“I can’t say no to her.” He shrugs, not denying it, and I roll my eyes.

“Are you ready for lunch, or are you too full from eating chocolate?” I ask Hope, taking her hand and helping her off the chair.

“I’m hungry. I only had four pieces of my candy bar,” she tells me, holding up her fingers.

“Oh, you poor thing. You must be starving,” I tease, picking her up and tickling her. “Frankie, we’re going to go feed this poor, starving child. Do you want us to get you anything?” I ask my boss, who is smiling at us, while Mellissa—foils sticking out all over her head like Medusa waiting for an alien attack—is trying to kill me with her eyes.

“No, thanks. Have a good lunch,” he says, laughing.

“Thanks.” I give him a wave. “So where are we eating?” I ask Jax.

“I figured we could go to the sandwich place around the corner,” he replies, holding open the door for the salon.

“Sounds good,” I agree, moving past him through the door with Hope in my arms.

“I want Ax to carry me,” Hope says when we reach the sidewalk, causing me to feel something I didn’t expect. I never thought I would be jealous, but that’s exactly what I feel as Hope holds out her tiny arms toward Jax. Squeezing her a little tighter to me for a second, I almost feel panicked as he takes her from me.

“Hey, are you okay?” he asks, dipping his face toward mine and searching my eyes.

Swallowing hard, I look at him and Hope and know it’s completely irrational to feel like I do right now, but that doesn’t mean the feelings aren’t there as I nod, muttering, “Just hungry.”

“Let’s get you girls some food,” he says, but I can tell he doesn’t believe me. I have no idea where this feeling is coming from, but now that it’s there, I feel it gnawing at my stomach as we walk down the street, around the corner, and into the small deli at the end of the block.

Once we’re inside, we order our sandwiches then take a seat at one of the tables near the front.

“Mom and Dad said they’re happy to keep Hope for the night,” Jax announces, and Hope smiles at me, saying, “Gwamma said we’re going to be vegables and watch the snowman movie.” She smiles.

“Oh,” I mutter, biting my lip. Maybe this is all a really bad idea. Maybe I’m not ready for any of this.

“Ellie,” Jax calls, gaining my attention. “What’s going on?”

Oh, God, why do I feel like crying all of a sudden?

“Just hungry,” I repeat my earlier lie, and his eyes narrow on me from across the table, but I ignore it.

“Mommy, what’s ‘being a vegable’?” Hope asks, making me smile.

“It just means to be lazy, Angel baby,” I explain.

“Oh.” She scrunches up her face and Jax chuckles.

“Mayson, order’s up,” one of the guys calls from the front of the deli.

“I’ll be right back,” Jax says, leaving the table to go get our sandwiches. When he comes back, he sets my sandwich down in front of me and my mouth begins to water from the smell of grilled chicken, fresh mozzarella, tomatoes, and basil. Then he mumbles, “Here, sweetheart,” to Hope.

He takes her grilled cheese and cuts it into small pieces, which should be sweet, but I find myself snapping, “I’m her mom; I can do that,” while attempting to take the knife out of his hand.

“You just eat,” he says softly, but I still hear the bite in his tone as he finishes cutting it up for her. Sitting there for the rest of lunch, I can feel Jax’s stare boring into me from across the table, but I don’t look at him. I either focus on Hope, or my sandwich, which should have tasted amazing, but instead, I don’t even enjoy it.

When we get to Jax’s truck and I have Hope buckled in, I can once again feel myself fighting tears.

“Bye, Mama,” Hope sings.

Giving her a kiss and hug, I fight myself from telling her I will see in a little while, and settle with telling her, “I love you, Angel baby. Be good, okay?”

“Okay, Mama.” She grins.

Shutting the door, I squeak when Jax takes my hand, pulls me to the back of his truck, and pushes me up against the tailgate, crowding my body with his and lowering his face towards mine.

“I don’t know what the fuck is going on in your head right now, Ellie, but I’m telling you this. You are mine, and Hope is mine. I don’t give a fuck how hard you try to push me away; it’s not going to happen. We have happened, and I’m not taking a step back, so deal with whatever fucked up shit you have going on in your head and get over it. Tonight, we’re having dinner then spending time with my cousin. After that, I’m taking you home and eating your pussy until you beg me to stop, and then I’m going to keep going until you apologize for your shit today,” he snarls then his head ducks, and his mouth latches onto my neck. I feel him pull the skin there into his mouth so hard that I cry out and my legs get weak.

Wrapping my hands around his shoulders, I hold on to keep from falling, when he lifts his mouth away from my neck and kisses me softly. “See you at seven,” he says, leading me to the sidewalk. Then he places another kiss on my mouth before going to his truck and getting in behind the wheel. Opening and closing my mouth, I stand there on the sidewalk, watching as he pulls away, then turn around and go into the salon.

“You have a hickey,” Kim whispers, covering her mouth while using her free had to point at my neck. Looking in the mirror, I take a deep breath and grit my teeth. Not only do I have a hickey, but I have a huge, dark purple hickey that will likely never go away.