BILLIONAIRE ANGEL (Point St. Claire, where true love finds a way) (10 page)

Two weeks later, when Jax heard a knock on his front door, he braced himself before lowering the soldering iron onto the worktable. Was it one of his cousins, Leo or Taylor, dropping in for a beer? Or his old friend, Tim Fielding from the Portland Police, come to pay him an overdue visit?

Then Jax thought of Billy.

Since the day they’d found out the truth about her ruby ring, the night they’d spent one final mind-blowing night together, Billy had maintained radio silence. So many times he’d wanted to call, ask how she was doing, when she was leaving. But he didn’t want to hassle her. They’d parted on an extremely high note. No matter how much it ached now, best it stayed that way.

But when he opened the front door, Jax felt blindsided. Off balance.

Margo Quinn’s glossy lips parted on a perfect white smile. “I got tired of waiting for an invitation.”

When he continued to stand there, running through the possibilities, she angled to look over his shoulder and inside.

“Jax? Are you going to invite me in?”

He let out that breath and, with an inevitable sweep of an arm, ushered her through. He wasn’t forgetting the way she’d come onto him that day when she’d shown him the anniversary invitations. In hindsight, maybe it had been brewing for a while. But he hadn’t made any show of taking Margo up on the proposition. She must be here for some other reason.

Right?

She wandered into the living room and he closed the door. “Can I get you a coffee?”

“I’d love a glass of wine.”

Jax zoomed in on the outfit. Margo always looked good. This dress, however, screamed,
Take me now.
It was white, clingy and on the short side. Quite the picture adding in those red heels and long bare legs.

But he wasn’t interested because she wasn’t Billy, would
never
be Billy, because Billy was one of a kind.

At the worktable, Margo crossed her arms and swung to face him. “What’s this?”

He joined her. “Something I’ve been working on.”

“Impressive.” Her manicured fingertips traced over the words. “Do you have any other talents I don’t know about?”

The exercise had taken longer than he’d thought it would. Now the pieces all fit together. The soldering was even. Colors and textures compatible. But…

Something about it didn’t feel right.

When he didn’t reply, Margo prodded. “I’ve been worried about you. You’ve seemed so preoccupied lately.” As she edged a smidgeon closer, her hand brushed his—and lingered. “I’ve been a little preoccupied myself. Thinking a lot about you.” Her fingers brushed again. “And me.”

Margo’s scent was feminine and spring jasmine fresh. Her lips were plump and shiny. In her heels, she was almost his height; her nose was in line with his. And her face…

He almost smiled.

For a minute he thought he’d seen Billy in her eyes.

Margo coiled fingers around his and placed his hand on her hip.

“I’ve tried being subtle, Jax. For months now. Don’t you know I care about you?”

When Margo moved to loop an arm around his neck, Jax stepped back. This had to stop. “We have a professional relationship.”

“That can change.” She stepped closer, gave a hopeful smile. “I won’t sue for sexual harassment, if you’re worried about that.”

He needed to be clear. “I know you and I have partnered up for the anniversary celebrations―”

“Have I mentioned how excited I am about that?”

When she moved to press her palms against his chest, Jax caught her hands, held them tight. Her lips parted and gaze grew smoky. Not a good sign.

“I have feelings for someone else,” he said.

Genuine compassion flooded her face. “The woman who died that night. Elise, wasn’t it?” She nodded deeply. “I understand. That must take time―”

“I have feelings for Belinda Slade.”  Margo frowned, obviously trying to place the name. “The girl―
woman
, who broke into the Lodge. The waiter in a wig.”

Margo’s eyes widened, and then she coughed out a humorless laugh. “You mean she’s been following you,
hounding
you, all this time? I knew she was after something big. The little witch was after
you
.”

“Billy only wanted to right a wrong. Be able to move on with her life.” He’d helped her find the truth.

And Jax was glad they’d met, even if it meant trying get along now without her antics, her smile and, well, her
love
.

That’s how he felt about it, anyway. They hadn’t known each other long. The words were never said...

Stiff now, Margo was looking around the room. “Is she here?”

“Billy’s gone. Or will be soon. Moving to L.A.”

Margo’s eyes began to glisten. “Are you in love with her, Jax?”

Jax remembered back to that first day, to how intrigued he’d been by practically everything about Belinda Slade. He hadn’t been able to get her out of his head. He’d enjoyed working with her...solving her mystery. But that was only part of it. As it turned out, the much lesser part.

Margo cupped his cheek as if she had one more try left in her. But then she lowered her hand, hitched her leather tote strap higher on her shoulder and, with measured steps, headed for the door. Jax rolled back his shoulders and followed.

After opening the front door, Margo turned to him. Her expression was calm and poised.

“I don’t want to leave you in the lurch,” she said, “but I’m afraid it’s time I moved on, too. I’ll finish organizing the party, tie up a few loose ends...”

“Margo…” What could he say, except...maybe this was best. “I’m sorry to see you go.”

Her lips trembled but she held her smile. “Yeah. Me, too.”

When she was on the porch, she glanced back over her shoulder at him. “This might be your lucky day.”

Jax had no idea what Margo meant. Until he saw another woman walking up his path. The one person in the world he wanted to see. Wanted to hold and kiss and so much more.

But when their gazes met and Billy gave a nondescript smile, he felt punched in the throat. Billy wasn’t here to reconcile. To tell him that she’d changed her mind and was staying. Well, of course not. Billy had had her heart set on acting long before they’d met. She deserved to succeed. Be fulfilled.

Most likely, she’d come to sort out something more about her case. Maybe something to do with the insurance.

Passing, the women offered each other a cordial nod, and then Billy took the half dozen porch steps to stand there right in front of him. Already, Jax could feel her in his arms, taste her on his lips...

Jax scrubbed his jaw.

He needed to get that out of his head right now.

So he forced a cheeky grin, found a joke. “Am I under surveillance, Miss Slade?”

She smiled. “I brought a house renovating gift.”

While he couldn’t do anything to stop his heart from crashing against his ribs, Jax kept his smile a few degrees above cool.

“Sure. Got time to come in?”

“I have time.”

He led her inside, into the mess he called the living room. “Want a coffee? A beer?”

“I don’t think so.”

With his smile still hanging in place, he folded his arms over his chest and asked, “You need to be some place?”

“Only back to packing.”

Jax’s jaw clenched so tight, his back molars cried out. “Actually I thought you might already be gone by now.” When she lowered her gaze, he growled at himself.
Idiot
. Sounding defensive wouldn’t help.

He put a supportive note into his voice. “Hey, did you contact Emma’s friend in L.A. about that place to stay?”

“Uh-huh. He still has a room.”

Jax’s smile wavered before he tacked it back up. “That’s–great.”

She slipped the bag off her shoulder. “Anyway...that gift.”

She was about to draw something out and hand it over when she noticed the stained glass panel, like Margo had done earlier.

“Wow. It’s all finished.”

“Pretty much.” He tapped the one piece left to solder–the part that read
Jax’s
.

“When are you fitting it in above the door?”

“Soon.” She cocked her head to look at it from a different angle and then she shifted again. “I know,” he said, reading her mind. “Something doesn’t quite work.”

“The colors look great.”

Peppermint green and crimson. “Not the colors.”

“The crinkly glass goes well with the clear stuff.”

He nodded, frowned and then shrugged. “I’ll figure it out.”

She was digging in her bag again. “Maybe I can help.”

She drew out a piece of cut glass much like the glass he was using. There was a word on this piece, too. When she handed it over, he held it up to the light. For a minute, he was confused. And then wary. He had to be getting this wrong.

He lowered the glass. “This says
Our.
As in–”

“
Our
Place.” Keeping her gaze on the glass, Billy rubbed her temple. “Lacie helped me with it. I’m not sure it’ll fit in with the other pieces.” Her uncertain gaze found his. “I thought I might put it out there and see.”

He sucked back a deep breath. “
Our
Place. As in you and me. Us.
Here
.”

Chewing her lip, she nodded.

“What about L.A.?” he asked.

“The truth is I’m not such a good actress. I need to move on. I
have
moved on.” She stepped closer. “Except where you’re concerned.”

He didn’t need to be told twice.

His arms wound around her as his heart thumped higher in his chest. She felt so good.

So incredibly safe.

To think, two weeks ago, he’d almost chosen vengeance over hope. Coming face to face with Hurly Green, that devil on Jax’s shoulder had whispered and goaded non-stop.
Bring him down.
Do it for the woman who loved you. The tiny person who was robbed of a chance to live.

But as he’d reached inside his jacket that night two weeks ago―as his fingers had coiled around hard cold metal―a sound had echoed up the street. Two teenage boys had been strolling down the sidewalk, laughing and telling some story. Brothers? Friends? Maybe cousins.

When they’d gotten closer to Green, they’d simply crossed the street. Stayed away from trouble. And never looked back.

Like Jax intended to do from now on.

“You want to move in with me, Billy?”

“I think it could be fun.”

Her smile lit a fire through his veins. “I think it would be
incredible
.”

“And maybe you could move in with me at the Point, too. We could have two homes, if that makes sense.”

Yeah. It made perfect sense.

He pulled her closer. Told himself this was real. It was happening.

“When?” he asked.

“Now sounds good.”

He searched her eyes. “What are you wanting from this, Billy?” Marriage? He was certainly thinking along the lines of
forever
.

“I thought we could work it out together along the way.”

When she knotted a hand in the front of his shirt and dragged herself up, he tightened his hold around her waist and lifted her off her feet until his mouth covered hers...and, suddenly, absolutely everything seemed right in the world.

When the kiss broke, it took a while for Jax to open his eyes. He wanted to hold onto this feeling. But he knew it would last. It had that kind of depth. That level of calm as well as excitement.

“I have one more question for you,” he said, before tasting her lips again.

“Hang on.” She roped her arms around his neck and sprang up enough to wrap her legs around his hips. He adjusted her sit and then pulled her in tight against his belt.

“Okay,” she said. “Go.”

“Are you looking for a job?”

She winced. “Book-keeping?”

“I need a forward thinking individual to help with promotion, public relations and entertainment.”

Her face fell. “Oh, Jax, your club really isn’t my scene.”

He hitched her higher on his hips. “I think The M Lodge could only benefit from an infusion of someone with your talent.”

“This isn’t a sympathy vote for an out of work wannabee thespian, is it?”

“It’s a vote of confidence from someone who thinks you’re incredibly gifted.” He tasted her lips. “Amazingly special.” The next taste lasted longer. “Awesomely awesome.”

She laughed. “You do great things for my ego, you know that?”

“I want to do great things for more than your ego. But first I’ll need to learn everything about you. Everything you want and need and dream.”