Chapter 22
Chapter Twenty-Two
Lauren
When my alarm goes off in the morning, I’m torn between knowing what I’m here for and wanting to stay in bed with Jax for all of eternity.
We still have four hours of conference events today, and while I’m looking forward to the speakers on the agenda—there are talks on innovation and ranch management—all I want to do is lie here wrapped up in Jax’s arms.
I peer over my shoulder and find his soft eyes already focused on me. “Have you been up for a while?”
“Couldn’t have been too long.” He pulls me closer. “Granted, time goes by too fast when I’m with you.”
I turn to face him, wrapping my arms around his neck. “I have a hard time believing you’re known as one of the biggest flirts in all of Texas. You’re just full of corny things to say.”
“Ouch.”
I giggle and press a smacking kiss to his cheek. “I like it.”
“Good, because you’re making me this way. I promise I’m normally a lot cooler.”
I swing my legs over the edge of the bed, glancing back at him with a smirk. “If you say so.”
I gather my clothes from my suitcase then pause, groaning.
“What’s wrong?”
“You’ve ruined the conference for me. I want to stay here with you.”
He smiles, slipping from bed. “I’m touched, but you need to get up. You’ll be glad you did. I promise.”
He shoos me toward the bathroom, and as I head that way, he follows close behind.
“What are you doing?” Suspicious, I place a hand on my hip.
He doesn’t answer. He simply grabs my hand, tugging me toward the bathroom and flicking on the light.
Shredded up pieces of paper with the hotel logo are taped all over the mirror. They’re covered with notes in Jax’s handwriting.
You’re Kind. You’re Funny. You scrunch your nose when you laugh. You’re one of the best bluffers in poker I’ve ever seen. Every once in a while, you’ll catch me off guard with something witty, and it makes me laugh. Even when you get knocked down, you get up. You love your people fiercely.
I turn to him, my hands hanging limp at my sides as my jaw falls to the floor. “You did this?”
“You asked me last night what I see in you, and I need you to know that it’s everything. But saying it doesn’t feel like enough. I wanted you to look in the mirror and see what I see.”
My heart swells. I feel like I could cry. No one has ever made me feel so loved.
I shake my head in disbelief. “I don’t even know what to say.”
I wrap him in a hug. I want to tell him he didn’t have to do this, that I’m learning to love myself on my own and it isn’t his job to take care of me, but when I look up at him, he’s fighting back a smile. I know what Jax needs to hear. “Thank you.”
I keep scanning the sticky notes, and one in the bottom right corner catches my eye.
You’ve become my best friend.
I pull it from the mirror. I just want to hold it for a moment and soak it in. He watches me silently until I finally set it down and pull him to me, sinking my fingers into his hair and crashing my lips into his.
I don’t know any other way to convey the things I’m feeling right now, but I can only hope this kiss lets him know whatever is happening between us means the world to me.
This isn’t some rebound from Austin. This isn’t some misguided decision or a quest for wild adventures post-breakup.
Jax makes me feel safe and adored. I only hope I can do the same for him because this is something that can very easily bloom into the greatest love I’ve ever felt.
“Okay, this is so not fair.” Jax tosses his head back. “If I can’t play a John Michael Montgomery song three times on the car ride, then you definitely can’t play ‘All I Want for Christmas is a Cowboy’ three times in a row.”
“Grinch.”
“I’m not a Grinch.” He huffs, making me burst into laughter.
I pull my phone from my pocket again and check how much time we have left of the drive. When I work out that there’s only forty-eight minutes until we reach Roots, my stomach sinks.
“What’s going through that beautiful mind of yours?” Jax reaches his hand out to rest on my thigh. “You seem nervous.”
“Are you sure you’re okay with hiding this when we get back?”
“I want you to feel comfortable.” He doesn’t pull his eyes from the road. “If this is what it takes to allow us to explore a relationship without any external pressure, then I’m on board.”
There’s a hint of something on his face that makes me think there’s more to it.
The tiny, irritating voice that developed during my relationship with Austin and always told me I wasn’t good enough chimes in, but I do my best to fight it off.
After seeing all the incredible things he wrote about me on the bathroom mirror this morning, I know he’s not ashamed of me.
Still, we will have a lot to figure out.
And what if our attempt at a relationship fails? It was easy to get swept away in Tulsa, but as we hurtle back toward reality, I’m terrified I’m setting myself up for heartbreak again.
“Are you worried about giving this a shot?” I turn the music down. “I’ve seen how difficult it is to avoid someone in a small town when things don’t work out, and Austin wasn’t Charlie’s best friend. Are we being dumb?”
“Maybe we are, but there’s only one way to find out. And I’d much rather try and have it not work out than live the rest of my life wondering what we could’ve been.”
I bite back a smile. “You’re a smooth talker, Jax Greer.”
“Does it make you want to kiss me?” He smirks.
“I always want to kiss you.”
He pulls off the highway and turns into the parking lot of a large building decorated with wooden slats and a neon image of a man on a bucking bronco.
“What are you doing?”
Jax wordlessly pulls me toward him on the bench seat of his truck and tangles his fingers in my hair as our lips meet. When he pulls away, he says, “I wanted to give you the opportunity to kiss me.”
“And you needed to exit the highway for that?”
“Well, technically, it wouldn’t be safe to kiss you while driving, but I also needed to pull off the highway so we can have one last adventure where we don’t have to hide. Give me one more hour of just us.”
“But I already told my parents when we left.” I chew on my lips. “They’ll be expecting me back soon. They’re going to ask questions.”
“If anyone asks, we had a flat tire, okay?”
“Okay.”
“That’s my girl.” He leans in to give me one more kiss.
Those words paired with the kiss remind me how excited I am to explore a relationship with Jax. Despite all the reasons I have not to trust him with my heart, I do. And as if by magic, the fear I had a moment ago is erased.
Jax swings the truck door open, and I follow behind, ready for one last adventure.