Jax fumbled the chords and turned away. He couldn’t focus on her right now.
What the fuck was she doing here? Why come in now after she had successfully broken up his relationship?
He ignored her until the end of the song, but as soon as the chords were done and the patter started up as they figured out the next piece, he couldn’t help but search her out. She still stood awkwardly near the bar, watching. Jax forced himself to look away and tried to catch Naomi’s eye—surely she knew Nasreen and maybe would have some clue as to what was happening right now—but mindreading was apparently not one of her talents.
Well, fuck. He was a professional. Sort of. He kept his eyes on the tablet in front of him as they worked their way through some Taylor Swift. When he next looked over at the bar, she was gone. Jax’s shoulders started to fall, but they rose right back up when he spotted her again—sitting with his mother.
Would now be a good time to hyperventilate? Why was Ari’s evil mother talking to his own?
He felt like he was shaking apart, but his hands never faltered on the keys and his voice was strong.
When they called for their fifteen-minute break, Jax stood on shaky legs and headed toward his mother’s seat, but as he locked eyes on her, he noticed she was once again alone.
“Where is she?” Jax demanded when he got close enough. He slid into the vacant seat, and Christine arched an eyebrow. “The woman who was just here—where did she go?” He looked around the bar. The bathroom, maybe?
“She left,” Christine said. “She said she couldn’t stay any longer.”
“Did she say why she was here?” Jax demanded. Had Nasreen found Christine on purpose? If so, how? She couldn’t have known that Christine was his mom, surely.
Her eyebrows climbed even higher. “Not really. Just said her son told her about the place and she was curious. I got the feeling it wasn’t really her scene. Jax, what’s gotten into you?”
“What did you two talk about?”
Christine shrugged. “The music, the band. I mentioned you were my son. She said you were very talented.”
“She said I was talented,” Jax repeated in a weak voice.
“Well, you are. I don’t know why this is so shocking.”
He made a noise that sounded something like a dying buffalo mixed with a wheezing elephant.
“Jax? Honestly, what—?”
“She’s Ari’s mom,” he gasped.
Christine went still. “Thatwas Ari’s mother?”
He nodded, winded. Jesus Christ, what had just happened? He might have thought she was there to check him out—exactly as Ari had warned him all those weeks ago—if he and Ari were still dating. But wasn’t a visit to check out a prospective son-in-law a little on the late side now? The barn door wasn’t so much open as burnt to cinders.
“You know,” Christine said slowly, wearing her mathematician-at-work face, “she did seem very curious about you, even before I mentioned you were my son.” She looked at the exit. “I invited her to sit with me because she looked like she could use a chair. But I wonder why she never mentioned that after I told her who I was.”
“Probably feared a mama bear,” Jax mumbled and stole the last of his mother’s drink.
Oh well.He and Ari had already broken up. Whatever Nasreen was up to, it couldn’t possibly do him any more damage. Right?
“Mr. Hall.”
Wrong, Jax thought, almost choking on piña colada. He coughed, and his mother—because he was trapped in a horrible reenactment of his childhood—stood and patted his back until he could breathe.Jesus. He hadn’t thought she’dactuallytry to kill him. “Ah. Mrs. Darvish. I didn’t expect to see you here.”
Jax’s mother looked between them for a moment. He tried to make an appeal to her—do not leave me, woman, can’t you see she’s dangerous?—but either she didn’t get it or she thought he needed to adult up. “I’m going to go powder my nose,” she said. “I’ll be back.”
I’ll be dead, Jax thought grimly as Nasreen slid into the seat his mother had vacated. “You know, I’m pretty okay with where we left things. You really want to go another round?”
For a moment she just looked at him, and Jax squirmed under her gaze. She had the same eyes as Ari, dark and warm. Too bad the personality didn’t match.
“I didn’t see what my son sees in you,” she finally said. Which, great, yeah. Duh. Thank you, Commander Obvious. “But he is not normally a foolish man. I thought I should take a second look.”
Right. “Forgive me,” Jax said, meaning anything but, “but wouldn’t it be easier to just take his word for it?” Not that it would make a difference.
