“Yeah, I figured as much.” There was a note of regret in his tone.
A second later, a plate of scrambled eggs, bacon, and two golden brown pieces of toast appeared in front of me.
“Eat. It will help.” Jax sat on the stool next to me, a similar plate of food in front of him.
Eating was the last thing on my mind, but my stomach grumbled. I took a small bite of the eggs. They were light and warm and seasoned with just the right amount of salt, pepper, and cheese.
“Wow. These are really good,” I said.
One corner of Jax’s mouth lifted in an arrogant smile. “Courtesy of two years of culinary school.”
My jaw dropped. “You went to culinary school?”
He nodded. Chewing and swallowing a mouthful of food, he said, “When you have an eternity at your disposal, you can do whatever you want. There were a few years where the boredom got to me, so I went to school.” He shrugged.
I ate several more bites, savoring the taste. “You know, for someone who doesn’t need to eat, you sure do like food.”
Jax laughed, and despite my bad mood, I smiled.
“Just because I don’t need this kind of food doesn’t mean I don’t like it. With my heightened senses, it tastes…” He paused as if searching for the right words. “Sinful. Like the one thing you know you’re not supposed to do, but you do it anyway. That rush you get? It’s exactly like that.” He grinned.
I stared at him. Pre memory loss, Jax had been angry and closed off. In Malibu, he’d been quiet and guarded, not really saying much. But this was an entirely new side of him. He was relaxed and passionate. His eyes sparkled in a way that reminded me too much of Trent, of the way he looked at me with adoration and amusement.
Would he still look at me like that if I refused to tell him what I knew? Or would he become angry and frustrated with me? Now that I had Trent back in my life, I couldn’t handle the thought of fighting with him, especially when we were living together. Appetite gone, I pushed my plate away.
“What’s wrong?” Jax nodded at my plate.
“Nothing. I’m just full.” I gave him my best smile, but based on the way he narrowed his eyes, he didn’t believe me. “It was really good, though.”
“Of course it was. I made it.” He winked.
I refused to let him disarm me, to make me forget his betrayal and deceit. “So, where’s your dad, anyway?”
“He left before Trent.” Jax shoveled the rest of his eggs into his mouth and ate them. “He’s meeting with Audrey. The friend he mentioned last night. He’s hoping she has more information about the coven.”
“Right.” I snatched my plate and carried it to the trash. Scraping the uneaten food into the garbage, I set my dishes in the sink.
“Which means it’s just you and me,” Jax said from behind me.
I gasped and spun around—and bumped right into Jax’s chest. I hadn’t even heard him move. I glared at him. “Don’t sneak up on people like that. It’s rude.”
Without moving, he reached around me and set his plate in the sink, bringing him even closer. I sucked in a breath, which only caused me to get a big whiff of his cologne.
“Sorry,” he said, smirking, as he took a step back.
I let out the breath I’d been holding.
Jax shoved his hands into his pockets. “So, what do you want to do today?”
“What?” I blinked, thinking I’d misheard him.
“Considering I have no idea when Dad or Trent will be back, and it’s just the two of us…” He shrugged. “Figured you’d want to do something.”
“Like what?”
A wicked grin lifted his lips, and my gaze zeroed in on his mouth. His grin widened, and I snapped my attention back to his eyes. His intentions were written across his face like a glaring neon sign. But that wasn’t possible because Jax didn’t like me that way. And I sure as heck didn’t like him that way, either.
I moved away from the sink—and him—and inched toward the stairs. “Um…”
He flung his head back and laughed. He was messing with me.
I grabbed the dish towel from the counter and threw it at him. “You’re a jerk.” But I couldn’t stop from laughing.
He caught the towel midair. “Get your shoes on. We’re going outside.” Then, without another word, he turned on his heel and made his way toward the sliding glass doors.
I quickly put on my sneakers and followed Jax out onto the back porch. He was leaning on the railing, arms extended over the wooden beam, hands clasped, his back to me. I was hit with the memory of that day he took me to the lighthouse, the day he’d told me to give Trent a chance. That was the last day I’d seen or talked to Jax, until I showed up at Trent’s hotel.
Momentarily closing my eyes, I forced the image away. That version of Jax was nothing but a lie. Jax wasn’t my friend, not in the ways that truly mattered.
“It’s peaceful here,” he said.
“It’s beautiful,” I said, mimicking his stance and staring at the miles of woods stretched out before me. It wasn’t quite as awe inspiring as the ocean, but it was close. “It’s quiet.”
Other than a random bird chirping, there were no sounds. No traffic. No people. Nothing at all like the constant rush of noise in Malibu.
“Want to go for a walk?” He twisted so he was facing me, elbow propped on the railing.
“Trent told you to babysit me, didn’t he?”
Jax shrugged one shoulder. “Yes, but I don’t mind.”
Anger sparked and then ignited in my chest. The nerve of Trent. He disappeared from my room without so much as a goodbye or a note telling me where he was going, and then he sends his brother to babysit me? I didn’t think so.
“Yeah, well, I
