Page 23 of One Life to Loathe

“Are you going to be as evil as Lux?” Jax asked.

“I have no idea. Are you going to stop loving me if I am?”

A small smile played across Jax’s mouth as he brushed a stray strand of her auburn hair away from her face. “Nothing will ever make me stop loving you.”

It was a corny line, straight out of a soap opera. It made my heart ache, though. Nobody had ever looked at me the way Jax was looking at Daisy. It was something I’d never worried about before—I was focused on my career after all—but now it made me yearn for something different.

And just where the hell had that feeling come from?

Daisy gave her fiancé a flirty look before turning back to me. “Six forty-five,” she instructed. “Be down here. Dress is casual. We’ll walk over together.”

She wasn’t giving me a choice in the matter. Truthfully, the idea of hanging out with people when there would be no expectations and I didn’t have to be on my best behavior was appealing. “I’ll be here,” I said. “Now you’ve put the idea of stuffed lobster in my head. Where else would I be?”

“Awesome.” She shot me a thumbs-up. “I can’t wait to grill you on those idiot actors you’re going to be with for the next six weeks. I especially have questions about Leo.”

Oh, well, wouldn’t that be fun?

I WAS NEVER LATE. NOT EVER. THATmeant I was down in the lobby a full five minutes before I had to be. I’d opted for simple black capris and an oversized mesh sweater that offset the sequined tank top I was wearing underneath. It was bright, fun, and not too serious.

“Nice,” Daisy said when she met me in front of the door.

I grinned at her. She was in similar capris, but she was wearing an off-the-shoulder shirt that featured a big pair of kissing lips. “You look nice, too.”

“Oh, Levi hates this shirt,” she explained to me. “Like … hates it with a fiery passion. I’m wearing it for him.”

“You and Levi have been friends for a long time.” It wasn’t a question.

“As long as I can remember,” she agreed. “He’s my brother from another mother. Heck, my moms practically adopted him when we were teenagers.”

“Moms?” The question was out before I could think better of it. “Not that there’s anything wrong with that,” I said hurriedly.

She laughed. “It’s fine.” She gestured toward the door. “I’ll tell you about it on our way to Finz.”

I looked back at the elevators. “What about Jax?”

“He’s going to meet us there.” Daisy’s expression fell. “His father is disputing the fact that he was cut out of Jax’s grandfather’s will. Jax essentially got everything, including the hotel. His family isn’t taking it well, but the will is ironclad. It’s going to hold. Jax won’t be more than ten minutes behind us.”

“Okay.” I had a lot of questions about why everybody else had been cut out of the will, but it wasn’t my business. Besides, I was actually more interested in the mother situation. “Tell me about your moms.”

“Well, I have two moms and one dad,” she replied. “My mother realized she was a lesbian when I was a kid and yet she and my dad are still family. We have dinner together—all of us—once a week.”

“That is fascinating.”

She laughed. “It’s not nearly as entertaining as it sounds.”

FINZ WAS LOCATED ON THE WATER. IThad a massive sushi bar inside. Unfortunately for me, I’d never been able to jump on the sushi train. I didn’t even like cooked fish—although I loved seafood, something I couldn’t explain—so raw fish was out.

Daisy seemed to recognize a lot of faces. She waved but didn’t stop as she led me toward the patio. There, I found Levi sitting with another man, both of them perusing their menus.

“You’re late,” Levi complained when Daisy sat down in one of the chairs.

I made sure to sit across from her so Jax would be able to sit next to her. I figured—since they were so mushy—that they wouldn’t want to be separated.

“Oh, we’re like three minutes late,” Daisy fired back. “Jax got a call from his lawyer when he was leaving.”

Levi lowered his menu. “Anything to be concerned about?”

“No.” Daisy shook her head. “They’re filing paperwork that warns Jax’s dad that they will be going after court costs if he persists. He has to know he can’t win. If he thinks he might lose even more, he might back off.”

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