Chapter 18
Chapter Eighteen
LIVIANNA/LILY
Now
Golden Promises & Invisible Heartbreak
Some wounds never ask to be seen. They simply wait for someone to notice them.
Jaxon stares at me stone-faced, still standing next to the table where his briefcase is. “Why would you think I would have an opinion about Zara Blackthorn?”
“You know how I reacted the other day when I thought Callum cheated on me with her.” I shrug. “I guess I thought her accident would have a bigger impact on you.”
“Sure, it’s an unfortunate thing?—”
“Is it?” I narrow my gaze on him.
He takes a breath, exhaling slowly through parted lips. “I can see why you wouldn’t have sympathy for her since she was awful to you.”
Gotcha, Jaxon.
I march toward him, stopping a foot before him. “How do you know how she treated me? Did I share that with you in the past?”
He’s quiet for a moment. “You mentioned something about her to me once, but Cash is the one who told me everything she’s done to you.”
“Why would Callum tell you about her?”
“I’m an investor in his label, Livianna. We talk about a lot of things.” Jaxon straightens his suit jacket. “Just like we do.”
The calm and clean admission sits between us the way well-rehearsed answers always do. Jaxon’s hand falls from his jacket, and he faces me with patience that isn’t patience at all. Somehow, I know this about him, but I won’t let on to that just yet.
“Zara being awful to me is a very specific detail.” I take a half-step forward, closing the distance between us. “That wouldn’t come up in a business call.”
Jaxon’s expression doesn’t shift. “Artists discuss the people in their lives. It isn’t unusual, and you should understand that. We discuss a lot more than your company.”
“You keep framing this as routine.” I tip my chin up to hold his gaze, refusing to be the first to break it. “But you knew she was cruel to me before I ever told you she was. That isn’t a professional relationship. It reads like a friendship.”
His jaw tightens, a tell that surfaces and vanishes in the same breath, caught only because I’ve spent the last sixty seconds cataloging every degree of his restraint.
Jaxon adjusts the cufflink on his left wrist with two precise turns. “Investors and artists aren’t always adversarial. Building trust is part of building a viable portfolio.”
“Stop.” I press my palm flat to the table beside me. “Stop giving me a venture capital lecture and answer my question. How long have you actually known Callum? Not as an investor. As a person.”
Jaxon’s quiet for a beat. “Long enough to understand that his professional decisions affect my return on investment. And long enough to know that the people in his life affect those decisions.”
“And I’m one of those people. Callum discusses me with you. He shares personal details about my life that have nothing to do with music or business.”
“You’re forgetting one thing.”
“What would that be?”
“We, as in you and me, discuss the same types of things as Cash and I do.” Jaxon’s stance grows a degree. “Everything that affects an artist’s emotional state affects their output. Separating the personal from the professional is a luxury most investors can’t afford.”
“That’s a beautiful deflection.” I take a full step back from the table, needing the distance. “The two of you are closer than you’re letting me see. And what I can’t reconcile is why neither of you has ever mentioned it.”
Jaxon’s gaze stays on mine, giving nothing back. “You’re drawing conclusions where there doesn’t need to be one.”
“Why do you keep talking about business when I’m talking about something personal? Is this something you always do?” A pinch in my chest snags my attention.
I know this is what Jaxon does.
“Livianna.” He squares the edge of his briefcase against the table’s corner, the motion exact and unhurried. “You’re letting your confusion complicate a straightforward business dynamic.”
“Fine, Jaxon. We can drop the subject, but I’m going to give you something to consider going forward.”
“By all means, I’m listening.”
“I don’t know how, but I know this is what you do with me.”
“What would that be?”
“You talk in circles, avoiding my questions by focusing on work-related issues.”
His lips form a straight line. “For that, I’m sorry. I don’t know how else to answer you.”
I study him closely. Nothing in his eyes would suggest he’s lying to me.
I start packing my bag to break our connection. “Your apology is accepted, but I have a request.”
“What?”
“Do you want to continue our relationship?” I peek over at him.
His shoulders come down a tad. “Yes.”
“Then, in the future, please don’t deflect my questions. If you don’t want to answer, just tell me and we can move on.”
“That’s a fair request.” He lifts his briefcase. “Can I walk you out?”
“I’d like that.” I check the time. “Wow, I stayed way past when I should’ve left.”
“Do you have plans this evening?”
“Yes.” I shoulder my bag and gesture to the door. “I’m supposed to be at a fitting for my wedding dress, but since I’m the designer, they’ll have to wait.”
“Your wedding dress. I see you probably need to get going.” He waves his hand for me to go before him, and I do. “Ladies first.”
“Do you have anything pressing tonight?”
Jaxon turns the lights off as he leaves the room. “Just work.”
“You need to get a social life.”
“I will once I’m ready to get back into…” He strides in front of me, rushing to lead the way into the waiting area. He gets to the door and opens it.
“Thanks.” I wait for him to exit, and then I set the alarm. “You trailed off. What were you going to say?”
“It was nothing. I was just remembering better days.” He stands waiting for me.
I finish up, and my heart plummets.
Way to go, Livianna.
“I’m sorry, Jaxon. I can be insensitive.”
“Nonsense. I don’t expect you to walk on eggshells around me. I’m not a weak man. I can handle the pain of what I’ve lost.”
I send him a warm smile. “You’re letting me off the hook.”
“What if I am?”
“Why would you?”
He starts down the hallway toward the elevators. “You can be tenacious. I guess I’ve learned to pick my battles with you.”
I follow him. “Battles? Is that how you see your time with me? A never-ending battle?”
“No.” He glances my way. “Nothing with you is ever like that.”
I burst out in a quick laugh. “Now I know you’re lying.”
He holds back a grin. “I don’t lie to you, Livianna. You know that.”
I consider that as we continue to the elevator. How would I know Jaxon doesn’t lie to me? I push the call button and wait.
Jaxon stops beside me. “Did I say something that bothered you?”
“No, I was just thinking.” I turn toward him. “We must have a high level of trust in each other.”
He stares at me without a word. His mysterious persona is in full view.
“Jaxon, do you ever make anything easy for me?” I tease.
“I’m not sure I ever have.” His tone is full of sorrow. “And if that’s true, I’m very sorry.”
The door to the lift opens, and we get on. Once we’re enclosed inside, the air grows heavy.
Come on, Livianna. Do something to cut the tension.
Oh, I know.
“Did you get the NDA and my wedding invitation?”
Jaxon’s gaze cuts to mine. “No, I didn’t receive anything.”
“Weird. I sent it myself. That was this past Saturday.” I shift my bag higher up my shoulder. “Maybe it got hung up somewhere, but my parents received theirs, so I thought you would’ve gotten yours by now.”
He gives a single nod. “When is it?”
“September first.” I smile widely.
The joy that follows can’t be contained. It’s full of warmth and entirely mine, because this is one of the few things in my life right now that feels certain.
His brow furrows. “September first?”
“Yep. We’re holding it on the beach in Malibu. It’s going to be a small ceremony with close family and friends.”
The floor indicator counts down above the door. Jaxon’s grip on his briefcase has gone white at the knuckles. He pulls in a slow breath, controlled all the way out.
“You’re getting married on your birthday? And you’re holding the ceremony in Malibu?” He keeps his attention fixed on the descending numbers.
“I am.” I turn to face him more fully. “It felt right, using a day that already belongs to me and giving it a new reason to be wonderful. And everyone knows I love Malibu.”
As the elevator slows, Jaxon shifts the briefcase to his other hand.
He doesn’t make eye contact with me. “That’s not far from now.”
I clasp my hands together, squeezing against the anticipation that still lives in my chest every time I consider my wedding.
“Why wait?”
He swallows and connects his weighted stare with mine. “That’s a question only you can answer.”
“The answer is: there is no reason to wait. Callum and I have wanted this since we were teenagers.”
“I’m aware.”
I release a friendly puff of air. “You’ve probably heard about all this from Callum.”
“Right.” Jaxon runs his palm over his neck. “Tell me about the venue. Where is it exactly?”
“It’s at a beach club. The ceremony overlooks the ocean at golden hour. We’ll do our vows before the sun sets, and by the time we move to the reception, the sky will do all the decorating.”
“It seems like you’ve planned every detail.”
“Yeah, but my dress is still in progress.” I stand taller, genuine pleasure threading through me. “You’d think since I’m the designer that would be done first, but I’m being a difficult client.”
“You? Never?” He chuckles, but it seems forced rather than free.
“Hey. I’m not normally like this.”
The doors open into the lobby. He steps through first and reaches the front door ahead of me, holding it open. We proceed toward the parking garage.
In the evening air, the line of his jaw is harder than it was twenty minutes ago.
“Jaxon, I want you there, so I hope you can make it.” I glance up at him. “You matter to us.”
The silence that follows is brief and absolute.
“Jaxon?” I stop and face him. “Will you be there?”
“I’ll need to check my schedule.” He turns toward me, and his expression cracks for just a moment before it seals itself back into perfect order. “Goodnight, Livianna.”
“Goodnight, Jaxon.”