“I will.”
I walk back out, feeling a tad bit more confident. That is… until my eyes lock with the smoky blues. He’s good at making me feel off-step.
“We were wondering if you’d gotten lost,” Viv chirps, looking at me like she wants to say so much more.
“I was just speaking with Helen about the house. She told me there’s an excellent rooftop balcony that is great to be on at night,” I lie, well sort of. There really is a rooftop balcony.
“Oh?” Jax asks with a grin. “Is that a hint?”
I blush like an idiot as my girly grin spreads, and I hear the uncomfortable shifting of his sister and mother. Jax’s eyes narrow as he tilts his head, his smile turning wary. Uh-oh. Is he figuring it out?
No. No. He can’t be figuring it out. I’m just being paranoid.
Unless he knows Bora has a twin—which he doesn’t—it’d be impossible to figure out.
“Well, my calls are made,” Mr. Marshall says as he walks in, looking at everyone who is looking at me. “Did I miss something?”
Jax stands and walks over to me, cupping my chin and tilting my head up so that my eyes are forced to meet his. “You’re being... different. Shy? Bashful?” he whispers, keeping our conversation private as his mother and father speak about the balcony revelation.
“Sorry,” I mutter.
He leans down to press a soft, sweet, quick kiss on my lips, and then pulls me to him as he leans back up.
“I like it, so don’t apologize. It’s nice to see you act as though you’re human instead of made of stone.”
I wince a little, feeling as though I’m betraying Bora by letting him approve of me.
“Dinner is served,” Helen announces, giving me the reprieve I need.
Jax tugs my hand, and we sit down to the meal Sarah probably had to cook the majority of. Helen gives me a wink when she sets my plate down in front of me. I know without a doubt my steak is cooked exactly the way I want it.
“Do you eat red meat, Bora?” Mrs. Frigid… I mean, Mrs. Marshall asks, sounding like the asshole Barbie she is. “I didn’t even think to ask.”
Jax squirms beside me. Bora never hardly eats red meat, unless she’s starving and has no options. I’m sure they knew that, and that’s probably why we’re having steak instead of some chicken course. They want me to act out. But I’m not Bora.
“Yes, I do. In fact, I love it.”
I cut the steak, ignoring their surprise, and chew a piece that is way too big for one mouthful. It’d suck to choke right now when I’m trying to be smug.
“I thought you hated red meat,” Jax whispers close to my ear.
I painfully swallow the chunk of meat that needed to be cut a few more times.
“People’s taste changes,” I say with a shrug, making it seem as though it’s no big deal.
His smile is butterfly-worthy, but I try to stay as nonchalant as possible.
“You’re full of surprises lately,” Jax murmurs softly as his parents start discussing the amazing house we’re in.
“Am I?” I ask innocently before pushing a smaller, much easier to chew piece into my mouth.
His eyes flick to my lips, and my heart does that hammering thing.
“Very much so.” He puts his mouth closer to my ear. “I’ll show you how much I like it later.”
So much for not choking. The smaller piece of meat gets sucked to the back of my throat, sucker punching my esophagus like a shady jerk. I cough and sputter like someone who just inhaled a bug. Jax gently pounds my back until the meat shoots out across the table and… lands in Viv’s glass.
“Gross,” she hisses, gagging while pushing the glass away from her. I try not to die from embarrassment while Jax laughs into his napkin, his entire body shaking from the effort it takes not to just lose it.