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JAXON
“What is your main goal with ClickandWed, Colin?” Jaxon walked outside the back door of the restaurant, blinking as rain sprinkled around them. “Wow, when did the rain start?” He pulled his jacket collar up against the slight wind accompanying the rain and glanced at Colin in surprise. He’d thought only the cranky rain came along the coast. Before he’d gone into the restaurant, the skies had been clear.
“Our weather is moody. But I’m sure you’re used to rain. Seattle has to drench you all the time.” Colin laughed, seemingly more at ease after a dinner where he’d left the attraction off the table. He hadn’t pushed her and Colin seemed to appreciate that.
Having someone to talk with over dinner was refreshing without the expectation to pay for everything or to talk about how much he made or what he was going to buy her. Jaxon was sad to see the evening end.
Colin inclined her head as she buttoned her coat. “But to answer your question...” They hadn’t walked far before stopping under an awning to a business that was closed just a few feet down from Second Avenue.
Light from the street lamp reflected on the falling water, creating a halo effect around their safety under the awning.
“It’s going to sound trite, but don’t make fun, okay?” Colin peeked at Jaxon from under Her lashes. “I’ve never told my true goals to anyone. I’ve joked about them with Carlisle, but even he doesn’t know what I really want.”
Jaxon stepped closer to Colin, reaching up and adjusting her collar as he murmured. “What do you really want, Colin?”
As if frozen by his actions, she held his gaze and spoke just as softly. “I want everyone to be happy. I’m hoping that fills the hole inside me.” Her strength and vulnerability unnerved him. “I want ClickandWed to go international. That’s the next step.”
He’d known international was the next big step for the company. In fact, the move to other countries had been in his initial growth plans for the company should he have purchased it while he was there. He studied her, unwilling to let the evening end without some kind of a tie to her, something that guaranteed she would answer the phone when he called or reply to his emails. He dropped his hand from fixing her collar but didn’t back up. “Let me help with that. I can invest and get you the right connections to make it happen. Use me for more than just money.” Jaxon was entranced by the light in her eyes as she talked about others finding happiness.
Why didn’t she want that for herself? Why did she think she couldn’t have it? Even if she thought she could have it, she didn’t seem to want it for herself, like she felt like she didn’t deserve it. She’d said something about having already been in love, and that she didn’t believe in second chances.
Jaxon wanted to push her, break down her walls and let him in, date him, see if she could find some of that sparkle with him. He had to convince her she was capable of loving again, that she was due some happiness of her own. Plus, Jaxon was determined to be happy himself. Wasn’t that why he was so determined to work with the matchmaking company?
Sure, he could probably find another company for sale, similar to hers, but ClickandWed was unique and Jaxon didn’t want just any online dating company. He wanted the one that he’d hoped would help him find love.
Now that he’d found Colin, he couldn’t imagine chasing anyone else. He could start right then. He could push her, make her acknowledge her attraction to him.
But something stopped him. There was a brokenness behind her hope for others. She’d said she was in love before – a whole soul love. She didn’t believe in second chances. That was the root for what held her back from anything with Jaxon. If Jaxon could get to the bottom of whatever had crushed her heart, Jaxon might have a chance to make things work with her – or at least get a shot at seeing if there was anything there were pursuing.
Had the man cheated on her or something?
Colin studied him, finally breaking through the silence and asking, “You would do that? Your goal was to buy the business, but you’re willing to put aside your goal to help me? Why?” She narrowed her eyes with suspicion, tucking her hands into the large side pockets of her coat.
“Don’t ask why. Just let me do it. Give me a chance.” Jaxon shot her a coy grin he usually only used on the women he wanted things from, too. But all he wanted from Colin was a chance to be near her.
If his main priority had become getting her to admit that she was interested in him, there was no way he would be able to accomplish his goal from Seattle. Plus, she couldn’t agree to date him, if he was in Seattle and she was in Sandpoint. If they never talked again because there was no point to her, then he had to make sure he was in her life.
Pushing her outside of her boundaries would take time and finessing. Thankfully, he could afford to invest and be there without having to be in control of her company. He could stay there in north Idaho and still work with the occasional commute to Seattle. Overall, though, he had to come up with an outline for his plan to win Colin’s heart.
Would she eventually let him in or was he setting himself up for failure?
Jaxon hoped it was the former because the latter wasn’t something he tolerated in himself.
Failure wasn’t an option, but it was very clearly a possibility. For the first time in a long time, Jaxon didn’t weight his odds or even try to analyze all the data. He was there and Colin was exactly what he was looking for. He just had to make sure she thought the same way.