Jax spun around and when he saw Miranda, he swore under his breath. Miranda looked at him and shook her head disapprovingly, clucking her tongue. "Jax, Jax, you naughty boy, you haven’t introduced us." She put her hand out to Brenda. "I’m Miranda Jacks. I’m Jax’s lawfully wedded wife."

Jax moved so swiftly that it took Brenda’s breath away for a moment. He grabbed Miranda by the arm and pulled her to the side of the room, 5 feet from where Brenda still stood, rooted to the spot. "What the bloody h*ll do you think you’re doing here?"

"Supporting my husband through this difficult time, dear. Why….what did you THINK I was doing?"

As Jax’s eyes blazed and he ran both hands through his hair, the resort manager came up behind him and tapped him gently on the shoulder. Jax swung around and almost bit the man’s head off. "WHAT!!??"

"I’m sorry, sir, but you have a phone call at the front desk. I believe it’s the Australian service center for your jets."

Jax took a deep breath and looked back at Miranda. "You…get out of here now while you’re still healthy." He glanced at Brenda and pointed at her. "And we’re not through with our discussion. I’ll be back." He spun on his heel and breezed out of the room, pushing his way past the startled business manager.

Miranda slithered over to where Brenda was still standing, a sly smile on her face. "My goodness, Jax can be such a terror sometimes. Like a lion with a splinter in his paw, don’t you think?" She shook her head. "I’m sure he was an absolutely miserable companion over the past six weeks. Must have been a living h*ll for you."

Brenda wasn’t about to let this slip of a woman get the best of her, even if she was Jax’s legal wife. "Oh, I don’t know about that. There were times when Jax was in a VERY good mood." She smiled cattily. "And actually, he can be very clever when it comes to surviving in the wilderness. Jax is such a CREATIVE man, you know?"

Miranda returned the smile maliciously, and moved closer to Brenda so that nobody else could overhear their conversation. "Look, Ms. Barrett. If you’re trying to insinuate that you and Jax had some kind of physical relationship on that island, go right ahead. It doesn’t surprise me. It doesn’t even shock me. For your information, Jax has had any number of affairs over the years. That’s public knowledge, although he usually manages to keep the faces of his mistresses more confidential. And yet, even after all of those beautiful women and their beautiful bodies, he always comes back home to me. His wife. And I have no intention of giving up that title to anyone else anytime soon."

Brenda’s eyes spat fire right back at Miranda. "Look, lady – and I use the term loosely – the fact that Jax has had affairs before isn’t my problem. The fact that you can’t satisfy him enough to keep him from looking elsewhere isn’t my problem." She took a deep, shaky breath. "Right now, my only problem is finding my business partner and getting as far the h*ll away from you as I can."

Miranda looked Brenda up and down as she began to walk away. "You know, I guess it’s really not so surprising that Jax found you appealing." Brenda turned back to her. "We do resemble each other, after all. Both petite, both dark-haired, both with dark brown eyes -- Jax probably just closed his eyes and pretended it was ME he was making love to all those times he did it with you."

Hot tears stung Brenda’s eyes but as she spun to search for Lois, she ran into a brick wall – Jax. His eyes were ablaze with barely-contained fury as he looked past Brenda at Miranda. "I thought I told you to get out." His words were clipped and controlled. She sashayed past Brenda, and when she went past Jax, she put one hand up to caress the side of his face lovingly. When he went to slap it away, she pulled her hand back first, and turned her back and left the room, laughing loudly.

Brenda’s tears were flowing in earnest now, but Jax caught her by the arm before she could get away from him again. "Brenda, we weren’t finished talking!"

"What more do we have to talk about, Jax?" she said softly but grimly. She glanced around to make sure none of the reporters were close enough to hear. "She’s right. She’s your wife, and I’m your mistress."

Jax pulled her closer to him. "You’re NOT my mistress, Brenda. You’re the woman I love!"

Brenda opened her mouth to speak but at that moment, Jason came up behind Jax and tapped him on the shoulder. Brenda turned away to wipe the tears from her eyes, and when Jax spun and saw his son, he tried to calm himself so that the boy wouldn’t know what was going on. "Jason! I didn’t see you in the room earlier!"

"That’s because I didn’t make it until after the conference was over, dad," Jason replied. Peeking around his father, Jason slowly let his eyes travel up and down her form, stopping momentarily at her breasts and legs, and then looked at his father expectantly. Jax shook his head at the realization that his son’s adolescent hormones were beginning to blossom.

"Jason, I’d like you to meet someone," Jax said smoothly. He took Brenda by the arm, and she turned back with a big smile, although she wasn’t sure how long she could hold it. "Jason, this is Brenda Barrett, the young woman I was stranded with for six weeks. Brenda, this is my son, Jason Jacks."

The two shook hands. Brenda noticed that Jason must have gotten all of his mother’s genes, since he had her huge, round, dark eyes and dark hair. "Pleased to meet you. Jax spoke of you often on the island."

Jason nodded. "Miss Barrett is in the record business, Jason," Jax intoned. "She is co-owner of L&B Records." Jason’s eyes widened and his mouth dropped open.

"No, sh*t, really?" Jax gave him a disapproving look but Jason didn’t pay any attention to his father. He was still holding Brenda’s hand and started pumping it enthusiastically. "Doesn’t Barenaked Ladies record for your label? I just LOVE them!"

Brenda laughed and looked down at her hand, which was becoming crushed in Jason’s grip. He returned the laugh and dropped it self-consciously. "Thank you, but no – they record for a different label. But we do represent some other groups that you might like."

"Do you think I could come and see your studio some time after we get back to LA?" Jason asked. "My friends would be so TOTALLY green if I got to do that!"

Brenda smiled. "Sure. Just give my secretary a call when we get back. I’ll give her your name and tell her to expect your call."

"COOL!!" Jason looked back to his father. "Oh, and before I forget, dad, I just saw mom in the hallway on her way back to the suite. She said to remind you that we were all having dinner together tonight on the balcony – kind of a family reunion type of thing."

Jax inhaled sharply and Brenda felt waves of nausea come over her again. She gave Jax an "I-told-you-so" look, and then smiled wanly at Jason. "Well, it was nice to meet you, Jason, but I think I hear my business partner calling me." She looked back to Jax. "Wouldn’t want to make you late getting back to your FAMILY."

Brenda turned and as she walked away from them, she felt the tears gathering in her eyes again. Jax watched her go with a sinking feeling, and Jason tapped him on the arm. "Did I say something wrong?"

Jax wrapped his arm around the boy’s shoulders. "No, son. Nothing that can be helped." He gave a big sigh. "Come on. Let’s go check in the lobby. I’m expecting a call from the Sydney Lear maintenance department."

Brenda had moved above 20 feet away from Jax and Jason when the tears started blurring her vision. When she stopped for a moment to wipe them away, she felt strong hands take her arms. When she looked up, though, it was Jerry who was supporting her, Lois at his side.

"Are you OK, beautiful?" Jerry looked around her and saw Jax leaving the room with Jason.

Lois came to stand next to Brenda, putting her arm around her. "What happened, Bren?"

She tried to compose herself and shook her head to clear it. "Nothing. I just met your nephew, Jerry. Jason’s a handsome boy. Jax can be proud of him." She took a shaky breath. "Miranda introduced herself, too." Lois gave a sympathetic sigh and began rubbing her hands up and down Brenda’s arms as she looked tearfully at Jerry. "I don’t think I can take much more of this, Jerry. I need to get out of here." Just when she thought things couldn’t get any worse, they did.

Sonny appeared behind her and put his hands over her eyes. "Guess who?"

Brenda did her best to smile. She took his hands from her eyes and turned around to face him. "Hi, honey. When did you get here?"

"I finally broke away from that phone call, but I wasn’t in time to catch the press conference. Did everything go OK?"

"Fine." Brenda shifted from one foot to the other until Jerry cleared his throat softly. "Oh my gosh – where are my manners?" She pulled Jerry next to her, carefully placing him between Sonny and herself. "Sonny, this is the man who found us on the island – Jerry Jacks."

Jerry put his hand out to the mobster. "I think we may have spoken on the telephone during the past six weeks. Nice to meet you, Mr. Corinthos."

"Yeah, same here," Sonny said suspiciously. He had taken an instant disliking to the tall, blonde man that Brenda had been stranded with, and the brother wasn’t too high on his hit parade at the moment. Ignoring Jerry, he looked back toward Brenda. "I’m afraid those phone calls were bad news though, babe. Some problems have come up back in LA and I need to get back there as soon as possible. I thought we could stay here for a few days and soak up some sun, but now….

Brenda laughed nervously. "Sonny, believe me …. I’ve soaked up enough sun to last me several lifetimes." She looked meaningfully at Jerry. "I think I’m ready to get back to LA, too. Are there any flights tonight?"

Lois choked. "Tonight?"

Sonny put his hands on his hips, pushing back the expensive coat of his tailored suit. "Tonight really isn’t a bad idea, but the earliest commercial flight I can find leaves around noon tomorrow." Brenda turned to look at Jerry and he saw that she was almost drowning in the pain.

"Ummmm, if I might make a suggestion," Jerry offered. "Let me see what I can do. I might be able to pull a few strings with this charter air service I know of." He smiled broadly.

Sonny frowned. "Babe, would you feel comfortable flying on one of their planes again? You sure about this?"

Brenda nodded quickly. "Positive, honey. All I want to do is get off of this island as quickly as I can."

By 7:30 that night, a J&J Charters jet arrived on Igua. Brenda, Sonny and Lois were aboard within ten minutes and the jet was back in the air on the way to Los Angeles.

When Jax stormed into the suite that had been set aside for the use of the Jacks family, it was abnormally quiet. Jax looked around quickly and frowned when the only face he saw was his wife’s.

Miranda was seated on a chaise lounge, reading a romance novel and sipping on a tall drink with an umbrella garnish. She was dressed in a sheer red negligee and matching robe, and Jax’s stomach turned at the plans she probably had for the evening. He looked at her with undisguised loathing as he walked past her on the way to his room. "Isn’t it a little dangerous, drinking those potent mixtures without food in your stomach?"

Miranda put down her book deliberately and gave him a dirty look. "Well, since you were so BUSY with your precious airplane business, your parents and son and I decided to have dinner without you." She snorted. "Some reunion."

Jax opened the door to his room and took a quick peek inside, noting that it was empty and dark. He spun around and went past Miranda in such a rush that it made the flimsy fabric of her peignoir flutter in the breeze. "What about you? Have you eaten?"

Jax turned back to her with a cynical look. "I had something sent up from the kitchen while I was on the phone with Sydney." He stopped for a moment to check his hair in the mirror and then was about to leave when Miranda stopped him.

"You’re leaving? Again?" Jax applauded Miranda’s deduction sarcastically, and her face twisted with anger. "Well, if you’re going to see HER, you’re going to have a difficult time."

Jax started walking back toward the chaise very slowly. "Explain yourself."

"She’s gone." Jax’s face dropped and Miranda began to chortle in victory. "Poof. Flown the coop."

"You don’t have to give me all the appropriate cliches, Miranda. Where did she go, and how?"

Miranda studied her fingernails. "I believe the "where" is back to Los Angeles, and as for the "how", you’ll have to talk to your beloved older brother since he arranged it for her." She threw her head back and laughed. "How ironic – she and her BOYFRIEND went home together on a J&J Charters jet!"

Jax abruptly came over to the chaise and pulled Miranda up by the arm. "Look, I’ve put up with you today because I didn’t want to upset Jason any further. He’s had enough turmoil in his life for the past six weeks. But that’s over now." He pulled her so close his breath ruffled her hair. "I want you out of here tonight, Miranda. Out of this suite, and out of my life." He let her go forcefully. "I’ll have my lawyer contact your lawyer in the morning. This divorce is going through whether you like it or not."

As Jax spun to leave the room, Miranda called after him. "I’ll never let you have the divorce, Jax. You’ll never be free to marry her, you know."

He turned and looked at her sadly. "Why, Miranda? Why do you insist on continuing this farce of a marriage?"

Miranda slithered over to him, her hips clearly undulating beneath the sheer nylon of the red negligee. "It doesn’t have to be a farce, Jax. It can be good again, just like it was in the beginning." She came to stand before him and slid her hands up his muscular chest, pausing to lightly run her fingers around his nipples.

Jax took a shaky breath. "It never WAS good, Miranda – EVER. It was always just lies. I gave you the money and the prestige. I was a good father and a faithful husband in the beginning. But it never was enough for you."

"I can change, Jax," she purred. She ran one long red fingernail up his neck to bury the fingers of her right hand in the sun-bleached hair at the nape of his neck. She slowly moved her left hand down to the front of his blue jeans, caressing him. "Let me show you how good it could be between us again," she whispered, moving her left hand to the snap of his jeans.

Jax pushed her away. "No, Miranda!" He put some distance between them. "It won’t work. I don’t love you!" His voice softened. "Actually, I’m not sure that I EVER loved you."

Being spurned by her husband didn’t sit well with Miranda. "And you think you love HER? Well, you’re wrong, Jax. She’s no different than your other floozies." She crossed her arms.

Jax’s eyes widened in realization. "Bloody h*ll…..you’re JEALOUS!"

Miranda looked incredulous. "Jealous? Why should I be jealous? You’ve had numerous affairs in the past, Jax. She won’t be any different than any of the others. Once we’re back in LA and you’re not around her every day in some exotic setting, you won’t even remember her name."

Jax walked over to Miranda, but his body language was anything but friendly. She shrank back a few steps from the power of his presence. "That’s not what I mean. You’re not jealous because I slept with her. You’re jealous because she’s different." He gave a sarcastic laugh. "I don’t think you would lose a moment’s rest if all I wanted to do was continue to sleep with Brenda. But I LOVE Brenda, and I want to MARRY her, and THAT’S what you can’t stand." He tipped her chin up to meet his fiery eyes. "It’s not me you don’t want to give up, Miranda, it’s the last name and the title."

"You’re wrong, Jax," Miranda whispered in a pained voice. Jax began to walk away from her towards the door. "I’ll never give you up. I’ll destroy you before I ever agree to a divorce."

He turned back to her. "Go ahead and try. I intend to marry Brenda, and have children with her, and love her for the rest of my life the same way she loves me."

Miranda gave a shrill snort. "Ha! Loves you? You think she LOVES you? I guess that’s why she looked so happy to be getting on that flight back to LA with her boyfriend, the godfather!"

Jax breathed heavily and pointed a finger at Miranda. "I’ll say this once, so you’d better listen carefully," he said through grit teeth. "I’m going to find my brother to discuss some business. I should be back in about an hour. When I return, I want you and your things out of this suite. If you’re NOT gone when I come back, I’ll call security and have you THROWN out, and I don’t care if Jason is watching!"

Jax finally spun and went through the door. As he closed it, he heard the crash when her drink hit the door and the umbrella swizzle stick went clattering across the floor. As he went down the hall towards the elevators, he didn’t hear her sobs of regret.

Jax finally found Jerry in the tacky, darkened bar, sitting at a table by himself with an empty tequila glass and slices of lemon in front of him. He went to stand at the table and as Jerry looked up at him, he saw the fury in Jax’s eyes.

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t throttle you." Jax was livid.

Jerry’s lips formed a grim line and he shook his head in disbelief. "Stop acting like a bloody @ss and sit down." Jax took a deep breath, and then pulled out a chair opposite his brother. When the waitress came over, Jerry said, "Bring us another tequila glass and more lemon slices and salt. You can just leave the bottle." She nodded, and as she walked away, Jax leaned over the table.

"Miranda said you made the arrangements so that Brenda could get off the island tonight! With her boyfriend! Why the h*ll would you do something like that?"

"And exactly why did you want her to stick around, Jax? So Miranda could flaunt her wedding ring in Brenda’s face every chance she got? So we could all fly back together on one plane, and she could see Jason looking lovingly at the two of you?" Jax’s face grew more and more pale as Jerry went on. "How much pain do you want to put the poor woman through, Jax?"

The waitress appeared at that moment with the bottle of tequila and Jerry took it from her and sent her on her way. After Jerry had poured him a drink, Jax downed it in one swallow and quickly followed it with a slice of lemon. He looked at Jerry with pain evident in his eyes. "I love her, Jerry. I love her SO much."

Jax shook his head. "I was hoping to avoid it, Jer. The more people I tell about Jason, the more likely it would be that it would eventually get back to him. And I don’t want him hurt."

Jerry poured his own drink. "So you choose to hurt the woman you love instead."

Jax slammed the glass down on the table. "NO, d*mnit! I don’t want ANYONE hurt in this!" He calmed down as Jerry gave him a look and lowered his voice. "Well, except maybe for Miranda, that is." He and Jerry lifted their glasses in a silent toast and drank their shots. "I’m going to marry Brenda, Jerry. I don’t care what it takes. I’m getting that divorce and I’m going to make her my wife."

Jerry nodded. "D*mn straight, Jax." He began to fill Jax’s glass again. "You know, I could tell right away from the first time I saw her on the island that she was special."

Jax raised his eyes to Jerry with a half-smile. "Jer, I don’t feel like throttling you anymore, but the thought that you saw my future wife in all her naked splendor won’t keep those feelings away for long! If I’m going to spend the next 50 years of my life with her, I don’t want you reminding me of that constantly!"

Jerry lifted his glass to clink with Jax’s. "Agreed. What can I do to help?"

Jax put his glass down without drinking and pulled a cocktail napkin out and tossed it towards Jerry with a pen. "Start taking notes. I’m going to Sydney tomorrow to check with the maintenance people." He got a grim look. "Either someone’s being deliberately dense or I’m not asking the right questions, so I’m going to hash it out with them in person. Anyway, I want you to get with Addie first thing when you get back and have her do some things for me."

Jerry put his glass down and took the pen. "Shoot."

"First, I want her to call Alexis Davis and have her draw up a new set of divorce papers. Have her look into the law books and see if there are any loopholes in the marriage at all that I can use to get out of it. Then have her call Donnelly and Devane." Jerry paused in confusion. "They’re a private investigating firm I’ve used on occasion in the past. The number is in my Rolodex on my desk." Jerry nodded. "I want them to do two things. Start looking into this whole heroin thing and how it might relate to Brenda’s boyfriend, the mobster."

"You think he’s behind it?"

"I’d bet the Malibu estate on it. I also want them to discreetly follow Brenda. I want to know everything she’s doing, specifically if she’s seeing Corinthos."

Jerry frowned immediately. "You don’t trust her?" Jerry remembered Lois’s words to him about Brenda’s skittish attitude whenever Sonny was around. "Frankly, I thought she looked a little bit like she was going to hurl every time the man touched her."

"I trust her, Jerry. It’s HIM I don’t trust." Jax sighed. "And I think he’s just enough of a b*stard to try to force himself on her."

Jerry nodded. "Anything else?"

"That’s about it for now. I’ll call you from Sydney late tomorrow if I think of anything else." Jax finally downed the drink that had been sitting on the table for several minutes and leaned back in his chair, folding his hands in his lap contentedly. "So…..how are you? We haven’t really had a chance to catch up since the Isabella."

Jerry put his glass down and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "I’m fine, Jax. Just fine."

Jax tilted his head to one side and looked carefully at Jerry. His eyebrows wrinkled. "No, you’re not." He leaned in and looked at him more closely. "D*mn! I never thought I would see the day, but you’ve got it, too!"

"Got what?"

Jax smiled and crinkled his eyes in merriment. "It’s a woman, isn’t it?" Jerry shook his head vehemently, but Jax just chuckled all the more. "Yes, it is. I can tell." He sat up straighter. "Here – answer a few questions for me. What does it feel like when you look at her?"

Jerry kept his eyes downcast and muttered, "Like a bloody elephant’s sittin’ on my chest."

"And when you touch her?"

Jerry sighed deeply. "Like electrical shocks just went through my fingers."

Jax was grinning more and more broadly. "And when you’re standing next to her?"

"Like somebody just pumped all the air out of the room." His answers were growing fainter and fainter.

"And when you think about making love to her?"

"ALL RIGHT, ALL RIGHT!" Jax shushed Jerry again as his voice carried in the nearly empty bar. "OK, you’ve made your point. I’ve got it. I’m in bloody love," Jerry said grimly.

Jax reached for the bottle of tequila and took a turn filling Jerry’s glass. "So, when did this happen? While you were looking for us? Is it someone in Hawaii?"

Jerry lifted his eyes to Jax slowly. "It happened this afternoon – here."

Jax’s face paled. "Here?" He began to grip the bottle tightly. "Jerry, you’re not…..I mean, since you saw Brenda in the altogether….." He looked to the side. "But the two of you HAVE been awfully cozy since the rescue…."

Jerry put his hand out to catch Jax’s arm when he realized what his brother was thinking. "Jax! NO! It’s not Brenda!" Jax exhaled loudly with relief. "It’s her partner, Lois," Jerry said quietly.

Jax smiled, and then tried to stifle a giggle. "The partner? The one with the non-stop mouth?" He began to fill his own glass, still chuckling. "And those daggers she calls fingernails?"

Jerry shook his head in frustration. "I know, Jax, I know. But I took one look at those beautiful blue eyes of hers and those dimples, and it was like…BOOM! I was a goner!" He raised his glass and Jax lifted his to clink. "This is awful, Jax. I don’t know how you can be so happy when you feel like this."

After both men downed their shots, Jax smiled at Jerry. "It’s not always like this, Jer." He began to fill Jerry’s glass again.

Jerry whistled in relief. "Thanks, Jax. I was worried there for a while."

Jax nodded and his eyes began to crinkle in mirth again. "Yep. Sometimes it’s even worse!" As Jerry opened his mouth to protest, Jax lifted his glass again. "To the Jacks brothers and their conquest of the L&B women!"

Tears ran down the woman’s cheeks as she gazed at the endless expanse of ocean rushing by beneath her.

After the brothers Jacks had retired to their rooms that night, despite the amount of tequila they had consumed, neither one could sleep. As a dark-haired brother stared at the ceiling above his bed, the blonde brother went out to the patio and stared off into the distant sky.

To be continued…..

Music credit: "I’ve Never Been in Love Before," from "Guys and Dolls," music and lyrics by Frank Loesser.