Chapter 1

Lake Charles, Louisiana - The cafeteria of The Dixon College of Music . . .

            “Oh good heavens!” the short, thin blue haired woman shrieked as the rock hard pork chop flew from Brenda’s mouth, landing in the lap of her irate dean who just sat there in shock with the meat in her lap looking positively appalled.

            “What in heaven’s name is wrong with you!”  Brenda’s stepmother, Iris Barrett, demanded.

            Brenda grabbed a glass of water and gulped it down as she gesticulated wildly at the offending pork chop.  “Too much pepper,” she said in between gasps as she fanned her opened mouth,  “and, I’m sorry but it’s hard as a rock!” she said, gulping down some more water to wash the unpalatable taste of the meat from her mouth.

            Coming out of her shock, the dean found her vocal chords. “You are the most troublesome young woman I have ever known!” an exasperated Dean Carmichael said through gritted teeth as the other visiting parents gazed over at the commotion.  “The face of an angel, the will of a demon,”  she muttered under her breath.

            Someone tittered with laughter.  The dean looked as if she would faint dead away at the continued food insults and growing embarrassment.

            “Brenda,” her stepmother growled, pressing her gaudily jeweled hand against her dyed blonde hair in irritation. “There’s nothing wrong with the food.  Stop making a scene!”

            Brenda Veronica Barrett was incredulous.  Ignoring her stepmother’s tyrannical command, she turned to the dean.  “Dean Carmichael, taste it,” she implored,  “How can you deny that this tastes horrible?  Are we inmates in a prison that we have to be subjected to this kind of meal?”

            There was more laughter.  The dean clutched her head as if it would explode.

            Sitting next to Brenda was Juliet Jacks who was chewing on her own rock-hard, pepper-ridden pork chop and trying desperately not to gag as she attempted to chew the vile meat.  Most of the parents in the cafeteria were struggling through the luncheon, too polite in their over the top, upper crusty mannerisms to insult the food.

            “Brenda stop being so ridiculous! It’s perfectly edible,” her stepmother lied, giving her an angry glance.  “Eat it and stop embarrassing me this instant!”

            Brenda glanced at the table and saw Juliet’s face was contorted in misery and she was about to spit out her food too.  Biting her lip to keep from laughing, Brenda quickly passed her a napkin and Juliet made immediate use of it earning her the ire of the dean.

            “Brenda and Juliet, excuse yourselves from this table at once!” the dean ordered turning an unflattering shade of red as the embarrassing moment lingered on.

            Brenda was only too happy to oblige.  She pushed her chair back and left the table with Juliet following.  They made their way to the dorm room they shared and Juliet plopped onto the bed looking at her friend with mischievous admiration.

            “You did something to those pork chops, didn’t you?” she said grinning with expectation.

            Brenda tried to keep a straight face, but failed. “I may have replaced the regular pepper with some Cajun spices I found in the pantry,” she shrugged.  “I had no idea how strong it would be.  But you know how bland the food is on campus. I just thought it would give it  a little zest.”

            Juliet laughed. “A little zest? Oh Brenda Barrett, you are priceless! What I can’t believe is that they all actually ate it!  Did you see them all? Chomping away even while their eyes were watering and their tongues were hanging out.” Juliet was laughing so hard tears were in her eyes.  “And did you see Professor Jones’ eyes bug out? You just know that her insides must’ve been on fire.”

            Brenda was about to answer but the image that her friend had conjured up was so funny that she just erupted into laughter instead.

Juliet Jacks and Brenda Barrett had not always been friends. In fact they had started off quite frostily upon their first meeting three months ago in Miss Danvers philosophy class debating over Socrates and Aristotle with Brenda driving Juliet crazy by always having to have the last word and asking so many questions that it left Juliet dizzy.  Needless to say Brenda had won the debate while Juliet had developed a splitting headache.

            Despite their sparring beginnings, however, Juliet had grown terribly fond of Brenda.  She admired the spirited, unpredictable, wildly entertaining Brenda Barrett.  Juliet liked her cleverness, her adventurous spirit, her sense of fun and her hysterical wit and how she said exactly what was on her mind no matter how outrageous it was.  She had even come to appreciate that argumentative, overly inquisitive nature that had initially made her brand Brenda as impossible and disagreeable.

Upon their first meeting she had been wary of Brenda for she was breathtakingly beautiful with goddess-like attributes:  dark silky hair with a brilliant sheen, eyes a bewitching shade of hazel with dark gem-like greens and golds, a gorgeous dimpled smile and an infuriatingly perfect physique.  Juliet did not normally trust anyone who looked like they were on loan to the human race from heaven itself.   But it was impossible not to like Brenda and Juliet hadn’t tried very hard.

            “So was that your infamous stepmother jumping so readily to your defense?” Juliet asked sarcastically.

Brenda laughed. “Yes that’s her.  Isn’t she as awful as I said she was?”

“Worse,” Juliet admitted. “Why did she even bother to come down to see you in the play?” Juliet wondered, her lilting Australian accent as lovely as a song.

“Well she didn’t come to see me perform, that’s for sure.  She’s just trying to latch onto somebody’s rich divorced father.  My stepmother is a pure social climber who loves money and status more than life itself,” Brenda explained.

“Well at least be thankful your stepsister didn’t come with her,” Juliet said.

“Believe me, I am.”

 “So why is your stepmother so nasty to you anyway?”

“From what my dad told me she always wanted to marry him.  She was very jealous of my mother when my mom and my dad got engaged.  She even tried to stop the wedding by claiming that her daughter was his, but my father married my mom, had me and my sister, lived happily with us until my mother died and Iris didn’t get him to the altar until twelve years later.  And even then, it only lasted six months before my dad was killed in a plane crash, so she never got her happy life with him.  She blamed my mother for that and then she transferred her hatred of my mother onto me.  That’s the way it’s been ever since,” Brenda said with a shrug.

Juliet shook her head.  “That’s awful.  She must treat you terribly.”

“She does her best,” Brenda said. “But I fully intend to get as far away from her as possible as soon as I graduate school.”

“Three more years?” Juliet groaned. “Bren, can you hold out that long?”

Brenda grinned. “A girl’s gotta do, what a girl’s gotta do.  Hey, so why aren’t your parents here today?” she asked Juliet. “Or these corporate shark brothers of yours that you’re always talking about?  I would have loved to meet them.”

“Well, let’s see . . . Mom and Dad are vacationing at our house in London and  my brother Jerry -- he’s the oldest -- well he just got married last month so he’s finishing up his honeymoon somewhere in the south of France on one of the yachts and won’t be home until tomorrow.  My brother Jax – his real name is Jasper, but no one calls him that and lives to tell about it -- he and his best friend Devon . . .”

“Devon?” Brenda interjected, smiling knowingly. “Would that be the same Devon that you’re always going on and on about?”

“Right,” Juliet murmured with a sheepish grin.  “Anyway, they just went into partnership on this amazing riverboat restaurant and they’re getting it ready for a grand opening on the fourth of July, and that leaves my brother Justin who’s too busy chasing after his Hollywood starlet girlfriend and wouldn’t be caught dead at this school watching his little sister sing in an amateur musical.”

 “Wow.  Your family sounds so interesting.”

“Twisted is the word we normally use amongst ourselves.”

“Well I was trying to be polite,” Brenda whispered.

            Juliet laughed. “So, do you have plans for the summer?”

            Brenda rolled her eyes. “Oh sure.  I plan to be living a nightmare at home back in New York watching my wicked stepmother play Cruella DeVille around the house while she desperately tries to land herself some rich husband.  I’ll probably just hang out at the beach all summer to avoid her.”

            “You don’t have a boyfriend?” Juliet asked, surprised.  A girl who looked like Brenda Barrett surely would have them lined up for blocks and blocks, maybe even for countries!

            “My stepmother keeps driving any potential ones away.  I think that she wants to make sure I have no dates so that I won’t be tempted to get married before I’m 25.”

            “What happens if you get married before you’re 25?”

            “Well I get some money my father left for me.  Enough that I could be financially free of her for good, I think,” Brenda explained.

            “Must be tempting,” Juliet said.

            “Oh I don’t want to get married.  And I’m not desperate enough to do it just to get my money. . . at least I don’t think I am.  I just don’t want Iris breathing down my neck all the time and doing anything in her power to make me miserable.”

            Juliet was silent for a moment as she had an idea.  “Brenda, how would you like to spend the entire summer with me at my house?” she offered.           

            Brenda looked shocked. “Your house?  As in New Orleans?  As in the mansion on St. Charles Avenue?” 

St. Charles Avenue in New Orleans was like New York’s Central Park West and California’s Beverly Hills.  It put the L in loaded, the R in rich and the S in swank.

            “Yes.  Come on it’ll be a blast! It can be like a real vacation for you, free of charge.  Our house is on top of this beautiful hill in the Garden District and it was designed after the Oak Alley place on River Road.  We have plenty of room -- the house is huge.  It’s so huge that Justin and Jax each have wings of their very own. We have plenty of extra bedrooms. Plus my mom throws lots -- and I do mean lots --  of incredible parties all the time, you can meet tons of people . . .”

            “What about your other brother? What was his name again? He doesn’t live in the mansion with you guys?”

            “Who Jerry?  Well, since he got married he moved into the guesthouse on the property right by the foot of the hill.  His wife kept getting lost in the main house.”

            “Lost?  In a house?”

Juliet shrugged.  “It’s big.”

“Must be. Sounds like you have a lot of land too,” Brenda murmured.

            “Oh yes. Acres and acres,” Juliet said as if it were irrelevant. “Come on, say yes! You’ll be in the lap of luxury and it’ll be such a relief to have someone to band with me against my brothers. We’ll have so much fun!  You can meet my family – they’ll just love you!  We can go shopping, have pool parties and barbecues, and with my brothers around, you’ll never be bored, I promise you that. And did I mention that our butler is a hoot? And we’ve got the best cook in all of New Orleans. His name is Vince and his wife Sherra is a fortune teller . . .”

            Brenda was chewing on her lower lip. She really wanted to go!   Suddenly she frowned though.  “Oh I can’t,” she groaned.  “I know my stepmother and she’ll just find a way to screw this up for me.  She’s completely opposed to anything that might bring me the slightest amount of joy or  - God forbid - put me in contact with men.  Why do you think she sent me to this all-female music college in the sleepy community of Lake Charles?  Trust me, she’s going to make it impossible for me to go with you.  She’ll probably use that lame threat about sending me to the nunnery again.”

            “If she’s that mean and unreasonable we just won’t tell her the truth,” Juliet decided.

            Brenda rose a perfect eyebrow. “Now, that might work,” she agreed with a conspiratorial smile. “We’ll just spin an elaborate tale.”

            “Yes we are rather good at that sort of thing.  Let’s tell her you got abducted by aliens.  That excuse is gaining in popularity these days, you know,” Juliet suggested with a little laugh as she got up from the bed, and began to take items from her dresser and pack them up into her expensive Italian leather suitcases.

             “Oh she would just hop on her broomstick and follow me into outer space if she had to, just to make sure I was adequately miserable.  I’m telling you Julie, I would rather go back and eat ten plates of those pork chops than go home this summer.”

            “You’re not going home, Brenda.  I’ve already told you that.  All we have to do is come up with an excuse to give your dreadful stepmother, that’s all, and I think I just came up with a brilliant idea!” she said stopping what she was doing and turning to Brenda. “Why don’t you tell her you’ve signed up for the summer session theater workshop?  Then she’ll think you’re here in Lake Charles at school for the whole summer, surrounded by nothing but schoolwork, female teachers and female students.  That ought to convince her that you’ll have an awful summer.”

            “And if she thinks I’ll be having an awful summer she’ll leave me alone,” Brenda murmured liking this particular fib.

            “But what if she gets the notion to come to school to see you?”

“Oh we don’t have to worry about that.  She only came today because she was trying to scope out the rich divorcees.  She won’t show up here again until the next big school function that includes men.”

“Well then she’ll never know a thing, will she?” Juliet said with a smile.

“Not likely,” Brenda agreed enthusiastically and then she raised her hands in the air as if she had scored a touchdown. “New Orleans here I come! So when do we leave?” she asked with the excited impatience of a 12 year old.

“The limo is coming to get me on Wednesday,” Juliet told her.

Brenda suddenly glanced at her friend. “Wow, that’s only three days away. Shouldn’t you call your parents or your brothers or somebody and let them know you’re taking somebody home with you for three months?”

Juliet shrugged. “Oh why do that? They love surprises,” she said.

“But . .uh . . .”

“Don’t worry about it,” Juliet assured her as she dragged Brenda by the arm and they left the dorm room to go get a decent meal at the diner two blocks away and make plans for their summer.

Chapter  2

Two days later, on a hot Tuesday afternoon, Iris and her daughter Ava waltzed along Fifth Avenue on their way to Saks.   Ava busied herself grumbling about the heat and gazing into store windows while Iris wore a scowl on her pinched, pale face as the workings of her mind got her all riled up.  That damnable hazel eyed brat!   Oh, how Iris detested her. That the child should be more beautiful than a Hawaiian sunset only added to Iris’ ire. Such a waste! Those goddess-like looks to be given to that wretched girl while her own child was merely average looking at best. 

At age 26 Ava was unwed with not even so much as a significant male acquaintance much less a boyfriend, while Brenda, if Iris would have allowed it, would have had to fight off the male contingent with body armor.  It was intolerable to Iris that the rotten girl should have such stunning looks and men clamoring for her while her own Ava looked quite ordinary and had to work very hard to gain the attentions of men.  Why couldn’t Ava have truly been Harlan Barrett’s child?  Why couldn’t she have inherited his fire, his playfulness, his zest for life and love.  Why couldn’t she have had similar looks and personality as the vile raven-haired child he had truly sired? 

With an angry sigh Iris forced herself to dismiss grating thoughts of Brenda from her mind.  It was too wasteful to spare any thoughts on that cheeky, defiant wastrel.  What Iris had to concentrate on was planning a way to get Ava married.  For this summer, Iris was determined to attach her daughter to a man of dashing looks, perfect physique, charm wit and great wealth.  Perusing the society pages over the last few months had given her the man she sought:  Jasper Jacks.  To say he was extraordinarily handsome was an understatement. He also had the other qualifications she required of her prospective son-in-law including the immense wealth, a well respected family and a high social ranking. Added plusses were his young age and his family name, Jacks.  World renowned for their massive family fortune, business prowess, generosity and unconventionality, the Jackses were a family any woman would sell her soul to marry into.

Yes, Iris thought with a smile.  Japser Jacks was the perfect catch and the plans were already in motion to allow him and Ava to cross paths very soon.

Chapter 3

“Julie, are you absolutely sure about this?” Brenda was saying late Wednesday morning as she tossed her remaining clothing into a suitcase, getting her final packing done.

“Positive,” Juliet replied.  “Just pack.  It’s all been settled.”

“Settled?  So you told your parents I’m coming then?”

“Ahhh . . no.  But don’t worry about it.  Trust me.”

“You keep saying that.  It makes me nervous,” Brenda said.

Juliet just laughed. “Not to worry.  I’m just bringing a friend home.  You should have seen what my brother Jax brought home last summer.”

Brenda was instantly curious. “What did he bring home?”

“A harem!  I kid you not.  He brought home a harem of women from the Middle East.  Vince was running himself ragged cooking enough food for those fifteen women.  And poor Niles, he’s our butler, well he was just beside himself trying to serve them all.”

“Fifteen women? Your brother sounds very wild,” Brenda murmured already having quite an interest in meeting this particular brother. Wildness tended to attract Brenda as she was fairly wild herself.

Juliet laughed. “Well he definitely has his moments.  Actually, many such moments.  My mom is always saying that out of all of us Jax is the one who inherited the untamed spirit of her pirate ancestors.  She swears her ancestry traces back to the famous pirate John Lafitte-- none of us believe her of course.  But, to her credit, my mother didn’t even bat an eyelash when Jax brought the harem home.  She just laughed and said she was thankful it wasn’t a truckload of elephants from Tanzania.”

Brenda shook her head in amazement and concluded that Juliet’s family was nuts.

“So how did it go when you told your stepmother about taking summer classes?” Juliet asked. “Was she suspicious at all?”

“It was very strange,” Brenda murmured.  “I told her about my plans for the summer, I mean I had barely gotten out the words and she was there muttering that it made no difference to her.  She sounded really distracted and like she just wanted to get me off the phone.  So I hung up and that was the end of that.  It couldn’t possibly have been any easier.”

Juliet gave her friend a surprised glance.  “Well that’s wonderful! The gods are smiling down on you, Brenda Barrett.  I think we should nick name you Lucky Brenda -- oh, and speaking of nick names, my broothers have this annoying little habit of giving everyone one.  So if they come up with one for you, don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

“What nickname did they give you?” Brenda asked.

“Pesticide.”

“What?!” Brenda laughed.

“Pest for short.  Justin’s nickname is Mozart – you’ll understand that once you meet him.  Jax, they call him the heartbreaker.  You’ll definitely understand that one the minute you lay eyes on him.  Jerry has no nickname because he’s the oldest and the one who gave us all of ours.  I wonder what nickname they’ll come up with for you?” Juliet murmured.  Then they heard a horn blowing outside and Juliet peered through the window and saw the limousine.  “Come on, Brenda, the limo’s here.”

            Brenda grabbed her bags as she followed Juliet downstairs to the waiting black limousine.

            *                      *                      *                      *                      *                      *

            They arrived at the Jacks mansion two hours and twenty-five minutes later and Brenda’s jaw dropped as the limo climbed up a massive, winding blue-brick driveway.  The driveway was attractively boarded on both sides by weeping willow trees, blooming white azalea bushes, sculpted lawns and hedges and a series of stunning European design water fountains.  Each water fountain was set around a statue of a different Greek mythology figure.

            As they drove towards the ten-car garage, Juliet pointed out the stables, the tennis court and one of the in-ground swimming pools complete with redwood deck and expensive patio furniture.  She then pointed out the guest house where her brother Jerry and his wife lived -- it was the size of a normal, large  4 bedroom home, but it was dwarfed in comparison to the elegant French Colonial mansion with it’s white roman columns and lovely white wrought iron terraces which wrapped around the entire vast length of the house.  It was as if every room in the house opened up to either a terrace or a patio.

            Brenda’s hazel eyes were wide with wonder as she tried to absorb everything.  When they reached the house there were two large catering trucks from Emeril’s Restaurant unloading loads of food and tables.

            Juliet gazed at the flurry of activity as the catering staff rushed to and fro.

            “What’s going on, Lionel?” she asked the chauffeur. 

             “Oh it’s just one of your mother’s famous impromptu parties, Miss Juliet.”

            “Oh! Splendid,” Juliet said, smiling.  Her mother’s parties were always the talk of the town.  “What’s the occasion for this one?”

            “I’m not sure. I believe she said that since she saw a six spotted ladybug on her window sill this morning that it was cause for celebration,” he said with a shrug as he opened the door for both she and Brenda and unloaded their luggage from the trunk.

            “Your mother gives parties because of . . . insect sightings?” Brenda whispered, feeling somewhat like Alice in Wonderland who was in a world far different from the real one.

            Juliet laughed.  “Are you kidding? My mother would give a party just to celebrate the sun coming up in the morning if the mood struck her.  She’s very sociable that way. But you’ll love it, Brenda. Everybody loves my mom’s parties.”

            Brenda nodded.  Standing in the driveway, she gazed around at the vast grounds in total and complete awe.  Never had she seen anything like this except on television.

            “Come on, let’s go inside and see who’s home,” Juliet said as she led Brenda through the elegant brass and glass front doors and inside.  The catering staff was buzzing around getting things ready while rich sounds of music floated from a large room down the hall to the right.  Brenda was in awe of this house.  They stepped down into a sunken living room with stunning white oak floors.  The living room itself was at least ten times the size of Brenda’s own living room at home.  Exquisite paintings of the French and English countryside hung on the walls.  A grand piano sat regally in the corner by the bay windows with their rose-colored stained glass etchings. Atop the piano was a huge vase of gorgeous peach colored roses and baby’s breath and as Brenda continued to look around she saw that fresh cut flowers were in every room.

            Suddenly there was the sound of rapid-fire chatter and a beautiful woman with short, stylish blonde hair entered the hallway accompanied by a portly man dressed in a white chef’s smock who was going over a menu with her.  The woman was the epitome of all that was elegance.  She wore a gold satin ball gown that was simply spectacular and on her hands were matching, elbow-length gloves.  She stopped, gave the chef some instructions and he veered off to the left through the swinging doors of the kitchen while the woman continued forward.  Upon seeing Juliet the woman beamed with delight.

            “Well, school’s out, summer’s begun and the pests are swarming!” she said happily as she walked over to Juliet and gave her a great big hug and a fond kiss on both cheeks.  Juliet’s mother had a pleasing, bubbly British accent much more pronounced than Juliet’s lilting Australian accent.

            “Hi Mom!” Juliet said.  “How was London?”

            “Oh it was smashing.  Simply smashing. We actually had some lovely weather and your father and I won the yacht race this year. Beat the pants off of the bloody Benedicts!” She gazed at Brenda who was shifting from leg to leg.  “Now where on earth have you put your manners, Juliet Jacks?  Aren’t you going to introduce me to this beautiful creature standing so nervously in front of my Renoir?”

            Brenda grinned and forced herself to stand still. 

            “Mom, this is my very best friend from school, Brenda Barrett.  Brenda, this is my mother, Lady Jane Jacks, please don’t hold it against me.”

            “Lovely to meet you Brenda,” Jane Jacks said clasping Brenda’s hand in greeting.

            “You too, Mrs. Jacks.  I absolutely love your home! It’s the most amazing thing I’ve ever seen.”

            “Why thank you, luv. I do my best keeping it in tip top shape what with my brood of golden haired hooligans trekking in and out of here day in and day out.”

            “Mom, I’ve invited Brenda to spend the summer with us,” Juliet announced. “That’s all right, isn’t it?”

            Brenda held her breath as she watched Lady Jane’s reaction.

            “Well of course it’s all right.  In fact, I think it’s a splendid idea!” Jane said enthusiastically and with such ease and sincerity that it knocked Brenda’s socks off.  “You’ll help us to even things out around here, Brenda.  There are far too many men under this roof, you know,” Jane chuckled.

            Brenda was delighted and relieved. She could stay!

            “Niles, please take the girl’s belongings upstairs,” Lady Jane instructed the posh looking, sandy-haired butler.

            “Right o’ Madame,” he said taking the bags with Lionel helping him.

            “That’s Niles, Bren.  He’s our butler and he never smiles but we love him anyway,” Juliet teased as Niles nodded at Brenda.

            “Welcome, Miss Barrett.  I’m sure you will have a most enjoyable stay,” he promised her as he disappeared up one of three gorgeous spiral staircases with Lionel directly behind him.

            “Come on, I want to introduce you to everybody,” Juliet said, grabbing hold of Brenda’s arm.

            “Oh, no you don’t,” Lady Jane said holding each girl by the arm.  “You can do that later, luv.  Right now I need you girls to go and change for the party.  Now, tonight’s soiree is a Phantom of the Opera Masquerade ball theme so you young ladies will have to get into costume or else I’ll bar you from the ballroom.  Now run along and get ready.  I’ve got to find Justin.  That boy has gone and run off with half of my bloody orchestra again!” she said as she scurried away down the long marble tiled hallways.

            Brenda turned to Juliet and laughed. “I love your mom! She’s such a riot!”

            “Wait until you meet my dad,” Juliet warned.

            “What did your mom mean about your brother running off with half of her orchestra?” Brenda wondered aloud as they mounted the stairs.

            “Justin is a musical genius of sorts.  He’s a composer, a singer, and a magnificent pianist,” Juliet explained.  “That’s why Jerry nicknamed him Mozart. He’s actually working on a full length musical at the moment in his spare time away from the office.  But you’ll meet him and the others soon enough.  Come on, lets go get ready for the party before my Mom sees us standing here chit chatting instead of picking out our costumes.”

            “I am going to love it here!” Brenda said as they raced up the stairs laughing.  She had no idea how true that statement would prove to be and how attached to this Jacks family she was destined to become.

            *                      *                      *                      *                      *

            Jax had just walked into the house when his mother cornered him.

            “Jax, where on earth has your father disappeared to?  The guests will be coming shortly.  Honestly, I need to invest in a leash for that man,” Jane said in exasperation.  Then she looked at Jax who wore snug fitting black pants, a black silk shirt, a black cape and a black velvet mask which only served to vividly highlight the stunning beauty of his eyes – eyes that were the varying shades of blue of the ever changing ocean. “My but don’t you look smashing,” she said with a grin. “Be careful you don’t steal the spotlight away from your brother the Phantom.”

            He grinned back at her.  “Well you look pretty smashing yourself there, mother of mine.  As to that unbalanced man commonly known as my father, I just passed him in the garage.  He’s got Niles lugging in some microphones and speakers.  Is there going to be a performance tonight?” Jax asked as he grabbed a shrimp cocktail from a pretty waitress passing by.

            “Yes, but, oh Lord help us, I hope your father doesn’t think he’s the entertainment!  If I’ve got to listen to that man sing ‘Put On A Happy Face’ one more time I think I’ll have to file for divorce.”

            Jax laughed. “Well then you’d better call your lawyer, because I heard Dad practicing his scales.”

            “Oh I’ve got to talk some sense into him,” Lady Jane said turning to leave.

            “Is the pest home?” Jax asked as his mother zipped towards the kitchen.

            “Yes, and she’s brought a friend. Such a stunning little thing.  I must say, I really like her. She’s got lots of good old moxy.”

            Jax rolled his eyes. “Moxy is overrated.”

            “Nonsense. You can never have enough.”

            “So the pest brought home another pest, huh? Just what we need.”

            “Behave yourself, Jasper.  If you’re not nice to her I’ll chain you back up in the attic where we found you.”

            Jax grinned.  His mother was such a card.

            “That’s all right.  As long as you chain me up with that waitress over there,” he said eyeing the pretty waitress from whose tray he had swiped the shrimp.

            “You’re an incorrigible flirt, Jasper Jacks,” his mother declared.  “Just like your great, great, great grandfather.”

            “Oh right. The alleged pirate,” Jax said.

            “Alleged my foot! I have no idea why you offspring of mine refuse to believe me --He was a pirate I tell you, a descendant of John Lafitte. And you are his spitting image from your perfect face to your untamed heart to your wanderlust that carries you to all ends of the earth.”

“Whatever you say, Mom.”

His mother laughed.  “Listen darling, I’ve got to go check on the real entertainment and then go hunt down your father and bind him with a chain. Please do me a favor and restrain your brother if he tries to abduct my orchestra again,” Jane begged as she vanished behind the swinging doors of the kitchen, a short cut to the family room.

            Jax was about to approach the waitress who was eyeing him as much as he was eyeing her, when all of a sudden his eyes were ambushed by an unexpected vision of impossible perfection that was making her way down the center staircase.  Her hair was dark like a raven’s wing, but glossy like black diamonds scattered on the beach.  She wore a deep blue velvet gown that clung to a body that could easily get a man arrested.  She was making her way down the stairs way too fast in those high heels, but with a reckless, carefree abandon that was extremely attractive even though all he kept thinking was that she was going to break her pretty little neck.  He stared at her as she picked up the hem of her dress, and laughing, raced across the hall towards the ballroom with his sister Juliet, dressed in a stunning silver satin gown, following but losing the race because she was being far more careful in her heels than her dark haired friend.

            Jax’s captivated gaze was interrupted by his sister-in-law, Joanna’s, approach.

            “Jax, have you seen any of the gods?” she asked him, sounding out of breath.

            Jax tore his eyes away from the vision that was carrying on with his sister and gave his attention to his brother’s wife.  “The . . .gods?” he repeated, looking at her as if she had lost her mind.

            “Yes.  Your mother hired the cast of Gods & Goddesses to perform tonight and I have no idea which room they’re using to change.  I have to find Neptune because his costume just arrived and  . . oh, this house is just so big!” she said looking frazzled.

            “Well I haven’t seen Neptune, but I think perhaps I just saw my own personal Venus,” Jax murmured as his eyes went back to where Juliet and the dark haired perfect looking thing were laughing their heads off about something.

            Joanna followed his gaze and then grinned. “Yes, she’s ridiculously pretty isn’t she?  Unfortunately for you, Jax, she is not the entertainment for tonight and is off limits to you period.  That’s Julie’s friend Brenda, from school.  Your mom says she’ll be spending the summer here.”

            Jax just nodded with a look of interest flashing in his oceanic blue eyes.

            “Jax, I’ve got to find the gods!” Joanna insisted.  “Neptune can’t go on without his crown and...” she stared at the item in her hand, “this thing --” she said  gesturing at the golden trident she was holding. She turned to go in search of the sea god, but then paused, turning back to her brother-in-law. “By the way, Jax, have you seen Jerry?”

            “Why are all you women suddenly looking for your husbands?” Jax asked. “And why do you all think that I would know where to find them?  Am I the gatekeeper?”

            “Oh, Jax stop being so irritable just because Amber Stanton will be coming to the party,” Joanna teased, batting her eyelashes profusely as she took off.

            Jax shook his head. Amber was coming? God, he’d better find a good place to bloody well hide.  Memories of his 24th birthday celebration 2 months ago and Amber’s hot pursuit of him gave him a headache.  His gaze slowly found itself back on the young Venus who now had a name --  Brenda. The grandfather clock chimed and Brenda turned to gaze at it and in doing so, saw him.  She seemed momentarily taken aback and in fact, nearly tripped. 

            Jax smiled, quite arrogantly pleased with his effect on her and then walked towards the door just as Justin was coming inside.

            “Don’t go near the orchestra, Mozart,” he warned his younger brother.

            “All right, all right. Hey, have you seen Julie?” Justin said.

            “She’s hanging around by the ballroom entrance with . . . Brenda,” he said.

            Justin raised a blonde eyebrow. “Oh yes, Brenda.  Have you seen that girl?”

            “Yes.”

            “And you’re still standing?” Justin laughed. “I’m impressed.  She got me and Jer to both fall backwards on the couch.”

            “Well you two are well known weaklings, I am not.  Besides beautiful women are a dime a dozen,” Jax dismissed.

            “Oh please, don’t even try to tell me you weren’t affected when you saw her,” Justin said just as they were interrupted by the arrival of their father who enlisted them in aiding him sneaking the audio equipment into the ballroom

            Brenda stood there not hearing a word that Juliet was gabbing about. She only heard the sound of her own heart hammering away in her chest as the blond haired man with the mask over his eyes approached them along with Justin and Juliet’s dad, who were also both in costume.

            “Why girls!” John Jacks said, grinning, his stunning blue eyes sparkling. “Don’t you both look as scrumptious as Vince’s apple tarts.  Now cover for us!”

            “Oh dad, we can’t do that.  We’ve got to be on Mom’s side. There are too many men in this house as it is,” Juliet echoed her mother’s favorite mantra just as Jax grabbed her and gave her a hug and kissed her cheek.

            “Welcome home Pest,” he said smiling at his sister.

            “Jax!” she said hugging him tightly. “Where have you been, you louse? I’ve been looking everywhere for you ever since I got here,” she told him.

            “Sorry, I was with Devon overseeing the renovations on the riverboat.”

            “He’s coming isn’t he?” Juliet asked.

            “In a little while,” Jax affirmed.

            Brenda nudged Juliet.

            “Oh Jax, this is my dear friend Brenda Barrett.  Brenda, this is my remaining brother, Jax, the one that’s always the hardest to track down. Brenda’s staying here for the summer,” Juliet informed him.

            “Hi,” Brenda said extending her hand to him, trying to stay cool and not lose her sense of balance at the sight of him as she had done only moments before. He was so handsome he made her dizzy just looking at him!

            He slipped his hand into hers and they both were slightly taken aback by the strange tingling they felt invade their bodies at the moment of physical contact.

            “Nice to meet you, Brenda,” Jax said pulling his hand away slowly.

            “You too,” she said trying to remain calm.  But oh God, he was the most perfect looking man she had ever seen in her life!  Justin and Jerry were both very attractive too, but Jax . . . he was astonishing. He was heartbreaking.  And suddenly she realized why ‘heartbreaker’ was the nickname they had given to him.  It made her feel a little better about tripping at the sight of him.  He was worth tripping over, she decided and then she looked away from him momentarily, thinking that she was staring at him far too much for it to be polite.

            “Pest, I need you for a sec,” Justin said as he spirited Juliet away from them.

            Alone with Jax,  Brenda was annoyed to find herself at a loss for words.  Oh for God’s sake he was only a man!

            “I like your costume,” she blurted out, her eyes locked on the remarkable looking, small gold medallion he wore around his neck so as to avoid contact with those gorgeous blue eyes of his. “Are you the phantom?”

            “No, that would be Justin’s role tonight,” Jax told her as he gazed at her. He thought her eyes were absolutely bewitching. A kaleidoscope of very dark greens and golds that swirled together to create a magnificent hazel and glittered like jewels even in the dim lighting of the ballroom. It put him in mind of the Lord Byron poem that went  ‘She walks in beauty, like the night /Of cloudless climes and starry skies; /And all that's best of dark and bright/ Meet in her aspect and her eyes.’ What was this? He was waxing poetic on account of this girl? He must be drunk, he realized, until he remembered he hadn’t had anything to drink at all.

            “Did you really bring a harem home last summer?” she asked him, bringing him out of his nonsensical thoughts.

            “My sister talks too much.” he said. 

Like his brothers and his sister, Jax had a pleasing Australian accent.  Very cultivated, slightly Americanized and highly pleasing to the ear.  His father had a much heavier Aussie accent that was delightful, and his mother and the butler Niles had the British accents.

            “Well did you really do it?” Brenda persisted.

            “Of course I did.”

            “Why?” she asked.

            “Are you always this inquisitive with people you barely know?” he wanted to know.

            “Yes. So why did you bring home a harem?” she repeated.

            “Because,” he shrugged, “they all fit in the plane.”

            Brenda laughed.  That was the kind of answer she might have given to such a question.

            “Where were they from?” she asked.

            “Baghdad,” he responded.

            “All fifteen of them?”

            He just smiled at her.

            “Are you really such a high maintenance lover that you need 15 women to occupy you?” she asked him.

            He raised an eyebrow. “What exactly is it that you think I did with them?” he asked her.

            She swallowed.  “Umm . . . .” 

            “And what exactly would a virginal school girl like you know about a high maintenance lover?” he added.

            “I’m not a girl,” she informed him, sensitive to this child thing. “I’m 19 years old.”

            “Oh. 19.  Yes, truly ancient.” he murmured.

            “I’m not a girl,” she repeated more firmly.

            “Well I’m sure I got the virginal part right,” he said.

            “Why is it that men always find a way to somehow turn a conversation towards sex?” she asked him with a genuine curiosity that made him smile a little.

            “You say that as if you’ve had this vast experience with men which I suspect is not the case.  And I wasn’t trying to turn the conversation towards the sexual at all,” he paused, “unless of course you want me to in which case I’ll be happy to oblige you.”

“No! I really . . .that’s okay.”

He grinned.  “You know I can see the obvious innocence behind that brassy, know-it-all, seen-it-all, done-it-all  rather intoxicating exterior of yours.  You run a good game but you can’t fool me.”

            She wasn’t sure whether he’d just insulted her or complimented her. “I’m not trying to fool anybody.  And what’s wrong with my exterior?” she asked frowning as she checked to see if her dress was crinkled or otherwise messed up.

            His smile was slow and sexy.  “Not a damn thing, actually.  Don’t take me so literally,” he said and she felt herself blush as his blue eyes took in every possible inch of her with a deliberate slowness that annoyed and thrilled her at the same time.  “Now you see that?  The way you’re blushing now, well that tells me that you are indeed eligible to wear white at your wedding.  I’ll bet you’ve never even been kissed.”

            She gasped. “Yes I have!”

            “I’m not talking about by your mother.”

            She could not stop her laughter.  His wit was rapid-fire, much like her own and it was fun trying to keep up with him.

            “Okay, that was very funny,” she confessed, still laughing a little, “but the truth is that you don’t know anything about me. And you certainly don’t know whose lips have been kissing mine,” she finished, trying to act far more worldly than she was.

            “Well I know that mine haven’t. A loss for us both, I’m sure,” he said gazing distractedly at her lips. “Moreso for you, though, I think,” he added with a wink.

            Brenda was momentarily speechless.  She couldn’t think of a comeback for that one, just yet.  All she could think about was that he was probably right. She remembered the awkward kisses she’d gotten from the few men who hadn’t been run off by her stepmother.  There was Randy Jones who’s peck on her lips had been very forgettable, there was Louis McEvoy who’s sloppy, wet kiss had practically given her nightmares and then there was Tommy Aaron who had tried to stick his tongue in her mouth and had sent her screaming down the street in horror.  If Jax only knew how right he was about her inexperience he would have a good laugh.

            “Have I left the young goddess speechless?” he asked, quirking a sexy blonde eyebrow.

            Goddess?  He was calling her a goddess?  Her mind was spinning

“No,” she said quickly, “No, I just . . . I was wondering  . . .” Oh what the heck was she going to say?  She had to think of something clever and mature which wouldn’t give away her total lack of experience on this subject and bore him into ending their conversation.

            As she stalled and grasped for some witty comment, she didn’t realize just how intently he was gazing at her as if taking a mental photograph of her in his mind.  He was annoyed to have to admit to himself that this overly inqusitive19 year old girl with the delightful personality, was unquestionably the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.  Her dark hair was swept up with spiraling tendrils as bangs and the tendrils kept falling gently into her eyes.   Jax kept removing them which seemed a nuisance to him but was actually quite pleasant for her, although she tried to act as annoyed as he was by her misbehaving hair.

            He was flirting with her, she finally realized in delight. In fact, he had been flirting with her right from the start, hadn’t he?

            “You’re flirting with me!” she said, not realizing that she was speaking her excited thoughts out loud.

            Jax seemed totally unfazed by her happy little accusation.  “So?” he said.

            She laughed.  “Well what makes you think you can do that?” she asked him, feeling her confidence returning.

            “I’m afraid I don’t usually wait for permission,” he told her with a look that would have made her swoon had she been the frilly, swooning type like so many of the southern belles that Jax knew.  He was glad to see that she was no swooner. 

            She laughed again.  “Oh  I see.  So you think you’re that good at it then?” she asked next.

            “So I’ve been told.”

            “By who?  Your mother?” she giggled.

            Now it was his turn to laugh.  “Touché,” he said softly.  His mother was right about Brenda’s moxy, he decided.  She had more than her share of it and was keeping up with him very well.  “And,” he responded, “as a matter of fact, yes my mother has told me that.  But if I had any doubts about my flirting ability they would have all been put to rest by that beautiful smile of yours, which I do believe I’m responsible for.  I mean, you are practically glowing.”

            Glowing?  She was??

Her hazel eyes glittered in embarrassed surprise.  “I am not! And I’d like to know what makes you think I even want you to flirt with me? What makes you think I even like it?”

            His wicked little smile zapped her unprepared heart and she felt a bit weak in the knees.  He leaned closer to her and she thought she would die of panic as his lips moved towards her.  They did not go near her lips however, but stopped just inches from her ear.

  “Don’t you?” he whispered and then with a suggestive raise of his blonde eyebrows he proceeded to walk away from her, leaving her standing there with a wildly racing heart, flushed, golden skin and a profound feeling of disappointment that he had not kissed her.  She also felt like a complete idiot for thinking he was ever going to kiss her in the first place.

            Now she really knew why they called him the heartbreaker.  Not only was he wickedly handsome enough to make a woman lose all of her good sense, but his charm was that of a master spell-weaver to be sure.

“Okay,” she said to herself, taking a deep breath as she watched him walk away, “Round one definitely goes to you, Jax,” she conceded, wishing her heart would slow down already and her breathing would return to normal. What on earth had this man done to her in the space of their ten minute conversation that had her becoming unglued like this? It was awful! No, it was wonderful! No it was . . .oh, what was it?! She hoped she would never see him again, she decided, only to decide two seconds later what a lie that was.

Jax watched her as she paced in a cute little circle looking delightfully flustered. He was certain that he had scared her to death and she would now avoid him like the plague for the rest of her stay.

            How wrong he was.

Chapter 4       

            The party was a rousing success and Brenda had never met so many elegant people, let alone so many attentive men, in one night in her entire life.  By midnight she was dizzy from all of the dancing and all of the introductions and many of the  people she had met were now just a blur of faces who’s names she had found impossible to remember.  One she could not forget, however, was Amber Stanton who had been glued to Jax’s side ever since her arrival over three hours ago. She was as southern a belle as ever there was with a heavy accent, pretty auburn hair done in elegant spiral curls, wide light green eyes and a dash of red freckles across her nose.  Brenda hated her on the spot.

Why even now, there was Amber fawning all over Jax and laughing her head of rock hard red curls off.  Was that the kind of woman Jax was attracted to? Yuck!

            Brenda suddenly felt someone tap her on the shoulder.  She turned around to find a familiar looking man with auburn hair who’s name eluded her.  But she was sure she had danced with him.

            “Hello, Brenda.  Why are you hiding here behind this statue of Aristotle?” he asked.

            Brenda gazed at him, trying to put a name to the face to no avail.  “Oh, I’m just taking a breather,” she explained.

            He smiled, nodding.  “That’s certainly understandable.  I think every man in this room has danced with you at least twice.”

            Every man except Julie’s brother Jax, she thought as her hazel eyes casually moved back towards where Jax and the laughing Amber were situated.  She soon realized that it wasn’t just Amber who was following after Jax like a puppy dog, it was a clique of them actually – elegant looking full bodied women with their hair full of curls and their arms dripping with jewels.  They hovered around Jax and his friend Devon like vultures.  Brenda’s eyes narrowed in annoyance.

            “If you’re really tired you should be off your feet,” the man with no name said to her as without waiting for a response, he took her arm and led her over to one of the velvet chaise lounges.  “Wait here and I’ll get you some champagne,” he offered as he went across to the bar area.

            Brenda smiled.  Champagne?  He must think she was older than her age, she realized laughing to herself.  Finally, she would taste her first champagne.  No sooner had Mr. No name left her, however, than a pack of men descended upon her asking for a dance, offering her refreshment, complimenting her dress, her eyes, her hair, the golden hue of her skin, babbling like brooks so that she could not understand any one of them.  She looked around to try to find where Jax and his female fan club had moved off to, but they had disappeared into the sea of dancing bodies as the orchestra played a sizzling tango. She looked for Juliet and couldn’t find her either.  A man pushed his way through the crowd of admirers surrounding her. 

            “Here we are.  One glass of champagne for the beautiful young lady,” no-name said as he handed her the glass.

            Brenda eagerly accepted it when all at once a hand from behind and above her took the glass out of her hand.

            “Bad girl,” a sexy, familiar voice whispered into her ear.  “You know you’re not technically old enough to drink that.”

            She felt her whole body tingle at his nearness and her heart began to race. Brenda stood up, turned around and saw Jax, who had his gaggle of women in tow.  She crooked her finger at him, requesting he come a little closer. He leaned forward and she tip toed to whisper to him “Please don’t embarrass me in front of Mr. No name over here, and these women, by telling everybody how old I am,” she asked of him. “They think I’m older.”

            He smiled that sexy warlock smile of his and she felt her heart skip a beat.

            “Mr. No name?” he asked laughing softly.  And then he saw his neighbor, Dr. Chad Stanton, watching the two of them carefully.  “Oh, are you referring to Chad?” Jax asked.

            “Is that his name?” Brenda whispered.

            “Yes.  Dr. Chad Stanton.  He’s Amber’s brother.  You’ve met her, haven’t you?”

            “Yes,” Brenda said unenthusiastically.  “Are you going to embarrass me Jax?” she repeated.

            “You’re too young to drink this.”

            “That’s ridiculous. And anyway I was only going to taste it.”

            “I’m sure the good Dr. Chad would like that very much.”

            “What are you talking about?” she whispered as everyone around them regarded them with much curiosity and the women who were tailing Jax like moths on a lamp regarded Brenda with much distaste.  The physical chemistry was flowing wildly between them and it was impossible not to notice it.

            “Brenda, you have no idea what drinking champagne will do to you.  You’ve clearly never had any before and it could affect you in a number of ways, one of which is to make you very, shall we say, compliant.”

            “Don’t be ridiculous. And how do you know I’ve never had champagne before?”

            “Perhaps by the way you went for it like a kid breaking into the cookie jar. Would you like to continue this conversation out on the dance floor?  That is, if you even know how to dance.”

            “Of course I know how to dance.”

            “Well then, let’s go,” he said sliding his hand into hers and ignoring the sparks he felt at the contact as he led her through the energetic crowd and onto the dance floor where everyone was doing a bang up tango. 

Brenda froze.  Tango? She didn’t know how to do the tango! Oh her and her big mouth!

            Jax regarded her with amused eyes.  “You’re looking a little pale, my young Venus,” he said as he led her to the very center of the floor.

            “Here?” she panicked. “Why are we stopping here? Let’s go to that corner over there, please.”

            “And hide your amazing dancing feet from everyone? I think not.”

            She wanted to kill him!  “I . . .I .  .”she stammered.

            “You what?  You can’t dance?”

            “Of course I can dance!”

            “Then what’s the problem?”

            Brenda sighed.  “Look, I can dance, all right?  Just not to a Tango.  I’ve never done that before.”

            “Well you should have thought of that before you dragged me out here,” he murmured, brushing his fingertips beneath her chin and liking the way he felt her quiver beneath his touch. 

            “Before I  dragged you out here?” she asked incredulously.

            He laughed softly in response.

“Jax, I can’t tango.  Can we please go sit down now?” she pleaded taking his hand in an attempt to drag him off of the dance floor.

            “I’ll show you how,” he told her. “It’s not really difficult.  Even Arnold Schwarzeneggar learned how to do it in one of his movies.”

            “Well why don’t you dance with him then?”

            He grinned. “He’s not available.  But you are,” he said, pulling her into his arms.

            “No, I can’t.  I really can’t do this,” she shook her head mortified to think of herself trying to tango and stepping all over his feet, winding up on her backside and having his gaggle of women laughing at her. “I can’t do this.  Just let me go okay?” she said.

            He let go of her hand. “That’s too bad,” he said, holding her captive with those ocean blue eyes of his.  “I thought you were as impetuous as I was.”

            “I am, but . . .”

            “Well then let’s go.  Take a chance, little goddess.  You might actually enjoy yourself,” he told her with a sly grin. 

            She swallowed. “You just want me to make a fool of myself,” she accused.

            “Maybe,” he conceded.  “Or, maybe I just want a reason to feel you close against me . . .” he said with a seductive gaze teasingly meant to elicit some reaction from her.

            She thought she would drop dead on the spot and she knew she was blushing even through her tan.  Why did his words affect her this way?  She knew he was only teasing and yet . . .

            He took her hand in his again. “Come on, Brenda. It’s not major surgery; it’s just the tango.  You’ll like it, you’ll see.”

            She looked at him, still speechless from what he had said before about wanting a reason to be close to her.  Then she looked around at the others who were tangoing. God, she was going to make a fool of herself, all right.  But it might be worth it to be that close to him for a little while.

            She moved into his arms. He felt and smelled like heaven to her. “If you step on my foot on purpose, I’ll probably have to kick you,” she warned him, feeling all jittery. Must she always become such a bungling jangle of hormones and nerves in this man’s presence? And why on God’s green earth was everyone staring at them?

            “Just relax,” he told her.  The seductive quality of his voice made her want to melt.  He held one of her hands in his while the other hand was snugly about her waist holding her body closely to his. She prayed she would not pass out but her pulse was beating so fast she had no idea what would happen to her. “Breathe” she heard him saying. “Brenda, you have to breathe, I really don’t want to be dancing with a corpse, if you don’t mind.”

            She looked up at him and then realizing she had been holding her breath, she let it out with a laugh.  “Sorry,” she said, still laughing.

            He twirled her around several times and to her shock she didn’t fall once, although she did feel slightly dizzy. Whether it was from the fast paced, sensual movements of the dancing or being so close to one so devastatingly attractive, she could not tell.

            “Oh, that was nice,” she said smiling.

“Wasn’t it though?” That smile of hers was something else, he thought as he tried not to let it get to him.  Far from making a fool out of herself, she picked up on the movement of the tango with amazing ease and was dipping and twirling with the best of them in no time.  Her pretty laughter escaped her lips, giving away how much fun she was having.

John and Janet passed them in mid-twirl and John shouted out “Everybody mambo! Mambo, mambo, mam-bo!”

Brenda’s eyes flew open as she looked at Jax and the music changed to a very upbeat Latin flavor. 

“Mambo?” she moaned.  She was just getting the hang of this tango thing for goodness sake!

Jax just flashed her a grin and took her in his arms spinning her around the floor until she was laughing and breathless, and getting her into the mambo swing within seconds.

Juliet stood with Devon and Justin, watching Jax and Brenda in fascination.

“She’s going to get him,” Justin predicted.

“No way,” Devon said laughing.

“My money’s on Brenda,” Juliet said taking out her purse.

Niles floated by with the desert cart and stopped in front of them. “Are we taking bets on whether Miss Brenda can give Master Jax a run for his money?” he asked.

“Yep,” Justin said.  “You in Niles?”

“Fifty dollars on the young lady,” Niles said.

Jerry ventured by and saw what was going on. “My money is on the heartbreaker.  Put me in for $200.”

His wife looked at him in shock. “Jerry! You guys are betting on whether Jax and Brenda are going to . . . get together?”

“No,” Justin explained.  “We’re just betting on what kind of an impression Brenda will make on him.”

“Whether or not she can rattle his chains,” Devon chimed in.

“Whether or not she can hold his interest,” Jerry added bluntly.  It was well known that no woman could hold Jax’s interest for very long at all.

“Oh,” Joanna nodded.  “Well then, shouldn’t you be betting on Brenda? It seems to me that she’s holding his interest just fine.”

Anyone could see that Jax and Brenda were having a ball as he tried to show her certain tricky steps and they would both get so excited when she got them right.

“Everybody conga!” Lady Jane shouted out as the music changed once again and everyone formed the conga line.  Brenda was once again breathless and laughing.  She had never had so much fun in her life!  And to think she had almost been too chicken to try this.  But Jax hadn’t let her chicken out, she thought gazing at him and feeling her heart doing ridiculous somersaults.  She thought he was just amazing.

Chad was watching Jax and Brenda from the sidelines somewhat jealously.  She had certainly not been that animated and flirtatious dancing with anyone else this evening.

            “Excuse me,” he said to the group he was with as he walked over to Jax and Brenda and tapped Jax on the shoulder. “Hey Jax, mind if I cut in?  You’ve been monopolizing the lovely lady for three whole dances now,” Chad said smiling his toothy smile and turning on his southern charm.

Brenda just knew that Jax would politely decline Chad’s request.  They were having too much fun, after all.

“Sure,” Jax said, stepping aside so that Chad could move in.

The look Brenda gave him made Jax laugh softly as he walked away.

He did it to me again! She realized.  Round 1 and now round 2 were his to claim victory.

She watched as Jax was ambushed by Amber Stanton who’s frilly laughter made Brenda wince and want to scream.  Chad felt her tense up in his arms.

“Are you all right? Do you have a cramp?” he asked her.  “You must be exhausted what with the way Jax dragged you out here when you obviously didn’t want to dance.”

“He didn’t drag me,” Brenda said far more defensively than she had intended.  It just seemed natural to her somehow to defend him, although she couldn’t imagine why she would ever want to defend that man. “I’m sorry,” she apologized, “but really, Jax didn’t force me at all.  I wanted to do it and . . I had a great time,” she said wistfully as she watched Jax once again the prisoner of his admiring groupies and not even bothering to give her a backwards glance.

“Yep, Jax is a wild one and that can be a lot of fun,” Chad conceded, “but he’s quite the womanizer you know.  You can’t take him seriously.”

“Sure, I know that,” she lied.

When the party was over and the catering staff was cleaning up, Brenda felt a sense of the bittersweet.  Her first night in New Orleans had been wonderful and exciting and yet . . .something was missing.  She looked around for Juliet and saw her at the door talking to Devon.

Brenda walked into the hallway that led to the three spiral staircases.  She found Jax there sitting on the middle staircase with that cling-on Amber pawing at him as she tried to entice him to go club hopping.  Didn’t she think he’d had enough partying for one night? Brenda walked towards them. 

“Excuse me,” she said as she pushed past them to make her way up the stairs.

Amber shot her a dark glance. “Irritable little child isn’t she?” she said loud enough for Brenda to hear.

Brenda spun around. “I’m not a child!” she snapped.

“She’s not a child,” Jax said at the same time, which made Amber laugh and made Brenda see red.

“Jerk,” Brenda muttered under her breath as she went up the stairs.

Jax watched her disappear on the second landing before he decided to pursue her, which made Amber very unhappy.

Brenda was just stalking into her bedroom when Jax caught up to her.  “What did you call me?” he asked her conversationally, falling into step with her.

His nearness rattled her as usual and that just drove her mad.

“Just go away, please,” she said as she attempted to slam her door in his face.

He was laughing which only made her even angrier. “Brenda,” he said, “I know what’s bothering you.”

“Yes, you’re still here,” she said.

“You’re upset with me because I let Chad have you,” he told her.

He thought she was going to reach across and choke the life out of him from the way her hazel eyes glittered with beautiful anger.

“Have me? Oh you’re such a dolt, Jax!” she said.

“You really should take it easy with the insults, you know.  You only just met me today.”

“Yes and I think I’m regretting it already.  You know, I’ve decided that you’re worse than any plague known to mankind, Jax,” she announced, frustrated by the way her heart was racing with the moon just because he was merely standing there.

He arched an eyebrow. “I’m worse than a plague? Since when?”

“Since right now.  Will you just go away?”

“You’re banishing me from my own house?”

“Just from my room,” she said. “Although . . .if I asked you to leave the house, would you do it?”

“I see your moxy has returned,” he muttered.

“It was never gone,” she informed him attempting to slam the door in his face again.

“Glad to hear it. I’ve got a thing for your moxy,” he said winking at her. “Later,” he turned to leave depriving her of the satisfaction of slamming the door in his face.

“Wait, you’re leaving?” she called to him, looking unhappy about that.

“Wasn’t that what you wanted?” he asked, not turning around, just standing by the top of the stairs waiting for her to finish whatever it was she was going to say.

“Yes, but I have something to tell you first.  Can you please come back here?”

“I can hear just fine over here.”

Oh, the man was impossible!

“I prefer not to shout, thank you,” she said tapping her fingernails against the doorframe impatiently.

He gave into her request and walked back to the door. “What is it that you’d like to say to me?” he asked with a sigh as he leaned against the doorframe. “That I’m a jerk? That I’m a dolt? That I’m the worst plague known to mankind?”

She lowered her head, but he saw her grinning because her dimples were showing.

“A new insult to add to your growing list perhaps?” he asked, reaching out to push back the spiral curls that were once again falling into her eyes.

“I just wanted to tell you that I had a really good time with you tonight, despite yourself,” she said.  “So thank you for challenging me to dance with you – it was a lot of fun. And I don’t suppose I meant it when I called you the plague, or a jerk.  But you are a dolt.” She decided, for only a dolt would fall for the antics of that Amber woman.

“Just a dolt? Well, I suppose I can live with that,” he said.  His eyes held hers and there was a moment of potent silence as they just looked at each other.  “Here, this is for you,” he said reaching behind him and handing her a glass of champagne.

“You’re actually allowing me to drink this?” she asked looking at him suspiciously.

“Yes.  Go right ahead.”

She took a sip of the golden liquid. “Mmm!” she said, liking it.

Jax said nothing as he watched her finish the glass in one gulp as if it were apple cider.

“You see,” Brenda said, “I’m perfectly fine.”

“Are you?”

She felt very pleasant indeed, she thought.  A bit dizzy she had to admit, but it was a very nice kind of dizzy.  He was gazing at her and she felt flushed as emotions she had never experienced before filtered through her. She felt more of an attraction to him than ever and had no idea just how seductively she was regarding him.

Seeing that the effects of the champagne were kicking in, Jax unexpectedly brought his lips gently down on hers jarring her entire body into attention with a kiss that was not remotely platonic.  How she remained conscious was beyond her.  To add to her shock she found herself kissing him back in a manner that made her the aggressor.

For his part, Jax hadn’t meant for the kiss to get this much out of his control.  He had only intended to kiss her and show her how compliant she would be in allowing his advances thanks to the effects of the champagne, but damn it if this girl wasn’t impossible to resist and her response to his kiss was something a flesh and blood man simply could not ignore. Oh well, what was done was done.  He couldn’t take it back and wasn’t sure if he wanted to anyway.

Jax broke the kiss and looked at Brenda to see if his impulsive actions had scared her witless.  But the look in her eyes indicated no signs of fear, only a rather bold desire.

That was his cue to go, he realized. Lesson over.

“Don’t let the bed bugs bite,” he said walking away and trying to act as if he had just shaken her hand instead of fulfilled a secret wish she had been carrying around all night. She touched her lips and they still tingled from being in extended contact with his.  She shut the door and leaned against it as her heart hammered inside of her chest.

She knew she would be awake all night replaying the kiss in her mind while he would have undoubtedly already forgotten about it.  He had kissed tons of women – a whole harem full.  For all she knew it was something he did all the time and therefore had no real significance at all.  She should just dismiss it as outrageous flirtation, much the same as he probably would.

But she couldn’t.