CHAPTER SEVENTY-FOUR

Website where all photos of all outfits mentioned is on my profile.

After leaving the paint shop we walk slowly back to the car, not having any great rush to get anywhere is a relaxing feeling. Gemma drives past and taps her horn but doesn't stop, instead continuing towards whatever her destination was.

Climbing into the passenger's seat of my truck again Jax starts the engine and seems unable to stop the smile that crosses his face and I can't help but giggle at the expression.

He turns to look at me a questioning look on his face "What?"

"You like it." I state, doing up my seatbelt and turning the radio down.

"I like a lot of things, but specifically what are you talking about?" Jax keeps his hand resting on the gearstick once he's put it in gear.

"The truck." I say, setting my hand on top of his and lacing my fingers between his "Don't deny it I can tell." I squeeze his fingers between mine.

"I'm not going to deny that I like your truck, I will say that I much prefer my bike." Jax steers through the main street, "But I suppose given the choice of cages to drive this one isn't half bad."

Stopping at one of the stop signs on the way to Charming Real Estate I nod my head out the window "Look."

Jax glances in the direction I gestured then chuckles to himself "Did you get that a lot in New York?"

I shake my head "No, no one really looked at this twice, but in saying that I didn't take it out very often. New York is a shit of a town to drive in."

The four little kids standing with older women who I presume at a glance are their mothers are chatting away to each other a mile a minute, fingers outstretched pointing at the paintwork down the side of the car. I smile at them and wave, getting a happy giggling wave from each of the kids and a smile from the women.

Jax pulls into the car park behind the real estate office not long after that and shakes his head as we walk through the door "I could not work with all this shit around me all day."

Mandy pops her head over the divider "Tell me about it."

I walk around the screen and drop down in one of the seats "So why don't you get rid of it?"

"It gives kids something to do while I deal with their parents." Mandy says gesturing at the fairy tale designs across the walls.

Jax rolls his eyes and sits beside me. Mandy sees the gesture and fixes her gaze on him, completely ignoring the kutte that would have a lot of people in town on their best behaviour she practically spits at him "What do you think I should do with the kids that come in here and attempt to rip my office apart?"

Jax leans back into his seat before chuckling a little "You could lock them in a closet. Or you could put a toy corner in."

I smile at Jax and lace my fingers through his again, squeezing slightly "He does have a point, it wouldn't cost you much to get a corner turned into a play area, then you could paint the rest of the office and just leave that part with the fairytale paintings."

Mandy's eyes flick between mine and Jax's before she exhales loudly "Why the fuck didn't I think of that?"

I giggle and cock my head to the side "Cause you're not the big tough biker who suddenly has a kid and an Old Lady to keep happy."

Jax tugs my fingers "Shush you. There will be no bursting the image bubble."

I can't help the laugh that erupts out of me and Jax's forlorn expression doesn't help. Before long Mandy is giggling with me and Jax is fighting a battle to stop the corners of his mouth from turning up.

Mandy eventually stops laughing long enough to pull a manila folder from her draw; setting it on the desk between us she opens the front page and turns it to me "Well there's good news and bad news on the store."

I glance at the front page but the builders scrawl is impossible to decipher so I don't attempt to. "Tell me the bad news first."

"The bad news is that the roof in the whole building needs to be redone, on both sides. The good news is that the rest of the building is in amazing shape. Everything that's in both stores comes with it, and the upstairs which is completely empty. The other side of the good news is that this place has been valued at 25K under what you paid for Shermans, but you have no negotiations to do, and it's twice the size."

Mandy grimaces a little, I'm not sure if she's suddenly realised how much I'm spending on businesses, or adding that to what I paid for the house and coming to the conclusion that I've spent almost 2 million dollars on property since my return just over a month ago. Well, I would have by the time the payments for these go through.

I pick up the folder and set it on my knee "I'll take this to Patrick tomorrow and we'll get it all signed while I'm there. Does Simon want a bank cheque or a funds transfer?" It's noted on the top of the contract for Shermans that the sellers wanted a bank cheque so that's been added to the list of places to go in SF while we're there.

"Bank cheque, and cause all I did was hand paperwork there's no commission on this one. But Shermans there is."

I smile and decide to try my luck "But, I thought you'd waive it cause I'm so awesome, and you managed to keep Charming Nazi free, plus it would be less that I'd have to pay for the building. Isn't that payment enough?"

Jax shoots a confused look at me and I manage to keep the innocent look on my face for all of 2 seconds before starting to laugh again "Course I'll get that one as well. Did they say why they wanted the commission taken out before they were given the money?" The previous owners of Shermans are now living in San Francisco and even my offer of having my lawyer drop the cheque directly to their lawyer was met with a negative answer, until they were informed that they didn't have to be there as long as the lawyer could sign for it.

Mandy shakes her head "No, but they are a little oddball from what I could gather. Even their lawyer was a bit stand offish."

I quirk an eyebrow "Oh well, after tomorrow it'll be a done deal."

Mandy nods again as Jax and I get to our feet "Their lawyer has the keys and will give them to Patrick when they meet. Why is he coming all this way?"

I smile and pull the door open "Because I asked."

Letting the door swing closed behind Jax and I we cross back to the truck and get in it. Jax turns to me before he starts the engine "Just how much freedom does your lawyer have with your money?"

I raise an eyebrow "Our money. And not as much as it seems, really. He has the approval to do anything he wants with the investment funds. I don't know what he invests in, I don't care. As for the rest of it he has authority to do nothing. Anything else has to have my signature on it."

Jax nods and starts the car my train of thought staying where it was "Can we go see Abel now, I'd like to spend the rest of the day with him."

Jax shakes his head "Not yet, we're going to go have lunch first. No, not at the hospital."

Jax surprises me by stopping at Lumpy's and going in, ordering me to stay in the car. He's not gone long before the door opens and he comes back out with a bag on his arm and a slightly distressed look on his face that I'm sure no one else would pick up on, but having spent so many years studying his face when I was younger I know the expressions he has.

He stops by my side of the car and opens my door, setting the bag by my feet he reaches in and puts his hand on my cheek, turning my face so I'm looking at him. "You know I love you don't you?"

I nod "Why? What happened?" It's not till then that I notice the faint smear of lipstick that's on his cheek right by his mouth and suddenly everything makes a little more sense. My eyes narrow as I look towards the door "Who was it?"

Jax shrugs "I don't know. All I heard was a whole bunch of laughing then I'm being kissed by a wet fish."

I laugh even though I really would like to rip someone's head off, Jax and I have been together less than 2 weeks and it feels like everyone is determined to make it hard for us to even get off the ground. I reach over to undo my seatbelt but Jax's hand on my thigh stops me "Babe, I want to spend time with you today, and I don't want any of that time to include having to bail you out for beating the skank of some gash."

I purse my lips "But I really wanna." I know my eyes are flashing dangerously and my fist is tightened on my lap.

Jax winds my window up and closes the door, it's not till I attempt to reopen it that I realise he's put the kiddie lock on it, he's around the car and has smacked the window lock button before I can start winding it down to open the door from the outside. "Like I said, I want you today, no one else. We will deal with people who do shit like that, but not today."

I frown and sit back in my seat, crossing my arms under my chest before yelping slightly as the pressure pushes on my new tattoo. The pain makes me sigh and realise that I wouldn't be much good anyway, anyone would just have to press any part of my chest where the ink is fresh and I'd be walking in the opposite direction.

"Okay Jax. You win. Today at least." I unfold my arms and drop them to my lap until Jax reaches over and picks one up, pulling it to his lips and kissing my knuckles, the simple gesture makes me smile and most of the irritation I feel melts away, he's concentrating on the road in front of us as we drive away that he doesn't notice Emily walking out of Lumpy's behind us, her messed up lipstick the same colour as the smear from Jax's mouth.