“I’m well aware of my goals,” she countered. “You just need to remember what we’re doing. We’re going to renovate Dad’s airport so you can keep it running. But on a personal level, we should probably keep things light from here on out to avoid a messy ending.”
Jax stared at her for a half second before he closed the gap between them and curled his fingers around her shoulders. “You are delusional if you think this ending won’t be messy. You can lie to me, you can even sidetrack me for a bit, but don’t fool yourself.”
She attempted to step back, but he tightened his hold. “You cannot brush me off that quick. Last night clearly scared you to death, but don’t think for one second that it didn’t affect me. I’ve never let anyone in my life since my wife left me. But you’re here and Piper is over the moon about you.”
No need to state his own feelings. They were too complex, especially compared to that of a toddler.
“So if you don’t want a messy ending, then you sure as hell better go back to Atlanta now and leave this up to me,” he warned. “Because I’m not done with you and I’m not letting you just casually throw out that little speech about being the end of the road.”
Jax released her and headed to the storage area with his tools and ladders. He wasn’t going to say any more on the subject. He’d said enough. At this point, Livie could decide what to do, what to say, and how to approach their personal relationship.
Legally, they were bound, so she couldn’t run too far, but he wanted more. Damn it all. He wanted her and having her spend the night and play shadow puppets with his daughter to get through the storm had been the final piece linking his heart to hers.
Frustrated with himself for allowing these feelings to creep up again, Jax jerked on the storage room door, sending it clanging back against the wall. There was no one to be angry with other than himself. But the relationship he’d had with his wife was nothing like this.
Jax knew Livie. He knew her well, even though time and an age gap stood between them. He still got her, something he never truly had with his ex.
Perhaps that was the crux of the whole situation. This was new territory and he didn’t like it. He didn’t know how to handle it and he didn’t have a game plan.
“Do you want me to go?”
As he stood in the doorway staring at the various tools, Livie’s soft, questioning tone came from right behind him.
That he could answer with one hundred percent certainty. “I don’t want you to go.”
Propping his hands on his hips, he dropped his head between his shoulders and blew out a sigh. “I want to get this roof fixed, finish my day, and get your painting done. Other than that, I don’t have the emotional energy for much else.”
“You’re hurting,” she whispered.
When he turned around all he saw was those red-rimmed eyes and a vulnerable woman staring back at him. He closed the distance between them, framed her face, and tilted her head back.
“So are you,” he whispered as he rested his forehead against hers.
Now what? They were at an impasse. She wasn’t about to let him heal her, but Jax refused to let her go through this alone. She’d been alone for far too long. Whether she liked it or not, he was going to make sure she knew how much he cared.
And if that meant putting it all on the line, then so be it.
Chapter Eighteen
Olivia pulled her car behind the trucks currently occupying her driveway. What were all these people doing here? More importantly, who were they?
Jax’s truck she recognized, but who were the others?
“Yay.” Piper squealed from the back seat. “Cash and Tanner are here!”
Melanie and Jade both let out a groan. Once Jax had come by with Piper, he’d immediately jumped into painting. Since Olivia wasn’t quite ready to face him, even with her friends around as chaperones, she, Jade, and Melanie took Piper to get some ice cream.
The ice cream trip turned into a walk in the park, literally, followed up by a quick run by the pet store. Piper seriously knew how to wrap adults around her adorable little finger.
Not only had Olivia’s heart taken a drastic turn since coming to Haven, her diet had gone all to hell. The run this morning was replaced with prepping walls for painting, so she doubted that burned the calories she’d just inhaled with a double chocolate mocha chip in a waffle cone. A waffle cone dipped in chocolate.
If going through your late father’s belongings and falling for a sexy pilot who gave you hickeys as a sign of endearment weren’t cause for calorie overload, she didn’t know what was.
“I didn’t know they were coming over,” Piper announced as she unfastened her belt and hopped out of her booster seat. “We should’ve brought them ice cream.”
“They aren’t staying long,” Melanie mumbled as she got out of the car.
Olivia laughed. Melanie was still a tad bitter over the whole ticket situation. For a woman who’d been through what she had, Melanie deserved a break. Instead, she’d caught the eye of the small-town officer. If only Tanner knew he was seriously wasting his time in his warped way of flirting with Mel.
As they all headed toward the back door, Piper ran ahead and went on inside. The entire house was a bit of a wreck. Boxes were stacked in rooms not being painted that moment, drop cloths covered the old hardwood floors. Blankets and plastic wrap draped over furniture that had been shoved to the middle of rooms. It would all be worth it once she got it done and sold.
But a piece of her had a pang of guilt over taking her father’s
