Page 3 of The Last Second Chance
Jax meant to wink or at least smile at Summer as she carefully climbed the stairs, but he couldn’t tear his eyes away from the next bridesmaid. Joey Greer, his heart and soul for as long as he could remember, strutted down the aisle. Her long legs had no patience for the slow beat of the processional and ate up the space that separated them.
He willed her to look at him. He needed that glimpse to know that walking down an aisle make her think of him.
She was halfway to the stage before those coffee-colored eyes found his and held. It wasn’t a look of love that she was shooting at him. There was more dagger than Cupid’s arrow, but it was enough.
She was incredible. Her rich brown hair hung down her back in thick waves. Gia must have talked her into letting a stylist get her hands in it, because it was partially pulled back with braids and secured with a sparkling clip. She’d given up her riding boots for heels that looked like they were made out of tiny glints of snow. They matched the sequins on the dress — which, given her height advantage, was even shorter on her than it was on Summer. She was the perfect homage to New Year’s Eve.
Her full lips, slicked with a dark gloss that made him want to sample them as he’d done so freely years before, frowned. Jax put his hand over his heart and he watched her eyes widen, those lips part.
It was a gesture they’d developed in high school. A secret “I love you” across the classroom or the dinner table. Something that was just theirs.
And he was determined to earn it back.
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Joey Greer was buzzed. Pleasantly, enjoyably buzzed. She took an energetic turn around the dance floor with Donovan Cardona, who quizzed her about Gia’s gorgeous younger sister and, pulling out his figurative sheriff’s cap, made her promise not to drive home.
Beckett sailed past them, his bride in his arms. Gia sparkled as she gazed up at her husband, laughing at some private joke. A private, dirty joke, judging by the blush on her friend’s fair cheeks.
The band slowed it down and Joey slipped out of Donovan’s arms and headed for the bar. She was looking for fun tonight. Fast and bright.
She had no intention of starting off the new year slow dancing in the arms of a friend. Maybe, just for tonight, she’d step a toe over the line, she thought. What harm could it do? A few hours of debauchery before shifting gears into a brand new year.
She ordered a beer from the adorable, attentive bartender and surveyed the scene. The reception hall was a literal circus tent. With the entire town turning out, Beckett and Gia had decided to host a massive New Year’s Eve blow out that would have Blue Moon talking for years.
The tent was erected in One Love Park and ringed with outdoor heaters to protect the guests from the icy December chill. The open bar and crowded dance floor were also doing their part in keeping spirits and temperatures high. Fran from Blue Moon’s gym Fitness Freak was rocking out on her bass with her band the Wild Nigels. Gia’s ex-husband Paul had been invited to play with them.
It said something about a woman who was confident in her new marriage to invite the ex to the party. It also said that Beckett was out-of-his-mind happy to be locking down Gianna Decker and the newest Mrs. Pierce and didn’t bother making a fuss about Paul’s presence. He was harmless, of course, but during their courtship had been a thorn in both their sides.
Joey accepted the beer and the wink from Blond Bartender Bailey.
“Some party,” he said.
“You got that right,” Joey said wryly. Weddings creeped her out. The whole crowd of people staring at you as you said some very personal things to your significant other. The months of planning all wasted on a few blurry hours of chaos. That’s not how she’d do it. If she did it.
She’d watched Summer and then Gia stress out over napkins and appetizers and the all-important white poufy dress. Although, Gia’s dress wasn’t overly poufy. The ivory lace overlay was cut straight across her friend’s chest. It would have looked almost demure if it hadn’t been for the racy open back. And judging from the way Beckett was looking at her, the dress wasn’t going to survive the night.
Summer appeared at her side and hefted herself onto a barstool. “Please let me smell your beer,” she begged, pulling Joey’s cup to her nose. “No one ever tells you how much you’ll miss alcohol when you’re growing human beings.”
Joey let her take a deep sniff before confiscating the cup. “Watch it. I don’t want the twins getting drunk on the fumes of Gia’s Red.” It had become a tradition in the Pierce family to name the brewery’s new beers after their brides. And with the grand opening two days away, the smooth, malty ale inspired by Gia was a nice addition to the taps.
Speaking of the bride, Gia glided up to the stool on Joey’s left.
“Hey there, blushing bride,” Summer greeted her friend.
“Hey there, glowing mama,” Gia laughed.
Joey rolled her eyes. Being flanked by the archetypes of womanhood reminded her that she had no idea where she wanted her life to go beyond work. She didn’t even know if she liked the idea of marriage and kids. And if she did, who in the hell would she ever want to settle down with?
Jax.The quiet whisper in her head pissed her off.
Jackson was the last man she’d trust with her future. Everyone else might be impressed with his Hollywood bank account and his follow-through with the brewery, but not her. She would put money on him leaving town in the next six months. Where others would say he’d already stuck it out in Blue Moon for six months, she knew that just put him that much closer to leaving again.
He was a wanderer, a sampler in places and in women. And he would keep on wandering and sampling until the day he died.
She, on the other hand, knew where her heart and her home were. And that was here in Blue Moon.
“So, Joey,” Gia said, drawing her back to the conversation. “I couldn’t help but notice Jax’s attention during the ceremony.”
