Cheap Shot (8 page)

“It was nice of her to come. Did y’all have
a good time?”

“Sure. It was fun.” He grinned. “A little
unconventional, just like your sister. I think my favorite part was when she
made Chad chase her around the dance floor before the garter toss. That, and
watching you catch the bouquet.”

She’d done her best to avoid that archaic
ritual, but her mother had thrown her into the mix and made sure she was
directly behind the bride. “My mother’s not very subtle, is she?”

“She thinks she can get you married off
before I have a chance to corrupt you again.”

Sela laughed. He knew her mother too well.
“I’m in no hurry to get married. I like being on my own. Now that Kiki’s moving
in with Chad, I’ll have the place all to myself. I’ve never lived alone before.
I’m kind of looking forward to it.”

Jaxon leaned forward and let his hands hang
loosely between his knees. “I’ve lived alone for twenty years. It’s not all
it’s cracked up to be.”

“Does that mean you get lonely sometimes?”

“All the time.”

She was surprised he’d admitted that. Jaxon
had always prided himself on not needing anyone. “I’m sure you have your fair
share of women around.”

“The guys say I’m a workaholic. They’re
forever trying to set me up.”

Sela felt a lump in her throat when she
thought of women moving in and out of Jaxon’s life. “You haven’t connected with
any of them?”

“Nope.”

“Why not?”

“They’re not you.”

His words were so sweet and so unexpected,
they stole her breath. “You’re just saying that.”

“No, I’m not. It’s the truth.” He turned
his palm up. “Think your feet can withstand one more dance in those crazy high
heels?”

“I doubt it.” She felt guilty when she saw
his face fall. “But I could take them off.”

He rewarded her with a grin. “Let’s do it.”

She slipped her shoes off before standing
and taking his hand. “My parents will hate this.”

He laughed. “Is that supposed to deter me?”

Sela knew they were drawing attention when
Jaxon escorted her to the dance floor and pulled her closer than propriety
dictated, but she couldn’t muster the desire to tell him to cool it. She rested
her head on his shoulder, closed her eyes, and pretended the rest of the world
had faded away. For the next three minutes, she would let herself imagine how
different her life would be if he hadn’t ravaged her heart to the point she
could never trust him with it again.

“I love this,” he whispered.

She smiled. “What? Driving my parents
crazy?”

He chuckled, low and deep, the sound
reverberating against her chest. “That too.” He brushed his lips across her
hair. “No, I love the way having you back in my arms feels.”

She stiffened. “We’re never getting back
together. Don’t think that’s where this is headed.”

“Never is a long time.”

She tipped her head back, looking him in
the eye. “Do you think I’ll ever forget the way I felt when you told me we had
no future, that even though you’d been making love to me for a year, you
weren’t
in
love with me?”

“I don’t imagine you will.” He brushed his
hand over her cheek. “And I’ll never forget the way I felt when I saw Riley
holding you on that dance floor. I think I knew right then and there I’d made
the biggest mistake of my life. I knew I’d ruined everything.”

She closed her eyes, replaying the days
after their breakup and how devastated she’d been. Nothing Jaxon could say
would make her want to take a risk on him again. “It’s time to let go.”

“What if I can’t?”

“You have to.”

Part of her was happy she’d reconnected
with Jaxon. She hated the way they’d left things, and he had helped her
remember the guy she’d fallen in love with, but that didn’t mean she could ever
love him again.

“Pardon me,” her father said, standing just
behind Jaxon. “May I cut in? I haven’t had an opportunity to dance with my
beautiful daughter all evening.”

“Sure, Daddy.”

“We’re not finished,” Jaxon said, looking
reluctant to let her go.

“Yes, we are,” Sela said. “Just go home,
Jaxon. Please.”

He looked annoyed, but he did as she asked
without sparing her father a glance.

“What are you doing?” her father asked once
they were alone. “Didn’t you learn your lesson the first time around? Are you
going to let him make a fool of you again?”

Her father was just trying to protect her,
but Sela hated when he talked down to her. “I’m an adult, in case you’ve
forgotten. I’m perfectly capable of drawing my own conclusions about Jaxon.”

“You’re driving a good man away,” he said.
“Sheldon’s not a fool. He knows Davis has a game plan, and you seem to be
falling right into his trap.”

Sela should have known she wouldn’t escape
without hearing her father’s opinion, but she wasn’t willing to take it without
fighting back. “I’m not falling into anyone’s trap. Jaxon hurt me. I haven’t
forgotten that. But I also haven’t forgotten that he’s a good man. Just because
we weren’t right for each other doesn’t mean I have to carry a grudge around
for the rest of my life.”

“Don’t tell me you’re going to extol the
merits of being friends with your worthless ex. That’s the most ridiculous
thing I’ve ever heard.”

“I beg to differ.” It was high time her
father gave Jaxon the respect he deserved. “Whether you like it or not, Jaxon’s
a powerful man. Being friends with him could open a lot of doors for me.” Not
that she intended to take advantage of her relationship with Jaxon, but favors
was a language her father understood.

“It would come at a high price. Are you
planning to trade favors for his ‘connections’?” he asked, loosening his grip
on her hand.

She was disgusted her own father could
imply such a thing.

“Well, are you?”

Sela gulped as she stepped back, out of his
reach. “How can you ask me that? Don’t you know me better than that? I’m your
daughter.” They were drawing attention from the couples around them, but she
was too hurt and angry to care.

“I thought I knew you, but the daughter I
raised wouldn’t be stupid enough to sleep with the enemy… again.”

“Jaxon’s your enemy, not mine, and for the
record, I’m
not
sleeping with him.”

“Sela, what are you doing here?”

Sela knew Sheldon rarely welcomed
unexpected visits, especially late at night, but she had no one else to turn
to. Her argument with her father had left her reeling, and she needed to talk.
“I’m sorry to bother you. I got into it with my father.”

“And?”

She sensed his irritation. “I’m sorry. This
is a bad time. You’re tired. We can talk tomorrow.”

“No,” he said, stepping back for her to
enter. “We should probably get this over with now.”

Sela’s heart pounded as she stepped inside.
His ominous tone told her he wasn’t referring to the argument with her father.
Something was on his mind, and she had a feeling she wouldn’t like it.

“Can I get you something to drink?”

“No, thank you.” She fisted and relaxed her
hands, hoping he couldn’t tell how nervous she was.

Sheldon led her into the family room and
gestured to the couch. “Have a seat. Tell me about what happened with Gordon.”

“If there’s something on your mind—”

“We’ll get to that. You came here to talk
to me about your father, so talk.”

She wasn’t used to Sheldon being so short
with her. “How’s your headache?”

“Fine. I took something for it when I got
home.” He sat across from her. “What did your father say to upset you?”

“He was angry that Jaxon showed up
tonight.”

“That’s no surprise. You knew your parents
wouldn’t be happy about seeing him there.”

“True, but…” Now that she was there, Sela
realized she’d been a fool to think she could share the details of that
conversation with Sheldon. It would raise too many doubts and suspicions in his
mind.

“But what?” he asked, sounding impatient.
“Just tell me what he said.”

Sela had painted herself into a corner. “He
said I was a fool for falling into Jaxon’s trap and…” She swallowed, wishing
she’d accepted that drink. “He implied I was sleeping with Jaxon because of his
clout.”

“Are you?”

Sela felt that hit almost as hard as her
father’s. “You really think I’d cheat on you?”

He settled on the couch, resting one arm on
the back as he regarded her. “I don’t own you, Sela.”

“No, but I thought we had an
understanding.” A wave of nausea washed over her. She’d assumed Sheldon had
been faithful to her simply because she’d been faithful to him, but they’d
never agreed not to sleep with anyone else. She hadn’t thought they had to have
that conversation, but apparently she’d made assumptions she shouldn’t have.
“Was I wrong?”

“Does it matter now?”

“It matters to me.” Shame washed over her
as she realized she’d been duped… again. “Who was she?”

He shook his head. “We’re not going to go
there.”

“How could you?” For all of his faults, at
least Jaxon hadn’t slept with anyone else while she was sharing his bed. As far
as she knew. “I thought we had something special. We talked about marriage!”

“We talked about a lot of things.” He
looked at her purse when it vibrated, indicating an incoming call or message.
“Do you have to get that?”

“No. I think I deserve some answers.”

“Perhaps you do.” He sighed. “I’m not
telling you this to hurt you. I’m trying to set you free.”

“What are you talking about?”

“You still love him.”

She didn’t have to ask who Sheldon was
talking about. “You don’t know what you’re talking about. I wouldn’t have
gotten involved with you if I was still in love with him.”

“I think you believed you were over him
until he walked back into your life. Now you’re not sure how you feel. I think
you want the safe bet, which you think I am. You don’t want to risk getting
hurt again, and with me, you won’t.”

“But you have hurt me.”

“Have I really?” He smiled. “Tell me you
feel now the way you did when Jaxon broke up with you.”

“Is this some kind of a sick game?” she
asked, feeling her stomach twisting into a knot.

“Not at all.” He leaned forward, reaching
for her hand. “But you can’t tell me the thought of me being with someone else
made you feel as wretched as it should. It didn’t gut you, did it?”

“Were you testing me?” she demanded,
wanting to slap him across the face. She’d been through hell at the wedding,
and when she’d come to him for comfort, he’d chosen to throw salt into the
wound instead.

“I was testing us.” He looked at her hands.
“Sadly, we failed.”

“Excuse me?”

“No tears, no hitting, no throwing things.
Admit it, you didn’t care. Maybe a part of you was even relieved that you’d
found a way out. For a minute, it was my fault, and you didn’t have to take
responsibility for not loving me enough to make this work.”

Sela felt as if she’d stepped off a cliff
and was freefalling without a parachute. People she thought she could trust
were making her question everything. “I can’t believe you’d think that. When
have I ever given you any indication that I want out of this relationship?”

“Every time you make love to me and imagine
it’s him.”

Sela gasped, shocked and appalled he could
think she would do that. Making love with Sheldon had never been explosive the
way it had with Jaxon, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t present in the moment.
“I can’t believe you think that.”

“You talk in your sleep.”

Feeling a blush spread over her cheeks, she
dipped her head. Her sister had told her the same thing. “What have I said?”

“I’ve heard you mutter his name. You beg
him not to go, tell him you love him. Sometimes you cry in your sleep. I’ve
thought about waking you, but if I did, we’d have to face the truth about your
feelings for him, and I wasn’t ready to do that.”

Sela didn’t think she was ready to do that
either. Not now, and maybe not ever. “You can’t hold that against me. I was
sleeping.”

“Many would say sleep is the one time
you’re in touch with your desires, without your ego getting in the way and
trying to talk you out of what you want.”

“I don’t want Jaxon.” She didn’t know if
she was trying to convince him or herself. Either way, it felt like a lie.

“Is that right?” Sheldon gave her a
lop-sided smile. “How long do you think you can go on lying to yourself?”

“I’d have to be crazy to trust him again
after what he did to me.”

“I thought the same thing after my wife
left me, but on the day I found out she was getting remarried, I went to the
church and begged her not to go through with it.”

Sela lifted her eyes, searching his. “You
did?”

“Yes, I did.” He sighed. “I even got down
on my knees. I begged her to take me back, to walk away from the life she was
building with that other man…” He cleared his throat. “She told me I was too
late. Are you going to wait until it’s too late for you and Jaxon?”

The weight of his words pressed down on
her. “Why are you doing this? Why are you saying these things?”

“Because I don’t want you to end up like I
did, taking advantage of a beautiful person because I was afraid of losing the
one I couldn’t live without. I might feel guilty for it if I didn’t feel we’ve
been using each other in the same way.”

“I don’t know what to say… or how to feel.
I’m so confused.” Sela wasn’t ready to deal with the fall-out from another
failed relationship. Her sister was moving out. Her parents were disgusted with
her. Her boyfriend was dumping her, and her friends would never understand how
she’d let it happen. She felt as though she had no one to turn to.

He kissed her forehead. “One day you’ll
thank me for saying what you couldn’t. It’s time to say our good-byes,
sweetheart.”

“If Jaxon hadn’t come back into the
picture, would you be breaking up with me right now?”

“No, I’d probably be proposing, and that
would be much, much worse for both of us.”

*   *   *

Sela’s shift was about to start, and Riley
had taken up permanent residence in the V.I.P. lounge. He was buying expensive
drinks and reliving his glory days with a group of hockey fans who were hanging
on his every word.

“Sorry to interrupt, guys,” Jaxon said,
slapping Riley on the back. “Can I have a word with our boy here?”

Riley waved him off. “Gimme a minute, Jax.
I was reminding the guys about that goal I saved in double overtime against the
Caps. Remember that?” He looked at Jaxon with a wide grin. “Sixth game of the
semi-finals, and I—”

“We’ve all heard that story before,” Jaxon
said, pulling him to his feet by the collar. “It’s time to cover some new
ground.”

It didn’t take long for Riley’s fan boys to
turn their attention to the basketball game on the big screen.

Jaxon led Riley to their most secluded
booth. “Sit down, shut up, and listen.”

“What’s got you in such a pissy mood?”

“You.” For starters. But the fact that Sela
hadn’t responded to his messages for the past two days didn’t help either. “Why
are you hangin’ around here every night?” As if he didn’t know.

“Because the owners are so welcoming,”
Riley said, rolling his eyes.

“Don’t think I don’t know what you’re up
to.” Jaxon leaned across the table so he could lower his voice. “You’re after
Sela again.”

Riley shrugged. “So what if I am? What’s it
to you?”

“You may recall she and I have a little
history,” he said, grinding his teeth. He’d love nothing more than to grab
Riley by the throat, but his partners would beat him down if he did that.

“Yeah, ancient history. Time for you to
move on, buddy.”

“Who the hell do you think you are—”

“Good evening, gentleman,” Sela said,
eyeing their exchange with curiosity. “Shall I send a waitress over to take
your drink order?”

“There’s the woman of the hour.” Riley
brought Sela’s hand to his lips before he said, “Your ex-boyfriend here was
just about to tell me to stay the hell away from you.”

Jaxon knew Riley was just trying to stir up
trouble, and judging by Sela’s expression, it was working.

“Is that so?” she asked, extracting her
hand from Riley’s and planting a fist on her waist. “Riley, would you give us a
minute?”

“No problem, sugar.” He slid out of the
booth, giving Jaxon a victorious smirk. “I’ll catch up with you later.”

“Where the hell do you get off speaking for
me?” Sela demanded, glaring at Jaxon. “I have a mind and mouth of my own. If I
want him to leave me alone, I’ll tell him that.”

Jaxon knew he couldn’t get out of the
situation gracefully, but he could try. “I was only thinking of you. Most women
aren’t thrilled about fighting off deadbeats like Riley, especially when they
have a boyfriend at home.”

“I don’t have a boyfriend anymore, thanks
to you.”

Jaxon held back his whoop of excitement.
“Y’all broke up? When?”

“That’s none of your business.” She slammed
a menu into his chest. “Haven’t you caused enough trouble for me already?”

Wait ‘til she found out he was the reason
she’d lost her job… “I never wanted to cause you trouble, baby.” He reached for
her hand.

“Well, you have.” She pulled back, giving
him no choice but to release her hand or cause a scene. “My parents aren’t
speaking to me, my boyfriend’s dumped me, and I lost my job, forcing me to work
for you…” A tear slipped down her cheek. “I don’t know how much more I can
take.”

“Jesus, don’t cry.” He jumped up and
brushed his thumbs under her eyes, trying to wipe away the tears, but they were
falling faster than he could catch them. “Come on, let’s go to my office.”

“I don’t want to.”

“Too bad.” He grabbed her hand before
motioning to the waitress. “Tell Beatrice to call another hostess in. Sela’s
not up to working tonight.”

“That’s for me to decide!” she protested,
trying to break free. “I can’t afford to take the night off.”

“We’ll worry about that later,” he mumbled,
trying to keep their conversation private. “I’m not going to have you looking
after my customers in this state.” He was a jerk for playing the boss card, but
it was the only way he could get her alone. They needed to talk so he could
figure out how to repair the damage he’d done.

“Fine, let me go home then.”

He didn’t respond. He didn’t have to. They
both knew there was no chance of that happening. He ushered her through the
crowd to the manager’s office in the rear of the building. He didn’t want to
take her, given their bad memories in that room, but if he tried to take her to
his car, she’d undoubtedly put up a fight.

“Tell me everything.” He went to the mini
bar in the corner of the room and poured her a scotch as she sunk into the
couch with a heavy sigh.