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“Jesus,” Jax said, not sure how Peggy found out, but thought it probably had something do with Gennie. And if Gennie was talking, that meant Milly hadn’t come clean. He was already on the lookout for the Smartts, he didn’t need to add anyone else to the People to Avoid list. “Can’t everyone just mind their own business?”
“That’s called being a part of a family,” Brynn said, wrapping her arms around his waist. She was built like Peggy, small and slight. Her fingers didn’t even touch behind Jax’s back. “Get used to it.”
“Back up. You’re sleeping with Milly Smartt?” Lucas asked, his eyes full of fury, disbelief in his tone. Disbelief that a woman like Milly would go for a man like Jax.
Jax’s hackles rose. “It’s none of your business. And why wouldn’t a woman like her be into a guy like me?”
“You’re not her type.”
Jax wasn’t about to give his brother the satisfaction that he was right. He’d take the mistaken identity fiasco to the grave. And he hoped to hell Milly did as well. “Clearly, you’re wrong. Again.”
“I don’t give two shits about your sex life, unless you’re sleeping with an employee. Christ, she’s our logistics coordinator and I can’t afford to lose her when she realizes you aren’t the long-term bet.”
Jax didn’t have the words to tell his brother where to shove it because he was left speechless by this news.
Milly worked for Lucas? Jax gripped the back of his neck. How had he not known this? And how did he feel about Milly being in close quarters with the man she thought she’d slept with? Strangely, the idea irritated his chest.
Lucas’s expression was one of suspicion. “You didn’t even know she was working with us on the Sierra Vista Cup, did you?”
No. No, he did not. Jax loved to weave a good story, loved being part of the con, but he’d never conned his brother. And even though he was pissed beyond hell about his brother’s duplicitous act with their mom, he was caught between a con and crazy cutie. The best course of action would be to tell Lucas to go screw himself, then change the subject, but instead he surprised himself by saying, “I was actually looking forward to helping her with the event.”
Lucas laughed. “You’re always in the competition. You’ve never planned one. It’s like being a bridesmaid versus the bride. One puts on a dress and walks down the aisle. The other plans for months and months. You’re in the middle of a season and when you’re not on the slopes, you’re in the gym.”
“I can handle it,” Jax said.
“Isn’t the Xtreme Games this weekend?”
“I can fly out and fly back.”
“You don’t do flyout, flybacks. You get there days ahead of time and spend hours on the mountain, then schmooze with brands and sponsors.”
Frustration began to twist its way through Jax’s body until he felt like snapping. He wrung the neck of the pool stick. “Well, this time I am. I leave Friday and I’ll be back Monday morning, so I’ll be here for the week.”
“And what about the next week?”
A twinge of anger and frustration worked its way along his spine. Why was his brother digging in so hard? Jax might not have planned an event before, but he wasn’t incompetent. In fact, he was quick on his feet, knew when to pivot, and never shied away from a difficult situation. He took them head-on. It was how he’d managed to dominate the slopes even though he was one of the more senior athletes on the circuit.
Jax liked to think of himself as the Tom Brady of the snowboarding world. He’d decide when he was past his prime. In his opinion, his age gave him a leg up on the competition. And being on the flip side of these kind of events would give him a fresh perspective that could be invaluable.
“Do you need help or not?”
“Yes, I need help. But it would take me longer to catch you up to speed than just doing it myself.”
“Which is why I’ll be working with our logistics coordinator closely.”
What was he saying? He and Milly had just agreed to stick to being friends and here he was putting himself in the line of fire, where one misstep with Milly could end in disaster.
“You can’t commit to a year lease,” Lucas said. “Let alone the stick-to-it-ness it would take to pull off an event this size.”
Jax’s jaw flexed. “Is that a challenge?”
“Mom and Dad are fighting again,” Harris said.
“You guys are more dramatic than Mom’s book club,” Brynn said. “And for the record, Milly isn’t an employee. She’s a contractor. Big difference.”
Jax didn’t give a shit either way. He didn’t like to be told what he could and couldn’t do. But that didn’t explain his reaction to his brother acting as if Jax wasn’t good enough for Milly. It was the truth, but hearing that she was off-limits ticked him off. “Seriously, I can help with sponsors and the competitors. Who knows what they want better than one of their own? As for the rest, Milly can catch me up.”
Lucas schooled his expression, which meant he was trying to come up with a reason why this wouldn’t work. Jax had witnessed this particular look many times before, but never aimed at him. He knew things between them were strained, and for good reason, but would Lucas take it as far as to not let him help with what had always been a family event?
