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“Where do you keep your wine?”
I swept past him and into his apartment, without being invited. The unit was a mirror of Adrian’s, only more cluttered and with mismatched furniture. The kitchen was dark, but backlit by under-the-counter lighting. I found a bottle of red and slid it from a rack on the wall.
“Corkscrew?”
Jax’s eyes narrowed. “Third drawer down.”
“Thanks.”
Neither of us said anything as I trimmed off the seal and pulled out the cork. Jax provided two glasses. He set them down before me, and I poured an aggressive amount into each.
“You’re not fucking around, are you?”
“Nope.”
“Mind telling me what happ—”
“I just got done watching Brayden upstairs,” I said, grabbing my glass. “I thought Adrian needed a nanny.”
“He does need a nanny,” said Jax. “So do—”
“He doesn’t need a nanny, he needs a babysitter,” I shot back. “So he can go out with Jingle Jangles.”
Recognition suddenly dawned on Jax’s face. His lips curled into a smile.
“Ahhh, I get it.”
I hated that fucking smile.
“You thought—”
“Who the fuck wears eighty-six bracelets and necklaces?” I demanded. “She looks absolutely ridiculous! Jingling and jangling all over the place, with every fucking step…”
I brought the glass to my lips and gulped down the merlot, or cabernet, or whatever the fuck it was. I hadn’t even checked the bottle. It didn’t matter.
“And all that gum,” I said, curling my lip. “What was that, Bubblicious?”
“I think it’s Bubble Yum,” Jax answered. “Grape.”
“Grape. Yeah.”
“I see you’ve met Amy.”
I shook my head and walked around him, making my way to the couch. On the way, I almost tripped over a brightly-colored Playskool Bounce and Ride.
“Do you have Emma tonight?” I asked, looking around.
Jax took a slow pull of his wine. “Nah. Not my night.”
I scanned the apartment and found the hallway, a mirror image of the one upstairs.
“Preston’s already sleeping?”
Jax snickered. “Well it is midnight.”
“Yeah,” I conceded. “Guess so.”
“But no, Preston’s not here,” Jax went on. “He and his friends usually play cards tonight. Magic cards.”
