Billionaire Undercover - J. S. Scott Page 0,44

Jax a teasing smile, I suddenly realized that I really didn’t like her sending that mischievous, cheeky grin toward anyone…except me.

For fuck’s sake, Jax is my brother. It’s not like he’s flirting with her.

“Do you really want to know?” Taylor asked.

“Tell me,” Jax encouraged.

Taylor let out a sigh. “One of the most important things Mac ever taught me was to never underestimate your opponent. I think you allowed yourself to think that I wasn’t a particularly good player, and with that assumption, you opened yourself up to an unusual attack. You weren’t looking for something you didn’t believe I was capable of doing. Always go into a game with the belief that your opponent is better than you are, no matter how unlikely you may think that is, or how unassuming that person might seem, and you’ll always be on your toes.”

I grinned as I watched her advice roll around in Jax’s head for moment.

Taylor was spot-on in her analysis, but I wondered if Jax would be willing to admit that.

It was evident to me that Jax liked Taylor. I couldn’t remember the last time he’d asked anyone for advice, not even me, and I was his older brother. He rarely let his guard down at all.

“I think,” Jax said slowly. “No, I know you’re right, dammit! It was a rookie mistake.”

“It’s not,” Taylor reassured him. “There are some people who play the game their whole life and never understand that they can’t go into it with any preconceived ideas. Especially when they get good enough to beat everyone they play.”

My brother’s grin grew wider. “Lesson learned, Obi-Wan,” he said. “Are you as good at Tai Chi as you are at chess?”

“No,” she answered, deadpan. “I’m better. But I do it every single day.”

“I’d like to see your moves,” he told her with a playful wink.

And…I lost it.

I got up from my chair. “Speaking of moving, it’s getting late. Time for you to be going, Jax,” I said in a raspy, warning voice.

My brother frowned when he glanced at his expensive Patek Phillipe watch, but he stood up. “It’s just after midnight. It’s not that late.”

“Time to go,” I insisted.

Rationally, I knew my brother hadn’t meant anything lascivious toward Taylor, but I’d had about all I could take for one evening.

Jax was a charmer on the surface, and he liked women, but that didn’t mean he wanted to screw every one of them. Hell, I’d seen him wink at women of all ages, and some that I knew he definitely didn’t want to get naked.

But for whatever reason, his growing friendliness toward Taylor was hitting a nerve.

I just needed…a break.

Jax watched me, assessing me for a moment with a puzzled expression as I strode to the patio door and opened it for him.

He followed, stopping when he was out of Taylor’s hearing range before he asked, “You don’t really think I was hitting on Taylor, do you?” Jax sounded slightly wounded.

“I don’t,” I said honestly in a low voice. “Christ! I guess I’m just a little…edgy.”

He smiled wryly as he replied, “She’s pretty, and I have a thing for intelligent women, but she’s been off-limits from the second I knew how you felt about her, Hudson.”

I heard the scrape of her chair as Taylor rose from the table.

“I know,” I said to him hurriedly before Taylor joined us.

“I really enjoyed our game, Jax,” Taylor said guilelessly as she joined us.

“Me, too,” Jax replied earnestly as we all made our way to the front door. “Will I see you both on Friday?”

“Friday?” I asked. “What’s on Friday?”

“Your little sister’s annual barbeque,” Jax reminded me.

Holy hell! I’d been so damn distracted that I’d forgotten all about Riley’s party.

I turned my gaze toward Taylor. “You up for it?”

“I’ll be fine. Just go. I can take care of myself,” she urged.

I balked at the idea of leaving her here while I took off for the whole afternoon and evening to Citrus Beach.

“You should come, Taylor. It’s always a good time, and I think you’d really like Riley and Seth,” Jax said encouragingly.

“I want you to come with me,” I added.

Taylor’s cheeks flushed. “Then I guess…I’ll go. It will be nice to get out for the first time.”

She sounded perfectly cheerful, but her tone was way too bright.

Something’s wrong with her.

Jax said his goodbyes, and departed.

I realized that I’d put Taylor on the spot as I watched Jax depart, and I was sorry I had.

I’d made her uncomfortable, and as I closed the front door,