Sea Breeze 01 - Breathe

lightly touched my arm and stepped forward. I immediately followed, and we removed their bowls.
    “More sweet tea, sir?”
    Jax glanced at me and flicked his gaze toward Marcus. “Yes, please.”
    Mrs. Stone’s glass of wine was only missing a sip at most. Marcus once again stepped back and allowed me to lead the way out. We did the same routine as before, with Marcus carrying the tray of dirty dishes.
    Once in the kitchen, Marcus picked up the tray already prepared with the most rich, exotic foods I had ever seen.
    “Wow, they sure eat a bunch.”
    “Mrs. Stone has only tasted her food so far, and my guess is she will barely touch this as well.”
    “He eats all of his.”
    “Yep, but then, he’s a growing boy.”
    I laughed at Marcus’s imitation of Ms. Mary and followed him back down the now familiar hall. Once inside, I placed the food in front of Jax again, and Marcus handled the sweet tea for me.
    Jax and his mother ate in silence this time. Occasionally I sensed him watching me and felt a brief touch from Marcus’s hand, no doubt reminding me I needed to become invisible. I never acknowledged the curious steel-blue eyes. Mother and son exchanged a few casual words, but for the most part, they continued to eat in silence. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, I inspected Jax to see if he’d finished, and our eyes met.
    I tried to tear my gaze away, but his eyes held a hint of laughter. I stared down at my feet, and Marcus squeezed my arm. It startled me. I looked up at him, and he nodded for us to take their plates. We cleared the places in front of them at the same time. Then I walked toward the door, already in the routine.
    “I won’t be having dessert,” Mrs. Stone said to Marcus. “I hate to leave you to eat alone, Jax, but I’m exhausted. I’ll be in my room if you need me.”
    Jax stood as his mother left the table. Once she had exited, he sat back down. “I would love dessert,” he assured us . . . or he assured me.
    Marcus nodded. “Yes, sir,” he said in his businesslike tone, and we left.
    Once back in the kitchen, Marcus set down his tray. “Okay, this is sticky. You’re supposed to take him his plate, and since his mother has left, I have no reason to return. I could go in your place, which would be the best idea, but I am afraid it could anger him. He may think I don’t trust him with you alone. He has obviously noticed you, which I knew would be pretty unavoidable. But I’d hoped since he is famous, he wouldn’t pay attention to another pretty face.” Marcus sighed, leaned his hip against the table, and crossed his long legs. “I’m leaving this up to you.”
    “Me?”
    “What do you want to do, Sadie? It isn’t about your job; it is about mine. If you don’t go back, I could lose mine for taking your spot. I think he has already picked up on my protecting you. If you go or not, your job is secure . . . for now.”
    I sighed and reached for the tray holding the dessert. I wouldn’t jeopardize someone else’s job to help myself out. “I’ll do it.”
    Without another word, I headed back down the hall all by myself.
    Once I entered, his steel-blue eyes met mine, and he smiled. “Ah, so he did let you come alone. I wondered if I would be seeing him instead.”
    I didn’t want to smile at his comment, but I did. I set his dessert down in front of him and took my place.
    “Do you speak?” he asked.
    “Yes.” Marcus had spoken for me all night.
    “We don’t normally have young female employees. How did you get through Mary?”
    “I’m mature for my age.”
    He only nodded and took a bite of some sort of chocolate cake with more chocolate oozing out of the inside. After he chewed and swallowed, he looked back at me. I turned to stare out the window at the waves crashing against the shore.
    “How old are you?”
    “Seventeen.” I hoped my simple reply would end his interrogation.
    “How did you know I lived here?”
    His question caught me off guard, and I met his gaze. “It’s hard to miss the photos of you as I dust and mop.”
    He frowned. “You applied for this job not knowing I lived here?”
    I realized he assumed a fan had squeezed through the cracks of his security, and he wanted to know how I did it.
    “My mother has been cleaning here for two months. However, her pregnancy has progressed and she sent me in her place. I proved my worth, and Ms. Mary kept me. My being here has nothing to do with you, sir, but has everything to do with