“Unfortunately, not yet. These things can last a few days until her body gets rid of all the bad shit in her system or whatever.” Jackson could practically feel the tension coming through the phone from his oldest friend. “Seeing her like this and not being able to help her makes me want to throttle something.”
“Yeah, I know that feeling.” Jackson remembered the month when Lucie had pneumonia her sophomore year. The constant worry had driven him insane. To help break some of the tension, Jax took a jab at Reid. “Maybe you can pound some clay into submission to get it out of your system.”
“Listen, asshole, just because I replaced fighting with sculpting doesn’t mean I can’t still whoop your ass. Did everything go all right with Vanessa?”
Jax shrugged the shirt on and began buttoning it. “You know how I am with the ladies, Andrews.” A statement that answered absolutely nothing.
“Yeah, I do. So how’s your ego handling the rejection?”
Okay, that was freaky. Either Vanessa had called and ratted him out to Lucie—which he didn’t think she’d do, knowing how sick Lu was—or the woman had a rep as a man-eater a mile long. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. Things couldn’t have gone better.”
“You’re almost as bad of a liar as Lucie, you know that?”
Jax thought about the lies he’d told not even half an hour ago and muttered, “Tell that to Vanessa.”
“What was that?”
“Nothing.” Jax leaned back against the bathroom sink and crossed his arms over his chest. “Hey, speaking of which, is she super religious or something?”
“Not that I know of, why?”
“Lying came up in conversation, and she was pretty adamant that she never does it. Like, ever. So if it’s not religion, what’s her deal?”
“It’s one of her lucky seven rules.”
Walking back into the break room area, he stopped to throw his discarded clothes in the locker and grab a bottle of water before heading out to the lobby. “Like the Golden Rule?”
“More like her own set of commandments minus the ‘thou shalt nots.’ According to Lu, she never breaks them.”
“Never, huh? Interesting.”
His friend’s sigh came through the phone, loud and clear. “Listen, Maris, if you know what’s good for you, you won’t mess around with her. I’ve seen her in action. Confident men approach her and by the time she’s through with them, they’re licking their wounds in the corner of the bar. And you’re not even close to her type.”
He smiled at the image Reid painted. “Well, I was planning on seeing how you like it when I seduce your sister, but seeing as you don’t have one, my dating calendar is pretty open this week. Besides, it sounds like fun.”
Yeah, like in the way trying to escape the lion enclosure at the zoo with steaks tied around his waist sounded like fun to the normal man. Then again, Jax never claimed to be normal.
“Hey,” Reid countered, “you and I both know that once the smoke cleared—and my nose healed—you were glad it was me with Luce and not someone else.”
The man had a point there.
“And secondly, I’m not fucking around, Jax. I need you to make sure everything goes smoothly out there. You told me you have a way of getting around the reservation policies, so focus on that. I refuse to tell Lu her dream wedding—the one she deserved to begin with instead of the joke of a ceremony that piece of shit gave her last time—is a no-go. You feel me?”
“Yeah,” Jax answered with steel in his voice. “I feel you.” Being reminded of the asshole who screwed his sister over years ago was all he needed to leave the joking behind. “There’s no way in hell I’m letting my sister’s wedding get canceled.”
He wanted to guarantee it wouldn’t get canceled. As part owner of the Mau Loa, he had that kind of power, but due to his contract, he couldn’t tell Reid or anyone else about his role. Several years ago, as a way of securing his future, Jax became a financial backer of the resort. Since his focus was on his fighting career and he didn’t want the notoriety that came with owning high-end resorts in Hawaii, he requested to be a silent partner. Jilli knew only because she’d stumbled upon the contract while cleaning his place when they were dating. He’d sworn her to secrecy, and she hadn’t let him down yet.
Jax took up residence against the front desk as he cracked his water open and winked at Jilli. He chugged the ice-cold liquid, letting Reid vent in his ear about all the bodily harm he’d impose on Jax if shit went south, just as Vanessa’s cab rounded the semicircular drive and pulled to a stop at the entrance. Though he’d just drank almost the whole bottle, as soon as the leggy redhead stepped from the car, his mouth went bone dry, his adrenaline kicked in, and somewhere he imagined a ring girl walking around holding up a giant card with Round 1 painted in bold block letters.
Right then he made the decision to wait until she’d had a chance to settle in and relax before telling her the truth. Maybe he’d take her for a drink and tell her then. Surely she’d be less likely to hate him once she felt the sun on her face, the sand in her toes, and the booze in her veins. Right?