Sea Breeze 01 - Breathe

her gaze. Leaning back in a kitchen chair, looking ridiculously sexy for seven in the morning, sat Jax. He gave me a crooked grin and my heart went into a frenzy.
    “Hey,” I said without sounding affected by his presence. I knew he’d said he would be hanging out in the kitchen more often, but I hadn’t realized he’d meant this early in the morning. “What? Why are you here?”
    He raised his eyebrows and grinned at me. “I kinda thought that was obvious.”
    I knew I was blushing. I turned to Ms. Mary, then back to him. I knew she wasn’t happy about his presence, and I realized this might cause a problem.
    “It’s okay, Sadie. She isn’t mad at you. She’s upset with me. You happen to be who she’s protecting.”
    “I, um, need to go change. I’ll be right back,” I said, hoping Ms. Mary’s scowl wasn’t for me.
    I walked to the laundry room. My heart was racing from the frustration of my mixed feelings. Knowing Jax wanted to see me made me extremely happy, but I also didn’t want to upset Ms. Mary. I needed to hurry up. I didn’t want to leave him by himself with Ms. Mary. Which seemed silly, since she worked for him.
    I stepped into the hallway, and just before I reached the door that led into the kitchen I overheard Jax talking to Ms. Mary. I paused. They were talking about me.
    “I’m not going to hurt her,” Jax whispered. “I know she’s special, and I tried to stay away, but when I’m with her I don’t feel so cold and alone.” Jax stood in front of the table with his attention on Ms. Mary. I froze outside the door.
    Ms. Mary turned from the stove and pointed a wooden spoon at Jax. “I understand that. But that girl has a lot on her shoulders for a kid her age, and, well, you can’t help it, but you’ll break her heart when you leave.” Her whisper wasn’t very quiet. She went back to stirring the pot and shook her head. “I just don’t want her hurt.”
    Jax didn’t reply right away. Finally he said in a whisper, “I’m trying to figure out how I’m going to keep her from getting hurt. Hurting her is the very last thing I want to do.”
    I waited a minute more, then walked back into the kitchen. “Okay, Ms. Mary, where do I start?”
    Ms. Mary handed two plates to me. “You go on ahead and enjoy your breakfast with Master Jax.”
    The staff didn’t eat breakfast here. Sometimes we would sneak a biscuit or a piece of bacon but we didn’t get to sit down and eat. That wasn’t in our job description. I turned toward him as he walked up beside me. “Don’t argue, please,” he whispered, and then took the plates from my hands and went back to the table. I stared helplessly at Ms. Mary.
    She grinned and handed me two tall glasses of orange juice. “Just eat with the boy before he starts begging and embarrasses himself,” she said loudly enough for him to hear.
    Grinning, he set the plates down.
    “It’s the truth and you know it,” she said to him. I couldn’t help but smile. I took the glasses and went to the table. Jax pulled out my chair, and I sat down. He sat down beside me and reached under the table and took my hand.
    “Thank you for having breakfast with me.”
    I smiled at him and nodded. I didn’t think saying
You’re welcome
sounded right. I should be the one thanking him.
    I was so hungry, and today’s breakfast tasted much better than what I normally scarfed down after the Stones finished
their
breakfast. I picked up a piece of bacon and chewed, but the weight of Jax’s gaze made me uncomfortable.
    I swallowed and whispered, not wanting Ms. Mary to hear me, “I won’t be able to eat if you’re watching me.”
    He grinned. “Sorry, it’s just something I’ve never seen before.”
    I frowned, not really sure what he meant. “You’ve never seen a girl eat?” I asked, confused.
    He laughed. “Well, now that you mention it, no, I haven’t seen many eat. They normally can’t eat in front of me, or they just don’t as a rule. But what I meant was I’ve never seen you eat, and it’s cute. I didn’t mean to stare. I’m sorry.”
    He reminded me of that little boy again, trying to get out of a punishment, and I couldn’t help but smile. “It’s okay, but now you have seen me, so stop watching and eat your breakfast before it gets cold.”
    He grinned and looked down at his own food.
    The kitchen door swung open, and Marcus stepped inside, whistling. “Morning, Ms. Mary. Got me something good to eat?”
    Ms. Mary shot him a silent