by Sienna Snow
I stepped back and offered Kai my arm. We moved into position behind Thad.
Thad pulled at the collar of his white suit. It was surprising to see him nervous. He was always so composed and sure of himself.
I would have made some wisecrack about his anxiety if I wasn’t in the same restless state.
Kai’s fingers flexed against my jacket sleeve. “Jax?”
“Yes.” I peered down at her.
She opened her mouth to say something, but Raquel spoke instead. “Okay everyone, you know what to do. One minute and counting. Lina is in the wings waiting for everyone to take their places.”
Thad glanced behind him and immediately turned around when he saw Raquel marching toward him.
“Don’t even think about trying to get a peek. You can see Lina when she meets you at the altar.”
“Yes ma’am.” He turned around and then muttered, “That woman’s a tyrant.”
The music started and per Raquel’s cue, we began our trek up from the hotel to the pastor waiting for us on the shores of the beach.
A quarter of the way up the long pathway, Kai said in a low voice while smiling to the wedding guests who were waiting for us, “Jax?”
“Yeah.”
“I’m sorry.”
“For what?”
“For doubting you, for doubting us.”
This was a turnabout I hadn’t expected. For her to apologize, something must have happened. I wanted to have hope but I refused to believe things had changed from this morning until she said it clearly. “What does that mean?”
“It means…” She took a deep breath. “I want us to work. I want to be with you.”
“You want me to stay after everyone leaves?”
“Yes.”
“Does that mean you’re going to marry me?” I asked as we approached the flower-covered aisle leading to the beachfront altar.
Her steps faltered for a split second. “Ask when it’s time, when I can say yes, not today. Today is about Lina and Thad.”
That meant she would say yes in the future. At least, I hoped. This pint-sized woman had me so twisted with wanting her in my life. Never had I chased a woman like this. Then again, I’d never loved a woman like this either.
“Just so we’re clear. I wasn’t going to leave even if you expected me to. I would have worn you down sooner or later.”
“Of course, you weren’t. You march to your own drummer.”
She had me there.
When we reached the altar and were about to separate, she looked up at me, backdrop of the ocean giving her an ethereal aura.
“I love you, Jax,” she whispered and then pulled free of my hold, knowing she’d floored me with her confession.
In fact, my heart felt as if it would explode. The only thing that would be better was if we were alone when she said those words.
I took my spot next to Thad as the rest of the wedding party got into position on their respective sides of the flower-covered wedding arch.
The wind picked up, carrying with it the scent of saltwater and flowers. At the same time, the clouds overhead shifted and beams of sunlight shined down on the altar.
This had to be a good sign, not just for Thad and Lina, but for Kai and me. Or if Raquel had anything to say about it, the horoscope she’d read to me this morning had come true. It had said something about the sun brightening my heavy heart and giving me clear direction.
I guess I owed Raquel an apology for rolling my eyes and tell her it was wishful thinking.
Now here I was, about to watch my best friend marry the woman of his dreams, while mine wanted to give us a real chance, a real future.
Damn, hearing three words from Kai’s lips had turned me into a sap.
The wedding march started, and I heard Thad say, “Finally.”
One day I’d get my “finally.” One day Kai would say yes.
I watched Kai and the way her eyes lit up the second Lina came into view. A tear spilled down Kai’s cheek.
I knew I should have been looking down the aisle at Lina but I couldn’t move my attention from Kai. The pure joy on her face told me she wouldn’t have gone so above and beyond to create this perfect wedding for her baby sister if she didn’t have a hopeless romantic side.
As if sensing me staring at her, she looked my way. All her shields were down in a way I hadn’t seen since our time in Vegas. She was finally letting me in.
“I love you too,” I mouthed.
I shifted my attention to Lina as she reached the bottom of the altar. She winked at me, telling me she’d caught what I’d said to Kai.
Well fuck, I hadn’t meant for that to happen.
Pretending nothing significant had passed between all of us, Lina kissed her parents and stepped toward Thad. I handed Thad a lei, custom-designed to match Lina’s gown, and Kai gave one to Lina. The couple exchanged the leis, draping them over each other’s heads.
At that moment, Kevin moved from his place by the groomsmen and lifted a conch shell. He blew into it four times, turning with each blow to invite the four elements of earth to bless the wedding.
Over the years, I’d learned how important the traditions of Hawaiian culture were to the Alexander family. Being in Bora Bora wasn’t going to change this fact.
Even Isaiah, who’d grown up on the mainland, had immersed himself in his wife’s traditions and raised his family with them as part of their everyday lives. For them, it wasn’t something for tourists to play with as an added bonus to a destination wedding but about their heritage and family history.
The ceremony lasted for another thirty minutes, with a period of silence to remember those family members who had passed away, and then closing with the laying of the lava rock wrapped in a ti leaf on the ground and the traditional celebratory kiss.
Cheers shouted all around as the newly married couple made their way down the aisle and we followed.
Kai beamed with happiness and then whispered, “Once we make it through the reception, I can breathe. Want to help me celebrate later?”
“Absolutely. Does this mean I won’t get to see you again for hours? You know we still need to have a long talk.”
“Yes, I know. But it’s time for me to finish off my maid-of-honor duties.”
Kai slid her arm free of mine, but I caught her wrist.
“Jax, I have to go.”
“Tell me again, Kai. I need to be sure I heard you correctly the first time.”
Her lips curved at the corners, and she lifted up on tiptoes, brushing a kiss against my lips. “I love you.”
And in the next second, she was gone, grabbing a phone from Raquel and marching down the hallway to the bridal dressing area.
I turned to make my way to where the groomsmen were gathering and came to an abrupt halt as my parents stood in front of me.
“Son, your mother and I would like a word with you.”
I took a deep breath and braced myself for whatever lecture was about to come.
“Let’s go somewhere more private,” I said.
I wouldn’t put it past my mother to cause a scene. She had a habit of living out her reputation as a diva to a tee.
From what my grandparents had told me, my mother hadn’t always been so self-absorbed. There was a time when she’d been known as one of Hollywood’s kindest souls. A person who’d give the shirt off her back to make someone else’s life better.
It saddened me to know the ruthlessness she’d endured as an actress in Hollywood had turned her into the cold, self-centered woman that I’d only ever known.
We moved over to the area where the wedding had taken place.
“Go ahead.” I slid a hand into my pocket and waited.
“You should treat us with more respect,” my mother started.
And with those words, the sentiment for the woman she used to be disappeared.
“I could say the feeling is mutual.”
“I have no idea where we went wrong.” She threw up her hands.
“Maybe it started when you’d have rather pawned me off on a nanny, Pops, or the Olivers. I spent more time with Thad’s parents than you.” I glanced back at Justine and Kristy Oliver. The couple’s attention was on us instead of their family who’d flown in for their son’s wedding.
“How dare you criticize us?” My mother’s outrage was comical. “Say something, Christopher.”
“Jennine, this isn’t helping.”
“I couldn’t agree more,” I added.
That resulted in a loud huff.
How the fuck I’d survived childhood with her was beyond me.
Oh, that’s right, they hadn’t raised me.
“Jackson, it’s time you stopped this shipbuilding nonsense and take the reins of the company,” my father said. “I’m getting old and I want you at the helm.”
How many times was I going to have this conversation?
“I made my position clear the last time we spoke. I do not want Burton Productions, nor the strings that come with it.”
“You’d turn your back on your inheritance. You’d let it pass to your cousin Richard?” My father seemed as baffled now as he’d been the last five times I’d had the same conversation with him.
Richard was a good man and deserved it. He’d worked for my father from the time he’d graduated from college. He also could manage my parents in a way I could never do.
“Yes. Richard loves the business and has doubled profits since he’s taken the lead on the majority of projects.”
“This is all because of that no-name tramp he’s seeing again. I will not have it.”
“Mother, I’d watch what you say when it comes to Kailani Alexander.”
I would never understand why they even bothered to come to this wedding when they couldn’t stand Kai or any of her family. No, that wasn’t true. It was about saying they were part of something exclusive, something only those in the “in-crowd” were invited to.
What would my mother say if she knew the only reason Thad had invited them was out of courtesy to his parents and the long history our families shared. Everyone, including Justine and Kristy Oliver, knew what my parents thought of Kai, and as an extension any Alexander, including Lina.
“I’m only stating the truth. She isn’t one of us, no matter if Thad has raised her status by marrying her sister.”
If this was anything like what Kai had experienced, then I couldn’t blame her for leaving, especially when I kept trying to fix every little issue my parents had.
“Talking to you is useless. You’re never going to see that insulting the woman I plan to marry is an exact way to keep me from having any relationship with you.”
I turned my back to them and started down the path to the main building.
I heard my mother shout, “If you choose her, don’t ever come crawling back to us.”
I ignored the words and looked at Thad and his parents, who waited for me. They were my family. And the one the Alexanders had adopted me into.
Chapter Fifteen
Kailani
“Thanks, Raquel. I swear you’ll get a raise for putting up with my crazy family,” I said into my phone as I made my way to the reception hall.
Thad and Lina were ready to make their grand entrance as husband and wife, and I was due at the head table to finish out my maid-of-honor duties.
I’d helped Lina change out of her gorgeous white ultra-feminine wedding gown with lots of flowing fabric and into something befitting the Hollywood starlet she was, a super sexy, form-fitting gown with an open back and sky-high heels.
“I won’t say no to a raise, but I think you deserve one too.”
“I’ll be sure to pass on the evaluation to the Lykaioses.”
“I already did.”
I stopped midstep. “Please tell me you didn’t actually do that.”
“Is there static on the line?” Raquel shhed with fake static. “I can’t hear you, boss. I’ll catch you later.”
She hung up and I shook my head. I couldn’t be sure whether she’d done as she said or was pulling my chain.
Slipping my phone back into my clutch, I made a quick stop in the restroom to make sure my makeup was still up to snuff and then walked toward the side entrance to the ballroom.
“I hope you’re happy. You got what you wanted.” The venom-filled words spoken behind me as I set my hand on the door handle had my back stiffening.
Fuck. Thirty more seconds and I’d have been home free.
I’d managed to avoid Jennine Burton since she’d arrived with her husband, and hoped to keep avoiding her. Now it looked as if my luck had run out.
I turned to face Jennine. She was beautiful, with barely a trace of her age on her skin, but nothing could change the ugly under the surface or the hatred in her eyes as she glared at me.
I guessed I’d have to get used to it, since Jax and I were planning a future together. It still made me cringe to think she’d be my children’s grandmother one day.
Bracing myself for whatever was wrong in Jennine’s world, I said, “Mrs. Burton, I have no idea what you are referring to.”
“Don’t act so coy. I lost my son because of you.”
I will not take the bait. I will not take the bait.
With as much of a smile as I could fake, I said, “Let me repeat. I have no idea what you are referring to.”
She cocked a hand on her hip. “I find it hard to believe you don’t know that my son hasn’t come home or had anything more than a surface relationship with us in the last two years. Because of you, he’s turned his back on his legacy and his responsibilities to Burton Productions.”
I stared at her, not understanding what she was saying. Jax had mentioned he had nothing to do with his parents but I hadn’t thought past the statement.
It also meant she had no idea we were together again. Well, Jax and I still had to figure out the details.
“Until a little over three weeks ago, I hadn’t seen or heard from Jax in years.”
“You think I didn’t see your exchange during the wedding. Hell, everyone saw it. He isn’t the type of boy to say his feelings so publicly unless it was something long-term.”
No, it was because we’d never gotten over each other. But that information wasn’t going to help this situation.
“As you said, you have a surface relationship with him. How would you know the way he thinks?”
“God, he’s such a man. Shake your big tits and ass in his face and you’re leading him around by the dick again.”
Her vulgar words had me speechless.
She continued, saving me from finding a response.
“I saw those pictures in the tabloids. They got clear shots of you and your classless family dancing.”
Heat and anger rushed into my body, and I gritted my teeth.
Taking a step toward her, I said, “Let me make something clear. You can say what you want about me but never, and I mean never, put down my family.”
Knowing a dramatic scene was what she wanted, I took a calming breath and continued, “You have this need to label anyone who isn’t in your perceived social standing as lower class. I will not put up with it anymore. We don’t have diamonds flowing out of our pockets or a household staff to cater to our every need, but we are good people who have worked our asses off for everything we have.”
“How dare you? We work just as hard, probably harder.” Jennine cocked a hand on her hip and waved a finger in my face.
It took all my strength not to swat it away and punch her.
How could countless documentaries and Hollywood legend stories get it so wrong? She was nothing like the American sweetheart they’d made her out to be, but then again she hadn’t starred in a film since before Jax was born. And any recent role she’d taken encompassed small cameos playing off her former fame.
“God, what happened to you? Where is the woman once known for her kind heart and soul?”
Something flashed in her eyes that almost resembled pain,
but disappeared just as fast.
“You have no idea what it takes to make it in Hollywood.”
Hollywood was known for chewing up the innocent until there was barely anything left of the original person before spitting them out. It was hard to imagine Jennine Burton as one of them. But the woman before me wasn’t the one whose movies my mother and aunts loved watching.
“You’re right. I won’t argue with that point, but it doesn’t excuse your behavior now. You were a hardworking actress once upon a time, a good enough one to win an Oscar. But that was decades ago. Tell me what you’ve achieved recently. Besides alienating your son with all your antics.”
She grabbed my arm. “Listen here, you little slut. I refuse to let you dig your claws into him again. You’re nothing but a gold digger. That boy deserves better. Don’t think you’ll get a penny of our money.”
I shook her hand free and rubbed where her nails had left crescent-shaped marks.
“You are seriously delusional. I don’t need anything from Jax.”
She laughed in that way one would expect the evil queen from a children’s cartoon to do. She really had lost her acting edge.
“It’s always about money.”
This conversation was going nowhere. I tried to have compassion for her, for what she must have dealt with, but the second she touched me with anger, any sympathy I had for her disappeared.
“Look, I’m only going to say this one time. I make plenty of money. In fact, I’m a partner in this resort.” The surprise on her face made me want to smirk, but I refused to stoop to her level. “I don’t need a penny from Jax. Why would I, when I live in paradise with a house on the beach?”
I turned toward the doors. I had to get away from this self-centered woman. I’d mastered handling difficult guests, so why was I letting her get to me?
Because it hurt to know people who were supposed to be family behaved this way.
I had to accept I’d never have the loving relationship Thad’s parents had with Lina or what my parents had with Cora and Ani.
Once Lina and Thad made their entrance, I was going to down some shots of tequila.
“Don’t think this is over.”