Reckless (Renegades #1) (29 page)

“Somehow, I had a feeling that no matter what I told you, you’d need reinforcements from others you respect. So I made a call.” When she started to shake her head, he said, “
One call
, Lexi. Stan would never say anything to anyone. I knew you’d have to see that I’m not a total outcast to believe it, so I decided this was as good a place as any.”

But her fear wasn’t focused on his lack of social standing now; it was focused on his power within those social circles. One call now. When things went bad, how many calls would he make? Even as she thought the worst, another side of her mind refueled her belief in his character. And her mind continued to ping between past bad experiences and the desire to believe Jax was different.

“Chamberlin!” The call came from a pathway nearby, and Lexi recognized it immediately as the groom’s. “It’s about fucking time, dude.”

Lexi clenched her teeth as Connor neared.

“Oh, sh-shoot,” he amended his curse. “Didn’t see you, Lexi,” Connor said, grinning the euphoric grin of a man who’d just married the love of his life. “Sorry. I’m sorta—”

“Smashed?” Jax finished with a smile for Connor so filled with brotherly affection, it tightened Lexi’s throat.

“Shut up. And get rid of that frilly stuff.” He gestured to the champagne. “My new father-in-law gave me a case of Ladybank at my bachelor party.”

“No shit.” Jax laughed the words.

“No shit.” Connor wrapped his arm around Jax’s neck in a drunken bear hug. “Get me over there and you’ve earned a bottle. And leave Lexi alone.” He gave her a drunken wink. “She’s way out of your league, troublemaker.”

Jax tossed back the champagne, set the glass on the railing, and wrapped an arm around Connor as he stood. But his gaze was steady and intense on Lexi, reminding her of the first time they’d looked at each other through the windshield of Rubi’s Ferrari.

“You may be right, bro,” Jax said, his voice impossibly disappointed. “But a man can hope.”

“I know I’m right,” Connor said.

Jax broke Lexi’s gaze, turning Connor toward the pathway. “Like you know you’re going to pass out before you make it to your bride’s bed?”

“Shut the fuck up.” Connor laughed, wrapped his other arm around Jax’s neck as if trying to wrestle him to the ground.

Jax winced, but gently pried Connor’s arm away from his left shoulder and guided the groom across the grass. “Take it easy there, bro. I had a disagreement with some rocks this week.”

Lexi’s chest felt like a hurricane. “Jax—”

He kept walking. “I’ll find you, Lex. Let me get this man back to his bride.”

Jax wasn’t all that unhappy when Connor’s bride pulled him onto the dance floor, because he wasn’t all that anxious to have this talk with Lexi anymore. He’d been trying to talk to her about it for days, but she kept avoiding the conversation, as if she already knew what he was going to say. She claimed she hadn’t done her own research already, but somehow she believed whatever he was going to say would interfere with what they had…and where they were going.

Jax stepped back and held Jessie’s hand loosely as she turned under his arm, then took her back into the step.

“You’re almost as smooth as my dad,” she said. Her big brown eyes were made up heavily but tastefully and shone up at him.

“I take that as the highest compliment.”

“Connor and I are having a barbecue at the new house when we get back from Bali next month. Will you come? He misses you.”

“He just called me a bunch of names that says different.”

“You took away his scotch on his wedding night.”

“Only so you can get lucky later. And no guarantees. He may have already imbibed too heavily.”

She laughed. “We’re married. I already consider myself lucky. And we’ve got many, many years of luck ahead. One night won’t make a difference. But thank you for trying. So, will you come?”

Jax was thinking about years and years of luck with Lexi. First time that thought had ever crossed his mind. He pushed it away.

“If I’m in town, I will absolutely be there.” He pulled back and gazed down at her dress. “That’s some gown, Jess. Did your daddy leverage the Maui vacation home for that thing?”

She laughed. “Probably. But Lexi’s designs are amazing, and she made my sisters’ dresses. My parents said it was tradition.” She pulled back, made another slow twirl, and came back to him. “Mom says they’re heirlooms. I like to think my daughter will wear it one day. Isn’t it the most beautiful thing you’ve ever seen?”

Jax pulled Jessie into another turn and scanned the crowd for Lexi. She stood beside a table talking to five different men Jax recognized as financial wizards from Silicon Valley. His entire body warmed to life at the sight of her.

He smiled back at Jessie as she returned to face him. “Absolutely.”

She laughed. “You’re so full of shit.”

“That’s why you love me.”

“Absolutely,” she echoed.

Jax pulled her close to finish the dance while watching Lexi. Two other men had joined the conversation, both riveted to her, even though she wasn’t doing more than responding to whatever someone else said. One of the men Jax knew as an up-and-coming actor. The other was a friend of Connor’s. An investment banker. Jax loathed the insecurity welling in his chest.

He soaked in the sight of Lexi. Her dress was cream, almost entirely heavy lace. Cut low in the front, the design was both tasteful and sexy, showing just the inner curves of her breasts. A band of beaded lace circled her slim rib cage, and the rest of the simple design needed nothing but Lexi’s body filling it out to look perfect. It molded to her flat belly, slim hips, cutting off at a respectable midthigh. The back created an open diamond exposing her delicate shoulder blades and the indention of her spine.

Just looking at her made an ache burn deep at the center of his body.

He was just about to drag his gaze away from her when Lexi looked over. She could have grabbed him by the collar, he felt her pull that intensely. Her eyes seemed so crystal blue in the darkness. Maybe it was the makeup that made them pop, but as soon as they touched his face, Jax’s heart skipped and he couldn’t look away.

“Do you want me to introduce you?” Jessie’s voice pulled his gaze back to her face. “She’s single.”

His chest burned. “Who?”

“Lexi LaCroix. That’s the woman you’ve been staring at since you got here.”

He sighed. “You’re worse than my little sister.”

“I’m more of a little sister than your little sister ever was.”

“You’re right.” He grinned and grabbed the tip of her nose between his fingers.

She cried out a soft complaint and slapped his hand away. “I can’t believe you did that to me at my wedding.”

“You’d have been disappointed if I didn’t.”

“Do you want to meet her or not?” she asked, rubbing her nose, still laughing. “She’s totally sweet, obviously gorgeous, has her own successful business.”

“Your husband thinks she’s way out of my league.”

Jessie made a scraping sound in her throat. “My husband is fall-down drunk, and he’s always been jealous of you. He probably just doesn’t want you bagging a woman prettier than his.”

“Oh, stop. No one is prettier than you.”

“You’re a lousy liar. And I’ve never seen you
not
go after a woman you want. What’s up with that?”

“She seems pretty…classy, you know?” He looked down at Jessie. “I think your husband might be right.”

Jessie stopped dancing and gazed up at him with a what-the-fuck look. “Bentley Jaxon Chamberlin, don’t make me flog you at my own wedding.”

Jax laughed, but he wasn’t feeling the humor. And as he looked down into Jessie’s eyes, he was reminded that even she had chosen Connor over Jax one night long ago. Something Jax never thought twice about. Never regretted. In fact, he’d believed in a lot of ways Connor had taken a bullet for him. He’d felt pushed toward Jessie because of her father’s not-so-hidden wishes and Jax’s own drive for Stan’s fatherly approval. Once Jessie had chosen Connor, Jax had been so relieved in so many ways, he’d never cared
why
she’d chosen Connor.

Only now, it was clear. Connor had respectable family, an outstanding Hollywood reputation as an upstanding guy. Walked the walk. Talked the talk. Shook hands and kissed babies.

A sick gurgle of a laugh came from Jax’s throat. His mother would get such a thrill out of this moment. She’d always told him he’d lose out big someday, because in Hollywood,
image was everything
.

This was never something he’d ever fathomed losing. Probably because he’d never imagined falling in love.

Pain shot through his shoulder, and Jax finally heard Jessie talking to him, tugging on the arm he’d injured in Idaho to get his attention.

“Are you okay? Maybe you had a little too much to drink too.”

No, but he definitely wasn’t right either. Physically or emotionally. The longer he watched Lexi in this environment, with the upstanding businessmen flocking around her, the lower Jax sank.

The song changed, and another guest came up to claim Jessie for the dance.

Jax slipped through the other guests on the dance floor and leaned against the bar. A wave of dizziness made him sway.

“Are you all right, sir?”

Jax put his forehead against his hand. “I could use some water.”

His cell rang. The Renegades phone, not his personal phone. Jax was suddenly exhausted, but he answered, “Renegades.”

“Jax, it’s Ted Rimer.”

Jax’s gut coiled tight. “Part of me was hoping you wouldn’t call.”

“But you knew I would.”

“What else are you going to do? Sucky spot to be in, Ted. I’m sorry this happened.”

“You’ll keep your mouth shut in bed from now on I guess, right?”

Jax didn’t appreciate the dig. “People who live in glass houses…”

Rimer sighed heavily. “So what am I going to have to give you to pick up this job? You’ve pretty much got a gun to my head here.”

“You put it there. It’s not my fault you tried to go cheap and ended up getting screwed.”

“I’m twenty million over budget,” he said, ignoring Jax’s comment.

“I heard thirty.”

“You heard wrong,” Rimer said.

“Whatever.” Jax didn’t doubt it, and how much over budget they were didn’t matter to him. “Since you didn’t pick us up for your movie, I’ve found a lot of work. I’d be giving up a lot, taking my boys off sure things. You’re the one over budget. Tell me what you can give us to make it worth the risk.”

“I can pay you the minimum SAG contract rate.”

The Screen Actors Guild minimum contract payment was far less than what Jax negotiated for a job. He made a low hum in his throat. “That’s not inspiring. In fact, it’s demeaning.”

“I’m not done,” Rimer said. “If you can pull us back into the black, I’ll give you ten percent of the money you save us.”

Jax paused. “I must have heard you wrong too.”

“No, you didn’t. You save me twenty million, and I’ll give you two.”

“Two million,” he clarified.

“That’s the deal.”

Two million was one-tenth what he’d made on a movie at the height of his acting career, but it was a hell of a lot of money to a stuntman. Jax was pretty sure he could do it. And that kind of money would float Renegades for a while. Buy new equipment. Bring on new guys. Ease the burden on Jax. Maybe he could even have a life. “Send me the script and tell me where you’re at in the filming process. I’ll let you know.”

He said good-bye and disconnected, then glanced over his shoulder toward Lexi. She’d moved to another table where two bridesmaids sat and eased to the edge of a chair, leaning in to hear something one of the women said to her. She laughed, her head tipping back, eyes sparkling. And that damned dimple appeared in her cheek.

Jax instantly returned to that night in New York, the front of his body pressed to her back, the feel of her hair against his chest, the sound of her sweet laugh.

He realized now that had been the very moment—when she’d laughed at Jax’s stupidity on the horse—the moment he’d fallen in love with her.

She wanted for her business and her life what Jax had just been offered for his. And he wanted that for her too. He wanted her to experience this sense of relief. Of hope.

Which meant getting the hell out of her way.

Twenty-One

Just watching Jax move made Lexi ache. She knew he was hurting, yet he still danced with Jessie, hung out to bullshit with Connor and others. He knew one hell of a lot of people here. Most seemed to love him, though she’d noticed a few people move the other direction when someone in the circle initiated a conversation with Jax, but it didn’t seem to bother him. And his earlier comment about being used to having people being ashamed of him cut at her.

Claudia Love stood with him now, her arm around his waist. He had his arm over her shoulders in a circle of Claudia and Stan’s friends, giving Stan a ration about something. But Stan gave it right back, and everyone laughed.

The sound of Jax’s laughter made Lexi’s chest warm and her belly ache. An hour had passed, and he hadn’t tried to talk to her again. He seemed so tired. As if the last hour had drained him of all his energy. She wanted to take him home. Wanted to undress him, make love to him, fall asleep with him.