ng with the helmet.
A muffled, “Who the hell…last wore this thing?” made Lexi giggle.
The sound drew Jax’s gaze, and he realized the light from the phone cast a glow on Lexi’s face. But she had her head tilted down and away, toward the phone. He pushed up a little, trying to get a better view.
He caught sight of just a portion of her face. Long, golden eyelashes over one crystal-clear blue eye and smooth skin. His craving to see her face intensified.
“How do you do that?” she asked without looking away the phone. Jax’s gaze lowered to her mouth. Her lips were full, pink, pretty. “Ride like that with no hands?”
“It’s just balance. And I’ve been riding since I was little. ”
She hummed, the sound impressed. “I bet you were an adorable kid. ”
In the video, Jax called Ty a piece of shit, and Lexi laughed. Crinkles appeared in the outer corner of her eye. He caught a flash of straight white teeth.
“Who are you talking to?” she asked. “Who’s taking the video?”
“One of the actors. He runs his own stunts. ”
Another hum, but no real interest. And her laughter picked up at Jax’s antics just before he finally pulled the helmet off. “Oh my God. ” She laughed the words. “Is he falling off his horse?”
Jax returned his gaze to the phone where the image was slowly tilting sideways, Ty’s hysterical laughter booming from the speakers. “No, he’s just screwing around. He’s as good a rider as I am. ”
Jax returned his eyes to the tiny corner of her face. Took in the way her blonde hair lay softly against the part of her forehead and temple he could see. He wanted to turn her toward him and kiss her, eyes open and staring into hers.
“Did you grow up on a ranch or something?” she asked.
“No. My mother was very into horses, mostly because they were prestigious and allowed her to meet the people she wanted to meet. When I was old enough to decide whether or not to ride on my own, I stuck with it because it got me away from everyone before I could drive. ”
“Hmm, I’d have loved a getaway like that as a kid. ” She laughed at something on the video again, and he didn’t get a chance to ask more. “He seems so fun. Do you like him?”
“Yeah. He’s a good kid. ” A thought occurred to him, a way to test her. He clenched his stomach in preparation for a spastic response—he got that a lot when he mentioned Ty. “It’s Tyler Manning. ”
She didn’t react—at all. Just kept watching the video with a small shake of her head. “I don’t recognize the name. Are you two always this funny when you’re working together?”
If she’d known who Ty was, Jax doubted she could have held back a reaction. He had to admit, he’d been skeptical after the demonstration Ty had given today.
“Usually, yeah,” he answered belatedly. “Like I said, I get to play all day. ”
On the video, Jax barreled toward the phone’s camera, and Lexi gasped. Then the picture went dark as Jax’s hand covered the lens, plucked it out of Ty’s hand, and raced off. But his voice came over the audio: “Try, kid. It’ll give me an excuse to knock your ass off that horse. ”
Lexi was laughing so hard tears gathered in her eyes. Then the video cut out, and the room went dark again.
“Oh my God, you two are hilarious. How old is he?” she asked. “You call him kid. ”
“Twenty-four. ”
“And you’re twenty-nine?” she confirmed from their earlier texts.
“Yep. You?”
“Twenty-eight. When’s your birthday?”
“July 7th. ”
“Mine too. July, I mean. The 14th. We’re both Cancers. ” Her voice smoothed and softened. “Homebodies. We’d both rather be home, but…here we are. ”
Jax didn’t really have a home. Not in the traditional sense. He hated LA as a city. Hated what it stood for. But it was the hub of the career he loved. His own family wasn’t what people thought of when they thought of family. He was closer to the guys he worked with than his siblings or parents. And his house, while gorgeous, was big and empty.