“Is someone giving you a problem?” Jax asked, tryingnotto sound likehe was in the mafia. Anger rose in his veins, but this felt sweeter because it was on Tristan’s behalf.
“No, no. I’m fine.” That was definitely a lie, but Jax didn’t want to call it out. It was too bad that Marci was still on her honeymoon because she’d have everything settled in under three seconds; however, Tristan had certainly risen to the challenge over these past few weeks. The brides, bridesmaids, and mothers all loved him, and he exuded enough calm to keep the groomsmen in check, but someone seemed to be testing his breezy limits.
Crossing his arms, Jax looked Tristan up and down. “Okay, you’re an adult. But if you need my help, or somewhere to hide the bodies, I’m here.”
Tristan smiled at Jax’s clear protectiveness, a little bit of his sparkle returning.
“Thank you, Jax.” He listened on his headset. “I have to go, but I’ll be back to check on your hand.”
Jax snorted at their little inside joke, returning to work. Almost an hour later, he passed Winter by the ovens, noticing the annoyance on their face. Raising an eyebrow in question, he looked down at the plate in their hand.
“This is the fourth time the groom’s cousin has sent his steak back,” Winter sneered. “He says he wants it cooked more.”
“But it’s probably as tough as a boot by now.” He glanced over to where some of the cooks rolled their eyes, because who wanted a burnt filet mignon?
“I hear he’s been beating on Tristan all day,” Winter added quietly, watching Jax with careful eyes. They didn’t say much, but they clearly saw everything. Thankfully, no one else had said a word, which meant the gossip mill hadn’t discovered them yet.
“What?” Jax didn’t mean for it to come out so growly but the beast within was rearing its head. If he didn’t calm down, then he’d put a big spotlight on the two of them.
“He’s not even in the bridal party, but Kate said he’s a total jerk.” Winter started heating up the steak again. “Owen’s trying to help, but his party needs a lot of hand-holding.”
“I’ll go talk to him,” Angelo declared, uncharacteristically serious and a bit scary.
“No, I’ll go.” Jax spoke without thinking, his fury already in the driver’s seat. “Does anyone have a jacket and tie I can borrow?”
8
TRISTAN
Tristanfrownedathissavings account balance. He’d been using his future hiking stash to keep Eve at bay, and it showed.
Although he’d told her that he’d only do this for a few months, he knew he was trapped. If he stopped, then she’d probably storm into The Pointe to destroy his jobandRain’s sanity.
He could put it all out there, have her banned from the wedding hall and possibly their lives, but all she’d done was hang out in the parking lot. They didn’t grant restraining orders for that; the judge would laugh at him. Besides, making a huge deal out of this would cause problems at work and with Rain.
He still felt like a fool for ever loving Eve. At least she’d kept her word about Rain, because lately he’d been downright happy building his photography career, protected from his mother’s interference and chaos by Tristan’s contributions, which softened the sting of Eve’s extortion.
And then there was Jax.
After shamefully avoiding him out of embarrassment, they’d shared a strangely hot and intimate kiss behind the building, and Tristan couldn’t stop thinking about it. Jax had been haunting Tristan since the moment he first saw him, and it had only intensified with each second that they spent together, drawing Tristan in again and again.
On paper, they were so different, and Tristan still had issues with the age gap, but he wasn’t able to choose who he was pulled to; Eve was proof of that. Plus, Jax clearly had physical limitations and mental baggage, but who didn’t?
Jax’s condition didn’t seem to be as easily fixable as Tristan’s, and he was in pain, so his frustrations were completely understandable. But they didn’t affect Tristan’s attraction at all. Every time Tristan glanced upon that striking face, it was like the trees parted to show him a glorious view, and he couldn’t shake the feeling that this was all familiar, that they’d done this before.
It didn’t help that Jax could read him like a book, easily seeing behind Tristan’s hospitality mask and noticing that a particular guest had been troubling him all night.
“I want to drop a piano on that guy,” Gideon hissed as he left the main room and joined Tristan in the corner of the foyer. Placing his camera down, he stretched his arms. “I’ve worked with a lot of assholes, but he’s in the upper tier, barking orders at me all day. I can’t believe that his family lets him get away with that.”
“He must be very insecure,” Tristan wondered aloud, pocketing his phone as Gideon laughed.
“He needs someone to put him in his place, someone who won’t get fired.” Done stretching, Gideon picked up his gear, balancing the bottom of the gimbal on his hip, and as he looked toward the party, his eyes widened. “Oh shit, speak of the weasel, here he comes.”
Seconds later, Paulie was standing in front of them, snapping his fingers in Tristan’s face.
“While you’re gossiping in the corner, my cousin is waiting to cut the cake!”
That wasn’t true. The Pointe ran weddings on a schedule approved by the clients. Sure, they could change things, but the couple hadjusttold Tristan to take a break so they could have their dinner.
