me being a huge pain in her ass in the very near future.
Strangely, I suddenly realized just how much I was actually looking forward to that.
Harlow
“What are you doing here?” I asked as I answered the door. Squinting from the bright sunlight, I gaped at Jax Montgomery, who was leaning against the doorjamb like he’d been waiting forever for me to open the door.
“Are you okay?” he questioned. “I rang the doorbell eight times before you answered.”
“Um…yeah. I was just taking a nap. It’s not like I knew you were coming here unannounced,” I finished defensively.
If I’d known it was Jax Montgomery ringing the doorbell, I probably wouldn’t have answered. This isn’t exactly the way I want to admit that he won.
I raked a hand through my hair as I continued to stare at him, knowing I was a total mess. I hadn’t slept well the night before, so I’d fallen asleep on the couch. It was possible that he had rung the doorbell quite a few times before I’d finally woken up.
I sent him my best withering glance of displeasure, but all he did was grin back at me.
God, it was incredibly unfair that a guy with Jax’s wealth and success was also one of the most gorgeous men I’d ever laid eyes on.
I couldn’t see the compelling green eyes that I knew were hidden beneath a pair of dark sunglasses, but every other attractive feature he possessed was on full display.
He kept his brownish hair short, probably just a little longer than it had been in the military. Obviously, he spent a lot of time in the California sun, because he had some lighter highlights in his hair that looked completely natural.
Even dressed casually in a pair of stonewashed jeans and a yellow T-shirt with some kind of surfing logo on it, Jax Montgomery was breathtakingly handsome. The way those everyday clothes hugged one very tall, muscular, droolworthy body was enough to make any woman stare.
Yeah, beautiful men were everywhere in Southern California, but it wasn’t just his hard body and his perfect features that made him so attractive.
Maybe it was his intelligence.
Maybe it was his confidence that bordered on cockiness.
Maybe it was the fact that he seemed to exude an overwhelming amount of male hormones.
Hell, I didn’t know what it was that made my heart trip every time I saw Jax Montgomery, but there was something about him that made the man almost irresistible.
He grinned a little wider as he looked at his watch. “I’m actually late. It’s been two weeks, twelve minutes, and about…fourteen seconds since we made our agreement.”
“Did you come here to gloat?” I asked as I ran a self-conscious hand through my unruly hair again. Maybe I didn’t like him, but it was almost impossible not to feel a little embarrassed when my hot boss showed up at my door, and I knew I looked like crap. “Okay, you won. Are you happy? I didn’t plan on being a sore loser. I was going to call you.”
As soon as I was ready, which might have taken a day…or three.
He shook his head. “I didn’t drop by to brag about winning,” he said earnestly. “I just wanted to see you. Can I come in?”
I reluctantly opened the door wider. He obviously wasn’t going away, so I might as well deal with him now. “My place is kind of a disaster. I haven’t had a chance to pick up.”
So, that statement wasn’t quite accurate. The truth was, I hadn’t been motivated enough to care about picking up, and keeping my small apartment as tidy as I normally did. Admittedly, that wasn’t something I really wanted to share with Jax. My complete lack of interest in anything made me feel like a total slug.
As he entered, I hurriedly ran around my small living room and picked up a couple of used coffee mugs. I quickly straightened up the couch pillows and tossed the throw blanket over the back of the couch before I went into the kitchen.
“It’s fine, Harlow. I came to see you, not your apartment,” he drawled. “And I brought a friend I want you to meet.”
Oh, God!
I turned, and met Jax’s mesmerizing gaze. He’d ditched his sunglasses, and I could see a hint of mischief in his gorgeous eyes.
I looked away from him to frantically search for the visitor, expecting to be mortified because someone I didn’t know had followed him into the apartment.