Cheap Shot (3 page)

Sela wished he hadn’t reminded her of how
considerate he could be. It was easier to remember him as the cold, heartless
bastard who’d dumped her—on their anniversary, no less. “You didn’t have to do
that.”

“I wanted to.” He set his hand on her
shoulder. “For old time’s sake.”

“Speaking of old times,” Kiki said, smiling
at Jaxon. “Wasn’t this your song?”

If they thought she was stupid enough to
believe it was a coincidence the band was playing their song, they’d
underestimated her. “I don’t remember,” Sela said. “Was it?”

Jaxon looked at her, obviously trying to
gauge whether she was being sincere. “You know it was. Dance with me?” He
offered his hand.

Sela looked around the table. Every woman
was on the edge of her seat, waiting to offer her hand if Sela refused. Instead
of making a scene, Sela opted to bite her tongue. “Fine, but just one dance.
Then I have to go. Sheldon is expecting me.” She was being petty, but he
deserved it after the way he’d cast her aside.

Jaxon took her hand and led her to the dance
floor. She resisted the urge to whimper. It felt so good to touch him again,
even better than she’d remembered. That was when she questioned the wisdom of
her decision.

“Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea,” she
said, digging in her heels.

They were standing on the edge of the dance
floor, and instead of letting her go, he pulled her closer. “I think it was an
excellent idea.”

She felt his heart beating almost in unison
with hers when their chests pressed together. She couldn’t think, couldn’t
breathe, with his powerful arms encircling her. “You shouldn’t come to the
wedding.” She winced when she realized how rude that must have sounded. “I’m
sorry. Of course it’s your decision, but I wish you wouldn’t.” Apparently she
wanted to dig herself a deeper hole.

“What are you afraid of, Sela?” he
whispered, dipping his head as his hand ran up and down her back. “Are you
afraid of feeling something for me again?”

“No.” She closed her eyes, praying she’d
find the strength to get through the next few minutes. Listening to the words
she’d once believed described their relationship while trying to deny she still
felt something for Jaxon was torture. “I’m not afraid of anything.”

“Then accept our job offer. You have
nothing to lose and a lot to gain.”

“Sheldon wouldn’t like it.” She tried to
put some distance between them, but he wouldn’t let her. “I have to respect his
feelings.”

“You have to follow your heart, sweetheart.
Your heart is telling you this feels right, being here in my arms—”

“Don’t!” She wanted to wail and sob. She’d
loved him, and she’d mourned the loss of their relationship. Then she’d healed
her broken heart. He didn’t get to storm back into her life and resurrect old
feelings when she was finally on track to happiness. “Don’t try to make me feel
something I don’t. I’m committed to Sheldon. I want a future with
him
.”

His eyes lingered on hers before he spoke.
“You don’t believe that any more than I do. You can’t force love.”

She glared at him, wishing she could knee
him where it hurt. “What the hell do you know about love?”

“I’ve done a lot of soul searching this
past year. I’m not the same guy who left you.”

“I don’t care who you are or who you’re
pretending to be.” She flattened her palms against his shoulders when the song
ended, and his grip tightened. “I don’t want anything to do with you.”

“I made a mistake,” he whispered. “The
biggest mistake of my life. I’m sorry. Let me make it up to you. Please.”

Sela’s knees nearly buckled. For months
after they broke up, she’d prayed he’d say those words to her, but he hadn’t.
Eventually she’d had to face the truth: It was over. “No. You don’t get a
second chance to break my heart. I’ll say to you what you said to me when I
begged you to let me love you: I don’t need you.”

*   *   *

Sela showed up on Sheldon’s doorstep,
questioning the wisdom of her decision. She should have gone straight home, but
that would have meant arguing with her sister about Jaxon, and she couldn’t do
that. She was already emotionally spent.

Sheldon opened the door with a smile and a glass
of wine. “I thought you could use this.”

“Thank you.” She’d called him from the taxi
to let him know she was on her way, and he obviously heard the strain in her
voice. “I knew going there was a bad idea. I should never have let her talk me
into it.”

He guided her into his tidy bungalow. “It’s
not like you had a choice, sweetheart. It was her party, after all.”

“I guess.” She slipped her heels off at the
door, sighing with relief as she wiggled her toes.

“I take it you saw him?” Sheldon led her to
the overstuffed sofa facing the large screen TV in his family room.

“I did.”

Sheldon knew all about her relationship
with Jaxon. When she and Jaxon broke up, he’d been one of her professors, and
he’d taken the time to find out why one of his best and brightest students, as
he put it, had dropped off the radar. They’d been on friendly terms for the
remainder of the year. During the summer, he’d stopped by the restaurant where
she waited tables to ask her if she’d like to have dinner with him. They’d been
seeing each other ever since.

“How did that go?” he asked, tucking one
leg under the other as he faced her on the sofa.

Sheldon was mature, not a hot-head like
Jaxon. He didn’t give in to petty jealousy. If Sela didn’t know better, she’d
think he didn’t care about her at all.

“It was awkward.” She took a sip of wine.
It was her favorite chardonnay, and she savored it. “Can you believe Kiki
invited him to the wedding?”

He shrugged. “I can’t say I’m surprised.
Your sister is impulsive.”

“But didn’t she think about what having him
there would do to me?” When Sheldon frowned, she said, “I mean, how would you
feel if your brother invited your ex-wife to his wedding?”

He laughed. “My brother and ex-wife hated
each other. Besides, my brother’s been married for seven years.”

How did I not know that?
“Still, I’m sure you can imagine how awkward it would be. My parents
hate Jaxon. They’re going to be furious when they find out Kiki invited him.”

“Somehow I doubt your sister will care what
your parents think.”

Sheldon was right. Kiki would remind them
it was her wedding and she had the right to decide who made the guest list.
“You’re right.” Sela tipped her head back and stared at the ceiling. “But I
don’t want him there.”

“Maybe he’ll think better of it.”

“I doubt it. When Jaxon makes up his mind
about something, he rarely changes it.” She thought about what Jaxon had said
before he let her go. She couldn’t believe he’d set his pride aside to ask for
a second chance. It was so unlike the Jaxon she’d known.

“He may surprise you,” Sheldon said,
covering his mouth as he yawned. “Sorry, I’m kind of tired. I was cycling the
better part of the afternoon.”

“I shouldn’t have come,” Sela said, inching
forward on the couch. “It’s late. You need your rest.” She wanted him to pull
her into his arms and beg her to stay, but that wasn’t Sheldon’s style. He
wasn’t passionate. He was pragmatic, and she told herself that was better,
safer.

“We’ll talk in the morning,” he said,
kissing her temple. “Try not to worry about this thing with Jaxon. I’m sure
he’ll get the message you’re not interested.”

*   *   *

Kiki was sitting on the couch moisturizing
her hands when Sela walked into their apartment. “Hey, I wasn’t expecting you
home tonight. I thought you were going to Sheldon’s.”

“I did.”

“Why didn’t you spend the night?” Kiki
asked, reaching for a throw to cover her bare legs. “Did y’all have a fight
about Jaxon?”

Sela rolled her eyes. “Don’t be ridiculous.
We’re not in high school. Sheldon is an intelligent, accomplished man. He
doesn’t give in to petty feelings like jealousy simply because I bumped into an
old boyfriend.”

“We both know Jaxon is a lot more than that
to you,” Kiki said softly. “I’ve never seen you as shattered as you were when
he broke up with you. Some days I wondered if I’d ever see you smile again.”

Sela plastered on a fake smile and poked
her fingernails into the dimples bracketing her mouth. “I’m smiling. See? I’m
happy… without Jaxon in my life. So if you’re thinking about trying to get us
back together, now would be a good time to abandon that plan.”

“He loves you, sis.”

Sela sucked in a breath. “He told you
that?”

“He didn’t have to. I saw it when he looked
at you.”

Sela cursed herself for giving in to false
hope. Of course he hadn’t told her sister he was in love with her. He hadn’t
even been able to tell
her
that when she needed to hear it. “You’re
delusional. You’re seeing what you want to see.”

Kiki tossed a bridal magazine on the coffee
table. “Jaxon lights you up. You can’t deny it. When you’re with him, you
glow.”

Sela sat on a chair across from her sister,
hoping she could get through to her. “I’m finally getting my life back on
track. Please don’t mess with that.”

“How am I messing with that?” Kiki asked,
spreading her arms.

“By inviting Jaxon to the wedding? I don’t want
him there. I don’t want him anywhere near me.”

“I don’t believe you.” Kiki hugged a hot
pink chenille pillow. “I think you’re lying to me and yourself. If you settle
for Sheldon, you’ll be miserable.”

“I’m not settling,” Sela said, feeling
defensive on her boyfriend’s behalf. “He’s a wonderful man, and he makes me
happy.”

“He’s boring.” Kiki yawned for effect. “You
can’t tell me that guy turns you on.” She grinned. “Do you think about Jaxon
when you’re in bed with him? Is that how you get off?”

Sela gasped, shocked that her sister had
the audacity to ask her such a question. She was even more surprised Kiki had
read the situation so easily. “You’re disgusting. I’m not going to listen to
any more of this. I’m going to bed. And you’re crazy if you think Daddy will
let you invite Jaxon to the wedding.”

“You let me worry about him. You just worry
about how you’re going to explain to your current boyfriend why you can’t keep
your eyes off your ex.”

“Meddling bitch,” Sela muttered on her way
down the short hallway. She slammed her bedroom door.

“I heard that!” Kiki laughed. “You’re just
mad ‘cause you know I’m right!”

“You want me to do what?” Joe McNeil
asked. “Buddy, you must be losing it. Why would I fire Sela? She’s one of my
best waitresses.”

Jaxon was crossing the line, but he
couldn’t get the idea of Sela working for High Rollers out of his head. He
needed to spend more time with her, and hiring her was the only way he could
think of to accomplish his goal.

“Call it a personal favor.” Unbeknownst to
Sela, Jaxon had bought the building that housed her place of employment years
ago, making him her boss’s landlord.

“I guess I gotta keep my landlord happy,
don’t I?”

They toasted, Jaxon with a glass of scotch
and Joe with vodka.

“But I thought you and Sela were through,”
Joe said. “She’s dating some professor now, you know.”

“Yeah, I know.” Jaxon leaned back in the
comfortable chair, thinking it might be time for High Rollers to upgrade their
interior. “What’s he like?”

Joe shrugged. “I don’t know him that well.
He seems all right, I guess.”

Jaxon smiled. “That’s a ringing endorsement
if ever I’ve heard one.”

Joe locked eyes with him. “At least she’s
not miserable anymore. It’s nice to see her smile again.”

“I know I was an ass for breaking up with
her. I shouldn’t have done it, but I’m trying to make things right. Can you cut
me a little slack?”

“That depends,” Joe said, stroking his
greying goatee. “Are you sayin’ you’re ready for a commitment this time
around?”

Jaxon shifted, uncomfortable under Joe’s
perusal. He was rarely on the receiving end of an interrogation, and he
couldn’t say he liked it. “I was committed to her before.”

“No, you weren’t.” Joe snickered. “You may
have stopped sleeping around for a spell, but that doesn’t mean you were committed
to building a life with Sela. Trust me, son, I’ve been married a long time, and
any woman will tell you it’s no fun bein’ with a man who’s always got one foot
out the door.”

“Did Sela tell you I made her feel that
way?” Jaxon felt the weight of guilt barreling down on him. Of course he’d made
her feel that way. Every time she’d tried to talk about the future, he’d shut
her down.

“Maybe not in so many words, but I got the
feeling she said as much to Marlie.”

“Did I hear my name?” Marlie, Joe’s wife, came
up behind Jaxon and bumped his shoulder with her hip. “Well, I’ll be damned. We
haven’t see you around these parts in a dog’s age, sugar.”

“I’ve been trying to keep my distance for
Sela’s sake,” he admitted. “I thought seeing me here might make her uneasy.”

“Oh yeah?” Marlie claimed one of the two
vacant chairs at the table. “How’d you know she wouldn’t be here tonight?”

“Her sister told me.”

Marlie raised an eyebrow. “Since when are
you and Kiki best buds? I thought you’d be on her most wanted list after what
you did to her big sister.”

If one more person reminded Jaxon of how
badly he’d screwed things up with Sela, he thought he might lose it. “She
called me earlier to confirm I was still coming to her wedding. I asked her if
Sela was working, and she said she’d gone to the beach with a couple of
girlfriends.” An image of Sela wearing a string bikini on his boat flashed
through his mind, and he wondered if he’d ever be lucky enough to rub suntan
lotion all over that beautiful body again.

“I’m glad she’s havin’ some fun on her day
off,” Joe said. “That girl works too damn hard.”

“Amen to that,” Marlie said. “I’m gonna
miss her around here when she graduates. She’s only got a few months left, and
then I think she’s apprenticing with some big company. Isn’t that what she
said, Joe?”

“Something like that.” He looked uneasy as
he looked into his near-empty glass. “Seems we’re gonna be losin’ her a little
sooner than we thought, honey.”

“What?” Marlie looked alarmed. “She’s not
quitting, is she? I thought she was happy working here.”

“She’s not quitting,” Jaxon interjected,
trying to take some of the heat off his friend. “I’ve asked Joe to let her go.”

“Why the hell would you agree to do a
stupid thing like that?” Marlie asked, nudging her husband’s arm. “Sela’s like
family. I love that girl. Besides, she needs this job, what with her parents
refusin’ to help her out. She’s got rent and—”

“We’ve offered her a job working in our
V.I.P. lounge, working fewer hours and making a lot more money.” Jaxon had no
idea she’d lined up an apprenticeship already. He’d have to act fast.

“She agreed to work for you?” Marlie
frowned. “I can’t believe that. No offense, but you’re not exactly her favorite
person anymore.”

“I’m hoping to change that.”

“You mean you realize how stupid you were
to let her go and now you want her back?” Marlie said with a gleam in her dark
eyes. “I knew it wouldn’t be long before you got tired of those empty-headed
pin-up dolls and came lookin’ for a real woman again.”

“There hasn’t been anyone since I broke up
with Sela,” Jaxon admitted. “An occasional date maybe, but nothing more.”

“Is that right?” Marlie sized him up. “I’m
surprised to hear that. I didn’t think you’d be alone for long.”

“No one measures up to Sela. I know that
now.”

Marlie reached for the water glass her
husband hadn’t touched. “Maybe it’s too late for y’all. Ever thought of that?
Some sins are unforgiveable. She told me what you said to her, the way you
treated her toward the end. I don’t think I’d be too quick to forgive if I were
her.”

Joe gave his wife a sharp look. “Give the
guy a break. We all make mistakes.”

“Yeah, but it took him a whole year to own
up to his. Sela’s moved on. She has a new man, and he seems to make her happy.
Maybe you ought to leave well enough alone, Jaxon.”

“Can’t do that,” Jaxon said, taking a sip
of his scotch. “I want her.”

“Yeah, well, we can’t always have what we
want,” Marlie said.

Jaxon looked Marlie in the eye. They’d
always gotten along, but she was testing his patience. No one would convince
him he couldn’t win Sela back. “We’ll see about that.”

“I hate like hell to do it,” Joe
interjected, “but I’ll talk to Sela tomorrow before her shift. I’ll tell her
the truth: Business is always a little slow this time of year, and the
full-timers have been whining about not getting enough hours. She’ll
understand. I hope.”

“I wanna go on record right now,” Marlie
said. “I don’t agree with this, not one damn bit. It feels wrong, dirty, to
deceive that poor girl this way.”

“I’ll tell her the truth,” Jaxon promised,
“just as soon as we’re back on solid ground.”

“Any idea how long that’ll take?” Marlie
asked. “I don’t want her holding a grudge against us.”

“She’s a smart girl,” Joe said. “She’ll
understand that I have to look out for those who are gonna be here for the long
haul. Could be Jaxon did us a favor by makin’ the decision for us.”

Marlie snorted and glared at her husband.
“Last time I checked, this was our business, and we made the decisions.”

“Look, I don’t wanna cause any problems
between y’all,” Jaxon said. “I’m grateful you’d even consider going out on a
limb for me like this, and I promise I won’t let you down. All I want is to
make Sela happy again.” He reached for Marlie’s hand. “Admit it, we were pretty
great together. She loved me.”

“But you didn’t love her,” she said,
withdrawing her hand. “That was the problem, wasn’t it?”

Marlie was tough as nails. Jaxon had always
admired that about her… until now. “Things are different now. I’ve done a lot
of soul searching, and I know I was in the wrong.”

“Then you’re willing to admit you love her
now?” Marlie asked, clearly not willing to relent.

“Stop, Marlie!” Joe said, leaning in and
lowering his voice when the bartender glanced their way. “That’s none of your
business. It’s up to Sela and Jaxon to decide if they can find their way back
to each other. I’ve agreed to do what he asks. End of story.”

Marlie clearly wasn’t happy with her
husband’s decision, but she seemed ready to stop fighting.

“You said you’d talk to her before her
shift tomorrow. What time does she start?” Jaxon asked.

“Five o’clock, but she’s always here about
twenty minutes early,” Joe said.

“You mind if I send Dylan in to have a word
with her?” Jaxon asked. “It might soften the blow if he reminded her she has
another job waiting for her.”

“No problem.” Joe offered his hand. “Good
luck, my friend. I have a feelin’ you might need it.”

*   *   *

“I can’t believe this,” Sela said, fighting
back tears when Joe gave her her walking papers. “I’ve been working here ever
since I started school. I thought I was doing a good job.”

“You’ve always done a great job for us,
darlin’.” Joe patted her hand awkwardly. “I wouldn’t do this unless I had to.
Things are a little slow right now, and I have to make sure my full-timers are
getting all the hours they need.”

That was the way things had always been,
but Sela hadn’t realized things had slowed down
that
much. They’d always
been fairly busy the nights she was working. “I only have a few more months
before I finish school. I just thought I could count on this job until then.”
She realized how self-centered she was being. Marlie and Joe had always been so
good to her, and she knew the decision had to be difficult for them. She forced
a smile. “It’s okay. I’ll find something else that works with my schedule.” She
had no choice, especially since her sister was moving into a new condo with her
husband after the wedding. Sela would have to foot the rent for their
two-bedroom apartment on her own.

“I hate like hell to do this to you,” Joe
said, shaking his head. “If there was any other way…” He sighed. “You can
finish out the week, if it’ll help, but don’t feel obligated to. It’s up to
you.”|

Joe looked up and smiled when he spotted
Dylan walking toward them. “Hey, buddy, nice to see you again.”

“You too, Joe,” Dylan said, winking at
Sela. “How are things?”

“Can’t complain too much,” Joe said. “I’m
afraid I have to go check on things in the kitchen. We have a new sous chef
with a bad temper.”

Dylan laughed. “I know what that’s like.
You mind if I take this table? I have a friend meeting me in a bit.”

“Be my guest,” Joe said, standing. “I’ll
send a waitress over whenever you’re ready to order.”

“Thanks.” Dylan sat across from Sela. “Nice
to see you again, pretty lady.”

“You too, Dylan,” Sela sighed. “I should
probably change into my uniform.”

“Why the long face?” he asked, frowning.

“Joe just let me go.” She bit her lip,
hoping she wouldn’t break down in front of Dylan. “He didn’t have a choice.”

“Damn, that’s too bad,” Dylan said. “But
our offer still stands. The pay’s great, and the hours are flexible.”

She was between a rock and a hard place,
and she suspected Dylan knew it. “I can’t work with Jaxon.”

Dylan laughed. “You wouldn’t be working
with
Jax. He’s hardly ever there. He spends most of his time at our head office.”

Sela knew from her time dating Jaxon that
that much was true. He usually stopped by the bar to check on things once a
week, at most. Maybe she wouldn’t have to see him much. “I don’t know.”

“Come on. What have you got to lose? You’re
already out of work, and you need to find something else, right?”

“Yeah, but this would only be temporary,”
she said. “I only have a few months of school left, and I’ve already lined up a
full-time position as a junior designer/intern for a big jewelry company
downtown.”

His eyes lit up. “Hey, that’s great!
Congratulations.”

Sela had always liked Dylan. He was fun and
easy-going, a sharp contrast to Jaxon’s hard edge. “Thank you. Are you sure
you’d be okay with just taking me on as a temp?”

“We can keep looking for someone on a more
permanent basis while you’re there, but you’d be helping us out of a real bind
if you could start right away. Our last hostess hooked up with one of the pro
athletes who frequents the V.I.P. lounge, and she left us high and dry when she
found out she was pregnant.”

“Oh, wow.”

Dylan chuckled. “Just for the record, we
frown on that kind of thing.”

“Don’t worry,” Sela said, holding up her
hand. “I’m not looking for a hook-up. I’m perfectly content with my man.”

“Is that right?” Dylan crossed his arms.
“This guy you’re seeing, you think he might be the one?”

Even though things had ended badly with
Jaxon, Sela still liked and respected his friends enough to be honest with
them. “I don’t know. After what happened with Jaxon, I’m a lot more cautious.
He hurt me, you know that.”

“For what it’s worth, I know he regrets the
way things went down with you.”