She studied him with a bemused smile. “I’ve never had a man compliment my shoes based on how they make my legs look.”
“We’ve already established you’ve never been complimented properly. And Vanessa…” He leaned forward and stared into her gem-colored eyes until her mirth tapered off and her pulse leapt just under her jaw. “I could compliment you properly all night long.”
Sitting back, he raised his beer to his lips without breaking eye contact. Watching her watch him intrigued him, and he thought of all sorts of things he’d like for her to watch him do.
“Hi, hello, bonjour, and aloha!”
Jackson turned his head to see a thin reed of a man making his way to them, wearing a pair of white dress shorts and a Hawaiian shirt. He looked like a fashionable Gilligan without the white hat. The guy had an extra bounce in his step that indicated he was either extremely hyper or literally the happiest guy on the planet. He didn’t hesitate to hug Vanessa like they were long-lost friends. When he pulled back, he held one of her hands in both of his and sat across from Jackson.
He pointed to the nametag pinned to his breast pocket. “I know it looks like my name is Robért, but it sounds like someone commanding a grizzly in a canoe. Row, bear!” He giggled at a joke he’d no doubt told to thousands of tourists. “Row-bear, get it? My mother’s French, but I was born here, which explains both the strange pronunciation and my lack of a French accent.”
Vanessa echoed the man’s giggle. If it were strictly for Robért’s benefit, she was very convincing. Jackson, on the other hand, dragged a hand over his mouth to wipe the amusement from his face at the guy’s over-the-circus-top personality.
“Anyhoo,” Robért continued, “enough about me. It is so nice to finally meet the both of you. We’re going to be the best of friends this week as I make all your dreams come true. We have so much to do before you walk down the aisle, so let’s get crack-a-lackin.”
As Robért chatted on about options for favors, flowers, and other things, Jackson sat and listened. Not to the actual details but to the overabundance of words Robért liked to emphasize. It gave his half of the conversation almost a melodic cadence and certainly made for an entertaining time as a spectator to the whole thing.
As Vanessa started talking about her—or rather, Lucie’s—vision for the wedding, Jax took the opportunity to study her. The way she smiled at the flamboyant coordinator almost stole his breath. It was wide, brilliant…sincere. She hadn’t smiled like that with him, but God did he want her to.
He scooted his chair closer to hers and felt her tense up, but if the coordinator noticed, he didn’t let on. Without forethought, he draped his arm over the back of her chair, tipping his body closer to hers. When he used his free hand to tuck her hair behind her ear so he could get a better look at her profile, she jerked back slightly.
Probably realizing she’d reacted out of character for her role as Lucie, she let out a nervous laugh. “Sorry. I guess I was so wrapped up in our conversation that you startled me.”
“No need to explain, honey.” Jax moved his arm from the chair to wrap around her. Her bare shoulder fit perfectly in the palm of his hand. Impulsively, he pulled her in and planted a soft kiss at her temple. “You’ve been jumpy lately from the stress of the wedding.”
Through a tight smile, she said, “I suppose you’re right.”
“Of course I’m right. But, hey,” he said, using a finger on her chin to guide her eyes to his, “we’re here now, and you have Robért to help you with everything. So I want you to take some deep breaths and try to relax.”
Jax wasn’t trying to help “Lucie” relax but Vanessa. Her role in the deception had her wound tight. He inhaled long and slow through his nose and was relieved when she followed suit. They exhaled together and some of the deer-in-headlights look vanished from those pretty green eyes. He gave her a reassuring smile and a slight squeeze on her shoulder.
“That’s my girl,” he said softly. It was only after she smiled wanly and broke eye contact that Jackson realized he’d said that sincerely, not even considering his role as Reid. And he didn’t know what to make of that.
An eruption of enthusiastic clapping from the jovial wedding coordinator interrupted any musings on the puzzle. “Oh, you two are ab-so-lute-ly love-ly! This is why I love my job. There’s nothing else in the world as precious as new love.”
“There certainly isn’t, Rob,” he answered with a grin.