Page 22 of Jaxon

"Could be better but you know—life's ups and downs."

She rubbed her smudged lipstick off my cheek with her thumb. "Don't forget the barbecue tonight for Cormac's birthday. I bought a ton of meat, and I'm counting on you Shack dwellers to be extra hungry."

"Considering our cupboards are bare, you can count on some ravenous appetites."

Jade clucked her tongue the way Stella always did when she saw the contents of our fridge. "You boys need a better system. This whole 'your turn to shop or we don't eat' plan doesn't seem to be working. Fin drops by the house every morning before work to make himself lunch for the day. Britt said Theo does the same thing."

I nodded. "Yeah, I agree. Our system isn't cutting it."

"Well, I can't wait to see everyone tonight. It's been too long since we all got together." Jade walked to the counter. It seemed the box Stella had been filling was for our aunt.

"What's the occasion?" Stella asked.

"Nothing much. Just a few open houses and treats always help sweeten the deal." Aunt Jade and Aunt Britton had started a real estate office, and they were doing really well. Jules worked there part-time doing mostly financial stuff. My cousin, Jules, was a math brain, and she was working on her accounting degree. She was always one of those super smart kids who chaired all the clubs and won all the awards and contests, including prom queen and class president.

"Jules texted that she was dying for a strawberry scone, so I put an extra in the box," Stella noted.

"Thanks, LaLa. See you guys tonight." Jade walked out.

"You forgot about the barbecue and Mac's birthday, didn't you?" Stella asked.

"Might have, but I've had a lot on my mind."

"Oh, I know, trust me, I know." She leaned against the counter. "Jax, you need to forget about her. She's not for you, and you're not for her. Remember how Romeo and Juliet ends."

I looked at her.

She rolled her eyes. "Oh my god, you illiterate block of stone. What the hell did you do in high school?"

"Well, I sure as hell wasn't reading Romeo and Juliet. And this isn't Shakespeare."

She clapped. "Aha, so you knew the story was written by Shakespeare. I consider that a win. Seriously, Jax, you are never lacking dates or one-night stands." Stella shivered in disgust and took a bracing sip from her water bottle. "Yuck, had to immediately wash that out of my mouth and mind."

I sighed. "Thought I'd come here for some reasonable advice, but you're clearly not earning your nickel today,Lucy. If I'd wanted to have the fucking football pulled out from under me, I would have talked to Theo or Cru."

"You're right. I'm sorry." She pulled down an invisible curtain over her face. "I'm here to listen. What are you going to do?"

"Not sure. Just know I feel like shit because I want to be with her, and I know that's impossible."

"Maybe that's why you want to be with her," she suggested. "Jaxon Stone isn't usually on the rejection side of things. You can't have her, so you want her."

I thought about that for all of a second. "Nope, I want her because she's fucking amazing, and I don't give a damn that her dad is a supreme asshole."

"Oh, my dear brother, I don't have any advice except try to forget about her."

"That is about the most unhelpful advice you've ever given."

"Not true. Remember when we were sixteen, and I convinced you that you'd look really good if you bleached your hair, and you tried it and it fell out in patches?"

"How could I possibly forget that? I had to wear a fucking knit beanie all summer."

We both laughed, which I had to admit helped more than anything else this morning. "Well, I'm going back to the shop. Give me some maple scones for the old man. Maybe it'll put him in a better mood."

Stella put two scones in a bag, and I paid and started to walk out.

"Oh, you owe me thirty bucks for the swim fins," she said.

I turned around, confused.

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