Page 72 of Sweet Wicked Vows
My heart actually skipped a beat.
“Apparently, you cheated the last time you played a game with a pumpkin? Seems you’ve earned yourself a bit of a reputation around these parts.”
“For crying out loud, I did not cheat.” I shook my head with a laugh. “They are all just jealous because last year I set the new record. Now they are all accusing me of tampering with the slingshot or hollowing out my pumpkin to make it lighter. It’s all slander.”
“Do you play this game every year?”
I nodded. “A family tradition.”
“How long have you been spending Thanksgiving with the Junipers?”
“I’ve known Lola since we were just starting to walk and talk. When Mom passed away, her parents started to invite me, Flynn, and Dad down every year. Dad used to come from time to time, but otherwise, he worked. Flynn stopped coming when he got accepted intoNYU.”
“I’m sorry.”
“For what?”
“Your mother. I know how hard it is to lose a parent.”
I shrugged. “My mother wasn’t the easiest to love. It was such a long time ago. I sometimes forget what she looked like, only for the fact that I am her spitting image, I am sure I would have totally forgotten by now.” My teeth ran along my bottom lip. “You lost your mother, too?”
His shoulders drew tight. “Her passing was sudden.”
“That mustn’t have been easy. What age were you?”
“Seven or so,” he said. “It left a gaping hole in our family that never was quite the same again. Our father didn’t handle it the best and opted to further destroy himself with alcohol.” He took a hearty mouthful of wine. “Elliott and Olivier were too young to truly understand what happened. Me and Freddie were the oldest, so it naturally fell to us to pick up the pieces.”
“At least you had your big brother there to lean on.”
He frowned. “Frederic isn’t exactly the loving older brother type. Ourmaman’sdeath turned him into someone I barely recognized. He was ourmaman’sfavorite, though she liked to deny it. When she passed, Frederic completely shut down and shut everyone out.”
“Including you.”
He nodded.
The thought of a young Jaxon, heartbroken by the loss of his mother and with no one to turn to, seeking the love and care a child deserved, was a knife in the heart.
“That must have been so hard and lonely.”
“Well, you once called me the stereotypical, lonely billionaire in your article,” he feigned a half-hearted laugh. “Turns out, I’d gotten very used to being lonely since childhood.”
Damn that stupid article.
I reached for him, placing a hand on his arm. “No child shouldhave to shoulder that.”
“We all have our burdens, some heavier than others.”
Standing together, my hand still cemented on his arm, we watched the others argue over pumpkins. Where it brought a smile to my face, a crack formed in Jaxon’s usual frowning demeanor. A softness, a hint of vulnerability, etched into life as he watched the family before us.
I stroked the length of his arm. “Having someone to help shoulder the weight helps. I know soon this will be nothing more than a bad dream for you, but I will always be your friend, Jaxon.” My stomach dipped at the thought of him leaving. “I’ll always be someone you can rely on to help shoulder whatever burdens you, if that is what you want.”
Whiskey-studded eyes landed on my hand as his chest rose and fell slowly. “I meant what I said, I’d gotten good at being lonely. Being alone was all I knew, and I was happy that way. But now? I’m not so sure.”
“How come?”
His shoulders relaxed just a smidge. “Because of you, Evelyn.”
My damn traitorous heart did a somersault.