Chapter 2
"When are you going to tell me more?" I pick at the lamb chop on my plate. I know Jax spent hours preparing our dinner after I unceremoniously threw him out of the jewelry shop, but I just don't have an appetite.
"About what?" He picks up the goblet of red wine in front of him and takes a hearty swallow before he speaks again," You're sure you don't want wine?"
I shake my head slightly. "About how you plan on spending your time now that you're unemployed." I want to make light of it. I want him to feel comfortable enough that he can open up and share.
"It's not a big deal, beautiful." He nods towards my lamb chop and I shake my head as he pulls it from my plate onto his. "You've barely eaten all day."
"It is a big deal to me." I don't want to sound bitter but since we started living together I've been the one always trying to bridge the emotional gap that is still there. Unless he lets down the barrier that he's built around himself, our relationship is always going to feel as though something fundamental is missing. My life with Jax is beautiful, enriching and more than I could have ever wished for. Even with that knowledge, I still want more. I want all of him, especially the darkest parts of his heart. His secrets had torn us apart too many times. I can't allow that to happen again.
"I was talking to my friend Hunter about investing in some the restaurants his family owns," he says through the corner of his mouth as he quickly devours the lamb chop I barely touched.
"You have the eating part of that down." I manage a smile even though I'm feeling anxious inside.
"You should ask the question, Ivy." His mouth thins. "I know you want to, so do it."
The challenge is meant to push me. He wants me to be the one to acknowledge the elephant in the room. That same elephant that has been stalking us ever since Mark had been arrested for fraud.
If I broach the subject again, the conversation we're having will grind to a halt and Jax will spend the next several hours in his home office with the door closed.
"I'm really tired." I place the linen napkin next to my untouched plate of food. "I think I'm just going to go to bed, Jax."
"Don't." He bites the word out. "Don’t run away from this."
"If I don't, you will." I shoot back. "I'll bring up Intersect Investments and you'll slam your fist on the table and run into your office."
"You bring it up at the worst times."
"It hasn't been the right time in six months." I push myself up from the chair. "The deal to buy your shares fell through and you haven't had another offer. You still own half that company and I know part of you wants to go back to it. There. I'm done."
"It's not that easy." His tone is harsh and clipped. "He's not going to pay the way I want him to."
"You can't control everything, Jax." I exhale in a rush trying to temper my rising emotions. "Mark cut a plea deal. That's done. You can't change it."
His shoulders tense as he rises from the chair. "I hate that you can't see how wrong that is."
"I hate that you can't get past this." I straighten and turn to leave the kitchen. "You have to accept that Mark isn't going to prison. You have to accept that he was fined and that he's on probation. That's life."
I close my eyes at the sound of his fist connecting with the table. The unmistakable ring of the silverware hitting the floor and a glass shattering cuts through the dead silence between us. I stand still as Jax breezes past me, the only other sound in the apartment, his office door as it slams shut.