Sea Breeze 01 - Breathe

off and rest up his bad knees. He also wanted me to tell you he could wait until tomorrow for your chess game.”
    I grinned at the older man, whom I’d come to care about. He winked, and I shook my head at him. Jax once again offered his arm, and I hesitated before I slipped my hand inside his bent elbow.
    “Okay.” I wasn’t sure what to say, and I wondered if he could hear my heart racing in my chest.
    “Let’s see, you not only worry over old men’s knees, but you also play chess with them in the evenings.”
    I stiffened and stopped walking. Being teased about my relationship with Mr. Greg bothered me.
    “Easy there, tiger.” He patted my hand. “I wasn’t making fun of you. I’m actually impressed. I haven’t met a girl with compassion before, and I’m intrigued.”
    I relaxed. “I would imagine in your world, girls are much different from here in the real world. I’m sure if you spent some time with the everyday girl, you would find I am not unique.”
    He grinned at me. “The everyday girls are who write me fan mail and buy out my concerts. They are the girls who yell my name and run after me like crazed animals. You’ve not even tried to sneak into my room and squirt your perfume on my pillow.”
    I hesitated, my jaw dropping in shock. “Please tell me those last two haven’t happened before and you made them up.”
    Jax shrugged and shook his head. “I’m afraid they have. They’re only a few examples. I left out the ones not suitable for a young girl’s ears. You don’t even want to know the extent girls go to in order to get my attention. It’s one of the reasons I need this summer getaway. If I didn’t have this, I would have gotten out of the business a long time ago.”
    We reached the shoreline and stopped.
    He waved a hand over the white sand at our feet. “Want to sit down?”
    I sank down cross-legged. He sat down in such a smooth way it made me feel clumsy. Why did I care? I’ve never thought about the way I sat down before. I didn’t need to start thinking of him as more than just a guy. A guy who signed my paycheck.
    “So, tell me about yourself.” He leaned back on his hands and stretched his long legs out in front of him.
    I shrugged, not sure what to say. “What do you want to know? I’m not very interesting.”
    He chuckled. “I disagree, but we won’t argue. Tell me about your family.”
    Blood rushed to my cheeks at his request, but I forced myself to talk instead of blushing like an idiot. “Well, I live with my mom, and it has always been just me and her. However, she is pregnant right now, so our two will soon be three. We just moved here two months ago from Tennessee. I love the ocean much more than the mountains, so the move has been a good one.”
    Jax watched me as I spoke, and I focused on staring at my hands.
    “I don’t want to be getting into your personal space, so tell me if I ask something you feel is none of my business. Where’s the baby’s dad?”
    I laughed at his question because, yes, it was personal, and the answer was sordid, but something about him made me relax and tell him things I didn’t normally talk about. “My mother is beautiful, but unfortunately she has no common sense. She likes the attention she gets from men and picks the worst ones.” I gave a small smile I knew wouldn’t reach my eyes. “When I say the worst ones, I mean
the worst
! They are married or engaged, or so worthless they would never consider settling down. The man who donated to my conception was married, and I even know who he is and where he lives, but I never intend to go introduce myself. This baby’s father is also a loser. He isn’t married, but he doesn’t have any intention of helping out or contributing to the raising of this child.”
    I was airing too much dirty laundry, so I stopped talking and stared out over the ocean waves. He sat up, and his arm brushed against mine. Warmth rushed through my body.
    “So, you’re the grown-up at home, aren’t you?”
    I tensed at his correct description. I nodded since I could feel his breath close to my neck.
    “No wonder you’re so different. You’ve got too much on your shoulders to even consider hanging posters of some shallow teenage rock star on your walls.”
    I smiled at his humor. “You’re not shallow. Granted, I thought you would be in the beginning, but you surprised me.”
    Long fingers slid across my thigh and took my hand. “Is this job what pays the bills, then? When you