Simply Irresistible

Chapter 16

Maddie sat at the desk in the marina office. It was beginning to become clear why the inn hadn’t been successful. Phoebe hadn’t charged enough for any of the services, and sometimes, when she’d known her customers, she hadn’t charged at all.

That would have to change-assuming they got their financing, that is. And assuming that by fixing the place up, they got customers. And that both of those things helped Maddie convince her sisters to keep the inn instead of selling. She dropped her head to the desk and hit it lightly a few times as a man let himself into the marina building.

He was six foot four, at least two hundred and fifty pounds, and looked like Sully from Monsters Inc., minus the smile and blue fur.

“Need to rent a boat.” His voice thundered like he’d spoken through a microphone. “Fully equipped.”

She jumped in automatic response. “Have you rented here before?”

“Yes.”

Good. So one of them knew what they were doing.

“Name’s Peter Jenkins.” He pounded his finger on her desk. “And I get a deal. Phoebe always gave me a deal.”

Since Maddie had just yesterday organized the accounts receivables, she was proud to be able to go right to the file cabinet and locate a stack of boat rentals, where she pulled out one with his name on it. Please have notes, please have notes…

“Make sure it’s gassed up,” he boomed. “And I’m in a hurry here.”

Yes, she was getting that. And she was getting something else-nervous as hell. He yelled when he talked. It was making her fingers refuse to work and her brain uncooperative. Plus, she hadn’t yet studied any of their rental agreements or learned the procedure.

“What the hell’s taking you so long?”

“I’m sorry.” She reached for the file of blank rental agreements, looking for one for the fishing boat. “I’m new at this, so-”

“Oh for fuck’s sake.” He slapped some cash onto the desk, making everything on the surface bounce. Maddie nearly jumped out of her skin. She took a careful breath, working really hard to find her nerve. She located it about the same time she put her fingers on the right form. “Got it-”

But he’d taken the keys off the hook on the wall and was already out the door and on the dock, stalking toward the boat.

“Hey,” she called out, grabbing the cash and stuffing it into her pocket to add to the cash box later. It wouldn’t be difficult. The cash box was currently empty. “Excuse me!”

He’d boarded the boat by the time she caught up to him. “Mr. Jenkins, I need you to sign-”

Ignoring her, he untied the rope and pissed her off. She hopped on board before he could pull away, but as she jumped down, the boat pitched violently.

“Stern!” he bellowed. “Stern!”

Gripping the side of the boat, Maddie crouched low and looked at the very cold water, trying not to panic as they rocked hard. Logically she knew stern had to mean right or left, or maybe front or back. For all she knew, it meant go to hell, but with no idea which direction to move, and with the boat still pitching side to side and threatening to capsize, Maddie dropped to her butt.

“Get off the goddamned boat!”

Oh, hell no. “Not until you sign!”

Mr. Jenkins sent her a hard, long look, but she didn’t cower.

Much.

Instead she whipped a pen out of her pocket and offered it up. He snatched the paper from her, signed it, then tossed it in her lap. Gee, guess he was in a hurry to get rid of her. She very carefully climbed out of the boat and stood on the dock as he headed out of the marina, muttering something about suing her for stupidity.

Rude. She stalked back to the office, talking to herself.

“Did you skip the caffeine again?” Jax asked.

She took in the unexpected sight of him standing in the doorway, palms up on the wooden frame above him.

Just looking at him made her feel better.

A lot better. He was watching her with a little smile on his face, wearing his usual uniform of a pair of jeans and battered boots, today with a merino wool hoodie sweatshirt.

And his tool belt.

Let’s not forget the tool belt. “I’ve had caffeine,” she told him. “And a blast of Mr. Jenkins. He called me an idiot.”

Jax’s lazy smile vanished. “What?”

“Yeah, I didn’t know stem from stern. Hell, I barely know what horses have to do with engines.” She smiled, but he didn’t.

Instead, he pushed off from the doorframe and came close. “He’s an ass.”

“Agreed. But he’s a paying ass. Why would my mom have given that man a deal?”

“I think she dated him briefly, but even her sunny nature gave up trying to cure his chronic grumpiness. Tell me you kicked him out of here when he mouthed off at you.”

“I was tempted. But truthfully, it was my own fault.”

Jax stilled, his expression going very quiet, very serious. “Maddie.”

She stared at him, her stomach pinging hollowly. “Dammit,” she whispered. “It wasn’t my fault. I did it again.” She closed her eyes. Whirling, hands fisted, she flew to the marina door with some half-baked idea about climbing back onto that boat and-

“Maddie.“

“No, I have to go. I have to give him a piece of my mind and maybe a foot shoved up his-”

Two warm arms surrounded her, pulling her back against a solid chest. “I’m all for that,” he said in her ear. “In fact, I’ll hold him down for you if you’d like. But unless you want to go for a swim to retrieve him, you’re going to have to wait a few hours.”

She turned to face him. He was still dangerously quiet, and there was an anger in his eyes she’d not seen since he kicked that patron out of the Love Shack that first night. It gave her yet another heart lurch, even though she knew he wasn’t mad at her. “Being the strong female lead star of my own life is harder than I thought.”

“You’re doing good. You’re doing real good.”

She let out the breath that she hadn’t realized she was holding and tipped her face up to his. “Yeah?”

His eyes warmed. “Yeah.”

She managed a little smile. “Would you really hold him down for me?”

“In a heartbeat.”

For some reason, that gave her a warm fuzzy, and her smile spread. “It’s not exactly… politically correct.”

The look he gave her said he didn’t give a shit about being politically correct, he only cared about what was right.

And God, even from here, he smelled delicious. How was it that he always smelled so good? But rather than grabbing his sweatshirt and pulling him in, she stepped around him to her desk. “I’ve got to finish getting all this straightened out. I don’t want to lose money because I don’t know what I’m doing. And Mr. Jenkins threatened to sue me for stupidity, which would really suck.”

“Tell him you’re going to countersue for emotional damages.”

She smiled at the thought. “Can someone really do that?”

“If you could prove you were negligently injured.”

“You sound like a lawyer.” She grinned. “Good thing you’re not, because then I’d probably not like you as much.”

“Come here,” he said softly and pulled her in for a hug. “Kiss me, Maddie. Show me you remember our place.”

She went up on her tiptoes and kissed him until she couldn’t remember her own name, then pressed her face to his throat, feeling an odd tug in her chest at how much this meant. At how much he meant.

“Maddie-”

“I love how open you are,” she said. “How honest. Do all the women you date appreciate that?”

“I’m not dating anyone else right now. Tell me that you know that we wouldn’t have had sex if I was seeing someone else.”

“Well, you’d think I’d know that, but I’ve made some bad choices,” she said. “I no longer trust my judgment. It’s easier for me to hear it straight from you, because I can believe what you say.”

That odd something crossed his face, coming and going so fast she couldn’t identify it. For a long moment, he watched his thumb glide along her jaw. “How about what I don’t say?”

“What?”

“I haven’t been in a relationship for five years,” he said. “Since before I moved back here. Opening up isn’t exactly second nature for me, Maddie.”

“Five years is a long time to go without sex.”

His eyes cut to hers. “I didn’t say I’d gone without sex.”

“Oh.” Oh.

“But before you, it’d been a while for that, too.”

“There’s plenty of women in town.”

“Yes, and most of them take their dating far more seriously than I do. Maddie, you need to know something about me.”

God. “You’re married. You’re a felon. You’re-”

“A lawyer. Before I moved back to Lucky Harbor, I was in Seattle. I was practicing law.”

Jax spent a few days building new bathroom vanities at his own home wood shop on the other side of town. Maddie hadn’t said much about his revelation, but then again, she’d made herself scarce.

There was nothing Jax could do about his past, it was written in ink. And he’d done the right thing by telling her. Especially since he’d held back other things-secrets that weren’t his to share.

He only hoped Maddie saw it the same way. He kept telling himself that she would, that what they were beginning to feel for each other would be stronger than extenuating circumstances.

As he made his way through his house to leave for the shrimp feed, he shook his head at all the decorations Jeanne had put up, complete with mistletoe hanging from his doorways. It was clear that she was optimistic for his shot at having a woman in the house. Probably he’d blown that.

He drove to the pier. In a few hours, just about everyone in town would arrive for the annual event. The money raised tonight would supplement the funds for the police and fire departments, which was important but definitely not the first thing on people’s minds as they paid to get in.

Nope, that would be the events. First up was the parade of shrimp boats, always led by the mayor on a decorated jet ski. Then the person who came closest to guessing the amount of shrimp brought in would get to kiss the mayor.

Man, woman, or child.

With Jax’s luck, it’d be Ford or Sawyer. Last year it’d been his mail carrier-much to everyone’s utter delight. Hopefully this year, plenty of the other two thousand people in town had bought tickets.

Afterward, they’d eat until their guts hurt and then dance to the Nitty Gritty, the local pop-rock band. People would probably still be dancing as the first pink tinges of dawn came up on the horizon.

Sawyer arrived right after Jax. He was in uniform, there on official crowd-control duty. And to make fun of Jax, of course. Ford showed up, too, setting up a booth for the Love Shack from which beer, wine, and eggnog would be floating aplenty.

Jax eyed the jet ski waiting for him. It was a loan from Lance and his brother-when they weren’t manning their ice cream shop, they were big jet skiers. In the summertime, like normal people.

Not many were crazy enough to go jet skiing in the dead of winter, but tradition was tradition.

Lance was grinning when he handed over the key. The kid was facing a virtual death sentence with his cystic fibrosis, but he knew how to enjoy life. He’d lavishly decorated the jet ski with Christmas lights. Sawyer had helped him, and both had promised that everything was battery operated and waterproof so Jax probably wouldn’t get electrocuted.

Good to know his friends had his back.

Out on the water about two hundred yards, three shrimp boats waited, also lavishly-aka garishly-decorated, ready for him to escort them in parade-like fashion. “Good times,” Lance said and grinned.

Jax turned his face upward. Lots of clouds, but no snow or rain. That was good. But it was forty-eight degrees, so “good” was relative. He pulled on the thick, waterproof fisherman gear the shrimpers wore so at least he wouldn’t freeze off any vital parts.

The crowd woo-hoo’d as if he was stripping instead of putting on gear, and he rolled his eyes. Looking out into the faces, he locked gazes with Maddie.

She shook her head. Obviously, she wasn’t over the whole lawyer thing-not that he blamed her-and just as obviously, she thought he was crazy.

He’d have to agree there. He smiled at her. She didn’t return it. Ouch. He’d have to work on fixing that, but one problem at a time. Stepping into the water, he straddled the jet ski and took another look at the shore.

Ford and Sawyer were grinning. So was Chloe.

Bloodthirsty friends.

Maddie had her hand over her mouth, so he wasn’t exactly sure what her expression was now. He hoped it was sympathy, and he also hoped that he could get that to work in his favor in a little bit when he needed warming up.

As he’d imagined, the next ten minutes passed in a frozen blur as he rode the jet ski and lead the shrimp parade. Then he was back on shore, being warmly greeted and wrapped in blankets. Sandy shoved a mic into his hand and a piece of paper. The crowd hushed with expectant hope.

“Eight hundred and fifty-six shrimp,” Jax called out.

No one had guessed that exact amount, but one person had come close at 850. He accepted another piece of paper from Sandy with the winner’s name. He read it silently and looked at Maddie, who stared back, thoughts closed but a little pissiness definitely showing.

Trying to convey both apology and self-deprication, he smiled at her. “Maddie Moore,” he said to wild cheers.

Maddie’s mouth fell open.

Chloe helpfully shoved her forward.

“But I didn’t put any tickets in,” Maddie said as Jax grabbed her hand in his and pulled her up onto the makeshift stage.

Ford and Sawyer were cracking up. So was Chloe, and Maddie narrowed her eyes at her. “How many tickets in my name did you enter?”

“Fifty.”

“Me, too,” Ford called out.

Sawyer grinned. “A hundred from me. Good cause and all.”

Okay, Jax thought, so maybe sometimes his bloodthirsty friends came in handy.

“I entered my name one hundred times,” Lucille called out, disappointment clear across her face. “Damn. Maybe next year…”

“Kiss, kiss, kiss,” chanted the crowd.

Jax had stopped shivering, but he still had some serious warming up to do. Both his own body, and Maddie, because her eyes were on him, cool and distant.

Yep, definitely needed some warming up. Kissing sounded like a great way to do that. Holding Maddie’s very resistant gaze in his, he tugged her close, looking forward to this for the first time all day.

“You’re freezing,” Maddie whispered.

“Yes.”

She sighed and slipped her arms around his waist, tipping her face up to his. “I’m still mad at you.”

“I know.” He stared down into her beautiful eyes and felt his heart catch with all the possibilities he felt, not to mention hope-an extremely new emotion for him. “I plan on changing your mind about me.”

“Jax-”

“I’m sorry, Maddie. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner, but you have to know, I’m not a lawyer now. That was my past.”

“I know.”

“Kiss!” yelled the crowd.

Maddie fidgeted in his arms, clearly not thrilled with having an audience for this. He ran a slow hand up her throat before cupping her jaw, leaving his other hand low on her back in what he hoped was a soothing gesture. “You okay with this, Maddie?”

Surprising the hell out of him, she answered by cupping his icy face in her hands and going up on her tiptoes to reach him. He met her halfway, bending low to cover her mouth with his. He heard her suck in a breath and knew his lips were icy. Apologizing with a soft murmur, he changed the angle to get a better taste of her.

Then she surprised him again.

Her mouth opened for his, and the sweet kiss turned into something else, something sensuous and intense. Heat exploded within him, melting all the iciness from the inside out.

Around them, the crowd whooped and hollered, and Maddie began to pull back, but he held her tight.

“Need a minute?” she whispered, a hint of humor behind the heat in her eyes as she brushed up against his erection.

“Maybe two-” He broke off with a jagged groan when she put her mouth to his ear. “Maddie, that’s not helping.”

But then she whispered something that did help.

“Just think,” she whispered. “It could have been Lucille.”

Ford was bartending, serving beer on tap to a line of customers. Jax, warmed up now, was behind the bar getting cups and restocking the alcohol. The booth was good for Ford because it made the Love Shack even more popular, which in turn was good for Jax because he owned the other half of the bar.

In fact, Jax coowned several businesses in town. It was what he’d done with his money when he’d come back to Lucky Harbor. He’d bought up properties in a sagging market to help the people who’d known and loved him all his life.

They were thankful, but he was the one who felt the gratitude. They’d welcomed him back, given him a sense of belonging when he’d so desperately needed it.

“Wake up,” Tara said with a little wave in his face. She’d come to his end of the bar, away from the line and the crowds, and was looking at him expectantly. “Yeah, hi. I’m looking for a drink.”

“The line’s over there. I’m not serving, I’m just-”

She tapped the bar. “Listen, sugar. Lucille just asked me about the stick up my ass, okay? I need a drink pronto. Make it a double.”

He grimaced. “Beer, wine, or eggnog?”

“Well, hell. Wine.”

Jax poured her a very full glass and handed it over, watching as she tossed it back like a shot of Jack. “Tara.”

“Yeah?”

“You have to tell her.”

Tara stared at him, then sat and dropped her head to the bar. “I’m going to need more alcohol for this. And something far stronger than wine.”

Jax reached beneath the bar for a shot glass and a bottle of Jack that Ford had squirreled down there for… hell, he had no idea.

“Bless your heart,” Tara said fervently as he poured her two fingers.

“You can’t keep this from Maddie any longer.”

“Watch me.”

Jax shook his head. “When Phoebe asked me to draw up the blind trust five years ago, she also asked me for a promise. That you be protected at all costs.”

“Not me.” Tara shut her eyes. “My secret. She wanted my secret protected.” Her eyes flew open. “Which means you can’t tell.” She sounded relieved. “You can’t, you promised-”

“But you didn’t,” he said.

“Jax.”

Who’d have thought that a promise to a dead woman would result in betraying a person he’d come to care for so deeply? “I don’t break my promises, Tara. Ever.” Not to mention professional confidentiality. “But when Phoebe put all her liquid assets into that blind trust-”

“It left her in a precarious position when she needed cash. And then you gave her the loan against the inn.” Tara’s eyes filled with misery. “I never meant for either of you to have to be in that position-”

“I know,” he said quietly. “But now I’m sitting on two secrets from a dead woman. Secrets that aren’t fair to either of your sisters.”

“You care about Maddie.”

“Yes, I do.”

“A lot.” She leaned in and looked deep into his eyes. “She’s not just a quick lay to you.”

Hadn’t been for a while now, the knowledge of which had pretty much sneaked up on him. “You have to find a way to tell her,” he repeated softly. “Or I’ll find a way for you.”

Tara stared at him, then thrust out her glass.

He obligingly refilled it, and she drank it down with a shudder. “I haven’t told anyone,” she whispered. “Ever.”

“This isn’t just anyone. It’s Maddie. She deserves to know what you’re holding back and why. And she deserves to know the domino effect of it all, the inn, the loan, the trust, all of it.”

Tara closed her eyes and let out a long, slow breath. “I’m just so… ashamed.”

Understanding that all too well, he covered her hand with his. “You were just a kid, Tara. You got in over your head and paid dearly. There’s no shame in that. You’re giving it more power by keeping it a secret.”

“I know.” She pulled her scarf closer around her neck. It was green and sparkly, and very, very crooked. “She’s making you one now,” she said, seeing where his gaze had gone. “It’s multicolored. And ugly as sin, bless her heart. I need another shot, sugar.”

He poured, then watched her toss that back, as well. “You okay?”

“Fan-fucking-tastic.”

“Liar.”

Tara blew out a breath. “She made me this scarf with love, and lots of it, even though I’m the one who stresses her out when I fight with Chloe.”

“So stop fighting with Chloe.”

“She wants us all to be together.” She closed her eyes and pushed the empty shot glass his way. “Here in this town where I made my biggest mistake.”

“Maybe it’s time to stop looking at it as a mistake. There’s got to be something you like about being here, or you’d have left when you had the chance.”

She stared down at the scarf, fingering the yarn. “I’ve been cooking.”

“And damn well. I’m partial to those bacon bleu cheese burgers, myself.”

“I am good,” she said, looking both proud and a little surprised. “And somehow I agreed to work at the café and stay for the rest of the month, which is crazy, given how badly I want to be anywhere other than here. I’m working at Eat Me Café, for God’s sake.” Lifting her head, she leveled her baffled gaze on his. “Let me repeat that. I work at a café called Eat Me. What kind of idiot does that make me?”

“The good-sister kind,” he said. “Tell her, Tara.”

She closed her eyes, then opened them. They were shiny now, and he feared that she was going to cry. But he should have known better.

“I can’t, Jax,” she said. “Not yet. I’m not ready.”

He let out a long breath. Not what he’d wanted to hear. He ached for Maddie, ached for what he was beginning to feel for her knowing that they’d all held so much back from her. Taking Tara’s shot glass away, he poured another glass with water.

“She wants things we can’t give her, Jax. She wants us to be a family. I don’t know anything about family.”

“You’re wearing the scarf she made for you,” he pointed out. “That seems like a sisterly thing to do.”

“She’s been so alone. Her father’s a good man, but he’s a set designer. She spent most of her childhood on location, in the makeup and hair trailer or the production office. Her friends are all transient by the very nature of her job, changing from one project to the next. None of them have called her that I can tell. Her closest friend was her boss, and he dropped her like a bad habit when she got laid off due to the… situation.” She put her hand over his, making him realize he was squeezing the bottle of Jack with white knuckles. “He wasn’t the one who hurt her physically,” she said softly.

“Someone did,” he said flatly. “Someone hurt her plenty.”

Tara nodded and sipped her water. “Past tense, though. She’s getting stronger. You should have seen her giving poor old Mr. Jenkins what-for when he tried to rent another boat this morning.” She smiled fondly. “She got all up in his grill, made him sign the form at her desk and say please and everything.”

He would have enjoyed seeing that. “She was down a quart in self-esteem and confidence when she first got here.”

“And that’s changing, in good part thanks to you.” She stared into her glass. “She wants to make a go of this place. Only a complete bitch would turn her down.”

“Then don’t turn her down.”