Navy Pier extended over Lake Michigan looking like a proud sort of carnival all lit up and full of fun. It boasted beautiful views of the water and the cityscape, along with rides and shops that provided entertainment for days. With the sun out on a Sunday, tourists flocked there, excited to enjoy the few months of great weather the Midwest had to offer.
Jax glared at Jay the whole time we walked toward the Pier. “This is a terrible idea.”
“Get over yourself, man. No one cares about us here.”
“I saw two paparazzi on our walk over already,” he blurted and then slid his hand in mine like it was the most natural thing to do.
“They’re probably just here for the fun too,” Jay said, glancing at me.
I mouthed to him that I was fine. He nodded and moved ahead of us to get us through the entrance.
Then, we were off into the chaos. Jay was right, most everyone was too involved in their own day to care that two celebrities were among them—especially the Stonewoods, as they were a normal Chicago sighting.
My best friend stole me away from Jax to ride the big carousel more than once. I giggled uncontrollably when he posed with each of the hand-painted animals he rode. He made me ride the same horse as him until we were scolded, and then we giggled more.
Jax stood a ways off, making calls. The man was working, I was sure, but he smiled our way every now and then.
Jay and I ran on to some of the stands where he made me try on a ridiculous hat and necklace that he insisted I needed. He probably just felt bad that we’d bothered the vendor. So, he bought it and handed it to Jax for him to carry.
We bounced around like kids with no responsibilities and no plans for the day.
As the sun began to set, I found myself at the very end of the pier. Looking back at it, I realized I hadn’t worried through my whole time out there. The people, the happiness, the buzz of it all. I found myself enjoying it rather than being scared of it.
Had I missed all this by laying out my life and trying to blend in? Was my relationship with Jax a hyped up version of this chaos? Did I need to dive in and swim through what it might turn out to be?
Jax leaned on the pier’s railing, and the wind flowed through his hair just enough to mess it up and make him look like he belonged on the cover of GQ Magazine. “We going to ride the damn Ferris wheel?”
We’d avoided it because of the crowd and line.
Jay looked affronted. “Of course, Brey and I are going to ride it. I was saving it for last.”
Jax rolled his eyes. “We’re all riding it.” He looked at his phone and then motioned for us to start making our way there. “Everyone’s there. So, let’s go.”
“Who’s ‘everyone’?” I asked as I followed him.
He glanced back with a twinkle in his ocean blues. “Just who you want everyone to be.”
We didn’t wait in a line when we filed up to the Ferris wheel. Instead, we were ushered over to a waiting area where Katie, Vick, Jett, and Rome waited.
Vick ran over when she saw me and hugged me like she hadn’t just seen me last night. “Oh my God! I love this. You’re coming in my cart, right?”
A man explained to Jay that we could all go on the gondola together, but Jax had requested that the women have their own. I looked over at him, “Why?”
He just pulled me close and whispered in my ear, “Go enjoy a ride with your friends. After, you’re all mine.”
I absorbed that look he gave me, like he revolved around me, like I was his center. I took in how my friends buzzed around us and how the sun set on each of their faces. He’d orchestrated this moment like I meant more to him than being just a girl he left behind years ago.
I leaned into him further. “Thank you.”
His grin came fast and wicked. “You’ll thank me later.”
Vick pulled me away from him to step onto our gondola. Katie shooed the guys away and told them to enjoy their sausage fest. None of them fought her too hard though, making me wonder if there would be small talk or talk of me.
I shook off that anxiety as soon as I stepped onto the gondola and looked down to find another worry was the glass floor we walked onto.
“Oh, God!” I exclaimed and grabbed Katie to balance myself against the wave of fear that took hold. “Can this glass hold us?”
“No. They make these gondolas for a drop-through experience where you could fall to your death once you reach the tip top of the wheel,” Katie deadpanned.
Vick laughed a little nervously as the gondola started to move. “Seriously, isn’t this amazing? We are going to see all of Chicago from above.”
Katie laughed a little. “You sound very convincing with that tremor in your voice.”
Vick huffed and pulled a little at her white knitted dress. “I’m a little afraid of heights.”
I watched as we started to ascend over the pier and agreed. “We stepped on though, so we’re committed.”
Each of them stared at me rather than the sunshine glinting off the water. Katie asked the big question. “Are you committed?”
“Committed to what?” And she just scoffed because we all knew what she was asking. The ride, all of a sudden, with just them made more sense. Jax was giving them their chance to talk with me privately. Maybe he was doing the same with his brothers and Rome.
Maybe this was his final step.
My blood ran a little cold and shook fear into my veins. “I want to be committed and move forward with him. I’m not sure if we can though.”
“Why?” Vick asked immediately. “You two are perfect together. He looks at you like the sun on the water.”
The view outside the gondola, the sun shining down on the water, showed what she meant. The sun danced on the surface, making the water gleam like they mingled perfectly with one another, forming a masterpiece that was too extravagant to capture in one shot.
I turned to Katie and she looked out past my shoulder at the city. “You know I’ve said it before, I wish I could say something different. I don’t know if it will work out. But if you avoid trying, you’ve chosen to fail miserably by default and then you will never move on. Life is brutal when you live with all those regrets.”
Vick lightened the somber thought by adding, “Plus, he’s gotta be phenomenal in bed. For that alone, give the happily ever after a go for even the story of it.”
I must have blushed because she pushed the subject, “Give us details already!”
Katie grumbled that she didn’t need details, to which Vick said she did and jumped a little with excitement.
Our gondola wobbled just a tad and all three of us immediately looked down. Katie’s wide gray eyes glared up at us like she was blaming her fear on us. I moved to hold onto something.
The staggering height of being on a pier, hanging from a cart two hundred feet in the sky could humble anyone in the right circumstance. “So, this is really fun,” I whispered like my voice would keep us afloat. “How many times do we go around?”
Katie licked her lips and replied, “One more.”
That one, we enjoyed in complete silence. Vick took some pictures while Katie reluctantly helped her pose in a few selfies. I stared at the skyline, reminded of Jax and how he’d added to it.
I could see Stonewood Tower, tall and striking as it stood proudly among the other buildings. I wondered what other buildings they had influenced and as we reached the end of the ride, I wondered how I could influence a man who’d altered something so great.
When the guys met us after the ride, their solemn expressions couldn’t be ignored. “Do I want to know what happened up there on that gondola?” I asked.
Jay tried to lighten the mood. “Jax got scared and yelled at everyone the whole time.”
Most of our group laughed but Jax’s stare bored into me enough that I hung back to walk next to him. “Is everything all right?”
He grunted but didn’t answer the question. “I’m heading back to my penthouse. Come with me, and I’ll take you home tomorrow.”
It wasn’t a question but I tried to argue it anyway. “Rome’s driving us tonight.”
He shrugged and turned to the group. “Whitfield’s going back to my place for the night. I’ll get her home tomorrow.”
I glared and waited for one of my friends to jump in to say he wasn’t my keeper but they all happily said their goodbyes. Each of them either hugged or shook Jax’s hand as they left us on the pier.
I stood there stunned, realizing that Rome, the most protective of them all, didn’t even toss a backward glance my way as he left. Jax seemed rather pleased with the turn of events and started to walk toward the sidewalk where an SUV idled.
When I didn’t follow immediately, he yelled over his shoulder, “I’m not in the mood to drag you to this car, Whitfield. Especially after traipsing all over Chicago for you today. Move your ass.”
I stumbled a little to catch up with him. “What did you do to my friends? Why do they trust you all of a sudden?”
He opened the back door of the SUV and folded himself in after me. “Do you really want to talk about your friends right now?”
I stared at him, trying to figure out his angle. When he looked me up and down, I knew exactly the approach he was taking.
I scooted back away from him and crossed my arms. “Yes, I do want to discuss them. Don’t change the—”
He leaned forward and covered my mouth with his. I opened for him immediately, not that he gave me any room to back away. I inhaled every part of him that I could. He smelled like damp lake air mixed with mint and everything I craved all the time.
We took advantage of each other for the rest of the night.
The next morning, Alice ruined everything as I tried to tiptoe to his closet. “Jax, Aubrey Whitfield is up and starting her day. Also, Isabel continues to call and won’t be ignored for much longer. She overrode your previous command to block all information.”
By the time Alice had finished her report, Jax was groaning and stretching. He rubbed his eyes as I stared at the sheet that was dangerously low on his hips, “Whitfield, come back to bed.” He patted the empty spot next to him.
Blush rose to my cheeks and goosebumps spread across my arms at hearing his voice.
He sat up. “Peaches,” his voice, gravelly with sleep, scraped every nerve of mine in just the right way. “You look cold. Let me warm you up.”
As his eyes rolled leisurely down my body, he took in every inch of me as if he owned it.
I wasn’t fooling anybody, he did own it.
My body lit up everywhere his gaze roamed. He focused on my neck and I remembered the way he’d licked every inch of it after he bit it. He looked at my lips and they immediately tingled as I recalled how his felt pressed against mine. When his eyes dragged lower, I shook with need. Until I looked down and practically jumped as I realized I didn’t have a shred of clothing on.
My hands flew up to hide my face as I backed away into his closet. “Stop looking at me, Jax!”
He chuckled and I heard him moving closer. I whipped around to find something to wear, but he was on me before I could take another step. His arms wrapped around my waist and his length pressed into my butt. “I’ll never stop looking at you, Sweet Sin.”
I groaned. “Don’t you have calls to make?”
He nipped my ear to reprimand me. “I don’t have anything to do when I’m with you except doing you. Alice shouldn’t have been overrun by anything. I told her to hold all the work calls.”
“Well, Isabel isn’t always work, I guess.” I tried to mask my tone as understanding, but it came out bitter.
“Jealousy suits you, especially when you’re naked.”
Then, he was sucking on my neck and I was leaning into it like I didn’t have anywhere to be.
His hands moved to grab my breasts, and I couldn’t tell him to stop.
I wanted him everywhere.
I wanted him on me, in me, around me, and with me all the time.
