“He’s a good guy,” Jace said.
“Yeah, just enjoys getting under my skin, but that’s why I keep him around.”
“Well, seems like he would prefer to have us a few other ways.”
“Probably more than either of us can imagine.”
“Maybe a few we can try to imagine, minus him,” Jace said, leaning in and planting a kiss on me.
I could hear a few people awwing at the sight, but it didn’t spoil the moment.
I had found all this far easier to manage than I’d initially expected.
Jace made everything easier.
We stuck around for about an hour longer, and once we finished our obligation at the show, Hacksmore had a limo take us back to the hotel.
I hadn’t bothered to get my own room on this occasion, as I knew I’d be spending my time with Jace. We struggled to keep our hands off one another through our shower, but finally he pulled away and said, “It hasn’t been that bad, has it?”
“What? The event? I thought it went well. Why?”
“That’s not what I meant. The event went great, but I meant everything you were worried about when all this started.”
“Funny you should mention it. I was thinking about that tonight. No, it hasn’t been nearly as bad. I hadn’t realized how much like riding a bike it would be for me, and really, it’s easier because this time I know I’m not alone.”
Jace beamed as he rested his forehead against mine. “It’s easier sharing it with you too,” he whispered as the shower spray slammed against us from the side, running down our bodies.
“As much as I panicked, I wouldn’t have missed these nights for anything,” I confessed.
We embraced and shared another of so many kisses before he finally pulled away and said, “I think I’m going to slip out and go find us something to watch on TV.”
“You didn’t want to make other entertainment arrangements?” I said in as seductive a voice as I could muster.
“I figured we could wind down before we wind back up.”
I enjoyed a laugh as he slipped out of the shower, grabbed a towel, and headed into the bedroom. I finished up, then joined him, a towel around my waist. He was under the covers, flipping through the channels on our wall-mounted, big-screen TV.
“Found it!” he exclaimed upon my entry.
“What?” I waited to see if I recognized the movie he’d selected. “What the hell is this? Renée Zellweger?”
“You said you haven’t seen Bridget Jones’s Diary, so…”
“Did I say that? Or did I say ‘I have no desire to see it’? I’m having a hard time remembering,” I teased.
“Come on. It’s a fun movie.”
“Well, if you can explore butt sex with me, then I guess I can fucking concede and watch a goddamn Bridget Jones’s Diary movie.”
“Wait. You know you have to watch all three of these, right?”
He had me laughing again as he slid up beside me and slung an arm over my shoulders, reeling me in close. “Come on, you’ll enjoy them, Dax.”
He kissed my forehead, which reminded me that any excuse to be close to him was enough to get me to endure a lot…and to love every moment of it.
As always, we shared an incredible night.
* * *
But then we had even more time apart. It turned into a long stretch, nearing two weeks, which put me on edge, though not nearly as much as my mother’s increasing interest in our relationship.
“Dax, it’s time I meet this Hottie Firefighter,” she insisted as we chatted on the phone one afternoon.
I’d made the mistake of taking her call, perhaps because of the euphoric state I was in. Jace and I had just scheduled my visit back to Fever Falls, and unlike so many other times, it wasn’t business related, but because we wanted to spend more time together. Now I sat in my office, looking out over the various condo and apartment buildings, cringing at my mother’s request. It was something I’d been trying to avoid, though it was inevitable. The more time we spent together, the more I wanted him around. Jace had surprised the fuck out of me, in the best sort of ways.
“Serena, you’ll be fine.”
“Oh, come on, Dax. You expect me to just read about the two of you on Glitz & Glam or Twitter? These reporters keep asking for a comment from me. And what about interviews? I can’t just sit around and do nothing.”
“As we discussed, you won’t say anything.” My words were severe, but I didn’t care because she needed to understand that we weren’t her meal ticket to her next job. “You haven’t said anything to anyone, right?”
“Of course not! I wouldn’t do that.”
“You promised.”
“What if they want to interview me, though? You know I’m still a TV icon.”
I rolled my eyes. “Serena…”
“Well, my promise might waver if I can’t even meet him.”
I grumbled.
“Dax, I’ve never met anyone you’ve been interested in.”
“Because I’ve never been interested in anyone.”
“Which is why I should get to meet this Jace Kruse. I’ll be good. Just let me have this. Please.”
As always, Serena had a way of forcing me to let my guard down. As much of a problem as she’d been throughout my childhood, she was my mother, and despite her struggles, she had done her best to remain a part of my life.
“I’m going to visit him next week, so if you’re free then.”
“What day? I’ll be there.”
I was hoping the last-minute nature of the visit would make it difficult for her, but it was evident by the way she said it that she had every intention of meeting Jace sooner rather than later.
“I’ll keep you posted.”
“Oh, I’m so excited. Thank you, Daxy Boo.”
I groaned, and as soon as she hung up, I checked my messages and saw that Jace had texted.
Mac wanted me to let you know he misses you, and I guess I’m missing you some too. :)
The way his message warmed my heart was more gratifying than it should have been. I didn’t fight it, the way I had sometimes. I couldn’t deny that I wanted to see him again, and not just because we had the hottest sex whenever we got together, but because I enjoyed chatting with him about his week, his family, his life. I wanted to catch up with him and find out what I’d missed even in the short time we’d been apart.
I texted him back: Hope you’re ready to meet my mother.
I would have thought it weird or too soon, but considering I’d met his mom right when Jace and I started chatting, it was almost long overdue.
His reply came quickly: Really?!
I could tell by the emotion it stirred, eagerness and exhilaration, that we were in serious trouble.
But as with every other decision I’d made, I embraced it because if trouble meant getting to spend more time with him, I was ready for a train wreck.
32
Jace
As I helped Nance prepare the meal for when Dax and his mom arrived, I was practically skipping around the kitchen from excitement.
It’d been two full weeks without seeing Dax, and despite how much we chatted via text or on the phone, it wasn’t the same. I liked having him around, and the fact that he was bringing his mom into town assured me that the time we shared meant as much to him as it did to me.
I dodged Mac as I pulled the casserole out of the oven and set it on the counter beside the sink.
Keegan snickered at the table. “Are you whistling?” he asked, glaring at me, but smiling as though he could read the hell out of me.
“Oh, I guess I was.”
I checked Nance’s expression. She didn’t say a thing, just grinned along with Keegan. They’d both caught on to my enthusiasm, and I wasn’t ashamed of it, either.
I’d never been so goddamn happy before Dax. I loved my life, but Dax brought a new level of joy into it. I enjoyed the time we’d spend together, discussing movies and TV shows, catching up about our
lives. Every time he smiled or tucked his head low, revealing that vulnerable part of himself he didn’t seem to show many, it filled me with such life.
I checked my phone once again. No new messages.
Dax had texted fifteen minutes earlier that they were on their way, so they would be here any minute now. As I whipped the potatoes, Nance and I chatted about the fire station’s annual car wash that Dax and I would be attending the next day.
The doorbell rang.
“Jace’ll get it!” Keegan called from the table, and Nance erupted into a fit of laughs as I dashed to the door and opened it, eager to greet our guests.
“A little plastic surgery wouldn’t kill you,” Serena was saying, and then she flashed a smile.
Dax was all tension and nerves as he stood there, hands dug into his pockets, shoulders squared off, his eyes wide. Having heard that bit, I could only imagine the conversation they’d had on the ride over.
His mom wore an ivory dress with a trim white belt around her waist. She had some sort of fur draped across her shoulders. Her hair was dark as Dax’s, with a few blonde highlights weaved into it. And only because of her mention of plastic surgery did I take note of the fact that except for her smile lines, nothing was defined as she stood there, beaming at me.
“Well, if it isn’t Hottie Firefighter,” she said with a lighthearted chuckle. “Enchantée.”
It didn’t take much effort to envision this slick woman in the prime of her career. She offered a hug like a woman who could work her way around any flashy Hollywood event. Unlike me, who always felt like a penguin in the suits I had to wear and like I was always saying the wrong things, she seemed to know she fit right in. Dax eyed me uneasily, as though he was nervous about the introduction. I imagined him feeling the same way as a kid.
“As much of a stud in real life as you are in your pictures,” she noted as she pulled away. “I’m Serena Victoria Middleton-Stuart, but you can call me Miranda.”
“Is Miranda your real name?”
She put her hand to her chest and let out a long, drawn-out laugh. “No, my real name is Katherine, but Mother was terribly uncreative with names. What sort of major stars are named Katherine?”
Dax started down the list: “Katharine Hepburn, Kate Hudson, Kathy Bates…”
Serena rolled her eyes, telling me, “He just looks for opportunities to jab at me. He was like this as a kid, always biting at me. But it was great training for my little Chiweenie.”
“Please, come in,” I insisted, feeling as though if I didn’t offer quickly, Serena or Miranda or Katherine might have talked herself to death before even stepping past the threshold.
We started past the foyer, then through the hall and into the kitchen. “So you prefer to be called Miranda? Dax always calls you Serena.”
“It’s just easier to use our pseudonyms at events if we use them regularly. Lord knows I didn’t name my son Dax. You know it’s harder for child stars when you have to rebrand and such.”
“Wasn’t rebranding, Serena. Just trying to have a life.”
“Dax isn’t your name?” I asked, and he looked surprised by the question.
“No, it’s Donnie,” Serena replied by proxy. “Donald, really. They named his character after him. TV producers sometimes do that with kids because they think it’s easier for them to respond to their character names. But I don’t see the reason. He’s an adult and hardly responds to his real or chosen name when I’m the one calling.”
“After this delightful intro, I’ll take note to respond less,” Dax added.
“Isn’t he funny, Jace?”
The tension in the air was palpable as we stepped into the kitchen and I made introductions.
Nance and Keegan approached, exchanging handshakes while I made up for a missed hug from Dax, pulling him in warmly and stroking his back, wanting to feel his body against mine as much as wanting to soothe him through what I could feel was a strain on his sanity.
“You have such a spacious home,” Serena told Nance. “I’m lucky to get a condo the size of this kitchen in Beverly Hills.”
“Thank you,” Nance offered.
Serena spotted Mac and put her hands to her cheeks in an overdramatic gesture. “And this must be the famous Shar-Pei! Oh, come here, you beautiful thing you.”
She stooped down and offered some scratches around his neck. Mac greedily relished the attention, rolling onto his side and then his back.
“Lookie there,” Dax said. “Same effect on dogs as men.”
“They’re one and the same as far as I’m concerned. No offense, Jace.”
“Please note there are three men in the room right now,” Dax stated.
Serena huffed as she pushed to her feet. She turned to Nance. “He’s always like this. I swear, I can’t say anything without getting nipped at.”
“Mom, can I take the murdered animal draped around your neck?”
“Murdered animal?” She offered another laugh. “Oh, please. I donate to PETA. This is faux-fox, Dax. Luxury isn’t nearly as violent as it used to be. No, I’m waiting for the day when we have to lease live foxes and wear them to premieres.” As she spoke, she removed the fur and passed it on to Dax.
“I think you’d look stunning wearing a starved tiger,” he said through his teeth as he took the piece and carried it to the coat closet by the foyer.
“Isn’t he charming?” she said, narrowing her eyes as though unamused.
I noticed Keegan’s expression as he stood before her, his eyes wide, his mouth hanging open. I couldn’t deny she was a captivating figure, and she’d clearly cast her spell over him.
She generously offered to help Nance in the kitchen and then set the table with us, never lacking for words. She was an expert when it came to keeping a conversation moving. And while she offered insights about herself, she continually asked about our lives, not necessarily interested, but as though she knew that was how one was supposed to behave in social settings.
As soon as we were all seated at the kitchen table, she said, “If you want to say a prayer, I don’t mind. I attend mass every Saturday.”
“No, you don’t,” Dax said through his teeth.
“Well, I have a Bloody Mary by eleven, so I can at least say I take communion.”
Keegan howled at the joke, catching us all off guard. “Good one,” he said, snapping his fingers and pointing to her as he grinned ear to ear.
“Oh, thank you. I had an agent tell me I was good enough to do standup on Johnny Carson, but he said I couldn’t be a beauty and funny without getting typecast as one or the other, and you know what they say: people always remember a beauty, but they never remember who told a good joke.”
“No one says that,” Dax insisted, looking tense as ever beside me.
“I just did,” she announced with triumph.
“Perhaps that’s why you think I need a little eye work?”
“Eye work?” Nance asked, seeming horrified by the suggestion.
“Here we go.” Serena threw her hands in the air as though surrendering to his accusation. “This is the part where he tries to make me look like the worst mother in the world. Hollywood isn’t like other industries. You’re in front of the camera all the time. The paparazzi are constantly hounding you—if you’re one of the lucky ones—and when you’re standing next to a man like Jace, sometimes you have to keep up appearances. I was just saying that I thought a little filler would help, and at the most, a smidgen of eye surgery. I don’t know why people get so worked up over these things. Let’s be honest: if I looked in the mirror and recognized some part of myself from my twenties, I’d demand a refund.”
“Oh my,” Nance said.
Serena laughed. “I’m just being flip. Of course I recognize my eyes, past the tinted contacts. But, Dax, the bags aren’t that bad. I was simply offering a suggestion if you wanted to take it, a little tuck there, and maybe that nose job that would make the end a little sharper…you know that look’s never gone out of st
yle.”
I rested my hand on Dax’s thigh. “I think you have a beautiful nose,” I told him, and I could tell by the way his shoulders relaxed, his smile returning, that he appreciated the sincere compliment.
“Oh, Jace,” Serena said, reaching to me and taking my chin in her hand. “You are the sweetest thing ever, aren’t you? And proof that love truly is blind…or at least in need of a vision prescription.”
“Ladies and gentlemen, the world’s worst mother ever,” Dax announced, gesturing to her.
Nance eyed me uneasily, and I chuckled awkwardly. It was easy to see why Dax had a hard time dealing with Serena. Although, knowing what he’d shared with me about their past, about the darkness they’d come through, I had to remind myself that despite the hard times they’d had, or this persona Serena shared with us, there was more to their relationship than the dynamic I was witnessing. They’d made it through tragedy and hardship. And clearly there was a reason why she was still in his life.
I couldn’t say the dinner got any easier for Dax. He and his mother kept sparring throughout, acting out a familiar battle, but Nance and Keegan seemed more entertained by it than anything else, transfixed even, as though we were witnessing drama on a reality TV series. After dinner, Keegan accosted Serena in the living room, wanting her to detail her past in Hollywood, while Dax and I managed to escape onto the back porch.
I kissed him, pushing him back against the wall. I savored the moment before pulling away and gazing at his eyes, sealed shut, but then they opened, and his smile, which had been scarce throughout dinner, returned.
“How you holding up?” I asked.
“Much better now. Surely you can understand why you haven’t met her already.”
“She’s definitely…charming.”
“To everyone but me.”
“She came all the way out here to meet the man in your life, so at the very least, she’s supportive.”
“Supportive.” He snickered. “Yeah, I guess. She wasn’t this way when I came out. I don’t think she was the worst anyone could have been about it, but as you can imagine, it wasn’t about how I felt. It was about what we could tell other people. How I should keep it hidden. I didn’t even want to be in the business anymore, but it was all: ‘What if you try to make a comeback?’ Or, ‘The press will try to make this about me and what I did.’ Wasn’t the most encouraging conversation in the world.”
#BURN (Fever Falls Book 2) Page 21
