Page 32 of Love is a Drum Beat
Cooking calmed Dax. It reminded him he wasn’t only one thing. That was one of the problems in this world—and one of the reasons he fought so hard to keep his identity a secret. Once people noticed someone, they assumed they knew everything, especially if that person was famous.
Dax wanted to be more than that.
He loved music with everything he had.
But he didn’tonlylove music.
He chopped onions with the rapid technique he’d learned years ago and slid the pieces in a pan. He had no idea the kinds of food Jo ate normally, but he got the feeling it wasn’t altogether healthy. He was determined to make her do everything right for the remainder of the pregnancy.
Over the last few days, he’d tried to push the news articles from his mind, tried to act like they didn’t scare him half to death. He’d done everything he could to make sure his face never became a recognizable one, to make sure he could go to the store without getting mobbed.
And if the media dug enough, it could all come tumbling down. He rubbed a hand over his tired eyes before issuing a curse as the onion on his fingertips burned.
“Crap!” He darted to the sink and turned the water on. Leaning over, he rinsed his hands before scooping water and wetting his eyes. Water dripped down onto his shirt, but he didn’t care, not once the relief came.
Droplets fell from the ends of his hair as he stood.
A soft laugh came from the doorway, and he turned to find Jo watching him.
“You should be in bed.” He cringed at his words. Coming up with anything else to say to his houseguest wasn’t easy. Not when she spent so much time studying, trying to see behind the wall of awkwardness that existed between them.
Jo hobbled toward him, an injured foot and pregnant belly not stopping her. She struggled for a moment when she reached a bar stool but then managed to pull herself up. Sifting through the stack of papers Dax left on the counter, she raised a brow. “Did Devlin send you these questions?”
Dax nodded.
Jo laughed. “I didn’t know fans would be interested in what you did to keep in shape when they couldn’t see you to know you are in fact in shape.”
“Devlin.” He sighed. “Those questions are for some health magazine.”
“Why’d you print all these out? I typed mine up and emailed them.”
He shrugged, going back to his cooking.
Jo dropped the pages back onto the marble. “What are you making?”
The few times they’d talked since she came to stay had been full of stuttering on his part and trying to escape on hers. He’d already come to terms with the fact Jo Jackson didn’t like him, that she didn’t even consider him a friend.
Yet, it didn’t stop him from wanting to be there for her.
He turned away from her. “I’m making us a stir fry. If you go back to bed, I’ll bring it to you.”
She released a long sigh. “I’m so tired of being in bed.”
He stirred the chicken in and reached for the tamari sauce. “It won’t be for much longer.”
“Two months, Dax. You try staying in bed for two months and see how you like it.”
He pursed his lips but focused on the food to have an excuse not to look at her.
“Please just let me eat out here with you. I’m not meant to be cooped up in a single room.”
He looked back over his shoulder, his face showing no emotion. “Jo…”
She groaned. “I hate Blake. I hate him so much. He’s the evil spawn who put this evil spawn inside me.”
Dax didn’t think she believed her own words. He’d seen her walking around with a protective hand on her belly. He’d watched her eyes light up when she announced he was kicking.
Whatever Jo felt about Blake, she didn’t regret the baby.
