Page 100 of Reputation
When he cleared the dining room, reaching greedily for her, he finally caught sight of the other people standing in his condo.
“Oh, shit,” he said, drawing the word out.He looked at his family, the resemblance clear now that they were all together.“Today’s Sunday.”
“Mhmm,” the woman, who Eavie assumed was his mother, murmured.“We called this morning.”
He looked at Eavie with apologetic eyes.Their softness soothed her embarrassment at the awkward moment and the idea of what his family must think of her—almost.
“I completely forgot,” he said to her.“We have brunch as a family on the last Sunday of the month.I forgot it was my turn to host.”
“Oh,” Eavie said, glancing at his family out of the corner of her eyes, crossing her arms over her chest to hide the fact that her nipples were poking through.She could still feel the heat radiating from her cheeks and wanted desperately to get out of here as fast as possible so she could drown in her embarrassment alone.“I’ll just grab my things and go.”Ducking her head in shame, she stepped past Jax, but his hand shot out, grabbing her by the waist.
“No, wait,” he said, looking at her with a frown.“Stay.”
His entire family collectively held their breath.Eavie could feel their surprise as she stared at Jax, eyes wide.“Stay?”she repeated.
“Yes.Have brunch with us.I’d like you to meet my family.”
Eavie lowered her voice.“Jax,” she began, shaking her head.Was he seriously asking her tomeethis family?Like this?
“Eavie, please.I want you to stay,” he said firmly, the look on his face full of so much emotion.That one look had her caving.She knew this was big for him, and though he couldn’t offer her his heart, he was offering her this.
“Wait, you’re Eavie?”said Isabella, hip cocked to the side.Eavie glanced at her quickly, confused.How did she know her?The pinched look from before was replaced by a smirk, pulling at his sister’s mouth as her head tilted to the side.“Jax mentioned you at Thanksgiving.”
She looked back at Jax, debating, reading the honesty in his eyes.Sighing, she nodded.“I should go change, though,” she began, pointing toward his bedroom, but then stopped.
She had no clothes here and didn’t think her costume from last night would be appropriate for a nice family brunch.Unsure, Eavie turned wide eyes up toward him, the panic back.
Reading her thoughts, Jax pulled her into his body, his eyes seeming to take in her state for the first time.He angled himself so he was standing in front of her, trying to hide her half-naked state with his body—not that he was any more covered than she was.Each piece of clothing they were wearing combined to make one outfit.
“Izzy, could you please get her some clothes?”he asked his sister.
His sister’s face scrunched.“Why doesn’t she have her own clothes?”
“Izzy, please,” Jax said a little sharply.Breathing through his nose, he softened his voice.“Please, just grab her something.We were at a party last night, and she didn’t bring anything with her.”
Unfazed, his sister shrugged.Handing the bag she was holding to their mom, Izzy turned and crossed back through the entryway toward her bedroom.
Jax turned Eavie in his arms, gently pushing on her lower back to guide her back to his bedroom.Over his shoulder, he said to his parents, “We’ll be right back.”
His dad chuckled, obviously amused, but his mom’s eyes narrowed on them, scrutinizing what was happening between Eavie and her son.It made her more nervous than she already was.This honestly couldn’t get any worse…could it?
Turning the corner, Eavie practically ran to his room, stopping halfway to the bed when she saw the state of the sheets.Hearing the door close, she whirled on him.
“Jax,” she screeched.“How could you forget they were coming today?Oh god,” she said, placing her palm on her forehead, beginning to pace.“This is so bad.I can only imagine what they think about me.”
Jax had the audacity to laugh.She stopped mid-step, turning her head slowly to look at him.Daggers shot from her eyes at the fact he was finding this funny.
He walked over to her, sinking his fingers into her hair at the back of her neck.“Baby,” he soothed, using his fingers to massage the muscles.Eavie couldn’t stop the moan that sounded from her throat as her eyes closed against the sensation.“I promise they aren’t going to judge you.”
Her lids snapped open, remembering she was annoyed at him.“How do you know?”she asked, brows furrowing.
“Because I’ve mentioned you before.”
His sister’s comment came back to her then.She hadn’t thought about it earlier, too flustered from his family’s sudden appearance as she walked half-naked through his condo.“Thanksgiving,” she murmured again now.He nodded.“Wait, what did you tell them?”
He chuckled again, that crooked smile that made her knees weak appearing on his mouth.“That I thought you were amazing.”
Her mouth dropped open.She hadn’t been expecting that, but the answering swell in her chest made her lean into him slightly.
