Page 143 of A Little Crush
I bend over the center console and kiss her softly. “I’ll be quick, I promise.”
Climbing out, I grab Poppy’s car seat from the back and hook it on my arm, then make my way up the steps and knock on Iris’s door. With a creak, it opens seconds later.
“Hey.” Iris leans against the doorjamb in a lacy white tank top, her nipples saying hello through the thin material, and a pair of my old boxers. Where the hell did she get those?
“Hey, Iris.” I ignore her inappropriate outfit choice and hold her gaze, determined to get through this as painlessly as possible.
“You look nice,” she compliments.
“Thanks.”
Moving aside, she opens the door a little wider. “Why don’t you come in? I can make you some coffee.”
“Can’t.” I clear my throat and scratch my jaw. “Listen, we need to talk.”
“Which is why I suggested you come inside,” she teases. “You know I don’t bite. Usually.” Her laugh grinds on me as she turns around and strides toward the kitchen, her hips swaying seductively with every step. Seriously. How the hell did I not see through her bullshit before we married? I need to get this over with.
With a quick look over my shoulder, I find Rory staring at me from the passenger seat.Sorry, I mouth to her before stepping inside and closing the door behind me.
“Iris?” I call. “We need to talk.”
“Bring Poppy in here and set her on the table.” Her voice echoes from the kitchen at the back of the house, and I bite back my annoyance, following Iris’s instructions as she pours two cups of coffee.
She offers one to me. “Here, just the way you like it.”
“Thanks.” I set the coffee down without bothering to take a drink. “Listen, I?—”
“Do you remember when we had sex on this table?” Her hand runs along the solid oak before she takes a seat in one of the chairs. “I miss that. The way you knew how to make me scream?—”
“Not here to reminisce about our past, Iris.”
“Of course not,” she agrees. “You’re totally right. I’m just so glad you’re here, and we have a chance to actually talk. I know I was distracted with Chris, and you’ve been busy at work, which you’re totally killing it, by the way, and?—”
“Iris—”
“Do you ever think about us, Jax?”
Pinching the bridge of my nose, I mutter, “We’ve already had this conversation.”
“I know, but you never seem to answer.”
“No, I don’t think about us,” I reply bluntly. “And if you want me to be honest, I stopped thinking about us long before I ever found out about you and Chris.”
Her expression falls, and my guilt rises with it. Okay, maybe that was too far. I don’t want to be a dick. She’s the mother of my child. But can’t she see how exhausting she is? How uncomfortable I am?
“How can you say that?” she whispers.
“I’m sorry.”
Her breath is shuddered at best as she stands from the table. “So am I, Jaxon. I’m so sorry.”
I look down at my feet. “I know.”
“Why don’t you sit down? I’m so tired of fighting. I want to just…talk, you know? I want to talk and reconnect, and…I don’t know.”
“I’m not here to make small talk, Iris.”
She moves closer, touching my chest and making my skin crawl. “Then what are you here for?”
