Chapter 22
Ruby watched Jax leave the ballroom, head down, shoulders hunched, long legs striding, as if he couldn't wait to escape.
She knew the feeling.
Every second of this evening had been excruciatingly painful. Sapphire was the company spokesperson for a reason. She could work a room like a pro. Sucking up to a bunch of air-kissing schmucks didn't sit well with Ruby but she'd done it.
For Jax.
Sadly, the more time she spent with her errant husband, the more she came to realise she'd probably do this and more for him.
His rigid, immovable act had piqued her interest in a big way.
She wanted to delve beneath his tough-guy exterior, wanted to discover why he closed off to anything beyond superficial.
She couldn't figure out how they connected so well physically yet he remained distant emotionally.
If she asked him, he'd say they had nothing in common beyond sex, but he'd be lying.
They couldn't have a powerful physical connection without feeling something.
She didn't understand how he could hold so much power over her when they'd barely seen each other.
They'd had sex a grand total of two times.
Though technically, it had been five times on their wedding morning and four in the villa here since they checked in early this afternoon.
She could totally relate to the cliché about quality not quantity being important.
They might not be spending much time together as newlyweds would but when they hung out together? Wow. Combustion.
How had she allowed one stubborn, annoying, recalcitrant billionaire to worm his way into her heart?
It wasn't love. She'd fallen in love before, recognising that heady, breathless, stomach churning madness that possessed her on occasion. Nothing too heavy, nothing too intense, a brief euphoric feeling that faded fast; falling in love as opposed to being in love.
With Jax, she had none of those symptoms. Instead, she craved him on an innate level she hadn't known existed before him.
He tapped into a wildness within her, a yearning to be whoever she wanted to be without the constraints of living up to Sapphire's promise to their mother, the expectations of her company, and the responsibilities thrust upon her by her sister.
She'd bet Jax had been a bad boy in his younger days. He had that look of barely restrained power on a tight leash. Incredibly sexy.
"Something tells me that dreamy look in your eyes isn't for my dancing prowess."
She missed a step and trod on Otto's toes. "Sorry."
"Don't be." He swung her around to miss a nearby couple. “It would be nice to have a hot chick look that way about me."
"Sapphire's a hot chick."
An uncharacteristic frown creased Otto's brow. She'd never seen the guy anything but upbeat. "We both know Saph sees me as a friend, a convenience, someone she can trot out at social events when she needs to."
Ouch.
Ruby patted his shoulder. "We've practically grown up together. You can't blame her for relying on you."
"I don't. I just wish…"
Uh-oh. Ruby had no intention of playing go-between for Otto and Sapphire. She'd asked her sister once if there could be more than friendship between her and Otto, and Sapphire had laughed. Something Ruby could never tell Otto.
"How is Saph, by the way?"
Glad he'd moved away from the touchy subject of his unrequited love for her sister, Ruby perked up. "Great. Getting better every day."
Rather than Otto's frown clearing as expected, it deepened. "People have been talking."
Ruby trod on his toes again. "Sorry. About what?"
"Sapphire being sick. You taking over Seaborn. The company's financial troubles."
"People should mind their own damn business."
He twirled her towards the outskirts of the dance floor, giving them space, and her foreboding increased. "They're also saying that's the only reason you'd marry a thug like Jax Maroney, for a cash injection to save Seaborn."
She stopped and shoved Otto away, not caring what the couples nearby thought, until she realised alienating an old family friend at her wedding reception wouldn't stop the rumours, it would only fuel them.
She snagged his hand and tugged him towards an empty nook behind a towering marble pillar. "What else are they saying? Tell me everything."
Otto hesitated, before his sigh alerted her to incoming news she wouldn't like.
"They're saying your husband has been trying to set up meetings with a few mining power-brokers but they're going to stonewall him at every turn." He touched her arm. "Just because you've married the guy, Ruby, don't expect people to start liking him."
He gestured at the ballroom. "People haven't forgotten that his father was responsible for ruining the lives of several prominent families here. They have long memories—"
"Jax isn't his dad," she hissed through gritted teeth, her anger rising exponentially with her indignation.
Didn't these people believe in second chances? In giving anyone the benefit of the doubt? Jax had done nothing wrong, apart from being born Denver Maroney's son, and they persecuted him for it.
What if marrying her changed nothing for him and he walked away from their deal, taking her chance at saving Seaborn with him?
Otto shrugged. “I know Jax isn’t his father, but you can't expect people to have faith in a guy who rocks into town after being away for a decade and expects to do high-end money business, not after what happened with old man Maroney."
Rage blinded her for a moment and she blinked several times before replying. "Maybe not, but I expect them to have faith in me. In my judgement. I married Jax, and if they trust the Seaborn name, they'd better start trusting him too."
Leaving Otto gaping, she whirled around and almost sprinted for the door, where she caught sight of Jax hovering, an outsider at his own wedding.
Damn these people for their narrow-minded bigotry.
"What's wrong?" Jax snagged her arm as she attempted to brush past him, needing air before she marched back into the ballroom and kicked some snobby butt.
She searched his face, expecting anger or concern. What she saw affected her far more. Stoicism. He knew what they’d have to face, the judgements they'd have to conquer, but rather than upsetting him, he accepted it.
She'd be damned if she would.
She slid her hand into his and tugged him back towards the ballroom. "I'll tell you what’s got me riled later. For now, we do what newlyweds do at their reception. We party."
To his credit, Jax played the role of a doting groom perfectly for the rest of the evening. They cut the cake, made brief speeches, danced some more, before skipping the goodbye circle and making a fast exit.
Five hours after they strolled into the Palladium ballroom as husband and wife, they left, hand in hand.
But Jax still hadn't lost the glower.
She squeezed his hand as they headed towards the lifts. "We pulled it off, so why do you look like we failed?"
"It's nothing—"
"Like hell." She stepped into his personal space, toe to toe. "Let me put it this way. If you don't tell me right this very second, there won't be much happening beyond sleeping in that decadent villa penthouse."
The corners of his mouth twitched. "You certainly drive a hard bargain."
"Cut the small talk and spill."
He sighed, his reluctance obvious in the rigid neck muscles, the clenched jaw, the shadowed glance.
"I won't judge you, I'm here for you," she said, cupping his cheek, stroking the worry lines bracketing his mouth.
To her surprise, her simple touch soothed Jax. He visibly sagged, the tension draining away as he cleared his throat.
"We didn't fool anyone,” he muttered, with a scowl.
Her pretend husband was perceptive as well as smart and gorgeous.
"They only just learned we're married. Give it time—"
"This will never work."
Her blood chilled at the finality in his tone, as if he'd given up before they'd even begun.
“I never would've picked you for a quitter," she said, daring him to fight back, fervently wishing he wouldn't walk away.
"We're wasting our time." The worry lines bracketing his mouth deepened as his lips compressed. "They'll never accept me. They can't see past my dad."
His sigh held so much audible pain she slipped her hands around his neck and clung to him, afraid he'd bolt before she broke through his emotional barriers.
"And I don't blame them,” he added, so softly she barely heard the words as his head lolled forward, his forehead resting on hers.
"You're nothing like him—"
"How do you know?” He straightened. “You haven't seen him using people to get ahead. You haven't seen him desperate to stay one step ahead of the game. You haven't seen him repress his emotions and close off from people."
He reached up to unclasp her hands from around his neck. "What if I've got those tendencies?" He thumped his chest. "In here?"
"You haven't—"
"Really?" His self derision chilled her. "Because from where I'm standing, everything I just said could apply to me. Our marriage? I'm using you, desperate to get ahead, repressing my real emotions…"
He trailed off, his expression horror stricken, as if he'd said too much.
She wanted to ask him what he meant by real emotions. Did he mean he’d started to feel something for her, something real, something tangible, something they could base a relationship on?
After only a few weeks, it seemed ludicrous. Unfathomable. So how could she explain that she had no intention of walking away from this man for reasons beyond saving Seaborn?
She'd pushed him to open up, now it was time for damage control.
"I proposed to you, remember? I'm the one using you, using whatever means to get ahead in the jewellery business."
He shook his head, his eyes wild. "What the hell are we doing, Ruby?This isn't right."
Her heart stopped. "Our marriage, you mean?"
She'd seen him many things—proud, arrogant, commanding. Defeated wasn't one of them as he slumped against a nearby wall.
"I'm sick of the lies." She only just caught his muttered, "I'm exactly like my father after all."
Damn, she shouldn’t have delved into his personal life in the hope of exorcising his demons.
Before he bailed on her and she lost a husband and Seaborn, she did the only thing possible.
She reached up and brushed her thumb across his bottom lip. "Enough of the deep and meaningful stuff. Let's go do what we do best."
Thankfully, he didn't have to be asked twice.