Sea Breeze 01 - Breathe

waiting for us at the front door. How Kane did that I would never know, but he was always on time. We rode to my apartment in silence. I sat snuggled up in Jax’s arms, and he played with my hair. It was one of those times when words weren’t needed.
    Kane slowed and parked right on the street in front of my apartment.
    “Thank you for tonight.”
    Jax smiled down at me and tilted my face to match his before gently kissing me. I closed my eyes and pressed closer to him. He pulled back just enough to look into my eyes.
    “I love you, Sadie White,” he whispered in a raspy voice.
    I smiled and kissed his face softly. “I love you, too, Jax Stone.”
    He groaned, pulled me closer, and buried his face in my hair. I wanted to stay this way forever. I never wanted September to come.
    “You’re every song I have ever sung. I’ll never let anything hurt you again. For the first time in my life, my dreams aren’t about me.” I lifted my eyes up to meet his, and he smiled. “They’re about you.”

Chapter Fourteen
    JAX
    The banging on my bedroom door woke me, and I sat up, ready to yell at whoever had decided it was okay to wake me up so damn early. But my eyes registered the panicked look on my brother’s face as he came barreling into the room.
    He didn’t speak. He just grabbed the television remote and turned it on. “You need to see this” was the only thing that registered when images of me and Sadie flashed on the television screen. What the hell had happened? They’d found me. And my worst nightmare had come true. Sadie’s private life was being broadcast for the world to see. I hated anyone seeing her face. I hated the way they talked about her like they knew her. They didn’t know anything.
    I’d done this. It was all my fault. I hadn’t protected her from this. I’d walked her right into it.
    SADIE
    Sunday morning I slept late again. I could hear Jessica up and about in the kitchen. I stretched before standing up, reaching for my phone, and slipping it into the pocket of my pajama pants. I was supposed to be meeting Jax this afternoon to go surfing, something I had never tried. I walked down the short hallway into the kitchen and saw Jessica leaning against the bar drinking a big glass of milk.
    “It’s about time Sleeping Beauty woke up.”
    I stifled a yawn and shrugged. “So I slept late. I get up early every other day of the week.”
    Jessica nodded. “Yes, but today is the day you get to find out what happens to girls who date rock stars.”
    I frowned at her. “What’re you talking about?”
    She pushed off from the bar and threw the Sunday paper on the table in front of me.
    “Good thing I have thick skin, because this ain’t flattering.” She turned and walked out of the room. I stared down for the second time at a photo of Jax with a girl, but this time it was my waist his arm wrapped around. He appeared to be whispering in my ear or kissing it. I sank down into the chair when I realized I was wearing my swimsuit. The picture had been taken at the July Fourth party while we were dancing. Above our pictures the headline read THE PRINCE OF ROCK IS SNAGGED BY HIS MAID . My stomach dropped.
    Jax Stone has been living semi-undercover here in Sea Breeze this summer, courting his hired maid, Miss Sadie White. The couple was seen together at a party held at the house of Mayor McCovey. Mayor McCovey’s son, Dylan McCovey, held his annual July Fourth party at his parents’ home on Seagull Drive, and Sadie White was an invited guest.
    When we spoke to Dylan, he said, “No one was expecting it. Sadie is just a girl who moved here this year. We had no idea she was dating Jax Stone. But the two were inseparable.” Sadie is an employee of the Stones’, and she rides her bike to their house on Sea Breeze’s exclusive island, where only the extraordinarily wealthy have summer homes. She works in his kitchen and serves him his food. Apparently, he takes her home after work.
    Sadie lives with her mother, Jessica White, in an apartment here in Sea Breeze. Her mother is a single mom who is expecting a baby any day. Sadie seems to be the only one with a job. Interestingly enough, she somehow managed to be Jax Stone’s summer girl.
    I closed my eyes and laid my head on the table. I couldn’t believe the local newspaper had gotten wind of this. They’d painted Jax as a cold jerk who took advantage of his employees.
    “You’d better come in here, Sadie,” Jessica called from the living