Page 9 of Undisputed Player
The photoshoot ran longer than expected, the photographer insisting on "just one more set" until the golden hour had come and gone. I didn't mind since the camera loved me almost as much as I loved the camera, the feeling entirely fucking mutual.
"Perfect! Now give me serious... no, dangerous. Like you're about to destroy someone in the ring."
I shifted my expression, letting the predator show through the cultivated charm. The camera clicked rapidly, capturing what would undoubtedly become someone's new wallpaper.
"Yes! That's it! The Lion, ladies and gentlemen!"
By the time I made it to Jovie's house, I was running nearly an hour late. My sister met me at the door with her patented look of exasperated affection, the same one she'd been perfecting since we were children.
She looked just like me, blond and blue-eyed, but had a softer frame and cheeks I would pinch any day.
"Nice of you to show up.” She rolled her eyes, but her smile was warm. Jovie had long ago accepted that punctuality wasn't in my nature.
"Photoshoot ran long," I murmured, kissing her cheek and pressing a bottle of her favorite, ridiculously expensive wine into her hands. "They couldn't get enough of me. Occupational hazard of being photogenic."
She rolled her eyes again but accepted the bottle. "Avery's been asking about you every five minutes. She's in the living room, probably bouncing off the walls by now."
The second I stepped into the open entrance, a small blonde missile launched herself at my legs. "Jax! You're here!"
I scooped Avery up, tossing her into the air and catching her as sheshrieked with delight. At five, she was the spitting image of Jovie at that age—same blue eyes, golden curls, and boundless energy. Superior genetics ran in the family.
"There she is!” I spun her around, her giggles filling the room. "What have you been up to, pumpkin?"
"School! And I made a new friend! He knows ALL about every single dinosaur and he let me borrow his special green T-Rex eraser even though it's his favorite and he has the prettiest green eyes when he blinks and?—"
I set her down, letting her pull me toward the dining room as she chattered about this kid and his apparently encyclopedic knowledge of prehistoric creatures.
Her excitement was infectious, though I was more focused on the fact that she'd mentioned his "pretty eyes" three times already.
Five years old and already developing taste. Definitely an Easton.
Dinner with Jovie and Avery was the one part of my life untouched by the persona I presented to the rest of the world.
Here, I wasn't Jax "Lion" Easton, boxing champion and international heartthrob. I was just Jax, Jovie's occasionally irresponsible brother, and Avery's adoring uncle who just happened to be famous.
"So," Jovie said as her house staff cleared the plates, Avery having been excused to play before bedtime, "how many broken hearts this week?"
I grinned, unrepentant. "Just two. I'm showing remarkable restraint in my old age."
She snorted, setting down her crystal glass. "You're twenty-eight, not ninety. And one of these days, all that karma is going to catch up with you."
"That's what everyone keeps telling me," I said, leaning against the counter and sipping the excellent wine I'd brought."Yet here I stand, unscathed and looking better than ever."
"On the outside, maybe." Jovie's gaze was too perceptive, tooknowing. She'd always been able to see through my bullshit, even when we were kids. It was her annoying sisterly superpower.
I changed the subject before she could get too deep into uncomfortable territory.
"How's Avery liking the new school? Seaside Academy, right? Only the best for my favorite niece."
"Your only niece," Jovie corrected, but allowed the deflection. Her expression softened at the mention of her daughter. "She loves it. The curriculum is incredible, and the staff are amazing. She talks about it constantly."
"Good," I nodded, relieved the conversation had moved away from my love life and back to safer ground. "She deserves the best. Easton women always do."
I drove home later that night, the Bentley purring beneath me like a very expensive, very satisfied cat, and thought about Connor's words again.
Lonely? Me?
The idea was laughable. I had everything a man could want—fame, fortune, women lining up for the privilege of my attention. Not to mention the kind of looks that made people walk into glass doors.
