Saving Jax by Ramona Gray Page A

hated confrontation and she could hardly believe the way she had spoken to Janine.  That wasn’t her style, but the anger over finally meeting the woman who had hurt Court so badly had taken over and she hadn’t been able to stop herself.
    She swallowed thickly.  Janine might be awful but why did she have to be so damn gorgeous?  She felt like an ugly lump of coal next to Janine and –
    “Jules?”
    She jumped about a foot, crashing into the side table and sending her keys and the pile of mail sliding on to the floor.
    “Court!  You scared the hell out of me!”  She stared wide-eyed at him.  “Wh-what are you doing here?”
    “I’m sorry, darlin’.”  Court crouched and scooped up the wayward mail and her keys before placing them on the table and putting his arms around her.  He kissed her firmly, sliding his tongue deep into her mouth as he rubbed her back.
    “I didn’t mean to scare you.”  He kissed the tip of her nose.
    “Why are you here?”  She repeated.
    “I missed you.”
    She studied him suspiciously.  “Mel called you, didn’t she?”
    Court gave her an uncomfortable look.  “She was worried about you.”
    “I’m fine,” Julie said.  She walked to the kitchen and put the teakettle on as Court followed her.
    “Janine’s awful, Julie, and I’m really sorry you had to meet her,” Court said anxiously.
    Julie sighed.  “She couldn’t have been that awful.  You dated her for three years.”
    “I didn’t know the real her and I was – well, I was just being blindly loyal,” Court said.  “I loved her and I thought she loved me.”
    “Three years is a long time,” Julie said softly.  “I – I don’t want to be clingy or anything but are you sure you don’t still love her, Court?  I’ll understand if you have some feelings for her or – “
    “Julie,” Court slid his arm around her waist and cupped her face, “I love you.  Janine doesn’t mean anything to me anymore.  I promise you, okay?”
    She nodded.  “Okay.  I’m sorry.  I don’t mean to be so needy I just – well, we’ve never really talked about Janine and it was really weird to just meet her like that.”
    “I spent three years with her and she lied and cheated on me the entire time,” Court said flatly.  “She broke my heart and made me feel like I wasn’t good enough.  There’s nothing else to say about her.”
    Julie put her arms around him and kissed his throat.  “You’re amazing, Court, and Janine is an idiot for not seeing that.  Beautiful but an idiot.”
    “She’s not beautiful,” Court said.  “She’s an ugly person inside and out and I’m the idiot for not seeing it sooner.”
    He hugged her tightly and Julie rested her head on his broad chest.  It didn’t matter what Janine looked like.  Court loved her and she loved him.
    * * *
     
    “Mel!  You look stunning!”  Julie gave her a look of delight and ushered her into Court’s apartment.
    “Thanks, you look gorgeous as well,” Mel said.
    She smoothed her dark green dress down as Julie looked her up and down. 
    “That colour is so pretty on you.”
    “Stop it, you’re making me blush.”  Mel grinned at her before glancing up.  “Wow, Court – nice.”
    “Thanks.”  Court’s face was pale and Mel gave him a closer look.
    “Are you alright?”
    “Just fine.” 
    “He’s not fine, he has a migraine,” Julie said sympathetically.
    “Maybe you should stay home,” Mel said.
    “No, it means a lot to Cal for us to visit the nightclub.  I’ll be okay.”
    Mel nodded as Court helped Julie into her jacket.  She was feeling nervous and unsettled at the thought of having dinner at Mr. Golden’s nightclub, but she could hardly say no when Cal had called and invited her.  Her parents would be there as well and she was determined to support Cal in his new job.
    She followed Court and Julie out of the apartment and down to Court’s truck.  “Are mom and dad meeting us there?”
    “Yep.”