I’m thinking I handled that like a grown-up. Didn’t want to deal with him, no big deal, just slam the door in his face before he can say anything. Yeah, real grown-up.

I climb back into bed, hating that I’ll have to deal with him tomorrow at the party. Ugh. I throw the pillow over my head to drown out his constant banging. I don’t care if he knocks all night, I will not open that door.

After another minute or two, blissful silence fills the apartment. Apparently my “grown-up” tactics do work. Go me! I smile then drop the pillow to the other side of the bed, ready to finally go to sleep. My smile disappears as quickly as it appeared when I feel the bed dip.

FUCK!

He’s here.

Chapter Thirteen

“It’s nice to see you too, Ads,” he says with a chuckle. “Oh, and thanks for the warm welcome.”

My body stiffens and I make a show of moving as far away from him as possible. Half of me is leaning off the bed; one sudden movement and I’ll be on the floor. Not a good idea for an accident-prone person like me. I scoot a little closer to the middle so I don’t tempt fate.

Hatred laces my voice. “Why didn’t you just leave? You didn’t catch the fact that when someone slams the door in your face, they don’t want to see you?”

I sit up in bed and glare at him. I can’t believe after all this time he is here, as if he hadn’t slept with me and acted like I didn’t exist. I hate that I’m completely and utterly aware of him. I hate that he smells mouth-watering, how sexy his stubble looks from not shaving in a few days, and how striking his green eyes are as they stare back at me.

“How did you even get in here? I don’t want you here! LEAVE!”

I push him as I jump out of bed. He holds his hands up in surrender.

“Ads, just listen, okay? I didn’t come here to fight.” I raise an eyebrow at him and he runs his hand over his face. “Tomorrow is Logan’s party. I’m here for that, to go over our plans.”

He’s here because of my brother, not because he wants to fix us. Of course. I don’t even know what I expected but it wasn’t that. Why couldn’t he have just slapped me? It would have hurt less. In bitch mode, I cross my arms over my chest, and I smile on the inside when he glances down at the cleavage exposed in my sheer white tank.

“The plans are exactly the same since the day we made them. Since you’ve ignored all of my calls, I assumed that you didn’t intend on helping. Kohen can step in on your part, which he will do happily.”

His fist clench together at his sides. Good. I move closer to him so there is only an inch between us. I can feel the heat rolling off his body. I have to control myself not to react so I don’t end up throwing myself at him.

Smiling sweetly up at him I ask, “Oh, and Jax?”

He blinks a few times as if coming out of a dream. “Yes?”

“Last time I checked, the name on my birth certificate says Adalynn not Ads. Try to remember that for the next time you decide to talk to me.”

Shoving past him, I leave my bedroom and march all the way to my front door. I wait about twenty seconds until I hear him finally starting to follow me. When he gets close, I open the door and maneuver out of his way so he doesn’t brush against me as he passes the threshold.

He looks as if someone just ripped out his heart and I’m glad. I will not be the only one hurting over his actions. He was the one who decided to leave me, to ignore me, after sleeping with me again. I’m done. I want him to know how pissed off I am. I will not let him just walk into my life with his sexy emerald eyes. That won’t work this time. I won’t be his doormat.

Jax pulls on fohawk, and begins to speak, but I cut him off, ignoring that he just used his nickname for me. “There’s nothing more to say. The plans are the same and Kohen will help me.”

I stop myself from closing the door. My eyes seek his. I wish that I had more self-control and can turn away from his eyes. His visible pain matches mine. I remind myself that this is his doing.

“I don’t need you anymore Jax,” I whisper.

I shut the door and lock it before he can mutter anything else. I sink to the floor, wondering if I just made the biggest mistake of my life. I know that I did the right thing, but at the same time I wish that I was a little nicer. He could have wanted to fix everything. Ugh! No, I will not do the whole “what if” game. I do enough of that without adding the Jax drama to it. If he was here for anything besides my brother’s party plans, then he would have said something. God! That is all I am to him, his best friend’s little sister.

I just wanted to be someone that he could love, I wanted him to want me as much as I want him. I don’t even think we can get past this and become friends again. Then again, he’s probably only been my “friend” because of my brother.

Pulling myself off the floor, I head back to my room with shaking legs.

After applying minimal make-up, I curl my hair and walk over to my closet. I select the sleeveless ocean blue Valentino lace dress, my studded nude Saint Laurent heels, and my matching nude Michael Kors clutch.

As I grab Logan’s freshly wrapped present someone knocks on my door. With heavy footsteps, I approach it, I remind myself not to make this awkward. It’s just Jax. No big deal. Only one of the many lies I’ll tell myself to get through today.

I awkwardly hold the door open for him, but don’t move out of his way as I stare at The God. Only he can make a simple pair of dark blue jeans and a navy long-sleeve polo with the sleeves pushed up to his elbows, displaying his tattooed arms, look sinfully delicious. My eyes travel the length of his body twice.

My tongue darts out to moisten my suddenly dry lips when my gaze meets his. He is so handsome I forget to breathe. He shouldn’t be be this sexy; it messes with my emotions. I want to wrap my arms around him, bury my nose into his chest, and relax into the man that reminds me of home.

“Breathe, Ads, I’m not going anywhere,” Jax says.

And just like that, my emotions are back in check. Maybe I should high-five him for helping me out? No, that would be awkward because then I would have to explain why. I go for option two. I attempt to shut the door, but his foot stops it from closing.

“I don’t have time to deal with your crap today,” I tell him once he comes inside.

Jax jaw tightens, a clear sign that he’s uncomfortable. He does realize that he doesn’t need to be here, right? Before I can voice this, Jax surprises me by closing the distance and wrapping me into a bear hug. I breathe in his all too familiar scent, welcoming the brief reprieve his presence brings me. Stepping out of his hug, he keeps me at arm’s lengths. How fitting.

“You look beautiful, Ads.”

I don’t miss how he makes a point to enunciate Ads again. I take a step back. His arms fall to his side. “Shut up and let’s gets this over with already.”

I return to the living room to retrieve everything I need.

“Someone’s in a chipper mood today,” he says from behind me.

I hand him the presents and glare at him. “That could be because someone decided to break into my place last night. Oh, and that same someone scared the crap out of me and I shattered the screen on my phone!”

Jax’s smile widens as if he’s proud of himself. It’s not nice to hit. It’s not nice to hit.

“I don’t know who you’re trying to fool. We both know you attempted to walk and text at the same time and it fell.”

He maneuvers away to avoid getting punched. Smart man.

“You’re an ass.”

He laughs. When we’re in the elevator, he pats my head as if I’m a child. I remind myself to keep my hands to myself and instead focus on texting Kohen.