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Paige
***
I arrive at Harborstone Pier at 7:58 a.m., but don’t ask me how. I freaking raced to get myself together not looking a damn near hot mess. I decided I didn’t want to look too done up or as if I had spent too long deciding on an outfit, but in all honesty, I had changed my blouse at least fifty times, no joke. In the end, I had topped off my dark denim blue jeans with a black top that revealed just the slightest amount of cleavage. Since it’s the end of November, and the cold weather hasn’t really hit Harborstone yet, I threw on an unzipped black hoodie over my shirt.
The cerulean waves crash against the tall beams of the boardwalk. I stuff my hands in my pockets as a light chilly breeze kisses my cheeks while I walk along the pier, looking to see if I spot Jackson. When my eyes finally land on him, a warm and fuzzy feeling swarms my insides. God, even just sitting there wearing a hoodie, sweatpants, and sneakers, he looks amazing. This is a rare moment of him being out of his typical work attire. I think he looks even more undressable like this...
Moments later, he looks up and sees me. A small smile graces his face, and I can’t help but smile back at this hottie. Damn, what I would have done to be Amalia and had him in my life. I surely wouldn’t have left him or let him go. The bitch was crazy.
But he’s asked me to meet him here this early for a reason, right? If it were work related, it surely could have waited ‘til Monday morning, couldn’t it? But then again, if it were really a date, wouldn’t he have asked me to something later on in the day, such as dinner, perhaps? Hell, maybe he wants to spend the whole day with me. Wishful thinking, right?
“Paige, you made it,” he says, rising from his seat as I make my way closer to him. His hand lands on the small of my back, and goosebumps travel up and down my spine.
What the fuck? He hasn’t even made skin contact. I need to cool down.
“I made it. How are you doing?”
He motions for the chair across from his. “Sit down, please.” He takes his seat, and then I go ahead and do the same.
A waiter comes up to our table and looks at Jax. “Good morning, folks. I’m Don, and I’ll be taking care of you today. Can I start you guys off with some coffee or a glass of our famous freshly squeezed orange juice?” He flashes us an all-too perfect smile. I can only imagine how many times a day he says the same phrase to complete strangers.
“Two coffees will be just fine, please. One with two teaspoons of sugar, the other black. Thanks,” Jax says to the waiter. I love that he knows how I take my coffee without even asking. I guess working in the same place for a while will do that.
“Right away, Sir. I’ll be right back with that for you folks.”
“Thank you,” I quietly respond as the waiter walks away. Turning my attention back to Jackson, I feel like I need to make sure there’s no other reason besides him wanting my company that he’s asked me to meet him here so early this morning, and under such short notice. “So, what’s going on? Everything OK?” Inside, I’m praying he tells me he just wanted to see me.
He unzips his hoodie an inch and then gazes at me. Damn, those eyes. Those fascinating, sparkling green eyes...
He nods. “Oh, yeah, yeah. Everything is OK. I asked you to come out this morning because there actually is something I wanted to go over with you.”
Oh, shit. This is it. This is the moment when he tells me he’s been secretly in love with me since the moment he laid eyes on me. But of course, he couldn’t do anything about it because he was with Amalia...
Yeah right, Paige. Shut the fuck up before you make a complete fool of yourself.
“OK,” I respond instead. My anxiety is causing me to have heart palpitations, and my curiosity is getting the best of me.
I quietly take a deep breath.
Then, suddenly, I see it. He bends down and picks up his briefcase. His black work briefcase filled with work stuff. Work. This is a work thing. Fuck! I was so stupid to even begin to think it was something other than work shit. Of course, this is work related, but fuck, at eight in the morning on a Saturday? Why couldn’t this have waited ‘til Monday morning? I honestly don’t want to think about work right now. I’m so frustrated.
He opens it and pulls out a manila folder. “Look, check this out.” He pulls out a few sheets of paper from the folder and lays them down on top of the blue and white checkered tablecloth. “I couldn’t sleep last night, ‘cause, well, you know. Anyway, I decided to do some research, and I saw this.”
I decide to swallow my disappointment and focus. Obviously, it must be something important to call me out here so early on my day off, right? I lean in closer and see what he’s trying to show me. But I must be braindead right now or too much into my feelings for him because I don’t see shit. Maybe there’s even still a pang of disappointment that is hindering me from seeing what he’s pointing at. I’m not really sure, but whatever the case may be, I don’t see a fucking thing that stands out as something worthy. Everything I’m seeing is shit we already know about the Martinez case. “I’m sorry, Jax. I’m not following.”
His eyes widen, and it’s at that very moment that the waiter comes back with our mugs of piping hot coffee. It smells amazing, and I can’t wait to take a sip. I grab the cup and take a sip, and it tastes just as good as it smells. I have to say, though, not many places can do that. Sure, sometimes the coffee would be good, but more times than not, it smells better than it tastes. That’s definitely not the case here. The smell matches the taste. Thank God. I need some good coffee this morning, for whatever this with Jax is...
“Are you kissing me, Paige?”
“I-I’m sorry, what?” My eyes almost pop out of my head. Have I heard him correctly?
His eyebrows furrow, and he gives me a dubious stare. “Are you feeling alright this morning? Maybe you should take a few more sips of that coffee,” he chuckles.
I giggle nervously and take another sip. Fuck, what is wrong with me?
“I was asking you if you’re kidding me. Look closely at this photograph,” he says, pushing the picture closer in my direction.
“Is that Cynthia Martinez, checking into a hotel?” I ask, finally understanding.
“Yes! And if you look closely at the bottom here, you can see this is the time and date that she claims she was at home sick as a dog. The bitch is lying. I knew it all along. We got her.”
I nod my head. The case we had been working on for so long finally seems like it has come to a close. Cynthia’s husband, Charles, was divorcing her, and trying to prove that she had cheated on him. She wanted the houses–yes, houses–cars, pets, all mementos, and basically anything she could get her hands on. But if we could prove that she had been cheating, she would get nothing.
“That’s great, Jax,” I respond. I take another sip of my coffee and look out toward the water. The view is breathtaking, and I love coming out here. Lately, I’ve been doing it alone. Jax and I haven’t been out here together in the longest time.
He chuckles. “Yeah. I thought you’d be more excited... we’ve been dealing with these two for months now. Are you sure you’re OK?”
“Yeah, yeah. I guess I’m just tired. I didn’t sleep much last night,” I lie.
“Tell me about it. I hardly slept. I had to do something to get Amalia off of my mind.” He pauses for a moment and then starts talking again. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to bring her up. She’s old news.”
I reach out and grab his hand over the table. A bold move, I know. But fuck. I’m going to make this worth my while. He is going to see me as more than just a co-worker. “Jax, it’s OK, really. If you want to talk about it, we can. I’m here to listen to you... always.” I give him one of my sweet smiles, and he smiles back. Yes!
He reaches up and places his other hand on top of mine on top of his. Oh my God, my heartbeat just sped up like crazy.
“Thanks, Paige. I appreciate that. I’m so glad we’re such good friends.”
My jaw is about to drop, but I quickly pretend like him putting up the friendzone line doesn’t bother me one bit. Not one bit. Fuck, man.
“Of course, Jax. I’m here for you... we’re friends.” God, that sounded so wrong coming out, but now I’m certain I don’t stand a chance with him.
“So, here’s what I was thinking we could tell Charles before court on Tuesday,” he begins talking about the case once more, and I’m lost in all thoughts of how I wish this weren’t happening.