Brenda woke up the next morning feeling inexplicably wonderful.

It was the best sleep she had had since coming back to Port Charles, that was for sure, and she attributed her unexplainable mood to that and to the loveliness of the morning.

It was another warm day for April, so she tossed on a pair of denim shorts, with a delicate floral design accenting the waist, and a short black tank top beneath a white crochet top. She brushed out her dark chestnut curls, gazing at her reflection in the mirror and wondering if she ought to cut it so that it fell just over her shoulders, as opposed to the center of her back as it did now?

Jax had not mentioned anything about how long her hair had gotten, she realized. Maybe he didn’t like it long? Not that it mattered, but she was sure he had to have noticed. Or maybe not. Maybe he didn’t notice anything about her anymore. Her hair was back to the length and natural tall curls it had always had when she was growing up, before she had cut it and straightened it at age 16, much to the mortification of her sister Julia. Justin had Jax’s hair color, that very deep, rich honey blonde, but he had inherited the texture of Brenda’s hair; soft, luxuriant curls that people could simply not resist touching. Everything else about him was Jax, Jax, and more Jax, she thought and then groaned for allowing Jasper Jacks to be the last thing she had thought about last night and the first thing she had thought about this morning. Well, enough of that; she was not about to let these ridiculous longings for her ex-fiancé ruin this amazing mood in which she had awakened.

Sliding the tall, dark curls into a ponytail, Brenda left her bedroom and went looking for her son. She walked into his room saying, “Okay, rug rat, it’s time to get up,” But the bed was already empty, as Brenda figured it would be. Justin was always up early. Yet another thing he’d inherited from his father.

She made the bed, straightened up the toys, coloring books, gameboy cartridges, and music sheets that Justin had left scattered all over the floor - neat, her son was not - and then went downstairs to find him.

The aroma of Cook’s breakfast wafted through the house as Brenda descended the stairs, and she fully expected to find her little one in the kitchen sampling Cook’s chocolate chip muffins. But he wasn’t there. Brenda left the kitchen as she continued to search the house for her son and finally found him in the living room sitting on Edward’s lap, the two of them laughing like loons over the latest antics of a rerun of The Crocodile Hunter on the Animal Planet Channel.

She noticed that Justin was already dressed, which she hadn’t expected him to be. He was wearing his favorite combination of black denim knee-length shorts and black-and-white Eric Lindross Hockey Jersey.

“Good lord, but that man is insane!” Edward said in between guffaws, as they watched the Crocodile Hunter wrestle a crocodile while yammering on about the possibility of losing a limb at any moment.

“He’s funny!” Justin said. “You never saw this before?”

Edward shook his head, as he laughed anew at the Crocodile Hunter whacking the beast on the head with a fist.

“I watch it all the time. I know all about snakes and which ones are bad and which ones are okay. But Mommy still won’t get me one,” he said with a tiny pout. He wanted a snake really, really bad.

“I would certainly hope not,” Edward said.

“Can you do that Uncle Edward?” Justin asked, pointing to the television.

“Wrestle a crocodile’s jaw shut? Good heavens, no, son. Although I have been known to best a shark or two. The dreaded Australian shark is the only one I can’t seem to reel in.”

Justin’s aquamarine eyes narrowed suspiciously. “Are you talkin’ about my daddy?” he asked.

Edward feigned innocence. “Whatever gave you that idea, young man? Your father is a man, not a shark.”

“Yeah, but you always call him a shark,” Justin pointed out with a shrug. “And a pirate, and a cor’prate men-iss, and a cuspid…?”

“Cutthroat, son. Cutthroat,” Edward corrected, patting Justin’s head.

Brenda rolled her eyes.

“You know what, Uncle Edward?” Justin said.

“What?”

“I think you really like my daddy, even though you try to act mad at him all the time.”

“Me? Like Jax? Why… I… oh, nonsense. It’s not true, I tell you… not me… not…”

Justin laughed at Edward’s stammering. “Hey, do you think my mommy would let me get an earring like Uncle Ned has?” Justin often switched topics at the drop of a hat like that, and so Edward was not in the least thrown by the turn of the conversation.

“Oh, good lord, boy, don’t tell me you have aspirations of becoming a rock star!” Edward groaned, visions of Eddie Maine swarming about his head. And then both Edward and Justin were once again enjoying fits of laughter at the continued lunacy of the Crocodile Hunter.

“Oh, my heavens, Justin, did you see that?!” Edward laughed until his sides hurt. “The man is certifiable, I tell you!”

“What’s that mean?” Justin asked, always curious about words he did not understand.

“It means the man is probably related to your father,” Edward responded.

“Him and Daddy talk kinda the same,” Justin admitted. “You know what?” he asked next.

“What?” Edward asked, gazing down at the boy, who was every inch a young Jasper Jacks.

“I bet my mom had a good sleep this time.”

“Why’s that?” Edward asked.

“’Cause my daddy’s the one who tucked her in.”

“Must you ruin my lovely morning by bringing that up?” Edward muttered, but his eyes twinkled to let Justin know he was only teasing and not really upset.

Brenda's eyes widened. Jax had put her to bed? She was wondering how she’d ended up there. He had carried her then? Held her in his arms? Laid her down on her bed? How had she gotten her clothes off and into her pajamas? Her heart was pounding with a rush of wonderful wildness at the realization that she had been that close to Jax last night and not even known it. He probably hadn’t been the one to undress her though, she thought logically, and not without some disappointment - which irked her. Edward would never have allowed Jax to undress her. She was surprised Edward had even allowed Jax to carry her to the bedroom!

Had she fallen asleep on the porch swing then? While Jax was talking to her? Yeesh! That must have made an impression on him, she thought miserably. And then she angrily reminded herself that she didn’t care what he thought of her anyway, for crying out loud! And yet, her son was right, she’d finally had a wonderful sleep. Was it because Jax had put her to bed? Had he maybe, possibly, held her for a few moments? Caressed her? Stroked her hair. Perhaps even kissed her goodnight? She wanted to kick herself for evening thinking such a thing. Of course he didn’t do any of those things! What utter nonsense! And who cared if he had or not?!

“And he gave me a bath and told me two funny stories so I could go to sleep,” Justin continued. “One was a song about a yellow submarine, and Daddy’s gonna get me one!”

“How very like that father of yours to promise a four-year-old a naval vessel,” Edward muttered.

“And he kept calling the Princess Rapretzel,” Justin laughed. “Like a pretzel! And I kept saying, Daddy, no it’s Rapunzel! And he kept saying, no, Justin, it’s Rapretzel, who’s tellin’ this story?”

Brenda could not get past the fact that Jax had given Justin his bath! Jax? She grinned wickedly. She bet that Justin had wet Jax mercilessly with that aquatic menace, Tek!

Still smiling over the image of Jax trying to bathe the wild-when-it-came-to-bath-time Justin and having to do battle with the nefarious swimming frog, Brenda entered the room. “Hi, guys,” she said, announcing her presence.

“Hi, Mommy,” Justin said flashing her his dimpled smile and then hopping off of Edward’s lap, eager to get to his mother.

“Good morning, Brenda,” Edward said, wiping a tear of mirth from his eye at yet another hilarious antic of the Crocodile Hunter. “Oh, I tell you, my dear, this show is a hoot! And this son of yours is the most wonderful company.”

Brenda smiled. “No arguments there.” She brushed her fingers against the attractive cleft in Justin’s chin. “So who got you dressed cutie-pie?” she asked him.

“Me. Well, mostly me. Emily helped me,” he said. “I wanted to be ready when you got up, Mommy,” he announced, taking her hand.

“Ready for what?” Brenda asked, gazing at him with amused suspicion. “Oh, that’s right. I promised to take you with me if I go into Manhattan today, right?”

“Nope, that’s not it,” Justin said.

“No? Then what?”

“It appears your son would like to go out for breakfast,” Edward informed her, watching her reaction.

“A-ha,” Brenda murmured. “My child’s infamous IHOP craving,” she surmised, knowing Justin's love for IHOP pancakes.

But Justin shook his head. “No, Mommy. I don’t wanna go there.”

“Oh, no, he’s doesn’t want to go there,” Edward chimed in.

“Where then?” Brenda asked curiously.

“Maybe we can go to that restaurant, maybe,” Justin said, trying to look as innocent as possible. He already had such angelic features that it wasn’t difficult for him to achieve this.

“What restaurant, honey?”

“That one that’s in the hotel. You know.”

“What hotel?”

“The one where Daddy lives.”

Edward muffled his snort. Brenda folded her arms and gazed down at her son.

“The one where Daddy lives, huh?” Oh boy.

“Yeah,” Justin said, tugging on her hand. “Let’s go, ‘kay?”

“Umm, honey, don’t you think Cook might get her feelings hurt? She made a really yummy, big, big, gigantical breakfast for us, all your favorites…” Brenda said.

But Justin was shaking his little blonde head. “Nope, she won’t be mad. I already told her where I wanted to go, and she said if I saw my daddy to tell him she says cheers and she wishes he would come over here more ‘cause she’s s’posed to beat him at a game of gin.”

Edward muttered something about Cook being a spatula-waving troublemaker, while Brenda found herself running out of excuses for her and Justin not to have breakfast at the Port Charles Grille.

“Cook said that, huh?” Brenda murmured. Cook had always adored Jax.

“Yeah, she did. So c’mon, Mommy, we got to go,” Justin said impatiently, tugging on her hand once again.

“Yeah I guess… we got to go,” Brenda said, giving Edward a ‘help me” look. For crying out loud, she didn’t want Jax to think she was spying on him! Or following him around like a lovesick adolescent. She prayed they wouldn’t run into him and Miranda at the hotel and then once again looked beseechingly at Edward to help her out of this.

Edward just shrugged and said, “Have a lovely breakfast, my dear. Beware of blue-eyed pirates,” he added, as he chuckled and left the living room.

“We got to go, Mommy,” Justin said, handing her her purse to get her moving. Brenda allowed him to lead her to the door, where Reginald grinned as he watched Brenda make a quick pit stop in front of the large mirror. Brenda caught Reginald’s knowing grin and scowled at him.

“I was just… I… my hair… uhhh…”

“Mmm hmmm,” Reginald said, cracking another grin as he opening the door for them. “Say hi to Jax for me.”

“We’re not going there to see Jax; we are going there to eat!” Brenda snapped, incensed by Reginald’s barely concealed mirth.

“We might see him, Mommy!” Justin said perkily, as he waked around her in circles, his excitement clear as day. Clearly, his fervent hope was to run into his father during breakfast. Brenda hoped for just the opposite.

At the Port Charles Grille, Jax was waiting for Miranda to join him for breakfast so that he could have his long-awaited discussion about calling off the wedding with her. He was going over how to do this, how to tell her this as tactfully as possible, when his phone rang and it was Miranda canceling, saying something about the water pipes bursting at her house and the plumber being there and her not being able to get away.

Jax hung up, his eyes thoughtful. Her pipes had burst in the middle of this unusually warm April? He wondered if she might be trying to avoid him? Could she perhaps have picked up on something and already knew what he wanted to discuss with her? God knew that he tried to hide his feelings about Brenda from Miranda, but he had a feeling he might not be doing a very good job. He’d always been told, by friends and family alike, that his eyes were truly the windows to his soul. If that were true, then if Miranda looked into his eyes she must know that Brenda was the one in possession of his soul. He didn’t want to hurt Miranda. She had suffered plenty herself. But he wanted his life with Brenda so badly that it consumed him. He would not deny himself this happiness, this wondrous love unlike any other. This love that belonged to him and had been deliberately taken from him. He would not give that up again a second time. Not for anyone.

So, if Miranda’s burst pipes were just an excuse on her part to put off the inevitable, Jax decided he’d just have to go over there. He wanted to get this over with. He wanted the freedom to pursue Brenda in his typically relentless, highly flirtatious manner without causing Miranda the humiliation of having her fiancé going wild over another woman. Once he was no longer her fiancé, that would not be an issue.

Jax wondered how Jerry was faring in his inquiries? He hadn’t heard back from his brother about that vital project Jax had asked him to compile for him yet. Jax was just about to phone Jerry again when Corrine, a voluptuous, smartly dressed redhead who was the manager of the PC Grille, approached him at the juice bar.

“Hi there, handsome,” she said flirtatiously. Jax was very accustomed to her hitting on him by now since she did it every single time he was alone, and it always amused him. “Got stood up?” she asked.

Jax gave her a smile. “It appears so,” he said.

“Then I think that fiancée of yours needs to have her head examined. You’d better watch out though, Helena Cassadine is prowling about in here and if she sees you alone she’s likely to pounce all over you,” Corrine warned with a teasing twinkle in her eyes.

Jax shuddered. “Well, thanks, I think you’ve managed to kill my appetite,” he told her. “I was just leaving anyway.”

Corrine laughed and handed him a large tan envelope. “No, you can’t leave. I just saw your brother at the entrance. He asked me to give you this and said he’d be right in as soon as he found a parking spot.”

“Thank you,” Jax said, gazing at the envelope and recognizing Jerry’s handwriting. It must be the research Jax had asked him to do. He smiled. Jerry was the best brother in the world. Jax knew he could count on no one the way he could count on his brother.

“Nice spread, by the way,” Corrine said to the distracted Jax.

“Excuse me?” Jax said, gazing up from the documentation in his hands.

“Lucy Coe’s society column for the Herald,” Corrine clarified.

“What about it?” Jax asked, not knowing what she was talking about.

“Yeah, what about it?” Jerry said, as he walked up next to Jax and Corrine.

Jax turned around. “Hey, Jerry.”

“Hey. Got my delivery, I see.”

“Yep.

“Want to get a table?” Jerry suggested.

“Yeah, but first,” he said, turning back to Corrine, “I want to know what’s the big deal about Lucy’s column today. What does it have to do with me?”

“Take a look for yourself,” a voice behind him said. It was his on-again, off-again racket ball opponent - or more accurately ‘victim’ since Jax always won - Peter Williams. “You publicity hound, you. Not that I blame you for - oh my…” he murmured as he spotted a beautiful brunette and a little blonde boy enter and be seated across the room by a rather besotted looking young waiter, who seemed to be having difficulty telling them the breakfast specials.

Jax was not paying attention to Peter or to the woman who’d gotten his attention and who had sent the teenaged waiter into a babbling fluster. Jax was too busy looking at the huge two-page article in the Port Charles Herald, which was littered with photos of himself and Miranda, personal photos, which had obviously been supplied to the newspaper by someone in Jax’s family. He soon realized the supplier was Miranda herself as the article was all about her and her excitement over her upcoming wedding, wedding gowns, receptions, honeymoon locations, what a great kisser Jax was, what a romantic he was, how perfect they were for each other, how destined they were to be together.

“Damn,” Jerry said, gazing at the article alongside Jax.

Jax read the article, knowing that it was unfair and maybe even ridiculous of him to feel betrayed and angry with her about it. After all, it was her wedding, too, and unlike him she wanted to get married. Just because he didn’t was no reason for him to be upset by her enthusiasm. But god, he had to end this engagement as soon as possible. Reading this article and seeing the pictures, reading the wedding date in the paper, it all made it seem like too much of a reality. He felt as if he were trapped and suffocating.

Now, he reaffirmed. He’d do it right now. He’d go to her house, busted pipes or not. It was only fair to the both of them not to allow this doomed engagement to drag on and on when he already knew his heart was spoken for and there was only one woman he could ever marry now.

Jax and Jerry excused themselves to go get a table, but Jax stopped when he heard a familiar laugh. That same musical laughter that had stopped him in his tracks back in Paris.

Brenda and Justin were laughing over finally getting the specials from the flustered waiter when Brenda spotted Jax and Jerry. Oh, shoot! She thought. She had been so hoping she would not run into him. And then that ‘oh shoot’ was immediately followed up by her wondering what was wrong because Jax looked somewhat irritated about something to her. And then in the next moment she was simply hit by the sheer beauty and seductive magnetism of the man as he glanced up after exchanging some words with the restaurant manager (who in Brenda’s humble and slightly irritated opinion looked a lot more like a bordello madam), who was hovering over him as if she’d like to attach herself to him permanently.

Jax had glanced up when he’d heard that laughter that was as familiar to him as his own name, as precious to him as the very air he breathed. Brenda was here. And her presence never failed to stir his heart.

It only took him two seconds to find her, and to his delight she was looking at him, too; their eyes meeting across the room as if they had psychic radar for one another. He’d caught her looking at him the way Corrine usually looked at him, he noted, a pleased, slightly arrogant, very male smile skipping across his lips. It was definitely that ‘I wish you were mine’ look, although he was positive that Brenda’s was not intentional, which actually made it all the more coveted by him. To his further delight, Justin was with Brenda. Well, this day was certainly looking up. Going to see Miranda could certainly wait just a little longer.

“Damn,” Brenda whispered, when Jax caught her looking at him. And she could only imagine the way she had been looking at him, judging from that cocky smile that had been playing delightfully on his gorgeous lips when their eyes met. Good grief, did the mortifications just never end?

“What’d you say, Mom?” Justin asked, already knowing that she had sworn and thinking it was really funny because his mom hated to swear!

“I said… Dad…you …your dad’s here,” she covered.

“Where?!” Justin asked excitedly, jumping up on his seat and trying to climb up on the table.

“Justin, sit down! You’re going to break your neck,” Brenda said, reaching across to steady him.

Jax saw Justin standing on the chair, looking all over the room, and knew instinctively his son was seeking him out, meaning his mom must have told him he was here.

Peter saw Jax and Jerry gazing over at the beautiful brunette and the little boy, who for some reason was now standing on a chair. “Jax, old buddy, please tell me you know that gorgeous creature and can introduce me," he said, salivating with anticipation.

“I do and I can. But I’m not going to,” Jax said, bugged by how Peter, and just about every other guy in the place, was staring at Brenda. You’d think these men had never seen a woman before!

“Besides, we know you already bloody well know who she is, Williams,” Jerry added, knowing that Brenda’s name and face were plastered all over the tabloids on a daily basis.

“Oh, he doesn’t read anything that doesn’t have a ‘for sale’ sign on it,” Corrine explained to Jerry. Still, I really thought you were more up on things like this, Pete,” Corrine chided him. “Don’t you know who that is? It’s Brenda Barrett. She was Jax’s former flame, in between Miranda’s death and resurrection. Wow, I tell you I’d sacrifice a couple of goats to look like her,” Corrine sighed, gazing at Brenda with a bit of envy. “Maybe a whole herd.”

Jax rolled his eyes and handed Peter back his newspaper. “If you both will excuse me,” he said. “Jerry, get us a table, and I’ll be right there.”

“One second,” Peter halted him. “That’s Brenda Barrett?” His grin was huge and he let out a low laugh of delightful satisfaction. “Well, I think you might as well introduce me to her, Jax, because I’m her realtor. A Ms. Brenda Barrett called my answering service yesterday - said Lois Cerullo recommended me to her. And I’m supposed to meet her at the Quartermaine mansion at 6. Might as well meet her now.”

Jax groaned. “Brenda called you? What does she need a realtor for?” Jax wanted to know.

“Obviously she’s looking for a place to live, genius,” Peter responded, squirting some Binanca into his mouth and straightening his tie. “And if I’m lucky, she just may be looking for love, too.”

Jerry rolled his eyes and murmured to Jax that he’d meet him at the table.

“She’s not,” Jax said emphatically. “Not with you anyway.”

Both Corrine and Peter gave Jax curious looks, startled by his possessive tone, and Jax immediately tried to rein in his true feelings, knowing it would be totally unfair to Miranda to broadcast to the world the fact that he had no intention of marrying her and was, in fact, madly in love with someone before he’d even told her about it.

“A little protective there, aren’t we?” Peter murmured, gazing at Jax thoughtfully. “A little too interested in the men that take an interest in your ex.”

“Why shouldn’t I be interested?” Jax countered smoothly. “Brenda and I share a son, and so, of course, I’m interested in the men she has in her life because they’ll be in my son’s life too.”

“That’s your son?” Peter asked, genuinely surprised that Jax had a child.

“You really need to keep up with the tabloids, Pete,” Corrine chuckled.

Peter took another look at the young boy and grinned. “On second thought, how could that not be your son, Jax. My God, he looks just like you.”

“What a gorgeous kid,” Corrine agreed. “How old is he, Jax?”

“He’s four. Well, he’s going to be four in a week-and-a-half.”

“And what are you going to buy the little prince, a car?” Corrine teased, the love Jax had for his son clearly visible in his eyes. Of course, a rather intense emotion for Brenda was visible in those eyes, too. Corrine wasn’t really sure what to make of it. Hell, it looked like love to her, but Jax was with Miranda Jameson and engaged to be married to her. Everyone knew that.

“A car… now, there’s a thought,” Jax murmured with interest as he walked over to Brenda and Justin, annoyed but aware that Peter Williams was tagging along behind him. “I will introduce you, but don’t slobber all over her,” Jax warned.

“Slobber? I never slobber. Drool a little bit maybe. Anyway what is with you, Jax?” Peter asked. “Seriously, buddy, I think you’re getting your fiancée’s mixed up. This is the one that isn’t yours, remember?”

Jax wanted to knock all of his teeth out. “She isn’t yours either.” And she is, too, mine, damn it.

“Hey, Daddy!” Justin called out happily when he saw his father approaching. He jumped off the chair and ran over to Jax, who promptly lifted him into his arms.

“Hey, kiddo. Fancy meeting you here,” Jax said, grinning down into eyes that mirrored his own.

Justin lowered his voice to a conspiratorial whisper. “I made Mommy take us here. ‘Cause I knew maybe I’d get to see you!” he confessed.

“That’s my boy,” Jax whispered, as they shared conspiring smiles, while Brenda watched them with curiosity.

“And I didn’t tell her about the house by the water either. Or the horsey or anything. That’s a secret, right?” Justin asked.

“Right. For now it is,” Jax said.

“Hi, Jax,” Brenda said, determined to be polite and civil and emotionally detached, as she had promised herself she would be. Emotionally detached. Ha! Her heart had been racing a mile a minute the closer he’d gotten to the table.

“Hi,” Jax said with a smile that caused a most splendid little riot in her blood stream as he slid into the seat next to her, Justin still in his arms.

A dark-haired man behind Jax was scowling and clearing his throat rather loudly and repeatedly.

Jax sighed as if he were about to perform a distasteful task. “Oh, Brenda, this is Peter Williams. Your realtor, as it turns out. Peter and I know each other - we play racket ball together every now and then,” Jax explained.

“And let me tell you, Jax always plays to win,” Peter said. “Damned competitive, you know.”

Well, Brenda certainly already knew that about Jax. “Nice to meet you,” she said, giving Peter a smile and sliding her hand into his for a handshake of greeting as Jax watched their every move. “We have an appointment later, don’t we?” Brenda said.

Peter nodded, sending her what he thought was his most attractive smile. “Yes, at the Quartermaine residence at 6, I believe. Although, if I may suggest, we can just turn it into a dinner meeting at Terrace on the Hill. It’s lovely weather for an early dinner outdoors. Have you ever been to Terrace on the Hill?”

“She’s been there,” Jax said before Brenda could verbalize the same response. She looked at Jax curiously but said nothing.

“Lois sings your praises,” Brenda said to the realtor. “She guaranteed me you can find me a place to live in two weeks,” Brenda said with a smile.

“Smile at me like that again, and I’ll find you a place to live in in two days,” Peter said smoothly.

Jax noticed that Peter was still holding onto Brenda’s hand, and after a few attempts to pull her hand away, she seemed undecided as to whether to actually yank it out of his grip or just let him hold onto it.

“Get a hold of yourself, Peter. Haven’t you ever seen a beautiful woman before?” Jax muttered.

“Not this beautiful,” Peter said, smiling down into Brenda’s eyes and trying to give her his best seductive glance.

“Agreed. Now, let go of her,” Jax said. His voice was quiet and not in the least confrontational, but left no room for argument. Brenda looked at him as if he had lost his mind and as if she surely must not have heard correctly, but then was stunned when Peter Williams slowly let go of her hand. Even though she didn’t particularly care for Mr. William’s attentions and had been about to yank her hand out of his anyway, Brenda found herself very much irked by Jax’s unrequested interference and sent Jax a glare which he found quite adorable, and so he just smiled at her.

“An early dinner would be great, Mr. Williams,” Brenda said, daring Jax to try to interfere again.

“And yet, alas, not possible today,” Jax interjected, and Justin giggled as his mom’s eyes glittered with that pretty spark that always tipped Justin off to the fact that she was getting really angry. But not angry in a bad way. Angry in a funny way, like how Yosemite Sam got angry at Bugs Bunny.

“Jax, I wasn’t aware that you were a part of this conversation,” Brenda said through gritted teeth. Why on earth was he acting this way? She was flustered because she didn’t know whether to be furious or outrageously flattered. Lois was right, she realized. Jax did not act like a man in love and two months away from his wedding day.

“Well, I am, Brenda. Because I came over here to tell you how happy I am that I ran into you today since I actually need to ask a favor of you. So you see, you can’t have dinner with him today or look at houses or anything like that, okay? Because I really need you," He shot a glance to Peter. “She’ll call you later to reschedule,” he said. “If you’re lucky,” he added under his breath.

Justin giggled louder.

Brenda’s mouth dropped open, stunned and infuriated and yet also shamelessly excited by Jax’s very territorial behavior.

Peter gave Jax a sour look and bent to say for his ears only: “As it happens, I’m only unlucky when in competition with you,” he murmured to Jax. “And might I add that if I were Miranda Jameson, I would be demanding a recount right about now - or don’t you realize how all of this possessive attention you’re showering on your ex-fiancée looks to the public at large?” he gave that parting shot to his racket ball nemesis. Then Peter took Brenda’s hand and kissed it, his lips lingering both because he was so attracted to her and also because he knew it would annoy Jax.

Jerry came up to the table then. “Sorry to interrupt,” he said, then nodded in greeting to Brenda, who returned the gesture. “Jax, I just got a phone call about Groen Pharmaceutical, so I have to go meet with their attorney. Call me later, okay? We’ll discuss -” He gazed at the envelope Jax had placed on the table. “ - the matter.”

“Okay. Thanks, Jerry,” Jax said.

They both noticed that Justin was gazing with great curiosity up at Jerry.

Jerry gazed back at the child and gave him a wave.

Justin hesitated a second and then gave him a wave in return.

Jerry grinned.

Justin grinned back, and Jerry noticed the boy had his mother’s dimples. “I know who you are. You’re my daddy’s brother,” Justin said.

“That’s right, I am,” Jerry said, smiling at his nephew.

“I know your name, even. You’re my Uncle Jerry.”

Jerry squatted down to be more eye-level with the little boy. “And I know your name as well. You’re my nephew, Justin.”

“Yep.” And then Justin stuck out his hand.

Jerry laughed and extended his own hand. “Pleased to finally meet you, nephew.”

“You, too,” Justin said.

A grinning Jerry turned to Jax. “So tell me, how is it that an Aussie like you and a Yank like Brenda have a child who I’m thinking sounds an awful lot like a Brit?”

Jax laughed and Brenda did, too.

“You don’t think the kids in the schools here will give him a hard time over a little accent, do you?” Brenda asked Jax.

“Not if they want to live,” Jax responded.

“He doesn’t exactly sound British,” Peter interjected. “More of a Euro-American thing. I’ll bet you the other kids will think it’s cool.”

Brenda smiled at him. “You think so?”

“Peter, weren’t you leaving?” Jax said.

Peter ignored Jax and flashed a smile at Brenda. “I’ll look forward to your call later,” he said to her.

“Don’t count on it,” Jax muttered.

“I’ll walk you out, Williams,” Jerry said, saying his goodbyes and placing his hand on Peter’s shoulder to forcibly guide him out.

Brenda stared at Jax. “Of all the rude, arrogant, presumptuous…” she sputtered.

“I know. Peter really is hard to take sometimes,” Jax agreed.

Brenda was torn between laughing hysterically and dumping her plate of eggs on Jax’s head. “Jax, I was talking about you!” she enlightened him.

His lazy smile told her that he had already known that. “Please don’t be angry,” he said in a voice that melted her heart. “You’ll thank me later - he’s all wrong for you,” Jax promised her, flashing her the little-boy smile of his that unfortunately made staying angry with him nearly impossible.

“I’ll thank you to stay out of my life, is what I’ll thank you to do, Jax,” she said, thinking she had to say something and not just give in and forgive his attempts to control her social life. That’s what had just happened here, wasn’t it? Or was she simply hoping that was what had happened here? It was probably the latter, she supposed glumly. Why would Jax give two hoots about her social life anyway?

“I really do need a favor from you, Brenda,” Jax said, taking a sip of her orange juice while she watched him, fascinated with everything from the way his hands slid around the glass to the way the glass touched his lips to the way he licked those lips after taking a swallow of the fresh, cold juice.

A favor. Here it comes, Brenda thought. He’s going to ask me if Justin can be the ring bearer in his wedding.

As Justin was humming a series of notes that had popped into his head while diving into his blueberry pancakes, Jax covered Justin’s ears. “I have a gift in mind for our son, and I’d really like your opinion on it before I get it. Can I borrow you for a little while today?” Jax asked her.

“Hey, what’re you saying? How come I can’t hear it, too?” Justin demanded, as he tried to pull his dad’s hands away.

“That’s what you wanted to ask me?” Brenda said, doing a terrible job of hiding how surprised and relieved she was.

Jax nodded. “Will you?” he asked her.

Brenda hesitated. This would involve being alone with Jax in some capacity. Could she do this?

“I don’t think I can,” she told him. “I’m really busy today, Jax. I have some new photography equipment coming in that I have to pick up at the post office. And I have to pick up Justin’s dog today at the airport…”

“Cooper,” Jax said, and Justin did manage to hear that word.

“He’s a wolf!” Justin said, gazing up at is father with a grin.

Jax just laughed and clapped his hands tighter on his son’s ears. “I can help you out,” Jax offered, looking at Brenda. “You go pick up your photography equipment, and I’ll take Justin to the airport to get his pooch. That way you’ll have plenty of time to do me that favor.”

“But… I promised Lois I would go into the PICTURE THIS Manhattan offices today. I really can’t keep putting it off. Plus, we hired another photographer, since we’re expanding, and there’s a test photo shoot for an Elle magazine cover that’s up for grabs and we’re trying to get that account. So anyway, I’m having him work on that today and I wanted to peek in it and see how he’s doing. Plus,” she added, “I promised Justin a trip to the city with me.” Excellent excuse, she thought, patting herself on the back. And it wasn’t even a lie. None of it.

Jax was impressed by how many words she had gotten out in one breath and how many excuses she was willing to toss out to avoid being alone with him.

“Not a problem,” Jax said with an easy shrug. “I’ll take you there. You do what you need to do at PICTURE THIS, and I’ll keep our son occupied while you’re doing that. And then you can accompany me to FAO Schwartz and we can pick up what I need for a certain child of ours. Deal?”

She was exasperated. Jax clearly was not taking no for an answer, and no one knew how relentless he could be more than she did. “Justin will be with us, Jax. How can you pick out anything with him right there? You did want it to be a surprise, didn’t you?”

“I will blindfold him,” Jax said. “Really,” he added with a smile. “He’ll love it. Or we’ll ask Lois to watch him for a couple of hours while we abscond to the toy store.”

Brenda felt trapped. How could she back out of this without seeming to be exactly what she was - scared of being alone with him? Even with Justin there, she would still basically be alone with Jax. Geez, it was ridiculous to have such a fear anyway! Yes, ridiculous. He was just a man. And a man who had wronged her, at that.

“All right,” she said. “Justin and I are booked on the two-o’clock shuttle into Manhattan.”

“We’ll go on my jet, if you don’t mind,” Jax said. “It will be faster and safer, and we won’t be bound to any flight schedules. We can go and come back whenever we want to,” he added, not wanting to give her any reason to say no.

“What’re you guys saying?” Justin said, squirming around on his father’s lap and trying to free himself from his father’s hands over his ears.

“All you have to do is let me know when you want to leave,” Jax said to Brenda.

She took a breath and nodded. “Is two hours all right?”

“Anything you say is all right,” he said, gazing at her with such smoldering intensity that she literally felt her breathing faltering. She found it impossible to look away from him. The currents of magic swirled wildly. The sparks between them were like lightning electrifying the sky right before the storm. Jax wasn’t even aware of dropping his hands from Justin’s ears until he found his hand sliding into Brenda’s for a handshake that was the most sensual thing either had ever felt.

Justin broke the spell when he placed his little hand on top of both of theirs. “How come I couldn’t hear what you were saying?” he asked, pouting over being excluded.

Brenda quickly slid her hand out of Jax’s and admonished herself for being so susceptible to everything about him. God, after what this man had done to her, how could she still melt into a passionate mess at his mere touch? How could she still adore the very ground he walked upon? How could she still want him so very, very much? She really didn’t think this little jaunt into Manhattan was a good idea, but she had no idea how to gracefully back out now.

“Don’t be mad, squirt. We were talking about a surprise for you,” Jax said, smoothing his son’s little ruffled feathers.

“For my birthday?” Justin perked up as he asked the question excitedly, his blue eyes dancing with anticipation.

Jax nodded, and Justin gave both his parents a forgiving smile as he put another forkful of pancakes in his mouth.

“Good?” Jax asked with a grin as his son munched away happily.

“Mmm hmmm,” Justin said, nodding. “Want some?” he offered, not giving his father a chance to answer before he was already dangling a forkful of pancakes in front of his father’s lips.

“Mmmmm,” Jax agreed, taking bite. “More syrup though.”

“Oh, yeah - I like a lot, too,” Justin agreed, kicking his legs back and forth. “Lots and lots,” he added, as he and Jax exchanged identical smiles and Jax did the honors of pouring more maple syrup over the pancakes. And Brenda wondered about Jax’s suddenly fabulous mood. It must be Justin, she guessed. That kid could put anyone in a glorious mood. Edward being a prime example.

Brenda watched as Justin and Jax shared Justin’s breakfast, while Justin told Jax all about that morning’s episode of The Crocodile Hunter. She realized they were sharing a lot more than food though. Those two were bonding like nobody’s business. Now that Brenda had given them to each other, neither was going to ever allow her to take one away from the other. Not that she would even dream of doing such a terrible thing, but the glaring fact that Jax was going to be a huge, and apparently constant, part of their son’s life made Brenda realize he was going to be a huge and constant part of hers, too. Both Jax and Miranda, undoubtedly.

She suddenly had a pounding headache. She couldn’t stand it! For the life of her, despite all that had happened between them and how much she had tried to hate him, she could simply not stop thinking of Jax as hers. How in god’s name she was supposed to smile and let bygones be bygones while he married Miranda Jameson in some lavish, romantic ceremony and lived happily ever after was beyond her. Her head ached to even think about the injustice of it all, and how was she possibly going to be able to be graceful and reasonable and accept all of this with dignity? She had to move on with her life, she realized. It was the only way. She had to make herself fall in love with someone else. It was either that or prepare herself for a lifetime of pure, unadulterated misery and endless nights of passionate longings for a man she could never have.

But how could she ever fall in love with someone else when Jax was becoming a part of her life again? Everyone would pale in comparison to him. She’d never find someone, and her heart would never let him go - she knew that daunting truth already. Distance from him was what she required, but it didn’t seem to be in her immediate future.

She was pulled out of her confusing, distressing thoughts by the touch of something sticky and sweet against her lips and focused her attention to see Jax brushing a forkful of pancakes enticingly against her mouth.

“You don’t know what you’re missing,” he said softly, his eyes locking flirtatiously with hers.

Brenda did not even know how to begin to respond to that. Oh God, this was her Jax. The Jax she loved so much. Sexy and flirtatious and playful and relentless. If she wasn’t careful…

She opened her mouth allowing him to slide the fork between her lips, as she tasted the blueberry pancakes. She’d had blueberry pancakes in maple syrup at the Grille before, but somehow they had never tasted as good as they did at this very second. She felt herself blushing, thinking there was something very erotic about all of this. She smiled sweetly at Jax to cover the sensual direction of her thoughts, but she was sure he could see her blushing and was probably wondering what that was all about.

“Like it, Mommy?” Justin asked, after a big gulp of grape juice that left him with a purple mustache line.

Brenda nodded and smiled again, determined not to let anyone know how insanely Jax was affecting her. God, please help me get through this afternoon in New York City with Jax, she prayed. I would be very grateful if you could just help me not make a complete and utter fool out of myself. Thanks.

Jax could tell that Brenda was flashing that sweet, innocent smile to cover up some riotous, probably quite sensual (if she was feeling anything remotely similar to what he was feeling), emotions going on inside of her. And he couldn’t have been more pleased. Clearly, spending as much time with her as possible was the ticket - reminding her of what she really shouldn’t need reminding of: that they were meant for each other. It might take longer than he liked to regain her trust and attain the ultimate prize - her heart and her unconditional surrender - but she was worth it. Every second he was with her solidified that indisputable fact. And if he had to maneuver and manipulate situations that ended up in their spending a lot of time together, so be it. He was more than up to that challenge.

Jax took a napkin and wiped Justin’s sticky mouth, erasing his grape juice mustache, and then took his hand. “Come on, JC, let’s go get your dog.”

“He’s a wolf, daddy,” Justin insisted, sliding out of the chair.

Jax turned towards Brenda. “Meet you back at the Q mausoleum in an hour,” he said, winking at her.

A delicious shiver immediately went through her. She wanted to kill him for that.

She watched as he and Justin left the PC Grille, with Justin wanting to know what a mausoleum was. And his father letting out a devilish chuckle as she explained it to his son.

“Oh, damn it,” Brenda murmured, as she slid her head into her hands. She could feel it already. Feel it so strongly.

The common sense that told her not to let Jax get to her was warring with the electrical thrill of wondering how it would feel to let him get to her again?

Either way, she had a sinking feeling that her heart was once again in serious jeopardy.

“So we’re agreed then?” the man asked, as he eased onto the tattered floor mat that served as their bed. “When they next come, we’ll feed them misinformation to any and all questions they put to us.”

“Perhaps we should reconsider,” the woman said worriedly. “If we don’t cooperate with them, they’ll threaten to harm the boys again.”

“For all we know, they already have,” the man said grimly, his hands rubbing against the thick growth of beard captivity had left him with. “We’re cut off from the outside world, from any news. We’ve no idea what’s happening. We don’t even know who these people are, since they never let us see their faces.”

“The woman - her voice at times sounds familiar to me.”

“Can you place a name to the voice?”

“No,” she shook her head. “It just sounds familiar to me sometimes, but I can’t place it with any specific soul.”

He took her hand in his. “Are we agreed upon the plan then?”

She nodded. “Yes. Although, once they use the misinformation we give them, they’ll realize we lied. They may decide we’ve outlived our usefulness then.”

“Yes. We’ve got to find a means of escape before they can come back to confront us about the misinformation. I’ve noticed that when it rains heavily here that corner tends to get soft. Soft enough that I think we can knock it away and dig through to see where it goes.”

“It could go nowhere.”

“It could go to freedom.”

The woman nodded and hugged her knees to her chest. “Do you think the boys are looking for us?”

“I don’t know,” the man said quietly. “I do know if they had any idea of the situation we were in they would scour every nook and cranny on the globe to find us.”

“But we have no idea if they know.”

“Yes,” he said. “That is the very problem. We have no idea what’s going on beyond these walls.”

“I don’t believe it!” John Jacks said, hanging up the phone.

“What’s the problem?” Jane asked him.

“Do you know that property I wanted to secure for the next phase of our plan to keep the Barrett girl from getting back into Jax’s life? Well, I’ve just learned that the property was sold.”

“Oh, rotten luck! We needed that particular house to mess with her head and get her all riled up at Jax again.”

“It was sold to Jax,” John said.

Jane looked astonished. “What?”

John just nodded.

“Well, I’ll be damned. That boy is relentless. When?” Jane demanded.

“Mere days after he found Brenda in Paris. You know why he purchased that home. Clearly Jax is setting things in motion to have a life with her. He’s barreling ahead with his plans, casting any of our objections and advice to the wind. And that brother of his is utterly useless to influence him, since he refuses to do as we ask. My god, woman, he bought them a house! That very house he wanted when he got himself engaged to her. I’m afraid Jax is far more committed to attaining this goal than we ever imagined. He’s going to simply knock down anything that gets in his way this time. I don’t think anything we do is going to stop him.”

“We can’t let that happen. If this keeps up, we will simply have to take what we came here for. Take him and run. And bind him to us so that when the time comes he will trust only us and will never turn on us. And then we can present him to the world as who he truly is. We’ll have it all then, won’t we? And the others will be choking over our brilliance and how we outsmarted them.”

“We can’t reveal him too soon,” John cautioned. “You know she will merely try to get rid of him the way she tried with his father when he was a baby. The woman is not above the slaughter of children to hold onto her position in the family and keep all the secrets buried.”

“And I am not above emotionally manipulating that child so that he trusts no one so much as he trusts us. We control the child, and we control it all.”

“All I am saying is to not unduly aggravate the woman until everything is in place just so. Her suspicions are the last thing we need right now. She will do away with the child if she learns the truth; you know she will.”

“Well, she’s not going to find out the truth, is she? How could she know?”

“It’s not likely,” he agreed. “Still, no need to stir up the old girl’s suspicions.”

“Oh, to hell with that old bat,” Jane snapped. “She won’t be running the show much longer. That little boy is the key to everything and she is completely clueless about that. Now, shouldn’t you be on your way to Greece to check on our little friends and get something that will get that boy Jerry in line?”

Felicia put her blue Volvo in gear and followed the SUV as she spoke into her cell phone.

“All righty. The subject is in his vehicle - silver Infiniti QX4 Spots Utility Vehicle - hmm, very nice. Wow, check out the rims on those tires - you know the cost of those could probably put Maxie through a year of college. Oh - hey, he just left the Quartermaine mansion and is headed southbound on Port Charles Highway.”

“Felicia, please just please speak English,” Miranda Jameson, who was the party on the other line, said. “He’s not turning off onto the Chesterfield Road exit is he? He’s not headed to my house is he? Felicia? Answer me, please!”

“Oh, not to worry, Miss Jameson, the subject has just passed the Chesterfield Road exit. However, he does appear to be headed for the airport,” Felicia Scorpio, amateur P.I., informed her first client and chum.

“The airport?” Miranda exclaimed.

“And did I mention, Miss Jameson…”

“Oh, Felicia, please, will you cut the Miss Jameson nonsense!” Miranda groaned.

“I’m in official P.I. mode now, Miranda; this is the way I talk to all my clients,” Felicia explained. “Did I mention,” Felicia continued, undeterred by her friend’s lousy mood, “that the subject appears to not be alone?”

Miranda gasped and hung up the phone. Jax was going to the airport and certainly it was Brenda who was with him. It could only mean one thing, she thought hysterically. They were going to Vegas to get married!!! In a furious panic Miranda called John and Jane Jacks on John’s cell phone, but only got his voicemail. “All right, damn it, why aren’t you people doing your jobs? Where the hell is Jax going?!” Miranda demanded into the machine.

As Jax took Justin and Cooper back to the Quartermaine mansion, he decided that he would never again think his son was exaggerating. Nothing could have shocked Jax more than to arrive at the airport with Justin to pick up the dog only to come face to face with what looked like a bloody wolf, all right, which, once out of its cage, ran with delirious glee over to Justin, although Jax instinctively hauled Justin up in the air and out of reach of the dog.

“My god, that really is a wolf,” Jax said in disbelief.

“I told you so, Daddy,” Justin said. “You can put me down. It’s okay - it’s just Cooper. He’s my pet.”

Jax was reluctant to do so as he gazed at the white wolf with the green eyes. But it was clear the dog - wolf - whatever it was - adored Justin, so Jax carefully set his son down to have a playful reunion with his pet.

“I can’t believe your mother let you get that dog,” Jax said, still astounded.

And when they got back to the Q’s, it was the first thing Jax said to Brenda. “I can’t believe you let Justin get that wolf! Brenda, that dog is a wolf.”

Brenda had to laugh at Jax’s reaction. This was Jax, after all, who was very much a thrill-seeker, adventure-junkie, and probably had wanted a wolf as pet of his own as a child.

“Jax, I can’t believe that you, of all people, have a problem with this. Anyway, Cooper is only part wolf, okay? Just on his father’s side.”

“He looks all wolf to me,” Jax murmured, kneeling down and stroking the thick white fur of the dog, which was lapping up a bowl of water Justin had slid in front of him. “And I don’t have a problem with it. It just took me by surprise, that’s all. I thought Justin was making it up. Kids do that, you know.”

“Not our kid,” Brenda told him. “He never lies. He does exaggerate a bit sometimes though,” she conceded. “And he’s really good at keeping secrets.”

Justin shot his father a laughing grin and started running around the kitchen.

Brenda bent down next to Jax and ran her hands fondly over Cooper, too. “He’s cute, isn’t he?” Brenda said. “He’s only a year old.”

“Very cute,” Jax agreed. “Where’d you find him?”

Cooper abandoned his water bowl to run around the kitchen, barking happily and chasing Justin, stopping every now and then to explore the new territory he found himself in.

“I was on a photo shoot in Ireland, and we stayed at this farm while we were there. I mean a real farm run by a shepherd and everything.” She laughed. “It was so cool.”

Jax smiled at her. “Really?”

“Mmm hmm. Anyway, the shepherd’s wife was making us breakfast on the morning we were leaving and this adorable little puppy comes barreling on its little legs out of the barn and into the house and just begins to stick to Justin like glue. Following him everywhere, growling at anyone who went near him. It was really cute. When we were leaving the shepherd offered him to us as a gift,” Brenda explained.

“And the name ‘Cooper’?” Jax inquired with interest.

“Justin had a mechanical dog named Cooper that Julia got him when he was two. Unfortunately, that particular Cooper was k.o’d when he did his little mechanical trot right into Julia’s pool. We had to throw him out, and Justin really loved that stupid robot dog. So when he got a real dog, he went with the same name. He started calling him Cooper right away, before we even got the puppy into the car to get him home. He was so excited to get that dog, Jax; you just had to see his face!” Brenda recollected.

Jax laughed softly and resisted the wild urge to kiss her just then. “So, are we ready to take to the friendly skies?” he asked her.

Brenda looked at him for a long time, trying to get her heart to settle down. She wanted to ask him where his fiancée was right now and had he told her that he was flying Brenda and Justin to Manhattan? But instead she just said, “Sure, let’s go,” then turned to call to Justin to tell him to come along.

As Jax, Brenda and Justin entered the PICTURE THIS offices on Fifth Avenue, Brenda was pretty darn proud of herself. Why, on the plane she had actually managed to babble on and on to Jax about any number of subjects she could possibly think of and as a result of her efforts somehow the allure of being next to him - although Justin was in between them - on his jet for an hour had not managed to completely undo her. And Justin had been a big help, plying his dad with questions about the plane every five minutes.

As they entered the office, Brenda could not help but notice that the small staff was more agog to see Jax than to see her, even though it was her company. When Jax, carrying Justin atop his shoulders, followed Brenda as she stopped to look in on the photo shoot in progress, Brenda was perturbed by how borderline ecstatic the two female models became when Jax entered the room. They both seemed to know him personally, too. And they fawned over her son almost as much as they fawned over his father.

Unable to hide her aggravation at the women’s shameless adoration of her men, and at her wit's ends as to how to make herself stop thinking of Jax as her Jax, Brenda quickly suggested they head out to FAO Schwartz. She could stop in and check on Theo’s progress with the photo shoot on the way back, by which time Brenda hoped it would be over and the models and crew would all be gone. Brenda was eager to have Justin accompany them and hold Jax to his blindfolding suggestion, but Lois had Brook Lynn with her and enticed Justin into staying with them and going across the street to the Baskin Robbins Ice Cream Parlor for some sundaes.

“Nice office space,” Jax said, as they left the building and stepped into Jax’s waiting limo.

Brenda nodded in agreement. “Lois used to run L&B Records out of there. It’s been completely renovated to accommodate a complete photo studio now. It’s not quite the ELQ building though,” she said, smiling at him.

“It will be,” Jax said with certainty. “I have no doubt that your success will lead you to require office space of that size in a few years. Maybe an entire museum floor for an exhibit of your very own.”

Brenda was so pleased by his compliment about her photographic talents that her dark brown eyes lit up with a radiance that floored him. “Really?” she said softly. Then she shook her head. “I don’t know about that,” she said.

“I do,” Jax said. “I believe in you, Brenda. I always have.” He could not stop himself from toying with a loose strand of her hair. “You know that, don’t you?” he asked her.

Brenda was mesmerized by him. She could only nod in response to his question.

Panicking at the emotions that were overtaking her, she turned away from him, turning her attentions to the busy Manhattan streets visible from the tinted windows of the limo. Her heart was racing so fast that she thought it might actually have to stop to take a breath, and, as the strand of hair that he’d been playing with fell back against her face, she swore it kissed her skin with tingling warmth - the remnants of Jax’s touch.

She sighed inwardly, a little scowl on her face. There was no other touch like his. Because there was no other man like him. It was really just so unfair.

“Do you want to hear something funny?” Jax said to her when she remained silent and looking serious for several minutes. “When I first saw Justin, I thought to myself: ‘wow, look at that, Brenda and I have discovered the true means of cloning.’ ” His smile held a wicked beauty, as it was clear he was alluding not to some great scientific breakthrough of the ages in regards to the cloning process, but to his and Brenda’s lovemaking and its having created a child that just happened to be a dead-ringer for its father.

She laughed. “Somehow, I don’t think cloning is supposed to feel that good,” Brenda murmured absently, barely even aware of what she had just said.

“Not much of anything feels that good,” Jax responded.

When the limo stopped at FAO Schwartz, Brenda practically flew out of the car, thinking she desperately needed the air to clear her intoxicated senses. Bad idea, this trip into Manhattan with Jax. Bad, bad idea. Her and Jax discussing - no matter how innocently - the splendor of their lovemaking was something she definitely had to avoid.

“Ready?” he asked her, holding out his hand to her as he watched her appear to be gulping in deep breaths of air and muttering angrily at herself at the same time. “Are you okay, Brenda?”

She nodded right away, embarrassed by his scrutiny. “Fine, I’m fine.” But she refused to take his offered hand, terrified of what touching him would do to her at this moment. She just smiled weakly up at him and marched into the store, Jax following rather closely behind her.

Two-and-a-half hours later when they left the toy store, they were both laughing.

“I’m really glad you came with me now, see? I would have definitely picked the blue one, but, thanks to you, I was informed that purple is my son’s favorite color.”

“I can’t believe they had it in purple,” Brenda said with a smile that made Jax want to kiss her in the worst way. The urge was getting harder and harder to resist. Then she bit her lip uncertainly. “Jax, I have to be honest with you. I’m still a little worried about this present though. He’s only four.”

“Brenda, I promise it’s very safe. He can use it outside in a back yard area under supervision - or even inside in a really big house - and he will absolutely love it. It’s safe, all right? All the kids have these, I swear to you.”

“All the kids whose father’s are billionaires, you mean,” she responded, recalling the ludicrous price tag on the purple camouflage G.I Joe Jungle Stalker kiddie jeep. A jeep, complete with some very cool accessories, like purple spy-vision goggles and a pair of purple walkie-talkies. Jax planned to have it decorated with Crocodile Hunter decals and had even purchased a four-foot stuffed crocodile, an adorable stuffed elephant, a purple stuffed snake, and a plush white tiger for Justin to ‘capture’ during his ‘expeditions.’ And Brenda knew Justin would go crazy with delight over this gift. “You got him that helmet, right?” she asked.

Jax nodded. “But like I told you in the store, he won’t need it. It doesn’t go that fast. You don’t have to worry about him, Brenda. He won’t get hurt. I would never let him. He’s going to love it,” Jax said.

“Oh, I know that,” she admitted. Then she sighed. “The thing is, he’s so much like you,” Brenda said as they got into the limo headed back to PICTURE THIS. “He’s not afraid of anything, and that scares me. Fear is a healthy thing sometimes, you know, Jax. It keeps you cautious and… and alive,” she insisted.

“It robs you of enjoying life,” Jax argued. “Fearlessness and intelligence is a remarkable combination. It’s fearlessness and stupidity that’s the problem, and Justin’s a brilliant little kid. I’ve only really known him for two days, and I already know that. I also have discovered that he is a fiend for chocolate milk. And both white and purple grape juice. And Twizzlers - rather like his mother. And he has a natural curiosity about everything that he doesn’t understand - rather like his father. And if he’s not afraid of anything, Brenda, maybe it’s just because you’re such a good mother and you make him feel safe and self-confident. I know Jerry did that for me. It’s a good thing, not a bad thing.”

“Just do not tell me you intend to strand our son in the woods to teach him survival skills,” Brenda said, deadly serious.

“It’s not as barbaric as you make it sound,” Jax said with a grin. “It helped me tremendously. You know that better than most, since you’ve been stranded with me on several occasions,” he reminded her. “Thanks to Jerry, it’s virtually impossible for me to get lost anywhere, Brenda. No small feat that, you know.”

“I would just prefer you buy him a book about it, okay? Instead of letting him learn in a trial by fire way like that,” Brenda said, shuddering at the thought of her little boy stranded in the woods by his father as a learning experience. Jax had only been a ten-year-old when 15-year-old Jerry had done that to him.

Jax smiled at her worry. “A book? It’s not the same,” he said. “Besides, you know if I ever did anything like that, I would be near by watching him at all times. I would never literally leave him there by himself. Jerry never did that to me either, by the way. He just kept out of sight.” Jax paused for a minute, debating whether or not to tell her he thought she was a little bit too overprotective of Justin. He understood why she was. She was his mother for one thing, and she had no father or brothers to have learned by example the differences between raising a boy and girl. Her own mother had abandoned her at a young age and left Brenda to be raised by an uncaring father, a parade of cold, disinterested nannies, and the escapism of fairytale books. “Justin is old enough to ride a horse, you know,” Jax mentioned.

Brenda looked at him in surprise. “Where’d that come from?” Then she shook her head adamantly. “No, he isn’t, old enough, Jax. Horses are huge. He’ll fall off. He’s only four.”

“Yes, you keep saying that,” Jax murmured.

“Well, he is only four! Technically, he’s not even four yet.”

“He knows that if he is on a horse he has to hold on, Brenda. And you know perfectly well that a pony will be no problem.”

Brenda shot him a look. “Jax, have you put him on a horse?” she demanded.

“No,” Jax said. “But he loves to watch you ride; he told me that. And he loves horses and wants to learn how to ride himself, Brenda. I know he can do it because I was four years old when I started learning to ride.”

Brenda looked at him. “You were?”

Jax nodded.

“I was thirteen,” she said, amazed at the thought of a four-year-old handling a horse.

“Just something you maybe should think about,” Jax tossed out. “I know he really wants to do it. Let him learn from somebody you trust.”

“It would have to be somebody he trusts, too,” Brenda said. “Like you,” she added thoughtfully.

Jax gazed at her, waiting. “Are you asking me to?” he asked when she didn’t say anything more.

“No,” she said, glancing away.

Jax shrugged. “Okay.”

She sighed. “I mean yes.”

Jax could not suppress his smile. “See, that wasn’t so hard… to just say what you really want,” he added.

Ha! What did he know? It was hard! She didn’t like to admit that perhaps she needed him, that perhaps he was right about a lot of things and that perhaps any excuse to see him more was a secret desire of hers that humiliated her to no end. She was relieved when they got back to PICTURE THIS. As they entered the large room where the photo shot was being held, she prayed it would be over, but as they walked in, the shoot was still in progress. The models once again reacted with girlish glee upon the arrival of Jax, and Brenda found she had the odd desire to hurl darts at the two of them. Brenda went into Lois’s office to check on Justin, who was immersed in cartoons with Brook Lynn while sipping a grape Juicy Juice.

“I thought it would be a wrap by now?” Brenda said to the young photographer.

“Sorry, so did I. I’m just having some problems with this setup,” Theo admitted. “I just can’t capture the right feeling with these two,” he said, indicating the male and female models who were dancing in between gaily dressed Styrofoam snowmen, while the other female model, dressed in a bikini beneath an open snow parka, held a tray of tropical drinks behind them. “And if we’re going to get this job, the photos we submit have to be great enough to sell an issue on sight - because it’s the cover shot we’re vying for. And I have to tell you, Brenda, I’m just not feeling this at all with these two,” he said, shaking his head as he watched the two models. “Pretty faces, but they’re not generating the magic or the heat and, most of all, the spirit of fun I need to see, if you know what I mean,” he murmured

“Maybe that’s because they look like two cardboard cutouts moving off-beat in a circle,” Jax commented, reaching for a soda from the small refreshment counter.

Brenda glared indignantly at him for his unsolicited, unflattering commentary, but Theo was laughing and nodding.

“That’s it exactly!” he said. “I don’t know how the hell to make this work. They don’t flow. There’s no magic to capture the feeling we’re trying to get down in photo. It’s like they just don’t know how to give me what I’m looking for - how to make what I’m asking of them actually come to life in a still shot. God knows we’ve been trying to for three hours. Brenda, I was thinking we could change the whole premise and can the dancing altogether and just have them maybe having a snowball fight or something. That might work,” Theo suggested.

Brenda shook her head. “Are you crazy? No way can we change it, Theo. The whole reason we even got the bid was because of the idea I pitched them about the whole dancing around the snowmen in the desert thing. We can not change that. Maybe you just need to get better models or find a way to make these two work. That’s our job as photographers, Theo, to create illusions sometimes. So I’m sure you can find a way to make them give you what we need.”

“Maybe they just need to see how it should be done?” Jax offered, trying to help.

Brenda glared at him again. “Jax, please, you don’t know anything about this. You’re really not helping and…”

“You volunteering?” Theo asked hopefully. “Because I get this feeling that if you were the dance partner, Kylie over there might be a lot more into it and that magic might just appear,” he mentioned, noting the way the model, Kylie Laurent, had lit up when Jasper Jacks had entered the room.

“Hello!” Brenda said, miffed and, damn it all, jealous. “Why are you talking to him, Theo; I am the one who runs this company, remember? Jax runs ELQ, Lois Cerullo and I run this company.”

Theo looked duly chastised. “Sorry, boss,” he said, sheepishly.

“Besides, maybe ‘Kylie’ needs to see how it should be done as much as the male model does. Did either one of you ever consider that? Huh? I’m no prima ballerina, but I danced at a Bacchanalia ball once, and ummm… oh, New Orleans out on the terrace in the rain - remember, Jax? And in that theater you rented out for us that time - you and I, we did the Astaire and Rogers thing sort of, right Jax?” she said, poking Jax in the ribs until he nodded obediently. “Yeah, see? So I happen to know a little thing or two about dancing, and she is not that great,” Brenda finished.

Jax was grinning. Brenda was ignoring him. Theo looked at her and then at Jax, then back at Brenda. “Sooo…” he said carefully. “Are you both volunteering then?”

Jax was smiling but shaking his head at the photographer, knowing Brenda would never go for it, but she stunned him by all but shouting: “Fine!” and grabbing hold of Jax’s hand, grumbling all the way, as she lead him to the setup scene with the snowmen in the middle of a dessert-like setting with sand and palm trees. She shooed the models away, instructing them: “Now the two of you watch us please, and, for crying out loud, try to just… do what we’re doing and make it look real… it’s called acting,” she said ignoring Jax’s murmur of disbelief when she had used the term ‘acting.’ “Time is money, and I want this test shoot wrapped up in exactly 45 minutes and not one second more, so watch Jax and me, and then just do what we do and let’s call it a wrap people, understood?”

The models nodded. Everyone nodded, unaccustomed to seeing Brenda in quite such an aggressive, take-charge, no-nonsense role.

“Great,” Brenda said, getting a giddy zip of delight from taking charge like that - a very Jax-like move, that was, she thought with a grin. There could be some definite perks to this being the boss thing. She looked up at Jax. “Okay ready, Fred?” she asked him in a voice so soft and sweet that he would have done anything she asked him to at that moment.

“By all means, Ginger, let’s have at it,” he said, holding his hands out to her.

She glanced at him a little nervously, which he thought was adorable. “Hey, thanks for doing this, Jax,” she said quickly.

Jax shrugged “What are friends for,” he responded.

“Friends?”

“Well, we are, aren’t we?”

Friends. Could she and Jax be friends? She had vowed to let go of the past after all. To not dwell on what he had done to her, to move past it all for the sake of their son. So, yes, she supposed they could try to be some sort of… friends.

“Thank you,” she said again, after considering it.

“Oh, you can thank me later,” he said in a voice that just melted her bones, and as for the way he was looking at her… well, suffice to say her heart skipped several beats.

“What exactly does that mean?” she asked warily.

But then the fake snow began to fall down gently in the fake desert, the photographer cued the music, and Jax took her into his arms, murmuring soothingly in her ear for her to relax as he felt the tension in her body and her heart racing a mile a minute at their close contact. Everyone circled the scene, watching in fascination, somehow just knowing something mesmerizing was about to take place because the enthralling chemistry between the two people they surrounded had been palpable from the minute they had entered the building together earlier.

Missed the Saturday dance
Heard they crowded the floor
Couldn’t bear it without you
Don’t get around much anymore

Thought I’d visit the club
I got as far as the door
But they’d have asked me about you
Don’t get around much anymore

Darling I guess
My mind’s more at ease
Never the less
Why stir up memories

I’ve been invited on dates
Might have gone, but what for?
It’s awfully different without you
Don’t get around much anymore

It was as if they had never been apart, Brenda thought wondrously and with a great deal of relief. They flowed beautifully together as if they were made for one another - a perfect fit. That thought made her smile, although she tried desperately not to, but lost. And then the smile turned into an infectious burst of laughter as Jax lifted her clear off the ground in a magnificent twirl.

“Well, look at that, you’re dancing on air,” he said.

Brenda’s laughter and the beautiful light in her eyes mesmerized him. But it was the momentary disappearance of that cool emotional distance she’d been stubbornly determined to place between them that brought him a true burst of joy. She must feel it, too, he decided. How right it felt to be in each other’s arms like this, how perfect for each other they were. How wrong it was for them to be apart.

“I hope they’re watching us,” Brenda said breathlessly, her eyes closed as she turned her face up to the ceiling, the most beautiful smile on her lips as the soft glitter-snow fluttered down on her eyelashes.

“They’re watching you,” Jax murmured, enchanted by her effortless model’s grace, her dazzling beauty, the heady thrill of the nearness of her.

“No, they’re definitely watching you,” she said, her eyes still closed as she giggled when Jax gave her a deep dip in front of one of the snowmen, and Brenda snatched his hat off of his head and plopped it on Jax’s. She didn’t have to have her eyes open to know that Jax was the object of blatant desire of all the female onlookers. That was just a given.

“Well, I wouldn’t really know what they’re looking at since the only one I’m watching is you,” Jax said.

That got her to open her eyes. She held his gaze and he saw something like hope, mixed with doubt, mixed with fear flicker across her beautiful eyes. It was fear of how he made her feel, he knew. Fear of how maddeningly, wonderfully intense the magic between them still was. Of how four years apart, four years of being angry with each other, had done nothing to diminish how rare and beautiful this was. He wanted to relax her and put her at ease again. To have her unguarded and carefree. And happy.

“I wanted to tell you…” he began.

“Yes?” she said, wishing her heart would quit its thunderous pounding so that she could hear him.

“I… love your hair longer like that,” he said, flashing her a playful grin.

Brenda looked at him incredulously for a moment and then burst out laughing, once again unguarded and carefree, as was Jax’s goal. “You do?” she said. “Thank you! I was beginning to wonder if you had even noticed that it was twice as long as it was when we… well… when you last saw me.”

“I noticed,” Jax assured her. “What made you decide to grow it long?”

Brenda shrugged. “Maybe I was going for the Rapretzel look.”

Jax laughed, his disarming, boyish smile making her palpitate madly. “Oh, so Justin told you about that ridiculous fairytale I told him last night, did he?”

Brenda nodded. “And I heard all about the yellow submarine, too,” she smiled. “I think it was very cute.”

“Sorry, I’m not that good with bedtimes stories,” Jax apologized. “My goal was actually to try to just bore him to sleep.”

Brenda giggled. “Hey, he adored your story, okay? Both of them. He adores you, Jax. And for the record, I think you’re a wonderful father to him.”

“I would do anything for him, Brenda,” Jax told her.

“I know.”

“I would never do anything to hurt him or let anyone else hurt him,” he added, headed somewhere with this, unbeknownst to Brenda.

“I know,” she said without hesitation.

“I love him with all of my heart. Nothing could ever change that.”

“I know that.”

“You believe everything I have just said then?” he asked her.

She gave him a puzzled glance. “Yes, of course I do.”

“Why?” he asked.

What a strange question, she thought. “Because… I know you, Jax, and I…”

“Yes. You do know me, Brenda,” Jax said, making his point. “That is all I want you to remember,” he said. “That you know me. That you know me better than anyone does.”

Darling, I guess
My mind’s more at ease
But never the less
Why stir up memories

I’ve been invited on dates
Might have gone, but what for?
It’s awfully different without you
Don’t get around much anymore

The applause interrupted the connecting moment between Jax and Brenda, as he was trying to make her come to her own conclusion that Jax would never have wanted her out of his life four years ago. He would have his proof soon; he was determined to get it. But, god, he really wanted her to just know. To just believe him and to not even need any damned proof.

“Now that’s what I’m talking about, that’s exactly the vibe I need,” Theo the photographer said. “Kylie, Ronn, if you two do that, then we’re in business.” He turned to Jax and Brenda. “You guys were amazing - thanks a mil for your help. You better watch out though, people are going to start talking about you two,” he teased as he watched Brenda stretch up on her toes and take the hat off of Jax’s head and place it back on the Styrofoam snowman.

Brenda mumbled something that sounded like ‘they already are.’ And Jax saw that Brenda’s guard was back up and her emotional distancing efforts were back again. He also saw confusion in her eyes. Confusion was good though. Confusion meant she was considering all the things Jax hoped she was. That she was no longer angry about the past, but confused about it.

“So, you can wrap the shoot in 45 minutes then?” Brenda asked Theo.

“Yes, ma’am,” Theo said, pointing to Kylie and Ronn, whose chemistry was apparently working for the young photographer now.

“Great. Then Jax and I are going to go get our progeny and get out of here now. See you, Theo. Oh, get the test shots developed as soon as you’re done, all right? I want to see them tomorrow.”

As they were leaving, Theo said quietly to Jax as he passed him, “You’re in love.”

Jax said nothing, but he did pause.

“And not with your fiancée,” Theo elaborated.

Jax still didn’t say anything, just looked expectantly at the 20-year-old.

Theo shrugged. “I hope I’m not out of line or anything. I just wanted to let you know, man, that the two of you are giving off these major, major vibes. You know what I’m saying? I don’t know what’s going on - it’s none of my business - but I mean, if you all are trying to be discreet, it’s not working. That’s all,” Theo said.

Jax left the room. He never responded to Theo’s observations, but he knew Theo was right. Jax could not hide the way he felt about Brenda - it was like sunlight seeping through his veins - rather difficult to hide. Then again, Jax had never been any good at hiding love - certainly not a love of this magnitude. He had to talk to Miranda, he made a mental note for the hundredth time.

Jax got Brenda and Justin back to the Quartermaine mansion just as the moon was becoming visible in the night sky of Port Charles. Brenda had been very quiet on the plane ride back and in the car, too. Jax hoped that meant she was thinking about what he had said to her about her knowing him. And he hoped she was thinking of how perfect it had felt to be in his arms earlier. He hoped she would come to the conclusion that she was not about to deny herself this happiness anymore than he was.

They got out of Jax’s car, Jax carrying a sleeping Justin, and as they walked up the walkway, they ran into Reginald, who was just coming in from shutting off the lawn sprinkler system for the night.

“Hey there, folks. How was the big city?” he asked.

“Great,” Jax said with a slow smile.

“Good; it was good,” Brenda said, twiddling her thumbs.

“Here, mind if I take the little guy up to his bed?” Reginald offered, holding his hands out.

“Okay,” Jax said, donning a kiss on his sleeping son’s head and then gently transferring him into Reginald’s arms.

“Scooby PJ’s. Top dresser drawer,” Brenda said as Reginald disappeared into the house.

She then turned back to Jax, feeling skittish about being alone with him out here in the moonlit evening. “Ummm… so, Jax, thank you. For the ride and for helping me out with Theo and the models and everything. I guess I’ll see you tomorrow when you pick up Justin, right? Right. Okay, goodnight.”

She scrambled back up the walkway to the front door.

He followed her.

She took out her keys (forgetting that she probably didn’t need them, as Reginald would have left the door unlocked for her), murmured another hasty goodnight to Jax and was about to open the door when Jax took the keys from her and gently turned her around to face him.

“Why are you running from me?” he asked her, candidly.

“I’m not,” she said. “And what do you mean by ‘running from you’? What does that mean?” she scoffed.

“It means it feels like you are.”

“Well, I’m not. I’m just tired,” she claimed, faking a yawn.

“Tired of fighting it, you mean? See, now that I would believe.”

Her beautiful eyes lit up with indignation. “Fighting what?” she demanded.

His whispered response to her was: “I think I’d like to collect my ‘thank you’ now.” His head slowly bent towards her. She knew what was going to happen and panic mixed with disbelief flooded her. Oh, god, the man was actually going to kiss her! NOW! And she… she was going to kiss him back, of course, and then he’d know. He’d know what he could still do to her, and she would be mortified to the roots of her dark hair! She backed up in a panic, her breathing accelerating. But there was nowhere else to back into. She was pressed against the door. And he was in front of her - lusciously close. Waiting.

“Jax, what are you doing?” she asked in exasperation, or perhaps it was more desperation to stop the inevitable.

“Brenda, I can’t pretend with you. I can’t pretend that I don’t feel what I feel,” Jax said softly, his lips descending a fraction of an inch close to hers.

“Y… you don’t feel anything!” she blurted out.

“Yes, I do. My heart is flipping around inside of me right now.”

“Heartburn?” Brenda squeaked. “I told you not to eat that hotdog,” she mumbled.

Jax laughed softly. “Well, my heart is burning all right,” he confessed. “For you,” he whispered.

“I don’t believe you, you know,” she said, planting her hands on his chest, yet not pushing him away, as had been her determined intention.

“I know. But you will.” His lips came closer. “I won’t stop trying until you do.”

“You’re engaged!”

“Not for long.” His lips were even closer.

“W… what do you mean?”

Ah yes, he’d gotten her attention now, hadn’t he?

“Shh,” he said. Closer. Mere inches away now.

She felt herself inexorably leaning towards him and halted in alarm, scared senseless by the insurgence of emotions within her, by the sweet intoxication of Jax’s proximity, by the heady allure of her undeniable attraction to him. “Okay, Jax, I don’t know what this is all about, but you don’t really want to do this…” she said in a last desperate attempt to avert disaster, even while her own lips were savoring the imminent arrival of his.

“Don’t want to do what?”

“Kiss me!” she yelped.

“Thank you, I’d love to,” he murmured, and then unable to stop himself or adhere to his own plans to go slow with this and not kiss her, his mouth brushed softly against hers.

Oh, and how the magic did swirl in the air.

Brenda swallowed hard and shivered to the tips of her toes. Oh, God, that felt obscenely wonderful!

I never wanted
I never wanted to kiss a man
The way that I want to kiss you

Jax kissed her again. Soft and sweet, like a kiss from a dream. But so much better because it was real.

She savored it and thought: Okay, I can do this. Just stand here and let him kiss me and not respond. Then he’ll never know what he does to me, he'll never know how much I love this, how much I want this, he’ll never know how… how…

He kissed her again.

She kissed him back.

Well, damn. So much for standing still and not responding.

His lips brushed with overwhelming skill against hers, and the moment his lips touched hers with that burning, familiar intimacy, Brenda knew she was lost.

I never wanted
I never wanted to touch a man
The way that I want to touch you

And so she didn’t say a thing, simply allowed her eyes to flutter shut as his warm tongue traced the outline of her lips and pleasure rocketed through her. She knew that any will she’d been trying so desperately to muster to stand there motionless and not respond to his kisses or to scornfully push him away had vanished the moment she’d felt his lips on hers. Once she tasted those lips that she dreamed about every night, those lips that burned in her memories, her response was instantaneous and irresistibly passionate. But even as her body thrilled from kissing him like this again, and being kissed by him like this again, she was lamenting the fact that she was so attuned to him, so wild about him, that no one came close to evoking in her all that he could. She was berating herself for her body’s and her heart’s shameless reaction to him, for not being able to detach herself from their magic, for not being able to resist it when it swirled around her and beckoned so sweetly to her and descended upon her like a phantom lover.

I never wanted
I never wanted to give a man
The things that I want to give you

You are sunshine, you are shadows
You are morning you are night
You are hard times, you are good times
You are darkness, you are light

I never wanted
I never wanted to love a man
The way that I want to love you . . .

Jax, although he knew that Brenda wanted him as much as he wanted her, was still stunned by the immediacy and sensuality of her response to his kiss. He knew, of course, that she was waging an inner battle to not respond to him, perhaps to even slap his face for daring to kiss her. But the part of her that missed him and loved him and wanted him and needed him was not going to be denied this moment of sensual inhibition, he realized. Just as the part of him that missed her so much and adored her and wanted her so much it was killing him could no longer hold to any kind of patient pace. This kiss wasn’t supposed to be happening - he shouldn’t have done this. Not now, not yet. And yet, how could he not? There were some things the heart would not be denied, after all.

The kiss was every definition of delicious and it was stirring with passion, but Jax’s ache for her was deeper still and yearning for fulfillment now that it had been afforded this taste of paradise, so although he knew he shouldn’t - that it was too soon for the kind of intimacy he wanted - he deepened the kiss anyway. His tongue slid into her mouth, stroking hers, gliding over her lips and then back into her mouth. Her sweet, soft gasp of surrender nearly drove him out of his mind as she welcomed the intimate caress of his tongue against hers, his body pressed intimately against hers in the doorway.

The kiss swiftly began to intensify in passionate longing and was just about reaching critical mass when Reginald opened the door, sending Jax and Brenda tumbling inside and down onto the carpet in a breathless, panting heap of limbs and overheated body parts.

Brenda didn’t know who she wanted to kill more, herself or Jax. If he hadn’t kissed her, she never would have kissed him back and they wouldn’t have been so swept away by their passion that neither of them realized Reginald was opening the door to take out the garbage.

Brenda got up quickly, ignoring Jax’s helping hand. He was laughing! Of all the nerve! This was so not funny!!

Reginald cleared his throat. “I know,” he said, snapping his fingers, “you had some kind of dizzy spell and fainted outside. Jax mistakenly thought you were drowning, naturally, and so had to give you mouth-to-mouth to save your life.”

Brenda glared at the Quartermaine butler. “Yes, that’s exactly right!” she snapped, racing up the stairs.

She heard Jax and Reginald both laughing and wanted to scream bloody murder at the both of them!

Instead, she just bolted on up the stairs, having had enough thrills and spills for one evening, and swearing up and down to herself that nothing like this would ever, ever, EVER, happen again.

But God only knew what tomorrow would bring.

Songs: “Don’t Get Around Much Anymore,” written by Duke Ellington and Bob Russell, from the CD entitled: A New Standard. Artist: Steve Tyrell. “The Way That I Want to Touch You” written by Toni Tenille from the CD entitled Captain & Tenille’s Greatest Hits. Artist: Captain & Tenille.