I’m paralyzed by his gaze. The way he says my name sends a thrill of pleasure down my spine, and I politely nod. “Hi.”
“I already made reservations, so we are good to go,” Jax says, extending his hand toward the door.
Johnathan holds it open. “After you.”
“Such a gentleman.” Jax curtsies and walks inside.
I follow behind my brother, my mind racing. How am I supposed to get through dinner when I can’t even think of anything to say back to him? Was that night at the wedding the last ounce of interesting I had left in me? My fingers accidentally brush Johnathan’s side as I pass through the door, gliding against his crotch.
I snap my head up with wide eyes. “I’m so sorry.”
“Don’t be,” he whispers, voice thick with desire. His scent overpowers me, and I want nothing more than to steal Johnathan away for the rest of the night.
“Kylie, I thought you were cold,” Jax scolds me.
I tear my gaze from those lustful eyes and hurry faster inside. This is going to be impossible.
CHAPTER9
Johnathan
She’s gorgeous.That green dress draws me in even more than the red one. Every swing of her hips has me hypnotized. Was her touch intentional? Her expression was shocked, but her fingers still lingered. I’m glad I was able to convince my new henchmen to wait outside the restaurant. The last thing I need is some lingering paparazzi to catch me lusting over Kylie. I follow them into the dimly lit waiting area, the low din of the dining room surrounding us as we walk to our table. I glance at the brick walls for a back exit. Maybe I can find a reason to get her alone. Pick up where we left off and then…
No. I need to calm down. Jax will murder me if he finds out that I banged his little sister. Of all the things, why did she have to be his sister? I should’ve known. I was at his cousin’s wedding after all. Something should’ve given it away. But the more I watch those hips sway in front of me, the more I can’t see a single similarity.
“All right, what do we have here?” Jax plops into his chair and scans the menu as I settle into my seat across from her.
Kylie. A fitting name for a dark beauty. Her eyes flit from me to her menu and back to me. She’s just as flustered as I am. Does she want me just as badly?
The waitress snags my attention as she puts down a basket of breadsticks between us. “Can I get you guys anything to get started?”
“I’ll have a lemonade,” Kylie says, not bothering to look up from her menu.
“Rum and Coke for me.” Jax nods.
The waiter stares at me expectantly. “And you, sir?”
“Um.” I blink at my menu, the words looking like squiggles on the page. “I’ll just have a water.”
“Sounds good.” She looks me once over before walking away, her hips swinging harder than before. She’s cute, but Kylie beats her out by a mile. Not that it makes a difference with Jax sitting right next to me. Fate has been cruel to me these past few days.
“I take you out for dinner and you order a water.” Jax slaps me on the arm. “Next you’ll be ordering a cucumber side salad.”
“Sorry.” I laugh. “I’m just a bit distracted today.”
“I bet,” Kylie’s voice pipes up from across the table. Jax snaps his head her way, and she glances between the both of us. “What? His dad just died. Cut him some slack.”
“Yeah, but his dad had it coming.” Jax leans back with ease. “No offense, man, but your dad was the angriest, most stressed-out guy I’ve ever met. Now that you’re in charge, you can take your life back. Call the shots. Be the big wig shaking the hands of all those politicians your dad loved so much.”
He has a point. With everything officially in my name, I’ll be the one calling the shots at the daily meetings. Whether they like it or not, they answer to me. Including the viper queen. I imagine sitting in my dad’s office as I throw divorce papers at Isabella, money raining down on me as I smoke a cigar. “If only it were that easy.”
“Just lay down the law. Let everyone know that you’re in charge and they’ll have to accept it.”
“It’s not that. There’s just so much to work out, I don’t even know where to start.” I steal a glance at Kylie, who continues to hide behind her menu.
Jax flips through his own menu, oblivious. “Didn’t your dad have an assistant or a secretary?”
“That’s rich.” I laugh. “That man barely let anyone touch anything in that place. I was probably the closest thing he had to an assistant.”