Breathe (7 page)

Jax grinned. “I doubt it’s the highlight.”

I raised my eyebrows and countered, “Well, you’re wrong. When she is thirty years old, she will be telling about the night in a grocery store where she met Jax Stone. ”

Jax smirked wickedly. “If I give you back stage passes and blow you a kiss, will it be the highlight of your life?”

I managed to keep from getting hypnotized by his incredible eyes focused on me so intently. “No, only works on fans.”

He frowned and placed his hand over his heart. “Ouch.”

I laughed and turned toward the cereal aisle, leaving him to follow along behind me.

We managed to get the rest of the things I needed without another spotting. Jax kept his eyes down. He appeared to be really interested in the things in the grocery cart to the casual observer. However, I knew he didn’t want to make eye contact with anyone. He grabbed a large package of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, and I found his Big League Chew at the checkout lane and added it to my cart while he wasn’t paying attention.

Once the groceries were bought, he loaded them into the cart, and we went outside. Kane stood waiting on us and again went slowly behind us. The vehicle beeped, and the lights came on as we got near it. Jax started to load the groceries into the back of the vehicle not noticing or either ignoring Kane hovering behind us.

“I’ll do it,” Kane said in a deep, rough voice.

Jax looked back at the giant and smiled. “I can handle it. You just drive.”

Kane nodded, stepped back, and let Jax finish, but he didn’t move until he went to open the door for us. Jax sighed and motioned for me to go in first. He slid in behind me, this time sitting beside me instead of across from me.

“He’s determined not to let me impress you with my chivalry and is taking all the glory.” He smiled.

I no longer saw him as shallow and self-centered. Not after the scene I witnessed in the grocery store. I would never forget the little girl’s face when Jax kissed her head for as long as I lived.

“Are you going to share those deep thoughts with me?”

I shrugged. “I’m just remembering the little girl’s face. What you did was really nice. I didn’t picture you like that.”

He frowned. “Like what?”

“Well, I guess I didn’t think you would have acknowledged a little girl, and not only did you speak to her, you made a dream come true for her. I mean, you could have just blown her off and acted like you were not Jax Stone.” I stopped talking and gazed up at him because his mouth had formed a crooked smile. “What?” I asked.

He lightly ran his finger from my ear to my chin. “I think you’re the first girl I have ever met who is I impressed by my kindness to kids.”

My heart thudded in my chest from his touch. Drawing breath into my lungs became difficult. “Well, you really need to be pickier who you spend time with,” I managed to say without sounding breathless.

He threw back his head and laughed, and I couldn’t help but smile. “You’re right, Sadie, I do, and I think I have found someone who I want to spend time with who happens to cry for little girls she doesn’t know who have lost their fathers’ in the war.”

I didn’t want to think about the sweet, little girl being fatherless. If I teared up again, I would seem ridiculous. “You’ll get tired of me quickly. I’m boring,” I admitted out loud before I realized it.

He slipped a finger under my chin and tilted my face up. “Nothing about you is boring. Just watching you think is entertaining.”

I frowned, and he kissed my head much like he did the little girl’s and laughed softly.

“Don’t frown, beautiful. You fascinate me.”

My face grew hot, and my heart pounded so hard in my chest I feared it might burst its way out. It wasn’t fair that he could affect me with so little effort.

The vehicle stopped, and I realized we were sitting outside my apartment. I frowned at him. “I never told you how to get here.”

He grinned and went to open my door. “You work for me, Sadie. I made it my business to get your address from your file and give it to Kane before we left.”

“I hadn’t thought about that,” I muttered.

He exited the vehicle and held his hand out to me. I slipped my hand in his and stepped out.

“Can I take your bags inside for you?” he asked.

“
No
!” The thought of Jessica seeing him, or even worse, the thought of what she might be wearing, terrified me. “Um, I, it’s just my mom is not real big on people coming in these days.”

He opened the back. “Well, at least let me carry them to the door.”

“Okay.” I walked with him to the doorway and took the bags from him, and then I reached in and took out the gum. I didn’t know what to say, so I handed it to him and his face lit up. A smile I remembered from the photos of him as a little boy appeared on his face. It wasn’t a smile the world ever got a glimpse of in magazines.

“I take it I was good.”

I nodded. “Thanks again for the ride and the company.”

He bowed teasingly. “Anytime.”

I looked at him one more time and went inside. I closed the door and leaned up against it. Jax Stone had just rocked my world, and I wasn’t sure what to do about it.

Chapter Five

Three days had passed since my trip to the grocery store with Jax. I hated that I caught myself searching for glimpses of him. Somewhere, deep down, I really thought he would seek me out again. However, after three days of not laying eyes on him, I knew our night at the grocery store apparently meant much more to me than him. Yes, he took me shopping, and then home, but only because of his promise to Marcus. Sure, he held my hand a few minutes, but who was I kidding, Jax Stone probably held hands with a different girl every day. I needed to find the humor in my stupidity for assuming it meant more to him, or I would curl up in a ball and cry. He did say I fascinated him, but he really should have clarified to me that I was just the fascination for the day. I hated to think badly of him for not seeking me out again because I couldn’t forget the way he’d treated the little girl, and I knew he wasn’t a shallow teen idol. After all, to Jax Stone, I was just another girl.

He hadn’t promised his undying love to me, or even told me he would see me again. We’d said our goodbyes at my house with no promises. Nothing he said told me he would seek me out again. Sure, he said he liked spending time with me, but it didn’t appear as if he was going to make good on his words. My thinking about it made me crazy. I needed to focus on other things. I’d turned Marcus down on his invitation to go boating with him and his friends on Sunday. I skipped out on time with my friend because I chose to sulk over Jax. I needed to move on and let it go. My night with Jax would be a really good memory I’d never forget, just like the little girl.

When I arrived at the Stone Mansion, Ms. Mary met me at the door. “Sadie, we're entertaining tonight. Master Jax is having over some friends, and there is to be dancing and an open bar as well as lots of food! Now, I need all my younger employees to serve all night. We got some special uniforms for this. Marcus will be here shortly with the new server, William, and they are bringing a few friends who will also be helpin' out. Don’t worry about changing just yet.”

She turned and grabbed a large bucket of something very unappetizing. “Have you ever peeled and deveined shrimp before?” Words failed me, and apparently my face showed my horror because she laughed out loud. “Of course not, you’re a Tennessee gal. Come here and I'll teach you how. We have ourselves twenty pounds of fresh shrimp we need to peel and devein for different appetizers.”

I nodded and prayed I would have the stomach of steel I knew I would need for this horrible task. Ms. Mary directed me to a wash sink, pulled out an empty bucket, and placed it inside. She brought a large stainless steel bowl and put it on the other side of the sink.

“Here.” She handed me a shrimp, which I did not like to see or touch battered and fried, much less uncooked. “First you peel 'em, just like this, then you take this here deveiner, you slip it into the top right here, and use it to pull out this black string. Throw all the peeling and black strings in here, and then put the clean shrimp in the bowl.”

I gave her a small nod then swallowed the bile in my throat. “What is that black string?” I asked.

She smiled at me. “Girl, from the color of your face, you do not want to know. Now, you just ought to be glad Mr. Greg got here early and beheaded these fellas for you because if you are thinking this is gross, you would have a fit pinching the heads off.”

I held up my hand in protest. “Please, no more, stop,” I said, my stomach churning.

She patted me on the back. “When you are done with these, you'll be a true south Alabama girl.”

I studied the gross creatures in front of me and decided right then and there that if this is what it took to be a true south Alabama girl, I'd much rather stay a true Tennessee mountain chick.

Four hours later, after some help from Marcus, and even a little help from Mr. Greg, there were twenty pounds of clean shrimp. Now, I will never put one in my mouth, but I sure can peel and devein one “like nobody’s business”...or at least Mr. Greg said I could. Ms. Mary walked over and handed me a bowl of lemon juice and water.

“Here, girl, soak those hands in this. The smell will be gone in about ten minutes.”

I stared in horror at my hands and realized the smell I managed to get use to after hours of working with the nasty little things, now clung to my hands. I sank them down into the cleansing concoction as quickly as I could. My face must have expressed my thoughts because Ms. Mary threw back her head and laughed one of her deep belly laughs that always made me smile.

“Girl, you sure keep this place interesting. I don’t know what I did before you came here to make me smile.”

I grinned and shrugged sheepishly. Marcus walked into the kitchen and saw my hands in the lemon juice mixture, and then sat down beside me and slipped his in it too.

“I just got a whiff of these fingers outside and realized I needed some help.”

I slid my hands over and gave him plenty of room. “What I don’t understand is why people eat these things willingly. I would think their appearance is all it would take to turn them off. And if the nasty look of them isn’t enough, they should sit and try to peel and devein the little things.”

Marcus grinned and shrugged. “I happen to like them.”

I rolled my eyes. “It is because all you beach people think they are the food of the gods, when they are really just nasty old ocean floor feeders.”

Marcus wiggled his eyebrows. “Maybe so, but they sure taste good.”

I made a gagging noise, and he laughed.

“Okay, you two, I need you cleaned up and dressed within the hour.” Ms. Mary stood with her hands on her hips. She said to Marcus, “When will William and the others get here?”

Marcus glanced over at the digital clock on the large stainless steel industrial size refrigerator, and then back at Ms. Mary. “In 23.4 minutes, ma’am.”

She rolled her eyes and turned back toward the stove. “Once they get here, I expect you and William to give them their orders. Sadie, just do as Marcus directs you. He has done this thing before for Master Jax, and he knows the ropes.”

Marcus slipped his hands out and dried them on the towel beside me. I considered taking mine out, too, and decided I'd touched more shrimp than the rest of them and needed more soaking, so I stayed put.

“It’s not like when you’re feeding the family. You will be expected to smile and mingle among the guests with food on a tray, and not bump into anyone, or drop it.”

His gaze darted to Ms. Mary, whose back was still turned, and then back at me. “One thing I want to warn you about is the fact there will be guys here tonight. They are not going to find you invisible.” He reached up and tugged at one of the curls falling down out of my ponytail. “This hair and those eyes are hard to miss, and although I have to give it to Jax, he is a nice guy and not like most guys in his position, some of the guys here tonight will not be so nice.”

I nodded not sure what he meant by this. “Okay,” I said, hoping he would elaborate.

He leaned down toward my ear. “They will flirt with you heavily and some may touch you in areas they have no business touching. Tell me if they do. I don’t care who they are or how much money they have, it isn’t all right for them to do those things.”

“Okay,” I said again for fear my voice would betray my nervousness if I said more.

Marcus stood. “You won’t be alone, so don’t worry. Preston and Rock are coming. Which is another reason you should tell me if someone messes with you. If Preston were to see, I think he might get us all fired.” With a wink, he left the room.

I sat there with my hands in the lemon juice and thought of what flirting heavy may entail, and how I might get out of tonight’s event.

“Girl, the smell left your hands an hour ago. Now you’re just turnin' them into lemon-scented prunes.”

I took them out of the lemon mixture and dried them off on the same hand towel Marcus used. I sniffed them to ensure their fresh scent and smiled at their lemon aroma. “Ah, much better.”

Ms. Mary laughed and shook her head. I stood, took the bowl to the sink poured it out, and placed the bowl in the dishwasher. I didn’t have a whole lot of time to get changed before the party started, so I forced myself to get focused and not dwell on what might happen. Besides, I’m pretty tough. Heck, I’d just peeled and deveined twenty pounds of shrimp. I could do this. I couldn’t expect Marcus to sacrifice his job to stand up for my honor. It wouldn’t be the first time a guy made unwanted advances at me. Preston might be a concern, but I wasn’t convinced Marcus was right about Preston’s interest in me. How long could this last anyway? I could handle anything for a few hours...right?

The outfit the girl servers had to wear reminded me of a French maid’s costume with a little more fabric. Marcus seemed so worried about making me comfortable about tonight, I couldn’t let anyone know how nervous I really was. First off, I knew I would see Jax tonight. The fact that he’d made no effort to see or speak to me after our trip to the grocery store stung, but honestly I shouldn’t have expected more. He was famous, rich, and beautiful, and I worked in his kitchen. It irritated me when I thought of all the things I told him. Something about his eyes made me want to spill my soul. I was too mature to stoop to mooning over a teenage rock star. I pulled my hair up into a loose bun on top of my head, which I always thought made me appear older. Right then, I needed all the confidence I could muster. If I dwelt on my actual age, I tended to freak out in stressful moments. I would be serving the oysters, nasty little things, and the shrimp cocktail, which I seemed to have formed a weird bond with, so I didn’t mind those as much. Marcus stood in the kitchen talking to Preston and Rock. Trisha and a girl I remembered from the pool were standing over to the side giggling.