Page 17 of Beautiful Sin
“The very same,” Jaxson cut in, his voice carrying that edge of pride I’d heard a thousand times before. “Lan impressed her at a university showcase. She offered him the position on the spot.”
I jabbed an elbow into his side. “You make it sound like I discovered nuclear fusion. I just served tea without spilling it.”
“On twenty people simultaneously while conducting a full conversation in Mandarin,” Jaxson added, his hand settling briefly at the small of my back. The casual touch sent electricity racing across my skin, each point of contact burning like a brand. “Don’t downplay it.”
Sara’s gaze flicked between us, lingering where Jaxson’s hand had been. “How… quaint. I suppose it must be useful having someone who speaks the language in a Chinese restaurant. Though I’d have thought with the Sinclairconnections, you’d be interning somewhere more… career-oriented.”
The condescension in her tone was thick enough to cut with a knife. I felt Jaxson stiffen beside me, but I spoke before he could.
“I am exactly where I want to be,” I said, matching her smile with equal insincerity. “And the tips aren’t bad either.”
“I imagine not,” she replied, her gaze deliberately sliding over my features. “I’m sure your… unique look is quite the draw. You don’t look fully Western, yet not typically Chinese either. It’s… distinctive.”
“Lan is a second-year student with a double major,” Jaxson interjected, his voice carrying that quiet authority that always made people sit up straighter. “And he’s been on the dean’s List every semester. The fact that he’s also one of the most requested servers at a three-Michelin-star restaurant speaks to his work ethic, not his appearance.”
I stared at him, surprised by the fierce defense. Jaxson had always been protective, but there was something in his tone—something possessive that hadn’t been there before. Or maybe I was just imagining it because I wanted it to be true.
Sara’s laugh sounded about as genuine as a knockoff bag. “You must really love yourstepbrother, Jaxson. Such… passionate defense.”
The way she said ‘stepbrother’ made it sound like a particularly nasty strain of flu, and the emphasis on ‘passionate’ carried enough insinuation to fill a novel. Something in her tone made my skin crawl, though I couldn’t quite put my finger on why.
“Family is important,” Jaxson replied, his voice deceptively light though his eyes had hardened to something dangerous. “Wouldn’t you agree, Sara?”
The tension around our table could have been sliced with a knife. I shifted uncomfortably, wondering if there wasany graceful way to extricate myself from this disaster of a conversation.
“Yes, please tell us more about family values, Jaxson,” came Bree’s voice, appearing like a romance novel fairy godmother with a bottle of still water and the world’s most suspicious smile. “Especially the importance of protecting those we care about.”
Bree made herself comfortable at our table like she was joining a casual brunch rather than crashing what was clearly supposed to be a business dinner. She slid in beside Sara, whose smile tightened to the point where I worried about her facial muscles.
“You’re on break too?” Sara asked, eyeing Bree’s sudden appearance with thinly veiled irritation.
“Best time to catch up with my favorite family,” Bree replied sweetly, though I could practically see her adding ‘and make sure certain people keep their perfectly manicured claws to themselves’ in her head. “Can’t let an opportunity to see these handsome brothers together go to waste, now can I?”
“And how do you know Jaxson?” Sara asked, her tone suggesting she was conducting a police interrogation rather than making small talk.
“Oh, I’ve known these boys for years,” Bree waved her hand airily. “Especially this disaster right here.” She gestured at me with her water bottle. “Though honestly, Jaxson’s the real troublemaker. You should see how he?—”
“Bree,” I warned, knowing that gleam in her eye. The last thing I needed was her sharing stories about how Jaxson supposedly looked at me when I wasn’t watching or how he always seemed to find excuses to touch me. Stories that fed my hopeless fantasies but ultimately meant nothing.
“What?” She blinked innocently, batting her eyelashes. “I was just going to tell Sara about that time at the Christmas party when?—”
“Don’t you have tables to serve?” I cut in desperately, giving her a look that clearly said ‘shut up or I’m burning your manga collection.’
“Nope!” She popped thePwith obvious satisfaction. “All my tables are handled. I’m free to sit here and enjoy the show— I mean, the company.”
I could feel Jaxson shaking with silent laughter beside me, which really wasn’t helping. Neither was the way his arm had somehow found its way back around my shoulders, casual as you please, like this was totally normal stepbrother behavior and not slowly driving me insane.
Sara’s eyes kept darting between us like she was watching a particularly confusing tennis match. “So, Lan,” she said, clearly trying to regain control of the conversation, “you work here full-time?”
“Part-time,” I corrected, trying to sound like a functioning adult instead of someone currently hyperaware of every point where Jaxson’s body touched mine. “Between classes and trying to maintain some semblance of a social life.”
“Social life?” Bree snorted, taking a sip of her water. “Is that what we’re calling hiding in the library every time someone asks you out?”
“I do not hide—” I started to protest, but Jaxson’s grip on my shoulder tightened slightly, his body tensing beside me.
“People ask you out?” he asked, his tone deceptively light, though something darker lurked beneath the surface.
“No one important,” Bree answered before I could, her eyes twinkling with unholy glee. “Though there was that one guy last week—the one with the motorcycle and the tattoos who kept coming in just to sit in your section.”
