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Bennett was right to want to be in business with the Steiners. And from what he understood, Maggie and Jill’s company was going to help his son with farming equipment, so keeping this partnership was imperative. The purpose of the evening wasn’t lost on Jax, but it was a little hard to focus with his and Jill’s constant bickering juxtaposed against the visual of her swaying hips in front of him.

He loosened a button on his dress shirt. Christ. She was gonna be hard to concentrate around for about a hundred different reasons.

When they got to the table, he was secretly pleased to find their chairs were close enough together that some parts of their bodies were bound to touch. Okay, so he’d work on focusing tomorrow. Tonight, he’d play the part of the concerned brother and let himself enjoy the company of a beautiful—albeit maddening—woman.

Sure enough, she slid in beside him, and their knees grazed. More than that, her thigh settled against his in the corner booth. His gaze slipped first, followed by his willpower. There, in the crest of skin bared on her chest, something glittered, something he recognized. Unfortunately, she couldn’t see his internal struggle to figure out why the initials etched in the jewelry laying against her soft skin tweaked his memory.

“What the hell, Jax?” She whacked him playfully on the shoulder with a hand, the other protectively covering her exposed flesh. “That’s not what I was thinking when I said we should get along.”

He smiled and lifted his gaze. “Sorry. I just—” He held up a hand in supplication. The other pointed to the gold heart on a thin, gold chain beneath her fingers. “I saw that and was curious. Who is L.W.?”

“None of your business,” she said, pressing the locket between her thumb and forefinger. The flush of red that spread up her neck made his fingers itch like his arms did.

So, it was her, after all. Interesting.

“An ex? Maggie said you’re single.”

A chilly breeze slid over them, but then, that could’ve been her frigid stare.

“Maggie had no business telling you that. But yes, someone I cared about. His name was Liam.”

Jax’s brows furrowed. “It wasn’t Liam Walker by chance, was it?”

Jill’s mouth formed into a cute little O, and his brows pulled together in surprise. Well, damn. That was how he recognized the initials—they were on all Liam’s gear at the rodeo and Henley Apparel had even created a brand of post-rodeo wear with the etching of those two letters.

“No way. That’s cool. He was a hero of mine. Nobody rode like him before or since.”

“Of course, he was.” She frowned at him. “But tell me how the heck you knew it was him. Because Maggie would never share that.”

“She didn’t. I put two and two together. You’re a Henley and he was a rodeo god. Only made sense you two would’ve met. Shame what happened to him.”

“It is.” Her pause gave way for a little of the hostility between them to dissipate. “You’re smarter than you look, aren’t you?”

“Coming from you, that might pass as a compliment.”

And then she smiled. It warmed him from the inside out, like the sun in a dimly lit place.

“Touché. Anyway, let’s order and then we should talk.”

“Food for sure. I’m starving and after we figure out what to do about Maggie and Bennett, you owe me a story.”

She glanced up at him. “How’s that?”

“About Liam Walker.”

“Then you’re buying me a drink.”

That seemed a fair trade. Hell, he’d have bought the woman a drink just to keep her looking at him the way she was, with big eyes and a tentative smile. They each ordered a glass of wine, along with what sounded like a killer burnt tips appetizer.

Jax sat back in the plush booth, his hand on his thigh within a finger’s breadth of hers. All he needed to do was move his pinky a little to the left and their fingers would be interlaced. Her thigh was still resting against his, which he didn’t mind in the least. At least the tablecloth hid just how appreciative he was. In fact, he thought he might shoot Steiner an email after dinner and compliment the innovative table seating.

“So, tell me what’s up. I feel like you’re ahead of me with this Bennett and Maggie thing.”

The server brought their wine.

She lifted the glass to his. “Cheers.”

“Cheers.”