I cover her up and jog back down the stairs to see my mother eyeing me from across the room.
“I can’t believe you actually brought her,” she says on a sigh.
They went into town early this morning and are just getting back. I’ve been on the beach and exploring for most of the day by myself since Bora has been sleeping.
“You invited her,” I remind her, smiling like the cheeky asshole I am. “Hope you brought your earplugs.”
She gasps, and I wink while backing away. Dad smothers his laugh with his hand, and he claps my shoulder while following me outside.
“So is this serious, or are you just pissing off your mother?” he asks as we head down to the beach.
“What do you think?”
He laughs under his breath, walking barefoot toward the water. It’s nice as fuck out here. Even better than Sterling Shore. Hotter too.
“You sure you want to spend three weeks with someone you don’t really care about, in a place full of little bikinis, just to piss off your mother?”
That has me frowning. A girl jogs down the beach, as though he paid her to do that at this moment. She smiles at us on her way by, doing a double take, but I cut my eyes away.
Bora might not be someone I plan on staying with, but she’s here with me now.
“We aren’t necessarily a couple, but we do have a monogamous agreement. Besides, I’ve never been all about the quantity. I can get along with Bora just fine for three weeks. She’s low maintenance, no drama usually, and does her own thing most days. Mom needs to learn I’m running my own life. Not her. When I’m ready to find something serious, I will. Until then, this should shut her up.”
He gives me an I-know-you-don’t-really-believe-that look, but I ignore it. It’s not a permanent fix, but it really will shut her up for a while. And I’ll make it worth it to Bora. Considering there’s really only one thing she ever wants from me, it won’t be hard to do. Especially if she keeps laughing, smiling, and acting like she has been today.
“What’s that grin for?” he asks, and I immediately wipe away my smile.
“Nothing,” I lie. “The place is nice.”
Dad rolls his eyes. “Your mother is in heaven. Your sister is in a pissy mood, thanks to Dixon. Jackass. If I can take off work, so can he. He’s a low-level nobody. He’s barely even a manager, and that’s only because he used me as a reference.”
I decide to keep my nose out of it. The last time I interfered in my sister’s marriage to help her, she told me she was older and wiser. I’ll kick his ass when she’s not looking if he’s doing what I think he’s doing.
“The auction apparently secured us a housekeeper-slash-personal cook for the stay. Didn’t know about that,” Dad says, drawing me out of my thoughts. “Your mother will die when she realizes Mick’s personal assistant is also here.”
I swallow my own tongue. “What?”
He laughs and nods. “Yeah. I’m letting your mother put her foot in her mouth for a while. It might humble her a little when she realizes how she’s been looking down her nose at people lately. She really wants to meet Mick, and this woman is his favorite person. I used to think they were a couple.”
“Why the hell would his assistant be here?”
He shrugs. “Hell if I know. He might be worried we’re robbing the place so he sent her to make sure everything stays where it’s supposed to. I’m pretending I don’t know who she is.”
That makes sense. A smile curves my lips. Dad’s right; this could definitely be a humbling experience for my overly snobby mother.
Chapter 7
BO
“Bora,” Jax murmurs close to my ear, making me jolt awake.
I look up to see him now hovering close to my lips seconds before I feel his soft, velvety brush of a kiss. “You’ve been asleep for a while. Dinner is almost ready.”
Oh shit. I fell asleep again? I was just trying to hide, not sleep. Apparently working every waking second has taken its toll on me, and my body has decided to rebel while it can.
I groan as I sit up, ignoring how my body is reacting to him being so close.
“Sorry. Should I bring a suit of armor? Your mom looked like she was ready to tear into me when we got here last night.”