Sea Breeze 01 - Breathe

the gazebo earlier. That was part of the reason I loved this place. Even the staff left me alone. Hearing the blonde talk to Mr. Greg and not appear as if she was helping him out but rather following his instructions just to save his pride was even more eye-opening. When was the last time I’d met a girl who looked like her who was so damn thoughtful of an old man? I’d even heard Mr. Greg call her Sadie. Knowing her name made me smile. I’d wanted to ask Ms. Mary her name all week, but I hadn’t. I was trying to keep my distance.
    I heard footsteps and tore my gaze off her and toward the guy who served my meals at night. He was watching her too. He was always watching her. It was starting to piss me off. I wasn’t sure why, but it was. It wasn’t like I was jealous of him. That would be ridiculous.
    SADIE
    Marcus came to find me in the garden. “Hey, Sadie, the Stone family is dining at a friend’s house tonight, so I’m heading out early. How much longer until you get off?”
    I glanced over at Mr. Greg, who seemed to be really suffering from his arthritis today, and I knew I couldn’t leave early. It wouldn’t hurt me to ride my bike home this evening. “You go on ahead. I have some work left here. Besides, I want to stop off at the grocery store and pick up a few things on my way home.”
    Marcus frowned at me as if he were trying to decide something. Finally he said, “I really don’t like the idea of you riding home after dark, and then trying to ride a bike with bags of groceries.”
    I started to argue with him and assure him that everything would be just fine, but his gaze left mine and landed on something behind me.
    I turned and saw Jax Stone coming toward us from inside the gazebo. I hadn’t even seen him go inside it.
    “I agree with you on her riding home in the dark with groceries. I’ll supply her with a ride home. You may leave now. She’ll be safe.”
    Marcus stared at me with concern. I smiled at him as if to reassure him that I liked this arrangement.
    “Uh, um, yeah, sure, Mr. Stone, thanks. I’ll see you tomorrow, Sadie,” he said, a wrinkle between his eyebrows. I could tell he was unsure about this.
    “See you tomorrow,” I replied, and watched him reluctantly turn and walk away. Not because I wanted to stare at him longer, but because I needed to compose myself before I faced Jax. Somehow I’d become as pathetic as the rest of the teenage world. I’d caught glimpses of Jax outside, and every time he glanced my way, he smiled at me. My traitorous heart did a little flip. Before I knew it, I would have a stupid poster of Jax on my wall.
    “Thank you,” I managed to say without tripping over my tongue.
    He gave me one of those grins meant to melt girls’ hearts everywhere. “If I’d known you were riding a bike to get to and from work, I would have done something about it sooner. I’m glad I have such thoughtful employees. But then again, he is your friend, isn’t he?”
    I smiled at him. “Marcus is a nice guy.”
    Jax leaned in and said quietly, “And what about me? Am I a nice guy?”
    I wasn’t sure what to say to this, so I decided to just be honest. “I don’t know you, really, but I do know you sign my paycheck, so I’m not exactly sure how to answer this.”
    Jax threw back his head and laughed. I caught myself smiling. He seemed almost touchable when he laughed. He offered his arm for me to hook my hand through.
    “Well then, Sadie White, why don’t you do me the honor of a stroll down by the beach so we can talk? Then maybe you can decide for yourself if I’m a nice guy or not.”
    The fact he knew my name surprised me. He’d asked someone because he had never asked me the night we spoke in the dining room. I didn’t want the fact he had taken time to find out my name to affect me, but it did. Much more than it should. I glanced over at Mr. Greg. “I don’t know if I can. You see, Mr. Greg has arthritis, and he needs me for the weeding, whether he wants to admit it or not. Getting down on his knees is not easy for him, and very painful.”
    “Really?” he asked with concern on his face, and he turned and went over to where Mr. Greg stood pretending to work, though I knew he’d been watching Jax and me.
    I couldn’t hear what Jax said, but Mr. Greg seemed to like what he heard, and nodded, shook Jax’s hand, and appeared to be putting away his things.
    Jax walked back over to where I stood. “Mr. Greg has decided to take the afternoon