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  will include me.” She finished wiping all her makeup off and

  put some light pink lipstick on.

  Judith stared at her in the mirror and didn’t comment for

  a beat. “Want me to kick her ass?”

  “No,” she said and laughed. “I don’t ever doubt that

  Jaxon loves me—it’s that she’s skittish when it comes to

  thinking long-term.” She leaned closer. “Between you and

  me, I think it has something to do with her family. Don’t

  repeat that because she’s never admitted it, and I feel funny

  talking about it.” Judith shook her head. “Jax is cautious

  when it comes to everything in her life except her writing

  and telling me how she feels about me.” She moved behind

  the screen in the corner to change into her sweater and

  jeans.

  “What’re you doing with the long weekend? I still can’t

  believe we finished that episode in record time.”

  “All you need is your imagination for the answer to that,

  sweetheart.” She dropped a kiss on Judith’s head and

  winked at her reflection in the mirror. Judith just laughed

  when she grabbed her car keys and purse before heading

  out the door. “Now all I need is one sexy professor and a

  quiet night after dinner.”

  There were parts of Jax that were as unexplored and

  elusive as the ocean floor, and that bothered her on a deep

  level that left her insecure about what their future would be

  like if Jax didn’t start opening up. It boiled down to trust, and

  Jax not trusting her squeezed her heart painfully, but she

  wasn’t giving up. Jaxon was too important to her.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Dr. Lavigne.” Jaxon accepted the phone on Ian Hadley’s

  assistant’s desk and smiled at the young woman with the

  pinched appearance. She’d worked for Ian for a few years

  and never seemed happy, and that demeanor really took a

  skid down perturbed mountain when she had to interrupt a

  department meeting to call someone to the phone.

  “Whoever that is has called three times,” she said. “You

  might want to warn them about that on staff meeting days. I

  think I recognized the voice, so she should know better.”

  “Jaxon?”

  “Yes?” She nodded at the woman and smiled. The frown

  she got in return almost made her laugh.

  “What’re you wearing?”

  Jaxon laughed harder and turned her back so she

  wouldn’t see the assistant’s head explode. “You do realize I

  was in a staff meeting? Ian’s assistant wanted you to know

  you shouldn’t call on these days.”

  “Uh-huh. That totally slipped my mind, and I wouldn’t

  have had to call and bother her if you’d answered your

  phone.” Margot sounded totally insincere. “Aren’t you going

  to ask what I’m wearing?”

  “Considering it sounds like you’re driving, it better be

  something, I don’t know, existent. And should you be talking

  to me if you’re driving?” Jaxon moved as far as she could

  from the assistant’s desk, but the cord only let her go so far.

  “Why, Dr. Lavigne, you sound a little jealous, and if you

  saw the way some of the frat boys are looking at me right

  this second, it might make the unflappable professor draw

  blood.”

  Jaxon had to take a breath and close her eyes. If she had

  to admit it, she was the jealous type for the first time in her

  life, but there was also the factor that she hated how some

  guys objectified Margot. According to Margot, that was

  solely Jaxon’s job, and that kind of objectification Margot

  didn’t mind. “Where are you?”

  “Outside waiting for you.” Margot blew her horn again,

  and that couldn’t be good if she was sitting still.

  One of her colleagues stepped out of the conference

  room, holding her bag. “Don’t get out of the car.” She

  shouldered her bag and scribbled a note for Ian, giving him

  her apologies for skipping out a few minutes early. The last

  thing she heard before hanging up was Margot’s chuckle.

  Margot was smiling and sitting on the hood of her car

  when she made it outside. There were some guys standing

  close by, trying to engage Margot in conversation, but

  Margot wasn’t looking at them. She waved when she saw

  Jax but didn’t move from her spot. Jaxon took the steps as

  fast as she could without falling on her head.

  “Sorry about the interruption, baby, but if I had to wait

  for some of those guys to stop talking, we’d be late for

  dinner. You know how my father is about promptness.”

  Margot reached for her hand and pulled on her fingers.

  “Would it help if I told you I brought my favorite teacher an

  apple?” The Gala apple in Margot’s other hand was the only

  kind Jaxon ate.

  That she wasn’t a big fan of fruits or vegetables was a

  constant war between them, and Margot won more battles

  than she lost on that front. Truthfully, any front. It wasn’t

  that she was spineless but giving into Margot was a lot more

  fun than trying to prove a point. Her reward system was

  truly inspiring. “If I’m spending the evening in the company

  of your father, you should have brought me a big bottle of

  apple-flavored vodka.” The statement would have sounded

  like a reprimand had it not been for her smile. “And Ian’s

  assistant is eventually going to come out here and kick your

  butt. How many times did you call this time, really?”

  “Only three, and I think she doesn’t like me because I

  don’t want my character to date Britt’s on the show. She

  looks like the type who’d be a fan of the tabloids and of my

  asshole costar. For once, on this subject anyway, the

  assholes got it right. I’d rather join a convent than date

  Britt.” Margot slid off the car and blew her a kiss while

  pointing to the passenger side. With all the cameras around

  they tried not to add to the pocketbook of every opportunist

  in the crowd, but Jaxon opened Margot’s door for her. “And

  does it help to know that Wilber’s daughter loves you more

  than anyone else on earth?” Margot blew her another kiss

  and backed out. All the guys standing close by waved as she

  glanced in their direction, and Margot waved back.

  Jaxon kissed her once they were down the block, and

  Margot pulled over so she could get a proper greeting. “It’s

  the most important thing, my love, and I missed you today.”

  They kissed again, and Margot pulled the hair at the back of

  her head. “You do realize, though, if we ever have children,

  we’re not naming any of them Wilber, right? I don’t care

  how much you love your daddy.”

  Wilber Walker Drake was a Green Beret who had few

  loves in his life. The first of his passions was his family—his

  wife of twenty-seven years, Patty Sue, and their only child,

  Margot. The second was a profound love for the country he

  had served and fought for. The same country he had

  stopped understanding when he returned from the Iraq war

&nbs
p; as a battle-weary soldier.

  Jaxon hadn’t understood the reasoning for the war in Iraq

  either but was proud of Wilber’s service. It was the one

  thing she’d learned from her father. You served because you

  wanted to, not because anyone forced you. No one made a

  career out of the military unless it was something they

  believed in and cared deeply for. It was her job as a civilian

  to thank and be grateful for all those who stood on the wall

  so she could sleep safely at night.

  After her first dinner invitation to the Drake house

  because Margot wanted her to meet her parents, she’d

  become aware of a few obstacles she’d have to find a way

  over. Going around them would be admitting defeat, and

  that wouldn’t go over well with Wilber. Only cowards took

  shortcuts. No, the man was like the apocalypse, and she had

  to find a way to survive him.

  If there was a Drake rule book, Jaxon had broken quite a

  few of them, and eventually the punishment would be swift

  and painful. She called him Willy Walker, irritating him

  massively, and he’d made his feelings clear when they’d

  been together for over a year and she still hadn’t offered

  Margot the future she deserved. The no-commitment topic

  had come up more than once, and the more often she didn’t

  say what he wanted, the less he liked her. Taking advantage

  of his little girl was not on Wilber’s list of acceptable

  behavior, and there’d be a stiff penalty if she fucked up.

  “Oh, we’ll be having children, Doc. You’re not getting out

  of that, but I promise—no more little Wilbers.” Margot

  tapped her finger against the tip of her nose and put the car

  back in gear.

  They talked about their days and Margot’s unexpected

  time off. If anything, Margot’s job usually cut into the free

  time she was entitled to. For the time being, Jaxon kept

  silent on the subject of her reunion, knowing Margot would

  move the world to go, given how curious she was about

  Jaxon’s past. There was no way Margot wouldn’t side with

  Bert, and Margot’s pout was much more difficult to say no to

  than Bert’s. Margot’s begging expression usually appeared

  when she was naked, and that alone was enough to turn her

  brain to mush.

  Margot’s purse started ringing when they were about five

  blocks from their destination, so she squeezed Jaxon’s thigh.

  “Could you answer that for me, sweetie?”

  Jaxon reached into the leather bag and answered the cell

  without looking to see who it was first. “Margot Drake’s

  phone, can I help you?” She made Margot laugh and then

  sighed when she heard the gruff voice.

  “So, you’re joining Margot, then?” Wilber asked like he

  did every single time they came over for dinner, which was

  sometimes twice a week. He always acted surprised that

  she was in his house, sitting at his table. “I can’t wait to see

  her.”

  “Yes, sir, I’m looking forward to dinner and spending time

  with Margot myself.” She shot Margot a dirty look when a

  mirthful snort slipped out.

  “Have you passed the grocery store close to us?” There

  was some kind of scraping noise from his end, and her first

  guess centered on him sharpening his bayonet. The day

  would come when he’d snap and drive it through her heart,

  then claim she’d made him insane. When he sat on the

  witness stand in his uniform with all the medals, like Jack

  Nicholson in A Few Good Men, no jury of his peers would find

  him guilty.

  “No, sir, we’re two blocks from there.”

  “Good…good. Stop and buy two gallons of milk, and

  when I say that, Jaxon, I mean you go in and buy it.” Wilber

  always made her name sound like it should translate to you

  fucking asshole who’s touching my daughter and I don’t like

  it. “Think you can handle that, Jaxon? You’re not going to

  forget, are you?”

  “No, sir, I don’t mind doing that at all. Is that all you

  need?” She glanced at Margot, wondering how she’d turned

  out so normal.

  “Two gallons, that’s what you’re going for.”

  “Yes, sir, two of them, got it.”

  “What’s up?” Margot squeezed Jaxon’s thigh again as if

  trying to ease any tension caused by whatever her father

  had requested.

  “The general wants us to stop and pick up two gallons of

  milk before we come over.” She tapped the phone against

  her chin, trying to convince herself this wasn’t some

  elaborate booby trap. If she ended up in the emergency

  room later because of some milk-related injury, she was not

  going to be amused.

  “Two gallons? That’s a bit excessive, unless Mom’s

  baking something.” Margot pulled into the grocery lot and

  stopped by the main door so Jaxon could get out. Going into

  public places had become a problem for Margot recently,

  and it was best avoided.

  Trips to run quick errands often turned into ordeals

  lasting a couple of hours because of overexuberant fans,

  most of whom didn’t know how to take no as an acceptable

  answer to bizarre requests or comments that made Jaxon

  want to start hitting people. Just because you were on

  television every week didn’t give anyone the right to ask if

  your breasts were real.

  A group of teenagers were pointing toward Margot’s car

  when Jaxon walked out loaded down with dairy products.

  “Perfect timing, sweetie. My manager lives in fear of the day

  I mow down my adoring public. Though, when it’s kids that

  age, I do think I should stop and at least say hi as I roll over

  them.”

  “Calm down, prima donna, they’re just pointing, and

  without them, you wouldn’t have the most popular hair in

  the country.”

  “Put your seatbelt on, smart-ass, before your purchase

  goes sour.” Margot stopped and took a few selfies with fans

  through the window, leaving a shrieking group behind. They

  laughed for the final blocks remaining, hoping there

  wouldn’t be a crowd surrounding the house before dessert

  was served.

  Wilber was waiting outside so he could come around and

  open Margot’s door. He wrapped her up in a bear hug before

  Margot had the chance to get her right foot out of the car.

  Jaxon waited in the passenger seat, enjoying the last

  moments of peace before Invasion Drake began. Wilber’s

  usual operating procedure was to divide and conquer.

  Margot was sent off to talk to her mother while she spent

  time with Wilber in his torture chamber study.

  “Thanks for having us, Daddy.” Margot’s feet were now

  out of the car. “Jaxon, honey, don’t you want to get out here

  and tell Daddy hello?”

  “I’d rather take what’s behind door number two, Monty,”

  Jaxon mumbled to the dashboard. She was holding her two

  gallons of milk, and the coldness against her hands meant

  she was indeed awake, and this wasn’t a nig
htmare.

  “Jaxon, get out of the car now.” Margot had gotten away

  from her father and sounded menacing as she stuck her

  head through the window. “Remember, you have to go

  home with me later. God only knows what’ll happen to you

  once you fall asleep.”

  “Yes, dear.” She winked and hefted the two jugs.

  “General Drake, sir, how are you?” Wilber looked at the

  hand she was holding out before shaking it.

  “Hello, Jaxon. Did you stop and get what I asked for?” It

  was a redundant question since he was looking right at the

  milk.

  “Yes, sir.” Jaxon fought the urge to snap to attention and

  salute, remembering how Margot had made her sleep in the

  guestroom for two days the last time she’d caved to the

  temptation.

  “Bring it into my study, and I’ll be right in.” He put his

  arm around Margot and kissed her temple.

  “Wouldn’t it be better off in the kitchen, in the

  refrigerator maybe?” Jaxon held up the bag to remind the

  crazy son of a bitch he’d asked them to stop for milk.

  “Set them both on my desk, and I’ll be right there as

  soon as I deliver Margot to her mother. Think you can

  remember all that?” Jaxon walked toward the front door

  before the voice in her head that told her to start hitchhiking

  took over. The voice had come as a coping mechanism after

  meeting Wilber, though it often gave really bad advice.

  She felt Margot’s arms slide around her waist from

  behind, and she pressed her cheek to her back. “You know I

  love you, right?”

  Jaxon led them into the small bathroom off the foyer and

  locked them in. “I do know you love me, and your father

  loves you. That’s a good thing, honey.”

  “If you want, I can intervene on your behalf and save you

  another trip into the inner sanctum.” Margot sat on the

  counter and put her legs around Jaxon. Kissing like this in

  the Drake house was a bad idea, but Margot was hard to say

  no to. The woman had the best hair in America, after all.

  “Me refusing to go in there is like throwing blood into a

  tank with the biggest great white known to man. Believe

  me, it’s safer being in the water and making no sudden

  movements. Show no fear is my motto.” She kissed Margot

  again then took three very large steps back when someone

  banged on the door.