Looking at him, Jax had no doubt that the very serious-minded Port Charles detective meant every word that he uttered. Marcus Taggert stood poised for confrontation and it would not take much provocation on Jax’s part to provide the necessary spark.

“Look, Detective,” Jax made a conciliatory gesture, “I know that I made a bit of a blue with Dara (*messed up). Could you just tell her that I am here and I would like to talk?”

Marcus was unmoved by the other man’s quiet plea. He suspected that Jasper Jacks, via benefit of his blond good looks, was far too accustomed to having others grant him his way. “Unlike you,” Marcus replied, “I don’t keep secrets from Dara. And I don’t make life-changing decisions for her.” He gave Jax a pointed look. “Dara knows that you are here. And she doesn’t want to see you.”

Jax sighed in frustration. There was no way he would be able to begin mending the rift between he and his fiancée if she refused to even allow him in her presence.

Not that Dara had any reason to want to see him. Brenda had come back into his life and he had impatiently put Dara away into a dark corner to be dealt with later. What was it that Dara had said during his latest attempt at explanation? Oh, yes… ‘It was unreasonable of me to expect to come first in your life. After all, I am only the woman about to become your wife.” Nothing Jax said seemed to soften Dara’s anger at him.

“Fine,” he finally conceded. “I will leave. But I won’t give up.” Without another glance at Dara’s two motionless protectors, Jax turned to head back along the path on which he had come.

“Hey, Candyboy!” Marcus Taggert called out, despite the supreme irony of his using a nickname coined by the man he hated most in life, ‘Sonny’ Corinthos. Jax turned and his hand instinctively flew up to catch the object that came hurtling toward his face. “Take this with you.”

Slowly Jax uncurled the fingers of his right hand. There in his palm lay the flawless diamond engagement ring he’d had specially made for Dara. He stared at it blindly for a moment before closing his fist once more.

Dara Jensen might have given up on him, but there was no way Jax would give up on them.