
“Better than you.” Mal grinned. “Your pumpkin came dead last, Vi.”
Violet shrugged. “It’s a stupid game, anyway. One that requires no real skill or talent.”
“Now who is the sore loser?” Mal teased. “It’s okay. At least you’re not a big cheater like Evie.”
Pumpkin mulch flew from my hand and was breaths away from hitting him in the face. Mal roared with laughter, running to scoop up a pumpkin before Lola got a chance to pick hers.
All the Juniper children were home from the holidays, with Lilly catching a flight back from Switzerland the day before Jaxon and I arrived. The sheer joy Samantha was experiencing having all three of her children back under one roof was adorable.
She was practically glowing and blissfully unfazed by the siblings’ constant bickering.
“Intense.” Violet hummed.
I cocked an eyebrow. “What is?”
“The way he looks at you.” She took a long sip from her mug. “Don’t get me wrong, it’s hot—in the sort of scary possessive way.”
I didn’t need to look at who she was talking about. Jaxon’s gaze was like a million and one matches sparking to life on my skin. I felt him watching me when he thought I wasn’t paying attention.
The way he looked at me, I wasn’t sure it was because he was starting to feel the air change around us, too.
“Have you slept with him yet?” Violet asked. “His energy is telling me he is packing some serious heat down there.”
The memory of his tongue, his lips, and his fingers on my body sent a shiver down my spine.
“Strictly business, remember?” I said, more for myself than her. “Having sex complicates that more than it already is.”
She looked unconvinced. “That or having sex will make it much simpler.”
“We get a divorce in nine months, Vi. Nine months from now, I will be back to doing what I love, Flynn will be in charge, and Jaxon will leave and continue living his life without me.”
She tracked him walking from the back door of the house and across the garden from the brim of her glass. “I don’t know, Evie. The way he looks at you—that isn’t the look from a man who is willing to walk away.”
Coffee and spiced midnight wrapped itself around me.
Dressed in the least Jaxon-like clothing, a pair of black jeans—because why would they be any other color—and a simple black T-shirt with a flannel shirt, it was short-circuiting my mind seeing him in casual attire.
He looked just as good, if not better. Then again, I was certain Jaxon would be fuckable in anything he wore.
Violet excused herself, disappearing back into the house.
He handed me a glass of red wine. “I’ve been warned by several people already that I am to keep a very close eye on you.”
My heart actually skipped a beat.
“Apparently, you cheated the last time you played a game with a pumpkin? Seems you’ve earned yourself a bit of a reputation around these parts.”
“For crying out loud, I did not cheat.” I shook my head with a laugh. “They are all just jealous because last year I set the new record. Now they are all accusing me of tampering with the slingshot or hollowing out my pumpkin to make it lighter. It’s all slander.”
“Do you play this game every year?”
I nodded. “A family tradition.”
“How long have you been spending Thanksgiving with the Junipers?”
“I’ve known Lola since we were just starting to walk and talk. When Mom passed away, her parents started to invite me, Flynn, and Dad down every year. Dad used to come from time to time, but otherwise, he worked. Flynn stopped coming when he got accepted into NYU.”
“I’m sorry.”
“For what?”
“Your mother. I know how hard it is to lose a parent.”
I shrugged. “My mother wasn’t the easiest to love. It was such a long time ago. I sometimes forget what she looked like, only for the fact that I am her spitting image, I am sure I would have totally forgotten by now.” My teeth ran along my bottom lip. “You lost your mother, too?”
His shoulders drew tight. “Her passing was sudden.”
“That mustn’t have been easy. What age were you?”
“Seven or so,” he said. “It left a gaping hole in our family that never was quite the same again. Our father didn’t handle it the best and opted to further destroy himself with alcohol.” He took a hearty mouthful of wine. “Elliott and Olivier were too young to truly understand what happened. Me and Freddie were the oldest, so it naturally fell to us to pick up the pieces.”
“At least you had your big brother there to lean on.”
He frowned. “Frederic isn’t exactly the loving older brother type. Our maman’s death turned him into someone I barely recognized. He was our maman’s favorite, though she liked to deny it. When she passed, Frederic completely shut down and shut everyone out.”
“Including you.”
He nodded.
The thought of a young Jaxon, heartbroken by the loss of his mother and with no one to turn to, seeking the love and care a child deserved, was a knife in the heart.
“That must have been so hard and lonely.”
“Well, you once called me the stereotypical, lonely billionaire in your article,” he feigned a half-hearted laugh. “Turns out, I’d gotten very used to being lonely since childhood.”
Damn that stupid article.
I reached for him, placing a hand on his arm. “No child should have to shoulder that.”
“We all have our burdens, some heavier than others.”
Standing together, my hand still cemented on his arm, we watched the others argue over pumpkins. Where it brought a smile to my face, a crack formed in Jaxon’s usual frowning demeanor. A softness, a hint of vulnerability, etched into life as he watched the family before us.
I stroked the length of his arm. “Having someone to help shoulder the weight helps. I know soon this will be nothing more than a bad dream for you, but I will always be your friend, Jaxon.” My stomach dipped at the thought of him leaving. “I’ll always be someone you can rely on to help shoulder whatever burdens you, if that is what you want.”
Whiskey-studded eyes landed on my hand as his chest rose and fell slowly. “I meant what I said, I’d gotten good at being lonely. Being alone was all I knew, and I was happy that way. But now? I’m not so sure.”
“How come?”
His shoulders relaxed just a smidge. “Because of you, Evelyn.”
My damn traitorous heart did a somersault.
“It’s time, you two!” Mal called over. “Get your lovebird asses over here and let’s toss some freaking pumpkins!”