Clammy fingers of foreboding strummed the back of his neck. Ice trickled through his veins. Indecision, potent and savage, strangled his resolve to stride into the ballroom and make people stand up and notice Jax Maroney was back and there wasn’t one damn thing they could do about it. Well and good to have resolve, but acting on it with hundreds of curious, judgemental eyes locked on him? Tougher than he’d expected. ‘You’ll be fine.’ Ruby squeezed his hand, sensing his wavering, her intuition scaring him as much as the crowd. No matter how many times he pushed her away, no matter how hard he tried to keep his distance, he kept coming back for more, drawn to her in a way that defied explanation. He didn’t want to get close to her. Didn’t want to see the admiration in her eyes when he’d walked out of the bathroom earlier, didn’t want to see the tears when he’d given her the rose on an impulse, didn’t want her asking probing questions or being sensitive or trying to understand him.
