Caroling, caroling now we go
Christmas bells are ringing
Caroling, caroling through the snow
Christmas bells are ringing
Joyous voices sweet and clear
Sing the sad of heart to cheer
Ding ,dong, Ding ,dong
Christmas bells are ringing

     Discarded wrapping paper and bows littered the floor of the den in a pretty mess, as gifts continued to be unwrapped. Brenda, sitting next to Jerry on the chaise, was unwrapping a gift Uncle Ian had given to her. Jax was unwrapping one of his own, although his gaze kept straying over to Brenda, whom Ryan kept trying to inch over to, despite being blocked by Jerry, who seemed a little too delighted by Brenda’s company in Jax’s opinion.

     Jax scowled. Was he feeling jealous of his own brother now? What this girl did to him was ridiculous.

     “Get that scowl off your face, lad, unless you’re tryin’ ta let me know you canna stand my gift. And if that’s the case, you can take it up with Brenda, since it was she whose advice I took when she swore to me that was the perfect color shirt ta get you. And she, too, who insisted that belt was all the bloody rage,” Uncle Ian said. Jax ripped his eyes away from Brenda and Jerry and turned his attention to his uncle. “A wee bit distracted, are we?” Ian asked, with a low, bemused voice.

     “No,” Jax said quietly.

     “Ha!” his uncle snorted in disbelief. “Well, if you’ll be wantin’ to stare at her again, you’ll be happy to see that she’s finally abandoned your brother and is pokin’ around beneath the tree. I suspect she’s lookin’ for a gift from you, lad. Don’t tell me you did not get the sweet lass anything?”

     Jax glanced over to where Brenda was and saw she was indeed rummaging through the remaining gifts and looking under discarded wrapping and empty boxes, in case she had missed it.

     “I didn’t forget,” Jax said, with a grin. “I just want her to think I did,” he explained.

     “Och, you’re a mean one,” Ian said, with a shake of his head.

     They both watched as Brenda finally gave up. And then Jax’s eyes narrowed in irritation, as Ryan was finally able to get to Brenda.

     “Doesn’t he ever just give up?” Jax muttered.

     Ian folded his arms across his chest, looked at Jax and said: “Oh, you’re a fine one ta talk. Would you?”

     Jax didn’t even feel that warranted an answer. For one thing, a Jacks never gave up - Uncle Ian knew that better than anybody. And Brenda… Well, as far as Jax was concerned, she already belonged to him, so giving up on her was out of the question. His uncle was just trying to rile him up by even asking such a ridiculous question. Jax had said nothing to Uncle Ian about his feelings nor his plans for Brenda, but it was clear that his uncle already knew the gist of it.

     “Well? Are ya goin’ ta sit there tryin’ ta glare my soul right out o’ my body? Or are ya goin’ ta get up and yank your bonny sprite away from that besotted young man, who looks more n’ more like he’d like to dash off with her?”

     At that moment, Ryan tapped Brenda on the shoulder and she turned around to face him.

     “Did Santa forget to bring you something in particular?” he asked, having noticed her searching the tree.

     Self-consciously, Brenda tore her eyes away from her search of a gift from Jax. “Oh… no… I just… was looking for… nothing,” she said, shaking her head.

     “Well then, I’d say you found it. Nothing, I mean,” Ryan joked with her.

     She laughed and nodded. “Yeah, that’s true. There it is. Right there,” she said, displaying her empty hands and hoping that joking about it would ease the lump of disappointment in her throat.

     “It’s the loveliest nothing I’ve ever seen,” he told her, but he was looking at her face, not her hands. “It’s sort of peculiar being in a strange house, in a foreign land, with people we don’t know all that well, for a holiday that’s usually about family, isn’t it?” he said, trying to engage her in conversation and desperately trying not to simply stare at her with his mouth hanging open. But, by god, she was just the most beautiful thing. And she radiated a sparkling charm that was thoroughly irresistible. He simply had to have her.

     “Well, technically my sister is here, so I guess that counts for family,” Brenda said, although Ryan was chuckling over her unconvincing enthusiasm.

     “I don’t think Alexa counts for you,” he pointed out. “And I don’t fault you for that one bit.”

     Brenda gave him a smile of conspiracy that made him just want to snatch her in his arms and run off with her. “You’re right. She doesn’t count for me, but only because she doesn’t represent to me what a family should be. We have the same parents and that’s about it. Now Jax’s family - they feel like my own. How strange is that, huh?”

     “Strange indeed,” Ryan commented. “Especially since you barely know them. Isn’t this the first time you’ve seen Jax, his sister and his uncle in six years? And the first time you’ve ever met Jerry at all?”

     Brenda nodded. “All true. But I’ve always felt really close to Jax. I can’t explain it. I’ll tell you a secret: the day of Jax’s birthday was not the first time I met him. I actually had met him the week before that,” Brenda disclosed.

     “Really? Under what circumstances?” Ryan wondered out loud.

     And so Brenda told him about the first time that she had met Jax by the fishpond fountain at her house one night. “I felt close to him from the start,” she revealed. “He was so funny and just kind of crazy,” she laughed. “I liked him so much. And I know it doesn’t really make much sense, but a part of me feels connected to him. Like he’s my family.”

     “Like a big brother?” Ryan asked hopefully.

     Remembering the way Jax had kissed her, Brenda nearly choked with laughter at the idea of him being her brother.

     Having heard Ryan’s question, Jax was annoyed beyond belief and grabbed Brenda’s present from his back pocket and was next to her in an instant.

     “Hey, sprite, I noticed you looking for something,” he said casually.

     “And she found it, too,” Ryan said. “She was looking for nothing, you see.”

     Ryan winked at Brenda. Jax wanted to toss Ryan Thornton out the window.

     Brenda laughed at Ryan’s joke and then turned her full attention to Jax. “I really wasn’t looking for anything,” she said, hoping she didn’t sound or look as disappointed as she felt. Jax had been so good to her, and she was not about to let him feel badly over forgetting to get her anything. This was Christmas. It was all about giving, not receiving. So why did she feel so hurt that Jax didn’t want to give her anything?

     Jax nodded slowly and then produced the gift. “You weren’t looking for anything? So then I don’t suppose you want this? Since you weren’t looking for it…”

     Brenda gasped in delight and grabbed the prettily wrapped box out of his hands. “You rat! You didn’t forget me!” she said happily.

     “I could never forget you,” Jax said. You’re mine, after all.

     Feeling quite shut out of this little moment, Ryan decided retreat was best at this point. Jax quite had the girl’s attentions all to himself now, so Ryan knew it was pointless to try to make any inroads right now.

     “If you’ll both excuse me,” he said, going over to his sister and Alexa.

     Jax and Brenda were barely aware that Ryan had left. Brenda was too busy ripping open the gift and Jax was too busy watching her, absorbed by her joy, her beautiful spirit, the sparkle in her bewitching eyes. Something inside of him ached for her to belong to him. She will, he reminded himself. Do not rush this, Jax.

     Brenda opened a slim, white box to reveal an oblong, blue velvet case. She opened that up and squealed with glee to find a delicate illusion necklace, strung with fifteen tiny, glittering jewels. This was the most unusually beautiful gemstone she had ever seen. She couldn’t name the gem - but the color was magnificent. It looked like all the colors of sunset combined.

     “Jax! Oh, this is so beautiful!” she said excitedly. “I’ve never seen anything like this before,” she marveled, gently touching the lovely piece of jewelry. “I love it! Thank you!” She wrapped her arms around him in a hug and brushed soft, sweet lips against his own. Then realizing what she had done, blushed profusely, blurted out a flustered apology, and hastily kissed his cheek instead. “Thank you,” she said again.

     Jax smiled, absolutely delighted by her reaction and her spontaneous kiss, which she may or may not have intended to land on his mouth. Ah, but that was where it had landed. The blood suddenly stirring heatedly in his body was lingering proof of that. “You’re welcome,” he said, softly. “And, Brenda, I’m not involved with your sister. What I mean to say is we do not have a romantic relationship, Alexa and I. We’re just friends.”

     She blinked at him in confusion. “You’re not together?” she asked in surprise and then immediately switched gears. “Wait, why are you telling me this?”

     He shrugged. “You just looked like you needed to know. At any rate, I needed to tell you.”

     She was looking at him with some confusion. “Why did you need to tell me?”

     “Because you looked like you needed to know.”

     “I did not.”

     “How would you know, Brenda? I’m the one who’s looking at you. You needed to know, I needed to tell you; that’s all.”

     “I did not need to know, Jax. Did I ask you to tell me? No. I mean how could you just all of a sudden decide I needed to know?” She hesitated a moment. “Oh, no, it’s because I accidentally kissed you just now, isn’t it?”

     “Accidentally?” he murmured skeptically.

     “I apologized for that as soon as I did it,” she hastened to remind him.

     A smile tugged at his lips. Why were they having this conversation exactly? He was not accustomed to seeing her nervous; it was rather cute. He let out a sigh. “Brenda, aren’t you glad that I told you?” he asked.

     She nodded before she could stop herself from doing so.

     “Then I rest my case and we can rest this conversation. Okay, time for me to open your present now. I always save the best for last.” He went back to where he had been sitting to retrieve the unopened gift.

     Then suddenly Brenda’s expression changed from heart-racing bewilderment over what he’d just told her about Alexa to high anxiety, as she saw him pick up the present she’d gotten for him. The best for last? Oh no, her present was hardly the best! She raced after him, knelt down in front of him and grabbed his arm. “Jax, no!” she said, startling him slightly. “Don’t open that,” she implored.

     “Why not? Will it explode?” he teased her.

     She managed a weak smile. “No. But yours is so much better than mine, Jax… I want to get you something else.” She tried to snatch the gift from his hand. He slipped it behind his back, out of her reach.

     “I don’t want anything else,” he said. “Brenda, whatever you got for me is fine. I told you that you didn’t even have to get me anything at all.”

     “I know, but you know I wanted to. And I want you to like what I give you, and you’re not going to like this, so please, please don’t open it, all right?” she said, looking distressed. He had gotten her this unique, beautiful necklace, which she absolutely loved, and in comparison, what she had gotten for him now seemed incredibly lame to her thinking.

     “You’re being silly,” Jax told her, gazing at her with those beautiful blue gems he called eyes.

     “Jax, I’ll be… I’ll be…” She searched for a word that might impact him. “Scandalized!” she decided. “I’ll be scandalized if you open it. Please, don’t - okay? It’s such a stupid present and…”

     “Scandalized?” he repeated, quirking a cute eyebrow at her. “Hmmm… Well, now I’ve really got to open it.”

     Brenda groaned. “Please don’t. Please…”

     Jax ignored her and began to tear the paper off the gift she had wrapped. What he uncovered was a ship in a bottle. Unlike most ships in a bottle, this one was fairly large and was actually adrift on real water. The scene within was that of a clear, moonlit night, and the little ship glided back and forth on the tranquil, midnight blue waters inside.

     Desperate to explain why she’d gotten him something so silly, Brenda took a breath and then spoke: “I remembered once you told me how your father used to take you night sailing. And how much you loved that,” she explained haltingly. “I… saw this in a novelty shop and it made me think of when you told me that, so I got it for you.” She bit her lip nervously at his lack of response. His head was lowered, his eyes glued to the little ship floating in the bottle. “It actually seemed like such a great idea at the time,” she murmured, kicking herself for getting him such an idiotic gift.

     “You were only eleven years old when I told you that,” Jax said, his voice very quiet. And then he looked up at her and Brenda was stunned by the beautiful emotions she saw displayed in his eyes. Relief washed over her. He didn’t hate it! “You actually remembered?” he marveled, his blue eyes holding hers captive.

     Brenda nodded, traces of a smile gracing her lovely lips. “Jax… You like it then?” she asked hopefully, needing reassurance in the worst way that he didn’t hate it.

     He swallowed, as if to control some emotions surging within him. “I love it,” he said in a slightly hoarse voice. Then he reached out and ran the back of his hand gently along her face. “Have you any idea how extraordinary I think you are?” His voice was but a whisper; his eyes as blue as deepest sapphire; his touch so adoring it made her forget to breathe.

     She didn’t know what to say. She couldn’t look away from him if her life depended upon it. She truly knew what it was to be held captive by a gaze now. “I’m so glad that you like it,” she finally managed to say after a period of intense silence. “You really do like it, don’t you? You’re not just saying that to spare my feelings?”.

     “I confess I would do anything to spare your feelings,” he said. “But in this case, there is no need. I do love this, Brenda. You have no idea how special this is to me.” His eyes grew darker, shimmering with some emotion. “How special you are to me.” He raised her hands to his lips and kissed them both. Transfixed, Brenda stared at her hands, where his lips had brushed their warmth. Then she saw those same lips descending towards her. Her heart was thumping so hard she thought it was going to crack a rib. She didn’t even care that they had an audience. She cared about nothing other than the fact that he truly loved what she had gotten for him, that he had just said she was special to him, and that in a moment her lips would know the exquisite pleasure of his upon them.

     Their lips brushed in a feather-light caress. Again. And then again and again. Then his mouth closed over hers. He heard her softly indrawn breath, as he slowly deepened the kiss. Her lips were sweetly warm and yielding beneath his; her response like ambrosia to his body and his senses. Desire flooded him. And a jumble of other feelings for her flooded him as well. His kiss intensified in passion, and Brenda responded to that instantly. Something tantalizing, yet elusive, stirred in her, and she followed his lead, moving her mouth with a delectable slowness over his, tasting passion on the lips and finding it irresistible. A whisper-soft moan escaped her when his tongue tasted her lips and prepared to enter her mouth. But after an initial sweep of contact that was sensually electrifying, Jax broke it off, as reality somehow broke through his haze of passion. They were not alone. Not remotely alone. He could not kiss her the way he truly wanted to - not now - not here. He’d already given the family enough of a show with this kiss.

     Even though his lips were no longer kissing hers, they remained close enough to her to kiss again as he stared into her eyes. She was doing the same to him, both of them breathing rather rapidly, unable to look away from each other; oblivious to Uncle Ian’s loud, exaggerated throat-clearing noises.

     Jax realized one thing with startling clarity as he gazed into those beautiful brown eyes, his heart pounding like a wild thing: although he did not truly have her yet, he already knew he could never bear to lose her.

     Brenda had quite a startling realization of her own: that part of her that was connected to Jax - the part that she couldn’t explain to Ryan before - she was beginning to suspect that it was her heart.

     Later that night, Katherine, very anxious to get her new plans into motion after witnessing the way Jax had kissed Brenda, was seeking out Alexa to inform her that it was time for her to leave and that their association with one another was at an end. She found the party she sought already packing her bags.

     “Well, well,” Katherine said, entering the bedroom Alexa had been occupying during her stay. “You must have read my mind. I was just looking for you to suggest that it was time for you to seek other accommodations and leave my Uncle’s home.”

     Alexa stopped what she was doing and turned to face Katherine. “It’s a complete waste of my time being here while my sister is here,” she said flippantly. “Jax’s infatuation with her is intensifying by leaps and bounds.”

     “Regardless of Jax’s temporary fascination with your sister, I find that your services are no longer required where my brother is concerned. In other words, you are officially out of the picture, Alexa.” Katherine informed her.

     Alexa sat down on the bed and laughed. “You are so transparent, Katherine. It’s really sad. You don’t think I’ve noticed you trying to get all chummy with Eve? You’re thinking to replace me with her in your little plan, aren’t you?” Alexa laughed again. “I feel sorry for you that you think any woman in Jax’s life could be so interchangeable. Well, let me share some news with you, Katherine: my dear friend, Eve, happens to be in love with one Ned Ashton. You see, the only reason that Eve even agreed to come here with me was because she knew Jax was here and wanted to make a good impression with him so he’d rave about her to Ned, who is in between girlfriends at the moment. Eve is hoping to fill the slot, you see,” Alexa was pleased to reveal. “So I watched you chasing after Eve, trying to butter her up with your phony friendliness, and all the while I was laughing at you, knowing you were so barking up the wrong tree!”

     Katherine’s eyes glittered with anger.

     “As a matter of fact,” Alexa continued, laughing all the harder, “as much as I wanted to leave after witnessing that kiss between Jax and my sister, it was Eve who’s been bugging me for us to leave. She’s ever anxious to get back to Ned!”

     Alexa’s laughter grated on Katherine’s nerves. She also suspected that Alexa Barrett was telling the truth, given Eve’s lack of any real interest in Jax, other than to make a decent impression with him, which she had obviously been doing more for Ned than for Jax.

     “So it looks like you fail again,” Alexa sighed, as she continued tossing items into her suitcase. “You actually thought Eve could spark Jax’s interest?” She shook her head. “You really are slipping, Katherine. At least Jax was attracted to me at one time; he’s never even spared a second glance for Eve.”

     “Just finish your packing and get out,” Katherine said impatiently.

     “Oh, I intend to. Eve, Ryan and I are checking into a hotel and then leaving Scotland in the morning. And guess who’s staying behind? That’s right… Brenda. Seems the one you really need to get rid of is the only one you can’t, isn’t that right, Katherine? Poor, poor, Katherine. You know something? It really doesn’t matter who you plan to try to marry Jax off to next. You’ll never be able to match him up with anybody else as long as long as he’s got his eyes on Brenda. And as for me, I think I’ve just about finally had my fill of wasting some of the best years of my life pursuing a man who does not want to be pursued and clearly does not feel anything remotely resembling love for me. You obviously lied about that to keep me in the game - a losing game, Katherine. But it’s Jax’s loss if he actually wants that sister of mine over me. Your loss, too, of course, since with Brenda in his life, Jax’s chances of a rise to political fame are as good as nil. Mark my words: my so-called sister will ruin your brother, just like she ruined my parents’ marriage. And all I can hope is that I get a front row seat to the debacle.”

     Having said all she wanted to, Alexa finished up her packing and went to meet Ryan and Eve downstairs for their taxi to the hotel.

     Katherine was glad to see the back of the cheeky, venomous young woman, whom she’d once hailed such a prize catch for her brother. But she had to admit that Alexa was right about one thing: it was pointless to seek out a new potential wife for Jax until the Brenda complication was handled. Katherine decided that all of her focus needed to be on that for now. Once Brenda had moved beyond Jax, or he beyond her, then Katherine could begin the wife-hunt for Jax with renewed fervor.

     As Katherine straightened out the bed, which Alexa had left a mess, she wondered back to two things Alexa had said. Why had she referred to Brenda as her ‘so-called sister?’ And what did she mean by saying that Brenda had ruined Harlan and Veronica Barrett’s marriage? Was the marriage in trouble? And why did Alexa feel Brenda was the cause? Katherine filed the information away for possible future examination.

     “Dammit, I don’t believe this!” Jerry roared. “Jax, have you seen this?” Jerry tossed the newspaper down in front of Jax at the dining table. The brothers had been the first to rise on this very cold day after Christmas. The house was short three houseguests this morning, since Alexa had abruptly departed after Christmas dinner last night, and Ryan and Eve had gone with her.

     Jax set down his glass of orange juice and glanced at the headline of the London Financial Times. WILL WARNER AND GRANDSON STEVEN FILLMORE GET DYNATECH FOR CHRISTMAS, it said. Jax swore in disbelief.

     “How the bloody hell did this happen?” Jax exclaimed, scanning the article. “We have to set up an emergency meeting with Milt the minute we get back, Jerry, because this is… this is ridiculous! He’s got to answer for this fiasco!”

     “Especially since it’s not the first such fiasco, but rather just another of many,” Jerry muttered. He knew that Milt Barrymore had been a close friend of his father’s, but, good god, the man was running Jacks Enterprises into the ground and the damned board was allowing him to do it because of their idiotic fear of placing someone as young as Jax at the helm, where he bloody well belonged! And, of course, Jerry was sure that Katherine was always there, whispering in the ears of the board and feeding their old-fashioned concepts that only a silver-haired, 50-year-old could run the company, not a fair-haired, young Adonis of a mere 23 years.

     “And to let DynaTech fall into the hands of Will Warner, of all people,” Jax said, his blue eyes darkening to a starkly beautiful gray. “I still hate that man, Jerry,” Jax said with a quiet force that belied his turmoil of stormy emotions on this subject. “I know that Dad always told us that hate is a waste of emotions, and I swear that I try to remember that, but… I can’t help it. I hate him. Our parents would be alive right now if it weren’t for that man.”

     Jerry knew that Jax blamed business mogul Will Warner, a life-long rival of their father’s, for their parent’s death. It was not entirely logical and yet not entirely illogical either. Were it not for Warner’s double-crossing attempted ouster of John Jacks from the chairmanship of The Corporate 200, John and Jane Jacks would not have had to rush to Europe on that ill-fated flight aboard the Jacks jet.

     “I hate him, too, Jax,” Jerry admitted. “I never told you this, but he sent flowers to Mum and Dad’s funeral. I was livid when I saw they were from him and his damned family. It was like something broke inside of me when I saw that. I crashed the vase to the floor. Kat calmed me down and begged me to pull it together because you were on your way in with Uncle Ian. You were only ten, and you’d already taken mum and dad’s deaths so badly - you were so upset that she didn’t know what seeing me like that would do to you. She was scared to death it would send you into this place we could never reach you. For you I’d do anything, you know. So I snapped myself the hell out of it because I’d be damned if I was gonna let the Warner’s claim my little brother as another casualty. I forced air into my lungs, forced the tears to stop pouring like buckets out of my eyes, somehow pushed the fury away from the surface of my emotions. Then I watched Kat clean up the mess I’d made and toss the flowers out in the back of the funeral home. I took a candle from the inside and went outside and burned every stem and petal on those flowers.”

     Jax had never known any of this. He gazed at Jerry, his eyes glistening with somber memories. It still hurt to remember his parents - because all he really remembered now was losing them - the devastating loss of not having them. The shock of that plane crashing into the ocean - exploding -- no survivors. The one time it hadn’t hurt to remember them, oddly enough, was when he’d been telling a beautiful eleven-year-old girl about them back when he was 17 and sitting with her on his dad’s cabin cruiser out on the lake.

     “I want to crush Warner World into the ground,” Jax said tonelessly. “I need to be running Jacks Enterprises to do that, Jerry.”

     “Damn right you need to be running it! Jax, DynaTech is the third company Warner has been able to snatch away from JE in the last five years. The man is obviously on a methodical, diabolical, calculated mission to eventually take over JE itself - to take from us what our father built up to greatness from nothing. To take from us what our father left for us and our kids - our father’s legacy, Jax. Our legacy. And Uncle Milt - no offense - but he doesn’t have the drive, the foresight, nor the cunning for this game. And he sure as hell doesn’t have the sheer motivation that you have. Jacks Enterprises needs a Jacks at the helm. No just Jacks. You, baby brother.”

     Jax nodded, because he agreed with that with all his heart. In Jax’s opinion he could have been running JE from his 18th birthday.

     “I know you, Jax,” Jerry continued, warming to this topic. “You would have Warner and his grandson not knowing which end is up and quaking in their boots with the corporate maneuverings you could achieve.”

     “All I’ve ever wanted to do was to follow in Dad’s footsteps and bring back Jacks Enterprises to the top of the game,” Jax said. “I can do that, Jerry. Why the hell won’t they let me? What are they afraid of?”

     “Change,” Jerry guessed. “Youth. Your brilliance. You’ll make them all look like useless dinosaurs, Jax. They’re afraid of you.”

     “Well, to hell with that,” Jax said dismissively. “This is our father’s company, and I’m not going to let them run it into the damned ground or give it away to that human pestilence, Warner, either. Are you, Jerry?”

     “Hell, no!” Jerry said, and then he gazed curiously down at what Jax had been drawing before Jerry had come into the kitchen with the newspaper.

     Jerry spotted the sketch of Brenda that Jax had been working on when Jerry first entered the kitchen, and decided it was time to change subjects and give them both a chance to let go of the intensity of emotions that the previous topic always generated within them.

      “So what’s going on here?” Jerry asked, nodding in the direction of the sketch.

     “What do you mean?”

     “I mean her,” Jerry said, tapping the picture.

     “What about her?” Jax responded.

     Jerry laughed. “Why is this like pullin’ bloody teeth, Jax? You know what I’m asking.”

     “No, Jer, actually I don’t. You should try being more specific,” Jax suggested, with an ambiguous half-smile.

     Jerry gazed at Jax. “All right. I saw the way you kissed her yesterday. Everyone did. That wasn’t some Christmas peck, Jax. It was an incredibly passionate kiss. You were swept away, the both of you. You forgot you had a roomful of people witnessing that lip lock, for crying out loud.”

     Jax merely nodded, as he was hardly going to deny it. Although he was amazed that Jerry thought that kiss was ‘incredibly passionate.’ Not that it wasn’t. It was definitely passionate. And yet it was merely the tip of the iceberg when it came to the way he wanted to - and intended to - kiss Brenda. When he was alone with her, when the moment was perfect, he would kiss her the way he had always wanted to kiss her - no holds barred. And then if Jerry wanted to see what incredible passion was like, that was the kiss he should witness.

     “I also heard what you said, Jax,” Jerry continued, bringing up the mistletoe incident. “When Thornton tried to steal a smooch from Brenda and pointed out to you that she’s not a part of the Jacks family, you said that she will be. I know you didn’t mean for that to be heard, obviously. But I heard you. And I know damn well that you weren’t talking about Brenda being your sister-in-law, because I know that for you, as far as Alexa goes, the thrill is gone. Has been for a long while now. What once made you pant after her like a mad dog when you were a boy has vanished, and she can’t hold you now. I knew she never could.”

     Jax said nothing to that. What was there to say? It was true. Alexa had enticed him very much as a boy, but she could never hold him as a man.

     “So what did you mean by Brenda being a part of our family?” Jerry asked again.

     Jax glanced up at Jerry. “I mean that I’m going to marry her,” Jax announced. “And, therefore, she will subsequently become a part of our family.”

     A dark brow shot up in the air. “I see,” Jerry said, shocked, but realizing he shouldn’t be. Jax had always been a combination of impulsive decisiveness like this when it came to getting things that he wanted. He was always very much to the point, too - not at all the beating-around-the-bush type. Ever since he was a small boy he’d been like that. Jax often shocked people with his forthrightness. Jerry had always found it a deliciously refreshing trait, albeit at times jarring. Like now. “So you’re telling me you fell in love with her in the space of a week?”

     Jax glanced over at him. “You don’t think that’s possible?”

     “On the contrary. In the case of Brenda Barrett, I actually think it’s highly possible. Hell, I think Thornton is in love with her after just one day. So, yes, I think it’s possible, Jax. I just don’t know if it’s true. Only you would know that. You tell me you want to marry her. So naturally I’d like to know - do you love her then? Because that’s the only reason you should marry a person, Jax.”

     Jax hesitated. Honest to god he had no idea if he loved her. He suspected he did… or he might… or he would. He knew that she certainly did touch his heart. He knew that she was extremely important to him. He knew he had a fierce instinct to protect her that had been fairly instantaneous from the moment he’d met her. He knew that he was wildly attracted to her. He knew that he wanted her more than anything. He knew that he wanted no one else to have her. He knew that his heart tripped over itself whenever she entered a room. He knew she was on his mind 95% of the time. He knew that when he’d kissed her yesterday he’d never felt anything like the kind of seductive magic that had stirred to life between them. He knew that he hated to see her unhappy and would do just about anything to make sure she was happy. He knew he wanted to be near her all the time - a fact that drove him slightly crazy, since he found himself inventing excuses to be with her. Was any of that love? Was all of it love? How was he to know? It wasn’t as if he’d ever been in love before and had anything to compare this to. But he suspected that if he were in love, it would feel very much like this.

     “I don’t know,” he finally said. “I think maybe I’m at that in-between stage. You know, falling…”

     “Mmm hmmm,” Jerry said with a nod. “Then why don’t you wait until you land, instead of while you’re still in the midst of falling?”

     “Because if I wait until I land, she’s going to slip through my fingers, Jerry. I know it. And I also know that I can’t let that happen. I’d rather grab ahold of her while I’m falling and take her with me, than risk waiting to land and finding her not there when I do. Haven’t you ever just seen something or met someone and known instantly that this was what you had been waiting for all your life? And now here it was right in front of you - and if you didn’t grab it and hold onto it, it was going to slip from your grasp. And you’d never find it again.”

     Oh, yes, Jerry had felt like that. Her name was Holly Sutton, and she had indeed slipped through his fingers. She was engaged to marry someone else now, and it was a most bitter pill for Jerry to swallow. Love could be as devastating as it was euphoric.

     “Well, I can see that you are definitely serious about this,” Jerry realized.

     Jax nodded slowly.

     “All I want is for you to be happy, Jax. Like Mum and Dad were,” Jerry said seriously.

     “If you’re worried she won’t make me happy, then don’t. She will make me happy, Jerry. This, I know.”

     “How can you know, Jax?”

     “Because she already makes me happy. Now. I feel happy when I see her, when I’m with her,” Jax explained. “And it seems I always want to be with her,” he admitted.

     Jerry had already witnessed this, so this he didn’t doubt. “I’m more interested in how she feels about you,” Jerry said, frankly.

     “Well, I don’t know because I’m not going to ask her,” Jax informed him. “But I know that based on what happens when we’re together that she has similar feelings to mine. We… There’s this extraordinary connection between us. I feel it, Jerry and I think she feels something resembling that when she’s with me, too. I can see it in her eyes sometimes.”

     “Be he ever so humble,” Jerry said with a grin. “The truth is that she looks at you with borderline adoration half the time. I just wanted to know if you were even aware of that.”

     Jax shrugged, but he was clearly pleased with Jerry’s observation.

     “Just as long as you’re sure about this course you’ve set for yourself, Jax,” Jerry said to him.

     “I am sure about this,” Jax responded. “I’m sure about her, Jerry. I can’t explain why; I just am.”

     “You must be,” Jerry decided, “Because the way you and I were brought up, marriage is for life, Jax. A Jacks doesn’t head for divorce court after a disagreement or two. This will be until death do you part. You have this one person as your other half for the rest of your life. You pledge everything you have and everything you are to that one person. You give up all other women, Jax,” Jerry added with a meaningful glance. “Are you sure you’re ready to do that? You’re only 23; you’ve got plenty of wild oats left to sow. And Brenda - god, she probably hasn’t sowed her first yet. She might not want to be in a committed relationship for years yet.”

     Jax gave Jerry a slight glower. “Well, it’s not as if I’m going to marry her tomorrow,” he said defensively.

     “When then?” Jerry asked, amazed that Jax had obviously been thinking about this for a while.

     “Originally, not for another four-and-a-half years,” Jax revealed. “I had this whole plan. I wanted to wait until Brenda was done with college.”

     Jerry was shaking his head. “Jax, she is going to be pursued like no woman ever was. You let her go away to college, and you may as well kiss her goodbye.”

     Jax nodded. “I know that now. I mean, I guess I’ve just been accustomed to her not being around men, so… But every time I take Brenda out to see the sights or go shopping or something, men actually bump into lampposts and fall over curbs just looking at her, Jerry. It’s bloody crazy! And then I saw the way Ryan looked at her. Hell, Jerry, I even saw the way you looked at her. So I’ve altered my plan significantly, because I know she’ll be lost to me if she goes away to college before I do something.”

     Jerry rose an eyebrow. “Do something?” he said.

     “I’ve figured it out,” Jax said. “All I have to do is make sure that Brenda is madly in love with me before she goes away to NYU,” he grinned and so did Jerry.

     “Good plan,” Jerry said. “She’s going to school in Manhattan then? 3000 miles away from you? If I were you, I’d at least get the engagement ring on her finger before she hits the campus, too.”

     That was very do-able, Jax thought to himself. He had close to nine months, after all, between now and the time she started college. But he didn’t think it was necessary. And he had plans for when and how he wanted to ask her that he really didn’t want to change. No, if he had any inkling that she was in love with him before she left for college, that would be good enough at that stage of the plan.

     “So how do you plan to get her to fall for you?” Jerry wanted to know. “She’s seen you as her sister’s intended for years now.”

     Jax blew that off. “Alexa won’t be a problem. I’ve already told Brenda that I don’t have that kind of relationship with her sister.”

     “Okay,” Jerry said. “But you still didn’t answer me on how you plan to get the younger Barrett’s heart under lock and key before she jets off to college.”

     “I plan mostly to wing it,” Jax admitted. “This summer.”

     “This summer? You’re out of luck then, aren’t you?” Jerry asked. “Don’t the Barretts always go to some timeshare in the Bahamas every summer?”

     Jax nodded. “They’ll go this summer as well, I’m sure. But Brenda won’t be going with them,” he grinned with some secret knowledge. “I plan to make sure of that.”

     Jerry shook his head and smiled. “You’ve got a plan for that, too?”

     “I do,” Jax confirmed.

     “What about Brenda’s father?” Jerry pointed out. “He’s antsy enough about her being around those of the male persuasion. And he seemed a little freaked out at how chummy you and Brenda were when you were kids. I don’t think he’s going to exactly champion the cause of your wanting to make an honest woman out of his little girl.”

     Jax didn’t seem overly concerned about that. “I plan to make sure her father thinks the world of me,” he said. “My plan is very thorough, Jerry. I have gone over every single possible potential barrier that would keep her from me, trust me. I’m not leaving any chances for anything to screw this up and take her away from me.”

     Jerry furrowed his dark brows. “I dunno, little brother… the way you talk about her…You sure you’re not already in love?”

     Jax just shrugged, because he honestly didn’t know.

     “Well,” Jerry said, “It’s a good thing you let me in on your intentions. Because if you weren’t going to make a play for her heart, I sure as hell intended to,” he confessed. “Still might, if you can’t close this deal, mate,” Jerry added with a wink as he rose. “By the way, is this what you were telling Kat last night?” Jerry laughed. “No wonder she looked as if she were going to have some sort of attack! It was priceless!”

     Jax smiled. “Yeah, our sister is of the opinion that I’m merely lusting after Brenda and that it’s all going to just go away. Or that this is all some big jest that you’ve convinced me to play on her.”

     Jerry leaned a hip against the kitchen counter. “Well, Katherine never could see the forest for the trees, with that ‘Get-Jax-in-the-White-House’ tunnel-vision of hers. Anyone can tell that whatever is happening between you and Brenda is hardly anything as simple as a mere mutual attraction.”

     “Kat basically diagnosed me as on the verge of losing my mind when I told her about my intentions regarding Brenda. Is that what you think, too, Jer?” Jax asked. “Tell me the truth.”

     “No, I don’t think that, Jax. As a matter of fact, this very thing about you is one of the things I admire the most about you, kid. You know what you want, you know what you feel, and you don’t sit around on your ass and hope for it to magically fall into your hands. You meticulously plot a course to make damn sure it falls into your hands. You’re not afraid to play your hunches, even if they may be wrong - and I don’t think this one is. It’s what makes you, you, Jax. It’s also why JE needs you at the helm. I don’t care about that BS argument they use by citing that you’re too young. You make extraordinary things happen. Dad always said that about you, and it’s true. You’re just like him in that way. And just like Mum in other ways. Aw, hell, I didn’t mean to ramble on and get all sappy on you, like an old woman. But the bottom line is that I don’t think that you’re crazy or out of your mind to want what you do and to be as determined to get it as you are. You always did play for the highest possible stakes, Jax, and I don’t see why you should play it any differently when it comes to love.” And having said that, Jerry grabbed up the newspaper, whacked his brother playfully on the head with it, and exited the kitchen.

     Brenda entered the kitchen a few moments later, with Edgar trailing after her. She saw Jax and her eyes lit up.

     So did his.

     “Hello,” he said.

     “Hi,” she said, smiling at him as she approached. “Hey, you’re wearing the sweater your uncle got you,” she said, running her hands over the soft, blue chenille.

     “And the belt,” Jax told her, lifting his shirt so she could see the it and inadvertently giving her her first ever glimpse of the smooth, hard muscles and golden skin of his stomach.

     She felt her heart leap at the intimate little peek.

     Jax noticed that she was wearing the necklace he’d given her. He had gotten that particular necklace for her because it was beautiful, delicate and unique. Just like she was. And the stones were Padpradsha sapphires, which had reminded him of the amber-gold sparks in her eyes. This particular jewel ranged from a sunset gold to a sunset orange, depending on what angle they hit the light.

     The sketch lying on the table suddenly caught Brenda’s eye. She was surprised and delighted to see that it was a sketch of her.

     “Hey! What’s this?” she said, picking it up and gazing at it. It was her and yet it wasn’t. The depiction was incredibly beautiful - far more beautiful than she actually was, in her opinion. “Who did this?” she asked, delighted.

     “He’s standing right in front of you,” Jax told her.

     Her eyes flew to his in surprise. “You did? You did not!”

     Jax grinned over the way she always did that. “I did,” he said again. “Stand right there,” he said. And then he grabbed the sketchpad and began to sketch her standing by the kitchen window. “See?” he said, showing her the rough sketch.

     Brenda was amazed. “Jax, this is incredible!”

     “Thank you.”

     “I had no idea you could draw like that,” she marveled.

     “A hidden talent inherited from my mother,” he revealed.

     Brenda took the sketchpad from him and began flipping through it. He was incredibly talented. “You could make a career out of this, you know,” she said.

     “No, it’s just a hobby,” Jax said. “My career is taking me in another direction entirely.”

     “What direction?”

     “Unstoppable financial genius and overall corporate menace, I think.”

     Brenda giggled. “Great title. Is that what it’s going to say on your business card?”

     He smiled at her. Very sexily, she thought, her throat going a bit dry.

     She took his glass of orange juice from him and took a sip. “So, is that your great passion in life? Corporate raiding?” she asked, handing him back his glass.

     “It’s a great passion, but I don’t know if it’s the great passion,” Jax replied.

     “What other hidden talents do you have?” she asked with an impish grin that made him want to kiss her.

     His eyes held hers. “Maybe you have to be just a little older to find out,” he said, smiling over the lovely blush that gave a rose-tint to her golden complexion.

     But despite the blush that told him she had most definitely gotten his meaning, she was not shying away from it. In fact, she was looking at him in a challenging manner.

     “Maybe I will just do that,” she responded. “How much older?”

     His eyes never left hers. “Not much,” his voice had lowered to a husky whisper.

     “How much is not much?” she persisted.

     Jax took a gulp of his remaining orange juice, feeling a bit too hot and bothered by the path of this conversation. “Enough about my hidden talents, Brenda, what about yours?” Jax said, turning the tables. “Your sister did mention to me once that you got into the Dame Agnes School due to some superior vocal ability you purportedly possess.”

     Brenda sat down, still holding his sketchpad. She shrugged but was smiling. “Yeah, I guess some might say I can carry a tune better than average,” she admitted.

     “Demonstration please,” Jax said, sitting opposite her; his gorgeous blue eyes sparkling with mischief, as he interlocked his fingers behind his head, watching her.

     “No way,” she said.

     “Come on. I demonstrated my hidden talent for you.”

     “Only one of them.”

     “Yes, but I promised you could have a rain check on the rest at a later date.”

     Brenda rose a slender dark brow. “The rest? You have more than two?”

     He nodded, sending her a slow smile that made her whole body blush.

     “And will all of these have to wait until I get a little older, as you put it?”

     “Afraid so.”

     She gave him an assessing look that was very cute. “You’re very intriguing, Jasper Ian Jacks.”

     He grinned and lowered his eyes a fraction, something that Brenda found incredibly endearing. “Am I?”

     “Yes” she said, reaching over to hit his arm. “And you’re assuming your rain checks are going to be good.”

     “Miss Barrett, I’ll have you know I’ve never bounced a check in my life.”

     She laughed. “I’m sure you haven’t. But your rain checks are only good if I’m around to collect on them,” she pointed out. “And you’re assuming I will be.”

     “I’m only assuming that based on what I know,” Jax explained.

     “What do you know?” she asked, a curious smile dimpling her cheeks.

     “That I’m worth waiting for, Brenda Elizabeth Barrett.”

     Yes, you are, she thought. Brenda suddenly smiled at him. “You know what I love about you? How you always say whatever you feel like saying. It must be very liberating to be able to do that all the time.”

     “Family trait.”

     “From who, your dad?”

     “Mmm hmmm.” His hand slid across the table and into hers, sending warm rivers of electricity through them both. “Brenda, sing something for me. I really want to hear you. It’s just you and I in here.”

     She could barely concentrate on what he was saying, when his fingers were stroking back and forth along her upturned palm like they were doing now. She knew she could never sing one note while being so pleasantly distracted. So she cleared her throat and slowly pulled her hand out of his.

     “All right,” she gave in. “Just this once though. And just for you. Okay?”

     Jax nodded. And sat back, waiting.

     She smiled at him. “Any requests?”

     He shook his head. “Anything…”

     As Brenda began to sing Journey’s “Open Arms,” Katherine, who was looking for Jax, stopped just outside of the swinging kitchen door when she heard the sound of singing.

     Lying beside you, here in the dark
     feeling your heart beat with mine
     softly you whisper, you’re so sincere
     how could our love be so blind?
     we sailed on together, we drifted apart
     and here you are by my side
     so now I come to you
     with open arms
     nothing to hide, believe what I say
     So here I am
     with open arms
     hoping you’ll see, what your love means to me
     open arms

     Katherine was utterly charmed by the clear, young, strong, yet softly melodious voice drifting faintly through the kitchen door. She closed her eyes, and the effect was even stronger. With a start, Katherine realized that Veronica Barrett had grossly downplayed the talent of her younger child, for the girl really was in possession of quite a natural talent. Her voice, a cappella, was astonishing. And it was then that Katherine thought of the perfect way to use Brenda’s own gift to get her out of Jax’s reach and possibly out of his life. She turned from the kitchen and went looking through her phone book instead, seeking the names of two major players in the music industry, who had been college acquaintances of hers.

     Back in the kitchen, Jax was staring at Brenda in rapt fascination.

     “Brenda, you are phenomenal!” he said, looking so adorably stunned that she burst out laughing.

     “What, did you expect me to sound like a frog, Jax? Or a barking dog?” she asked with a grin. “I think I should maybe be a little insulted by how shocked you are.”

     “Brenda, I’m serious. My god, your voice is beautiful! You have a talent that should be shared with the world,” Jax said earnestly. “I mean that.”

     “Well, so do you,” she pointed out, tapping the sketchpad.

     “No, there is no comparison. Besides, I’m not serious about that at all,” he dismissed. “It’s just a pastime for me. Is that all singing is for you, too?” It seemed like a crime to him that someone who had the voice of an angel should keep it to herself.

     Brenda shook her head. “No, you’re right. I really love it,” she confessed. She smiled beautifully at Jax. “Do you really think I could make a living doing it though?” she asked, the thought so titillating.

     “Absolutely.”

     They locked eyes in a gaze that made their pulses race turbulently. God, he wanted to kiss her. Not that that was any news flash. He always wanted to kiss her. Especially now that he knew what it felt like to kiss her - and to be kissed by her.

     Any thoughts of carrying out his desires, however, were halted when Uncle Ian came into the kitchen, carrying the phone. “Good morning, you two,” he greeted them. “It’s for you, lass.” Handing Brenda the telephone, he added, “It’s your father.”

     Jax and Ian both left the kitchen to give Brenda privacy to speak with her father.

     “Did it sound like anything was wrong?” Jax questioned his uncle.

     Ian shook his head. “No, I wouldna say that. He did sound anxious to speak with her, but then again, perhaps he’s just found out that his wife left the wee bonny lass stranded in Europe, instead of sendin’ her a ticket home. Some people just shouldna be mothers, you know.”

     Jax agreed with that. And yet Veronica Barrett was a doting mother to Alexa. It was just Brenda she ignored.

     “You’re startin’ ta care a great deal about that lass, aren’t you?” Ian said to Jax.

     “Yes,” Jax said.

     “I care a great deal about her, as well,” Ian stated. “So don’t you go breakin’ her heart, or I’ll have ta be breakin’ your legs, lad.”

     “I’m not out to break her heart, Uncle Ian, just to make it belong to me.”

     Ian quirked an eyebrow. “Belong ta you? Oh, ho! Always settin’ such lofty goals for yourself, aren’t you, lad?” he said with a twinkle in his eye, as he attached the leash to Edgar and took the wolfhound outside for a brisk morning walk in the frigid air.

     Jax was sitting with Jerry in the living room, strategizing about a changing of the guard at Jacks Enterprises, when Brenda came in, having finished her lengthy phone call with her father.

     “Hi, you guys. Sorry to interrupt,” she said. “But do you know where your uncle might be? I wanted to thank him for having me.”

     Both Jacks brothers stood up.

     “You sound like you’re leaving us,” Jerry mentioned.

     Brenda nodded. “Yes, I am. My father has a ticket waiting for me at the airport. The snowstorm is over in Manhattan and the airports were finally opened, so he was able to fly home late last night. And he’s really anxious to see me. I really want to see him, too, of course. And to see my grandmother, who my dad brought back with him. I’m leaving today.”

     “When?” Jax asked.

     “I have a 3 o’clock flight,” she responded. “So I guess I should leave around 1:30 or 2 to get to the airport in time.”

     “I’ll take you,” Jax said.

     Brenda just nodded, feeling a strange melancholy settling over her.

     Jerry walked over to her and gave her a hug and a kiss on her forehead. “Have a safe trip home, Brenda. It’s not going to be the same here without you.”

     Brenda laughed. “It’ll be much quieter, I’m sure.”

     Jerry smiled at her. “You will be very much missed is what I meant. But hell, yeah, it’ll be quieter, too,” he teased her. “Have yourself a happy New Year, all right?” He gave her a squeeze and then released her and quietly exited the room to leave her alone with Jax.

     Jax sat down on the arm of the couch. Brenda walked over to him until she stood in front of him. She took a deep breath. Her eyes glistened.

     “I am going to miss you,” she said in a wavering voice. “So much.”

     His arms slid around her in a flash, pulling her into him. His lips brushed the silky softness of her dark hair. “Are you saying good-bye to me? Because that is a word that is never going to pass between us, sprite. I will never say good-bye to you.”

     He felt her slender arms tighten around his shoulders. “Do you prefer caio? Hasta la vista? Bon voyage?”

     “I prefer that you never say good-bye to me, Brenda Elizabeth.”

     It took her a moment to realize he was perfectly serious.

     She pulled away from him slightly, so she could gaze into his eyes. “But I’m leaving, Jax. I’m going home.”

     “Yes, I know. I live there, too, if you will recall. A mere fifteen-minute drive or so from your house. You won’t miss me, Brenda. Because you’ll see me again.”

     “Yes, I will,” she decided with a firm nod. “Because I’m going to make sure to invite you and Uncle Ian to my graduation ceremony in June. I really would love it if you came, Jax. It would mean a lot to me.”

     “If you want me there, that’s where I’ll be. But you’ll see me long before that,” Jax promised her.

     Her eyes lit up. He was sure he was not mistaken about that.

     “When?” she asked.

     “I’ll be home for New Year’s Eve,” he responded. “I have to attend the Jacks Enterprises’ New Years Eve party. In fact, if you want to go, I’d be happy to take you with me. It’s always a blast; you’ll have a really good time. I’ll make sure your family gets an invitation and are on the list, and then you can either come or not come. That will be up to you.”

     Was this kind of like a date for New Year’s they were making? Her mind was whirling at the prospect. Jax, dating her? Not likely. But it sure sounded sort of like a date… and he did seem to like to kiss her… Her hopes teetered back and forth.

     “I’ll also see you in the summer when you come home to Beverly Hills for good,” Jax reminded her. “So good-bye is not something we ever need to say to each other, got it?”

     Her response was to lean in and kiss him quickly. Then kiss him again, longer.

     “Sorry,” she said with a grin.

     “Why?” he asked, a bemused smile on his stunningly handsome face.

     Her mind went completely blank. It was impossible to think in such proximity to those lips, to that face, to this body, to those ocean-blue eyes, to that sinfully beautiful smile.

     “Why what?” she said, her thoughts completely off-track.

     Jax grinned over her fluster. “Why are you sorry,” he reminded her, “that you kissed me?”

     She didn’t answer him. She wasn’t sure she even heard him, since her heart was beating like thunder in her ears.

     “My point is,” he said after a moment, “that I don’t believe you are.”

     She shook her head slowly. “I believe you’re right,” she whispered, lost in his gaze.

     “Yes, I believe I am,” he murmured, unable to resist her a moment more. His hands held her face as he drew her mouth on a thrilling path toward his, closed his eyes, brushed his lips sensually across her own. Up, down. Claiming her lips in a tender, yet arousing dance.

     I’m in every kind of trouble
     Can’t you tell, just look at me
     Half ecstatic, half confused and
     All in all, I’m all at sea
     Everything I thought I wanted
     Now it all pales next to you
     You will never know the chaos
     Of what loving you can do

     His kiss was a heated, lingering, passionate caress that felt wondrous. It set her blood on fire and wove itself sneakily around her heart. She wanted to groan out loud in protest when he slowly lifted his lips from hers. She never wanted his kisses to end.

     She was breathing erratically. Her lips tingled deliciously. She could still taste his passion on her lips.

     She felt wonderful.

     She felt confused.

     A wild excitement and happiness was running amuck inside of her, but so was a great cloud of uncertainty. She wanted to ask him what was happening to her. She couldn’t ask him that, of course. She wasn’t quite as comfortable as Jax was just saying whatever was on her mind. Besides, he would probably think she was extremely strange if she had to ask him what was happening to her. He would wonder why she didn’t know that herself.

     Desperate to say something, however, and to somehow find her way back to solid ground, she blurted out: “You know, if you do see me this summer, it won’t be for very long. I’ll only be home for two weeks and then my family is off to the Bahamas, like we always do for the summers. We have a timeshare there. It’s by the beach. I’m sure you know that. Alexa must have told she. She probably even invited you…”

     Jax ran a thumb across her rambling lips. “Aren’t you tired of going to the same place every summer?” he queried casually.

     Brenda shivered with pleasure from his caress. If only he would stop touching her for a moment, she could concentrate on the things he was saying to her. As it was, she had to think a full minute before she remembered his question.

     “It does seem a little routine,” she admitted. “But my father always makes it a fun summer there,” she added.

     “I’m sure he tries. But I’ll bet that I could make you have a much better summer than the Bahamas could ever offer you,” Jax told her.

     Brenda considered that, as she tried not to think about his hand stroking up and down the side of her throat and what that was doing to her. “I don’t doubt that,” she agreed in a voice that sounded strangely soft to her ears. “But alas, my poor Jax, you won’t get a chance to prove it. I’ll be on Grand Bahama Island, soaking up the tropical sun, and you’ll be… Where exactly? What do you do for your summers?” she asked with genuine curiosity. And then, without waiting for an answer, she continued, “Anyway, the thing is I’ll be there, and you won’t be.” She patted his face in sympathy.

     Jax just smiled at her as he grasped the hand patting his face and linked his fingers with hers, gazing down at their entwined hands. “I predict I will be where I want to be, with whom I want to be,” he said.

     A tiny scowl appeared on Brenda’s face, and she felt a tight little stab in her heart. Who did he want to be with? she wondered, unhappily. Ever since he had told her he was no longer involved with her sister, she could only imagine the sheer numbers of women vying for his now-available affections.

     He suddenly pulled her to him for a quick but blazing kiss that made her forget her own name and have to catch her breath afterwards. “You’d better go pack your things,” he suggested, blue eyes gazing at her with a simmering intensity. For a moment she could not move. She could only look at him; her heart seemingly training for the decathlon, it was racing so fast. He really liked kissing her, didn’t he? Well, who was she to talk? She absolutely loved kissing him. So much that she could hardly think of anything else when she was near him.

     She dashed upstairs to pack, not thinking about the joys of being back home and seeing her dad again, being in the warm weather again, being in her own room, sleeping in her own bed; but rather, thinking of the joys of getting a good-bye kiss at the airport from Jax.

     She might as well just face it, she realized, as she got out her suitcase and then flopped onto her stomach on the bed, her lips still tingling wildly from his last kiss.

      She was positively crazy about him.

The song credits are: “Caroling, Caroling” written by A. Burt/W. Hutson from Nat King Cole’s CD The Christmas Song; “Open Arms” written by S. Perry/J. Cain from Mariah Carey’s CD Daydream; and a portion of “A Step Too Far” written by E. John and T. Rice from the Aida Original Broadway Cast Recording.