“On you? Nude.”
With a soft laugh, she said, “You are incorrigible.” Then she asked Jax, “What were you so intently discussing when I walked in?”
“You.” He stared down at her, unwaveringly. “And Katarina.”
“Jax,” Lex warned. They really needed to hash this out further before bringing anything up to Lily.
Especially since her expression turned wary.
She said, “I told you I didn’t want you making comparisons.”
“And I indicated it’s impossible not to,” Jax countered.
Glancing over at Lex, she inquired, “What, exactly, was the context?”
“Why don’t we open a bottle of champagne?” he suggested. “Have a seat. Take a few deep breaths.”
“Excellent idea,” she said, though she was clearly pensive.
She retrieved a bottle from the cooler, served it, and then joined them in an alcove of sofas, sitting in a chair adjacent to the couch they occupied.
Jax got the ball rolling. “We were discussing the fact that we were writing music for Katarina, but it never fully came together until you arrived.”
“Oh.” She visibly relaxed. Sipped. “That’s a huge compliment. Or . . .” Her bare shoulders tensed again. “You’re upset about it?”
“Not upset,” Lex assured her. “It’s more like . . . a crossroads. Of sorts.”
Her head tilted to the side. “I’m not sure I understand.”
“Lily,” Jax said. “You in the dresses and the diamonds—hell, everything about you—has inspired us. Motivated us. Helped to pull this CD together.”
“For which we are deeply appreciative,” Lex added.
“You’re very special, Lily,” Jax told her. “And you’ve returned something special to us.”
She stood and began to pace. “Look, I’ll be honest. Technically, I’ve been living in Katarina’s shadow since I came here. But you never actually treated me like that. And . . . I told you I hadn’t been with anyone in a really long time. It’s all because I am deathly afraid of attachment. I lost the most important person in the world to me when I was at a really pivotal point in my life.”
“Makes sense,” Lex said.
“That’s not the only reason I’ve been so closed off since then,” she contended. “I have family. It’s just that they’re the type of people who are committed to their responsibilities. So if I’d suddenly become this overly needy little girl after my mother died, it would have been disastrous for all concerned. It was much easier to just shut down emotionally and do my own thing. And then it just sort of became who I was.”
“But with us—”
“Totally different,” she said, cutting Lex off. “I see that. Though I can’t fully explain it, except to say I knew you were both struggling. I sensed it from the beginning. I knew you both had a past pain—it lives and breathes in your music, which spoke to me from the very first note I heard. Reached straight to the depths of my soul. So maybe this has all become a case of kindred spirits coming together for a good cause. To work through our issues.”
Jax got to his feet. He stepped toward her and clasped her upper arms. “It’s more than that, sweetheart.”
She seemed to melt a little. Lex leaned forward in his seat.
Jax said, “You—” He shook his head. Cleared his throat. And Lex saw him completely change direction, he knew his friend that well. “You really saved us, Lily. This CD is as much an homage to you as it is to Katarina.”
“Jax.” She’d turned breathy again—and damn it, that made Lex’s cock spring to life. “Thank you. I can’t even . . .” She sighed. Then just repeated, “Thank you.”
He kissed her.
Lex didn’t intervene.
When Jax pulled away, he told her, “We needed a muse. And you needed a place to land in order to get your feet beneath you. It’s been a win–win all the way around, right?”