Page 123 of The Jaded Notes

“Isn’t this lovely?” Mom links her arm through mine as we approach the ceremony seating. “Isabella has exquisite taste, and I’m sure your dress design is absolutely…”

The words die in her throat. I follow her gaze to see exactly why, and my blood turns to ice in my veins.

Jaxon stands near the front in a perfectly tailored black Brioni suit that makes him look like sin wrapped in molten lava. His dark hair catches the golden light in a way that makes my heart stutter. But then I notice he’s not alone.

Cindy, his ex-girlfriend, stands beside him in a stunning red dress that hugs every curve of her model-perfect figure. Her hand rests on his arm with a casual familiarity that makes me want to throw up.

She’s as beautiful as I remember from the party at my parents’ house. Her long brown hair is styled in an elegant updo, and her legs go on for miles. She carries the confidence that comes from knowing you’re the woman everyone else wishes they could be.

“Oh, look, there’s Jaxon and Cindy.” My mom lights up with excitement. “We thought it would be delightful for Jaxon to have some company tonight. Since Cindy is our financial advisor and we adore her, when she asked us if we knew any single men, we mentioned he was back in town…”

The rest of her words fade into white noise as Jax’s eyesfind mine across the sea of wedding guests. His expression shifts from surprise to something that might be panic.

I start to shake as he tries to step away from Cindy, but she tightens her grip on his arm with a smile that could cut diamonds.

“I need a drink.” The words are brittle on my tongue. “Several drinks, actually.”

“Darling, the ceremony is about to start—” My dad begins, but I’m already storming away.

My heels click against the stone path like a countdown to destruction. The bar is set up near the garden’s edge, staffed by bartenders who look like they moonlight as male models and mix drinks like they’re performing surgery.

I stay standing at the bar, pretending to admire the eye candy who’s serving me. I’m ordering my second vodka soda when a female voice cuts through my spiral of self-pity and rage.

“You look like someone who just watched her world implode in real time.”

I turn to find a woman about my age with long, wavy blonde hair and deep brown eyes that hold just enough mystery to make me instantly curious.

She’s wearing a denim jacket over a black, flowy dress and boots that look like they could kick someone’s ass. Everything about her screams intelligence wrapped in boho confidence.

“Is it that obvious?” I take a long sip of my drink, the alcohol burning away some of the sharp edges of my humiliation.

“Only to someone who’s been there.” She extends her hand with a grin that’s part sympathy, part mischief. “Quinn Foster. I work in investment banking for the groom’s boss, which I'm guessing is someone you dislike based on the way you’re staring daggers at him and his date.”

“Livianna Hemings.” I shake her hand, surprised by thefirm grip and the way her presence makes me feel less like I’m drowning. “And you’re very perceptive.”

“It’s a gift and a curse.” Quinn signals the bartender for two more drinks, her movements easy and confident. “So…are we drinking to forget, to plot revenge, or because weddings are inherently traumatic and we need chemical assistance to survive?”

I gaze across the garden where Jax is now seated beside Cindy, his jaw tight with tension that I can read from fifty yards away. He keeps glancing in my direction, but every time he tries to stand, Cindy or my parents engage him in conversation, keeping him trapped.

“All of the above.” I raise my glass in a mock toast. “To surviving the night without committing murder or having a complete emotional breakdown.”

“I’ll drink to that.” Quinn clinks her glass against mine, her eyes sparkling with the kind of crazy that promises this night is about to get very interesting. “Fair warning, though, I’m an excellent wing-woman, a terrible influence, and I have zero filter when I’m drunk.”

“You sound like someone I’d love to hang out with for the rest of the night.” I down half my drink in three gulps, the alcohol spreading warmth through my chest and loosening the knots of anxiety that have been strangling me all day. “You and I are about to get into some trouble.”

Chapter Twenty-Seven

JAXON/JAX

Eight Months Before Now

Wedding Bells & Sinister Stares

Hell is watching the woman you love destroy herself and being powerless to stop it.

“You’re not listening to a word I’m saying, are you?” Cindy’s voice cuts through my laser focus on Livianna, who’s currently throwing back her fourth vodka soda like it’s water and she’s been wandering the desert for days.

“I'm listening,” I lie.