Chapter 7 #3
He nodded, then a tiny smirk came to his lips—one that I knew meant trouble.
“You would’ve been terrifying as a kid,” he finally said.
I snorted. “I was adorable.”
“And terrifying,” he insisted.
I threw a fry at him—which he dodged, laughing.
When we finished eating, Jaxon gathered up the trash for both of us and dropped it in the nearest bin. Then he walked back over, hands in his pockets, head tilted at the water.
“Wanna walk?” he asked.
The lights shimmered across the river like a moving sky. The air tasted like sugar and winter.
I looked at him… then at the water… then back at him.
“Sure,” I said softly. “Let’s walk.”
He held out his hand—not grabbing, not demanding, just offering. And for reasons I refused to examine too closely… I took it.
There was an ease to it that I was starting to feel with him, and I could tell he was thinking that, too. Throughout the entire night, I didn't tense up once when he touched me. It was starting to feel… normal.
We drifted along the water’s edge, our footsteps soft against the pavement as the sounds of the landing faded behind us. The night wind rolled off the river in cool, sharp breaths, brushing over my collarbone and sneaking beneath the neckline of my sweater.
A shiver rippled across my skin before I could hide it.
Jaxon noticed instantly.
Without a word, he shrugged out of his leather jacket and swung it around my shoulders.
“I don’t need—”
“Savannah.”
One word, low and firm, like a hand closing around my neck.
He draped it fully over me. The leather was warm—stupidly warm—and smelled like cedar, ink, and something darker. Him.
I swallowed. “Thanks.”
“Good girl.”
I glared, and he just grinned at me.
Then we walked. For a while, the silence felt… comfortable. My gaze strayed to the water, watching the reflection of the moon getting sliced up by the waves.
Then, out of nowhere, he asked, “Why Chase?”
I blinked up at him. “What?”
“Why him?” He slid his hands into his pockets, voice deceptively casual. “You don't strike me as someone out for his money, so why were you with him? Why did you see a future there?”
That question landed like a stone dropped into still water—quiet, but far-reaching. I stalled, turning my gaze back to the dark, rippling river. Vulnerability itched under my skin, my brain racking over whether I should’ve told him or not.
It wouldn't have made a difference either way—his opinions on the matter wouldn't have been relevant after the three weeks were up.
“We were together for a long time,” I said slowly. “Years. Since I was nineteen. We kind of… grew up together. We saw each other through everything. He was my first in a lot of ways, just like I was his.”
Jaxon didn’t speak. Didn’t push. He just walked a half-step behind me, letting me choose the pace.
“After university, he was dealing with a lot—pressure from his dad, expectations about becoming the head of the company one day. I helped him get through that. And… he helped me, too.”
My voice dipped. “When my dad died, it was Chase who sat with me at every appointment, every service, every piece of paperwork. My mom, she… she ran off to travel the world. It was really just me and my grandma for a while. And when my grandma got sick, he helped me find her a nice place. The kind she’d never been able to afford. ”
The path curved closer to the water. The lights thinned. The air felt colder.
“We just… connected,” I whispered. “Even when everything else sucked, we still had each other. Then something changed. We'd argue about the littlest things, and he became controlling—wanted me to give up on law school since he would be running his billion-dollar company.”
Jaxon’s jaw ticked, but he stayed silent.
“I didn't realize how dependent I had become on him being there for me until he wasn't. And once I started law school…” I exhaled shakily. “We drifted even further. And we just kept drifting. For three years.”
We reached the far end of the walkway—a quiet strip where the lights faded out, leaving only moonshine trembling over the river.
I stopped walking.
“Savannah,” he murmured, stepping beside me.
I swallowed hard, the words clawing their way up.
“He cheated once before.” The admission slipped from me in a soft, breaking drop.
“He said it was a drunken mistake, and it was because I wasn't there with him. I just… kept thinking it wouldn’t matter because once law school was over, things would go back to how they were. Like it was something we could survive.”
I laughed weakly, bitterly. “Stupid, right?”
“No, it's not.”
I pulled my gaze from his and looked out to the open water.
“I loved him for a long time, but I feel stupid for believing him.
For putting up with him. He tossed me away like I meant nothing to him.
Him sleeping with Lori on his birthday? That was the last straw.
He knew I was coming—he knew I'd catch them in the act. And she just smirked at me like she finally won.”
Jaxon's jaw ticked again, his eyes darkening with anger, promising retribution. My breath hitched when he took a step closer. He caught my chin between his fingers and brought my face up to his.
His voice was rough velvet. “He’s a Goddamn asshole for putting you through that.”
I blinked fast, trying to hold myself together under the weight of his stare.
“You should never settle for someone who treats you like you’re disposable,” he went on, leaning closer. “You deserve someone who puts you first. Every time. Above everything and everyone. Someone who believes in you. Someone who wants you to become the woman you want to be.”
His thumb brushed my jaw, and my knees almost buckled under his touch.
“He didn't deserve you, Savannah. Trust me when I say that.”
The air between us tightened, trapping me in that spot, forcing me to obey every command coming from his dark gaze. He was so close that his breath was warming my lips.
I looked at his lips.
He looked at mine.
And for a fraction of a second… I wanted it.
The kiss.
The relief.
The freefall.
It would’ve been so easy to cross that line with him. He made it so easy. But once we crossed that line, there'd be no going back. My heart sprinted toward him—and my brain yanked it back.
I cleared my throat sharply and stepped away, the cool night air rushing between us.
“We should, um…” I gestured vaguely behind us. “Probably walk back.”
Jaxon gave a slow nod, his gaze unreadable as he looked at my lips once more before stepping back, too.
“Yeah,” he murmured. “Let’s go.”
But the space between us still crackled like we were one breath from closing it again.
And I hated how much I wanted it to.