Jax chuckled. “Bet the thought just makes your skin crawl, doesn’t it? Bet it just makes you want to shed those clothes and do me in front of all of Hollywood, right here on the balcony. ” Lexi burst out laughing as Jax kissed her neck. “Don’t deny it. ”
Okay…time to break this up.
Rubi walked to the open door. “No christening the new house until you own it. ”
When Jax and Lexi turned toward Rubi’s voice, she cast a careless gesture with one finger toward the back of the house that looked out over the canyon. “Did I hear you’re going to make that pool an infinity edge, Chamberlin? Because as is, it so won’t do. ”
“You’re such a diva,” he said, “and yes, we will… If we buy it. ”
“Nice move, Jaxy-boy. ” Rubi sauntered to their side with a soft click of her heels on stone. She stood next to Lexi and leaned on the railing. “I approve. ”
A melodramatic whoosh of air exited his lungs, and he pressed a hand to his chest. “Oh, thank God. I can breathe now. ”
“You might need to go back to acting if you keep collecting these multimillion-dollar mansions. ”
“Don’t get Lexi all stirred up again. ” He moved between them and draped his arms over their shoulders. “I was just telling her what a great investment this would be. ”
She pulled her sunglasses back over her eyes. “That’s one way to look at it. And I have to say, this is the nicest place you’ve seen so far. Really the only one I could see Lexi being comfortable in—if that’s even possible. ” She glanced at Lexi. “Though I still hate the idea of you not being down the beach from me anymore. ”
Lexi sighed and squinted back toward the view. She exhaled heavily. “Baby, I just don’t know. ”
“Christ, Rubi,” Jax muttered, “she was almost there. ”
“I didn’t mean for you not to move, Lex,” Rubi said. “I just meant I’ll miss having you close more often. But I can still drag you out of the Malibu house for weekend runs, right?”
“Right,” Jax said for her.
Lexi turned toward him and pressed her hands to his chest. “Jax…” She cut herself off and bit her lip.
Rubi knew that sign. She was freaking out.
But Jax saw it and reacted before Rubi even had a chan
ce. “Shh, it’s okay. ” He cupped her face in his hands. “We’ll just keep looking. We’ll find one that says ‘home’ to you, baby. Don’t give up. ”
Lexi closed her eyes and pressed her lips together. With a quick shake of her head, she said, “No. I like this one. ”
He tilted her face up to his. “I don’t want to push you. ”
Jax’s words echoed Wes’s the night before. “I don’t want to push you too hard, too fast. ”
Lexi smiled. When it faltered, she forced it high again. “Sometimes pushing is a good thing. And honestly…” She breathed in slow…breathed out slow… “I need you to push me past these fears, because I don’t want to lose you over them. ”
“Oh, baby. ” Jax pulled her hard against him, wrapped her tight. “You will not lose me, Lex. Sure as shit never over something like this. ”
Rubi had to blink fast behind her sunglasses to clear the sting of tears from her eyes. God, this was just too much emotion from too many directions. She hadn’t believed anyone could love Lexi as much as she did. They were best friends, after all. Family to each other. But Jax really did. And that made Rubi both ridiculously happy and horribly lonely.
Lexi smiled as Jax lowered his head to kiss her.
Rubi cleared her throat. “Hello, you’re not alone out here. And if you two start shedding clothing, I might have to take some photos for the local rag. ”
Jax pulled out of the kiss and shot Rubi one of his pathetically unmenacing looks, then gazed down into Lexi’s eyes. “I have to get back to the set. Take your time. The Realtor said he’d leave it open two hours for us and come back to lock up. We’ll talk tonight. ” He pressed his lips to hers again, then murmured, “I love you, baby. No matter what you decide. ”
He released her and started toward the house. But in Rubi’s mind, she still saw the way Jax looked at Lexi. Still heard the tone of his voice. And couldn’t help but remember the way Wes had looked at her last night. The tone of Wes’s voice when he’d spoken to her.
And Lexi’s words now—“I need you to push me past these fears, because I don’t want to lose you over them”—tightened a slow knot in Rubi’s chest.
Jax passed Rubi with one glance head to toe. “Don’t come to the set like this. ”