Sea Breeze 01 - Breathe

he said, and I nodded against his chest, then leaned back and smiled up at him. “Tomorrow will you go deep-sea fishing with me?”
    I faltered at his question. I worked every day but Sunday. He knew my hours.
    “I still have a job,” I reminded him.
    Jax frowned and shook his head. “You’re not still going to work for me.”
    I stiffened. “Jax, I’ve got to work. If you don’t want me here, I have to go find another job.”
    He placed a finger over my lips and shook his head. “No, I’ll take care of your bills and needs.”
    I stepped back, away from his arms. My stomach clenched. I would not be like my mother. I didn’t need a man to take care of me. He wasn’t going to pay me to spend time with him. I took a deep breath, hoping I could explain this so he understood.
    “Jax, listen. It’s important to me that I earn my own money. I can’t be paid to spend time with you, because that would make it cheap somehow. I want to be with you. There should be no money involved. I need to be an equal, and as crazy as it sounds, the only way I can hope to achieve that in any way is to work for the money I earn. Please. I enjoy working with Ms. Mary and Mr. Greg, and Marcus, too. I could go somewhere else if you don’t want me working for you, but I really like it here.”
    Jax sighed and reached out to take my hand. “I’m sorry. I’m used to people taking my money with no reservation. You’re not like anyone I’ve ever known, so I should’ve realized you wouldn’t be comfortable with that kind of setup. You can remain here as long as you want. It’ll give me a reason to visit the kitchen more.” He winked, causing me to blush.
    “Thank you,” I said through the tightness in my throat from fighting back tears of relief and joy.
    Jax smiled. “I should be the one saying thank you. I don’t deserve you, but I’m damn lucky you don’t realize it.”
    I laughed at him.
    “Come on inside with me while Kane gets our ride ready.”
    We walked up to his house. I realized he was taking me through the family’s entrance, and I stopped.
    “What’s wrong?” he asked.
    “I, um . . . I need to go in through the side entrance.”
    He shook his head. “I am agreeing to your working for me, but you are not going to be confined to using the servants’ entrance. You’re with me, Sadie. When you’re off the clock, you’re not my employee. You’re my . . . air.”
    I frowned at him. “Your air?”
    He grinned. “Well, ‘girlfriend’ seems too shallow a word for what I feel for you. These past two weeks it’s been as if you control my breathing. When I watched you with Marcus, my chest would tighten, and it became hard to breathe. But then I would see you smile or laugh, and I could take a deep breath again.”
    No wonder this guy wrote songs. My eyes stung, and I hated that I always seemed to get all weepy with him.
    “Wow,” I whispered, for lack of better words. I wasn’t gifted with his talent for weaving words so beautifully.
    “So does this mean I win? Will you do me the honor of accompanying me into my house as a guest instead of the hired help?”
    I grinned. “As long as I’m off the clock.” He sighed in defeat. “I’ll take what I can get.” He took my hand and led me into the house. I wasn’t sure how I would handle facing his mother or father. How were they going to react when they found out he was dating the help? But then again, I doubted they even knew I worked here. Except for the one time I’d served Jax and his mother, I’d never been around either of his parents.
    Jax squeezed my hand. “Wait here. Let me grab my cell and have Kane bring our ride around front.”
    I nodded and watched him go to the coat closet and open it. He reached inside and took out the black leather jacket I remembered seeing him wear in a recent magazine photo.
    He took a smart phone out of his pocket and tapped it a few times, then slipped it into his pocket. He turned his smile on me and crooked his finger. The expression on his face made my knees go a little weak.
    “Let’s take you home,” he said, reaching out to clasp my hand in his.

Chapter Seven
    SADIE
    I walked into the kitchen the next morning and hung my backpack up on the hook before glancing at the stove, where I knew Ms. Mary would be working on the Stones’ breakfast.
    “Morning, Ms. Mary. I’ll be back to help as soon as I get changed.”
    Ms. Mary cut her eyes toward me, then back at the table with a frown. I followed