Page 51 of Love is a Drum Beat
“Because I can read you, Jo. Your face tells all.”
She hid her smile as she ate in silence. To her surprise, the quiet between them was no longer awkward. Maybe that kiss thawed the ice. Even if it was a one-time thing, they could be friends.
I’ve never wanted to be a perfect man, Jo. I just want to be a good one.
Their friendship would rely on him not saying stuff like that, words that made it all too easy to think about kissing him again.
Jo finished her dinner and set the plate aside. “Hey, Dax?”
“Yeah?”
“We need…” This was harder than she’d thought. “We need to talk about last night.”
He set his plate on the ground in front of him and took a long drink of his water before lowering the glass. “Yes, we do.” He rubbed a hand across his face. “J-Jo, I think I need to apologize.”
Him? Apologize? “For what?Ikissedyou.”
“I didn’t exactly back away, did I? You are weeks away from having a baby. Your entire world is being turned upside down. I don’t know if you were in your right mind, but I took advantage.”
“You took advantage?” He was stealing all of her lines. “Dax, I have so many out-of-control emotions in me right now, much of it anger. But you… you calmed me last night, and that’s what I needed. I’m sorry I took it too far. I probably have Stockholm syndrome, so you can ignore what I do.”
A grin spread his lips. “You have Stockholm syndrome?”
“It’s the only explanation.”
“Jo… I didn’t abduct you. I’m not imprisoning you. You don’t have Stockholm syndrome.”
“It might not be your fault, but I’m stuck here. You make me be nice. You feed me weird things.”
“They’re called vegetables, and they aren’t weird. Most adults eat them regularly.”
She waved his words away as she felt the panic rising. Everything crashed in on her at once. The chat with her dad. The kiss with Dax. Being freaking eight months pregnant. Her chest constricted as she sucked in breath after breath. Her eyes glassed over, and this time, she couldn’t keep the tears at bay.
She’d tried forgetting her father’s words. Even if she didn’t completely believe him about her mom, some part of her hoped it was true, hoped she’d get answers.
“Dax, I can’t breathe.”
Dax pushed himself to his feet and sat on the edge of the bed. It should have felt awkward being this close. Instead, he was a lifeline she could hold on to. At least for now.
Dax reached forward and pushed the hair from her face. “Breathe, Jo. Just breathe.”
She closed her eyes, letting the sound of his voice quell the panic inside her. Reaching for his hand, she squeezed it, feeling the rough callouses against her smooth skin. It grounded her, and eventually her breathing returned to normal.
“I won’t kiss you again.” She opened her eyes to find Dax’s intense stare burning into her. “I promise.”
With an unreadable expression, Dax nodded. “I’ll go get you some ice cream.” He picked up both plates.
I’ve never wanted to be a perfect man, Jo. I just want to be a good one.
Jo didn’t know much about Dax, but something told her he didn’t need to try to be good.
It was just who he was.
16
Dax
A week was a long time in the music industry. Songs could release and fail… or they could soar a new artist to the top of the charts.
