Sea Breeze 01 - Breathe

media and the cruel life that comes with it—no privacy. I couldn’t let them do that to her. So I’d posed for the pictures with Bailey to stop the rumors.
    The idea of Sadie seeing them and thinking I was even remotely enjoying myself was painful. All I had been able to think about was getting back to her. Nothing about Bailey interested me. She was just another girl fighting her way to the top. I met her kind daily. They all thought getting a piece of me was their ticket to fame. I was just a ticket for them.
    With Sadie none of that mattered. She didn’t care about who I was to the world. She just wanted me. The guy no one else knew. The guy I’d thought I’d lost.
    Going to Sadie first was what I wanted to do, but I also needed to face Marcus. Ms. Mary had called me and said Marcus was waiting on me in the kitchen. I couldn’t let that wait.
    I was ready to murder him for touching Sadie, but I took several deep breaths before walking into the house and making my way down to the kitchen to face him.
    SADIE
    Jax didn’t have to fire Marcus; Marcus quit. Ms. Mary said it was for the best and for me not to worry. Marcus would have no trouble finding other work for the few weeks of summer remaining before he would have to go back to college. However, William quit too, and it left Ms. Mary with a problem. No servers.
    Ms. Mary stood over a pile of résumés in front of her. “I’ve seen two applicants today, and only one is suitable. But he is going to need some help for his first time.”
    “I’ll do it tonight. I know how. The one suitable applicant can help me.”
    Ms. Mary cut her eyes at me and frowned. “I don’t know about that. Master Jax won’t like it much. He’s already grumbling about you working out in the sun, and he made me promise not to make you touch shrimp or oysters again since he found out how much you hate them.”
    I laughed. “Well, he will get over it. Besides, what else can you do?”
    Ms. Mary chewed on her bottom lip, then nodded. “Well, I guess you’re right. You’re my only way out of this mess.”
    The door opened, and Jax walked in with a grin on his face. “Ah, just who I wanted to see.” He leaned down and kissed my nose, then gave Ms. Mary his charming little-boy grin. “Do you have any sweet tea?” he asked her.
    “You know I do. Just made some fresh.” She stood up to go fix his drink. “While you’re here, I wanted to go ahead and let you know that since you ran off my servers, Sadie here will be serving tonight with the new guy so she can train him.”
    Jax frowned. “No, she isn’t.”
    “Jax, I don’t see why not. Ms. Mary needs help.” I stood and put my hands on my hips, ready to wage a war.
    He grinned and slipped his arms through mine. “The family will be dining out tonight, and I will be busy. We won’t have need of servers.” He turned to Ms. Mary and smiled. “Take the night off.” He looked at me. “Will you do me the honor of going to dinner with me?”
    Ms. Mary chuckled, and I smiled.
    “I would love to.”
    He took my hand and led me toward the entrance to the main part of the house. “Good night, Ms. Mary,” he called over his shoulder.
    We walked to his room.
    “I had my stylist buy you clothing for the trip you didn’t get to take with me. If we want to enjoy a fan-free meal, then we’re going to have to go eat somewhere where the dress code is a little more strict than most.” He went inside his massive walk-in closet and came out with a long white box. “For you,” he said, smiling.
    I didn’t like the idea of him buying me clothes, but the eager smile on his face made me bite my tongue and get over it. I laid the box on the bed and opened it up. Inside lay a pale-blue dress that appeared to be made with fabric so delicate it would tear when I touched it.
    “I’m afraid I’ll hurt it,” I whispered, and looked at him.
    He chuckled and walked over to stand behind me. His breath caressed my ear. “All you’re going to do is make it the envy of everyone around you.” He returned to his closet and came back out with a shoe box. “You’ll need these, too.”
    I opened it. A pair of strappy silver stiletto heels lay inside. “I hope I can walk in these.” My voice sounded nervous, even to me.
    He took one, slipped his finger through a strap, and let it dangle. “These do seem complicated, but I can just imagine them on, and the image I’m getting is making me sweat. We need to get you away from me.” He