Cheap Shot (4 page)

“Maybe he won’t make the same mistake the
next time.”

Dylan grinned. “You think there’ll be a
next time?”

“Not with me,” Sela said, splaying her palm
over her chest. “I was talking about his next girlfriend. Maybe what happened
with me taught him a lesson about taking risks.” Thinking about Jaxon loving
someone else still wasn’t easy for her. She didn’t know if it ever would be,
but that didn’t mean she didn’t want him to be happy. She didn’t hate him…
anymore.

“I think it taught him a lot,” Dylan said.
“But he still has a lot to learn. He’s not a bad guy, but what happened with
his parents really messed him up.”

Sela remembered how heart-broken she’d been
when she thought of Jaxon as a little boy finding his father that way. “I know.
I can’t imagine it’s something you ever get over, but that doesn’t mean you
give up on finding love.”

“I think a part of Jax died when his old
man killed himself.” Dylan looked sad. “He didn’t have a normal childhood after
that. He jumped through hoops trying to keep his mom happy. I think he felt if
he didn’t, she might leave him too.”

Sela’s heart hurt every time she thought of
the childhood Jaxon had missed out on because the adults in his life were too
selfish to put him first. “How is his mother? Really?”

“It’s tough to say. She has her good days
and bad, which I guess is typical for people in her condition. I think it’s
been harder on Jaxon than on her. You know him, he’s a control freak. He wants
to fix everything, and he can’t fix her.”

“Does he spend a lot of time with her?”
Sela didn’t know why she was torturing herself, allowing herself to get sucked
back into Jaxon’s life.

“As much as he can, though I’m not even
sure she knows he’s there half the time.” Dylan leaned back, resting his hand
on the edge of the table. “He goes out of obligation. They were never close,
not even before his dad died, but he feels it’s his responsibility to take care
of her.”

“I know.” Sela had tried to make Jaxon
understand that his mother wasn’t his responsibility, but since he’d become
successful, he felt it was his duty to make sure she had everything she
wanted—which was a lot. She took advantage of her son’s generosity, demanding
luxury cars, designer clothes, and a posh condo in the best neighborhood. “I
should get ready for my shift. It was nice talking to you, Dylan.”

“Will you come to work for us? It would
really help me out of a bind.”

He’d said me, not us, which made it
difficult for Sela to say no. Especially since she couldn’t afford to miss a
paycheck.

“Okay, I’ll give it a try. But I can’t make
any promises.” When she realized how ungrateful she sounded, she said, “Thanks
for the opportunity, Dylan.” She leaned in to kiss his cheek. “I do appreciate
it.”

“I should be thanking you,” he said,
winking. “Can I expect you tomorrow at five?”

“I’ll be there.”

Jaxon knew he should give Sela time to
settle into her new job before he showed up to harass her, but he couldn’t help
himself. He needed to see her.

She looked great in her uniform: a tight
black skirt, high heels, and a trim white blouse. Her long blond hair was
pulled up in a fancy twist, drawing attention to her gorgeous face. He wasn’t
the only one who noticed how good she looked. The regulars seemed to be
friendlier than usual, calling her over to chat when she had a free minute.

Jaxon hated every second of it. He hadn’t
considered that putting her in the midst of a bunch of wealthy, successful,
good-looking men might be a bad idea until he saw the consequences of his
actions. Those men were drawn to her like bees to honey, and he didn’t know how
the hell to extinguish the lot of them.

“How’s it going?” he asked, sneaking up
behind her when she was bent over and stacking a pile of leather-bound menus
beneath her post.

“Oh my God, Jaxon,” she said, jumping. “You
scared me.”

“Sorry.”

She stood up, brushing her breasts against
his chest when she turned too quickly. “Oh… I…” She stepped back, nearly
stumbling.

He reached for her arm. “Relax, Sela. It’s
just me. No reason to be nervous.” He could tell she was by her rapid breathing
and dilated pupils. Obviously she hadn’t been expecting him, and his presence
had caught her off guard.

She held a menu against her chest as though
it were a shield. “Right. I don’t know what got into me. I guess I should thank
you.” She gestured around the crowded lounge. “You know, for the job. Joe had
to lay me off. Dylan’s offer couldn’t have come at a better time.”

“Is that so?” Jaxon thought of his promise
to Marlie. He
would
tell Sela the truth, just as soon as he was back in
her good graces. “Well, I’m glad it all worked out.” He looked around at the
crowd of men watching them with interest. “Anyone giving you a hard time?”

Sela looked over her shoulder, smiling at
her admirers. “No, the guys are great. They’ve all been really friendly.”

“I’ll just bet,” he muttered. He thought
about what had happened with their last hostess. Even though they frowned upon
their employees dating customers, the girls could find ways to be discreet
about it if the potential pay-off was high enough, and nowhere was it higher
than in the V.I.P. lounge.

“Are you just checking in?” Sela asked,
eyeing a customer who was clearly trying to get her attention.

Jaxon gave the guy the evil eye. He didn’t
recognize him as one of their regulars and didn’t care if he never saw him
again. He once would have done just about anything to keep their big spenders
happy, but that was a different time, and he was a different man. Now he realized
that some things were more important than the almighty dollar. Like Sela.

“Hey, you,” Sabrina Mitchell said, hip
bumping Jaxon.

Sabrina had been coming to the bar ever
since it opened, and she was as comfortable rubbing elbows with the rich and
famous as she was hustling pool with the sports fanatics. Her family owned a
big sports agency that represented a lot of big names, so many of the guys who
hung out in the lounge owed her a huge debt of gratitude. Jaxon had always
thought of her as a little sister.

“Hey, yourself.” Jaxon hooked an arm over
Sabrina’s shoulder.

Sabrina launched herself at Sela. “Oh my
God! I didn’t know you were working here.”

The two knew each other because of all the
time Sela had spent at High Rollers when she and Jaxon were dating.

“It’s good to see you, Sabrina,” Sela said,
hugging her back. “I’ve been meaning to call you, but things have been so
hectic with work and school and”—she glanced at Jaxon—“trying to fit in a
social life.”

“I ran into your sister downtown,” Sabrina
said. “She told me you were dating some college professor. Is that true?”

Sela smiled. “It is. His name is Sheldon.
We’ve only been seeing each other a few months, but…” She cleared her throat
when she caught Jaxon hanging on her every word. “I like him a lot.”

“Well, good for you.” Sabrina squeezed
Sela’s hands. “I’m glad you’re happy.”

“I am. Well, I should get back to work. Do
you need a table?” she asked Sabrina.

“What do you think, Jax?” Sabrina asked.
“You wanna buy a thirsty girl a drink?”

“You got it.” That would give him more time
to observe his ex.

A slight frown crossed Sela’s face. “Okay,
let me show you to your table.”

Jaxon stopped to shake hands with a few
regulars before claiming the seat across from Sabrina. He overheard Sela and
Sabrina chatting about bridesmaids’ dresses and comfortable shoes, so he asked,
“Is your sister making you wear something hideous on her big day, Sela?”

She laughed. “You know she tried, but I
told her if she did, I’d make her wear seafoam green taffeta on my wedding day.”

Her wedding day.
A vision of Sela wearing a long white gown and walking down the
aisle toward
him
flashed through Jaxon’s mind, making his brain freeze.
He wanted her back in his life, but he’d never thought
that
far into the
future.

Sabrina reached across the table to cover
his hand with hers. “Are you okay? You look a little pale all of a sudden.”

“Yeah.” He nodded. “I’m okay.”

“I’ll ask your server to get you started
with some water,” Sela offered.

“That’d be great,” Jaxon said. “Thanks.”

“I should get back to my post,” Sela said,
spotting a group of newcomers. “Enjoy your evening.”

Jaxon didn’t realize he was watching her
walk away until Sabrina laughed and said, “You’ve still got it bad for her,
don’t you?”

“You could say that.”

“Have you told her you’re sorry and that
letting her go was the biggest mistake you’ve ever made?”

Jaxon waited until their waitress set two
glasses of water on their table and left before he said, “I tried. She won’t
hear it. She thinks this guy she’s with may be the one.”

“So you have to prove she’s wrong.” Sabrina
took a sip of her water before picking up the leather-bound menu. “I feel like
seafood tonight. You want to share the platter for two?”

“How do you suggest I prove it to her?”
Maybe Sabrina had an angle Jaxon hadn’t considered. Short of getting some face
time with Sela, he had no idea how to win her over.

“You could start by inviting me to the
wedding as your date.”

“How did you know I was invited to the
wedding?”

“I mentioned I ran into Kiki. She told me
she invited you. In fact, she was the one who suggested I come with you.”
Sabrina grinned. “She thought it might be good for her sister to think you’ve
moved on. Running into y’all here tonight was just a happy coincidence.”

Jaxon laughed at the absurdity of Sabrina’s
suggestion. No way would Sela assume he and Sabrina were anything more than
friends. “I appreciate you trying to help, but—”

“Do you have a better idea?” Sabrina closed
the menu and set it on the table. “You know she’s going to be there with her
new man, and your plan is what? To go stag and watch her all night like some
crazed stalker? Her parents would love that.”

Jaxon scowled. Sabrina was right; he really
hadn’t thought this through. “Maybe I shouldn’t even go to the wedding.”

“When will you get another opportunity to
spend time with her outside of work?”

“How do you know she wouldn’t avoid me like
the plague at the wedding? Like you said, her boyfriend and parents will be
there.”

The Richards had always wanted their
daughter to end up with one of the senior partners in their law firm, someone
they’d hand-picked because of his pedigree. No matter how many zeroes were
tacked onto his bank statement, a kid from the wrong side of the tracks would
never be welcome in their social circle.

“Sela’s polite to a fault. She may still be
pissed at you, and definitely guarded, but I can tell she’s thawing. Let her
know you want to be her friend… that you’re trying to make her life easier.
Earn her trust, and she’ll come around.”

Since Jaxon didn’t have any better ideas,
he decided he’d be wise to take Sabrina’s advice. “I’m sure you have better
things to do on Saturday night than being my plus-one at some snooty
country-club affair.”

She smiled. “It’s that, or go out with a
retired golfer with a bum knee who whines way too much and relives his glory
days as if I care to know anything about golf.”

That was what he loved about Sabrina: She
was a straight shooter. “In that case, you have yourself a date.” He toasted
her with his water glass “But I’m counting on you to stop me from making a fool
of myself when I meet Sela’s
boyfriend
.” He said the word with such
distaste that Sabrina giggled.

“It’s a deal.”

*   *   *

Sela was surprised her sister was waiting
up when she got home. “I thought you were spending the night at Chad’s house.
Weren’t you going over the seating for the wedding?”

Kiki wrinkled her nose. “We had a
difference of opinion, so I thought I’d crash here. I hope my room will still
be open when he’s my husband and we have a fight.”

“I plan on turning your room into an
office,” Sela said with a smile, sinking onto the couch as she slipped off her
five-inch heels. She bent to rub her aching feet. “You could always stay with
Mom and Dad if you need a place to crash.”

Kiki slapped her sister’s arm. “Oh, that’s
cold. You know I hate staying at the ice palace.”

That was their nickname for the house their
parents had bought when they left for college. While most empty-nesters were
downsizing, their parents upsized to impress their wealthy friends. Their
chosen décor was white on white because, as they put it, they didn’t have to
worry about kids messing things up anymore. Sela was tempted to ask them if
they’d considered the possibility of having grandchildren visit, but it would
be a waste of her breath. Her parents would have rigid rules for grandchildren
to follow, just as they had for their own children.

“So how was your first night on the new
job?” Kiki asked.

“It was okay, I guess.” Sela leaned back
with a heavy sigh. “Jaxon was there.”

“Imagine that.”

“I don’t know that he was there to see me.”
Sela felt a little unsettled, though she couldn’t say why. “He spent most of
the evening with Sabrina Mitchell. They had dinner and drinks, and then they
shot some pool.”

Kiki smirked. “Sounds like you were keeping
pretty close tabs on them.”

“They were seated in my section most of the
evening. It was hard not to notice them.”

“Especially since you were watching them so
intently.”

Sela smacked her sister’s bare thigh. “Shut
up! I was not.”

“So you think they’re a couple?”

Sela felt a knot tighten in her stomach.
Even though she had no future with Jaxon, it was still hard for her to think of
him with someone else. She told herself she was being a sentimental fool, but
she hadn’t been with enough men to pretend having sex was insignificant. “I
don’t know. They seemed pretty cozy, but I didn’t get the impression he was
there to meet her.”

“Then you think he came to check up on
you?”

“I don’t know. Maybe he showed up because
he was hoping Sabrina would be there?”

“And that makes you uncomfortable, doesn’t
it?”

“I don’t believe he’d be insensitive enough
to flaunt his new woman in front of me,” Sela said, biting the skin around her
nails. “But maybe I’m being silly. It’s been over between us for a long time.
I’ve moved on. Maybe he decided it was time for him to do the same.”

“Sabrina Mitchell, huh?” Kiki tipped her
head from one side to the other. “What do you think of her?”

“She’s great.” Sabrina was fun, beautiful,
successful, and she didn’t give a rip what anyone thought about her. It was
hard not to like her.

“I think so too,” Kiki said. “It’s not a
stretch to think Jaxon would share our opinion.”

“I don’t know. I always got the impression
he thought of her more as a little sister.”

Kiki rolled her eyes and swatted Sela’s hand
away from her mouth. “Don’t be naïve. Sabrina’s gorgeous and available. If she
lets Jaxon know she’s interested, he’ll be all over her.”

“You really think so?” Sela continued to
tear at her cuticles. Kiki didn’t want her to make a mess of her nails before
the wedding, but it was a nervous habit she couldn’t seem to shake.

“Why wouldn’t he be?” Kiki asked. “You told
him you weren’t interested in him anymore. Did you mean that?”

“Of course I did! I have Sheldon now.”

“
Right
. How could I forget the
witty, wise, and charming professor?”