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“Whoa, what’s wrong?” Jax asked in a low voice, reaching for my arm.
I couldn’t let him touch me or I might dissolve, so I headed for the door, quickly making a detour to a chair on the far side of the deck. I came here for a meal, my friends were here. I refused to run away again. A few minutes later a cold drink appeared on the arm of my chair, and I turned to see it was Jax.
“Come on, I know how hard the queen of lost causes works,” he said, jokey and cajoling. “You deserve a drink.”
His smile certainly was enticing. But it wasn’t a joke to me, and the Dante wasn’t a lost cause, damn it.
“No thanks,” I said, tilting the lounge chair back so I didn’t have to look at him.
After a few minutes, he got up and left. I wasn’t having any fun at all, and had just about decided to leave, when another drink appeared, this time from Raylen.
“Thanks,” I sighed. “I hope it’s full of alcohol.” That would effectively keep me here, giving Jax more time to apologize.
Raylen’s eyebrows shot up. “No, sorry, it’s just lemonade. Do you want me to spike it for you? What’s your poison?”
I sighed again. “It’s okay, I probably won’t stay much longer.” As if Jax would apologize.
“You have a real habit of showing up to cookouts and then not eating.”
His laugh was infectious and I joined in, seeing how ridiculous I was being. Silas called him over with a question about the grill, and I leaned back again, closing my eyes. I sensed a shadow looming over me and popped them open to see Jax staring down at me, exactly like a storm cloud.
“I thought you weren’t thirsty,” he said.
I shrugged, the crack about being the queen of lost causes still fresh. “I just don’t accept drinks from the king of jackasses,” I said childishly.
The only actual child around of course overheard me and popped her head up from the lawn below the deck. “You shouldn’t call people names, Luna.”
My cheeks burned at the sight of Jax’s triumphant look at me getting called out on my bad behavior. “No, actually, Addy, sometimes it’s warranted.” I got up and stormed toward the house before I did something even worse than call him a rude name.
A strong hand on my arm stopped me before I got to the front door. “Wait a second,” Jax said. “I was just joking around before.”
“Which part were you joking around about?” I asked, snatching my wrist out of his grasp.
His eyebrows shot together and his face hardened. “I seriously don’t understand why you’re so upset. It can’t be anything I said, because you haven’t let me speak to you. Did Raylen upset you?”
“Raylen?” I asked, befuddled. “Why would he have? He’s a perfect gentleman.”
His lips disappeared, he pressed them together so hard. “You better at least come back and eat or you won’t get to spend any more time with him.”
“Why in hell would I care about that?” As confused as I was, he was pissing me off with his nonsense arguments. Why didn’t he just apologize?
He shrugged. “You can’t reel him in if you don’t spend more time with him. Isn’t that what you’re after? A rich boyfriend, like Harper got?”
I’d never wanted to hit anyone in my life, but my hand curled into a fist, itching to slam into his smug face. How dare he insult not just me but my best friend, and Silas to boot? All in one insane question. Thankfully I had more control over myself in that moment than I did in the dressing room. I turned to leave, hoping to never see his handsome, hateful face again.
Then I stopped and whirled around, my fury spilling out. “You know what? You’re an awful, bitter man, and you’re a liar. If you think I’d ever do what we did if I was interested in someone else, then you’re even more awful than I thought and stupid on top of it.” I backed away from him, almost unseeing at that point. “Just stay away from me. Stay off my hiking trails, out of my theater, and for God’s sake, don’t get hurt and end up in my ER. I’m pretty sure we can keep our distance from each other until you leave.”
I finally turned and slammed out the door.
Chapter 13 - Jax
I didn’t know what happened, except that somehow I’d let my idiotic jealousy turn sweet Luna into an active volcano, with the lava of her rage spewing all over me. I didn’t really think she was a gold digger—or Harper, for that matter—but something about Luna just made me stupid, just like she’d accused me of being. But a liar?
I caught up with her and ran in front of her, blocking her from getting in her car. She stood there, looking like she might spit on me, but more beautiful than I’d ever seen her. Probably risking my life, I reached out and put my hands on her shoulders.
“When did I lie to you?” I asked.
Her lower lip jutted out and the urge to lean down and lick it was almost overwhelming. She huffed and shrugged off my hands. “When you said you understood why I wanted to save the Dante.”
