Page 28 of The Comeback

There’s a long pause and she finally says, “Let me think on it. I’ll get back to you.”

“Got it.”

We hang up, and I plop back onto my couch, my worry increasing. Hayden’s history with Gabriella makes me think she won’t hesitate to criticize Gabriella’s wedding, and with two million followers, that’s negative talk that Gabriella doesn’t need to start this with. It’s exactly the kind of thing that seems like no big deal at first and then suddenly blows up in your face—like a video that looks like one thing and turns out to be a nuclear bomb to a good cause. The whole reason I started looking up guests was to avoid potential problems like Hayden, or at least be on the lookout. I’ll do everything in my power to make sure history doesn’t repeat itself at Gabriella’s wedding. I can’t let her down.

But maybe Hayden has moved past all that. Clearly her career is doing well, and dating Jett could blow it up even more. Who am I to take away that chance for her? Or to get in the way of what might be a great relationship for Jett? Any way I play this, it looks like I’m coming after Hayden because I’m jealous. Part of me hopes Gabriella decides to ignore it and take the risk. But another part of me pictures Mrs. Page’s face, her smirk as she opened a presentation that ruined a few careers.

Whatever Gabriella decides, I’ve got my eye on Hayden.

CHAPTER 17

JETT

I can tell something is up the second I walk into Colby’s and see Ava setting the table for dinner.

I mean, I suspected she would be here for dinner tonight. Gabriella seems intent on something between us even if Colby thinks it might cause drama, and clearly the way I acted around Ava last Sunday made Gabriella sure there’s still feelings there. Enough that she’d talked to Jenna about it because they’re texting friends now, apparently.

I can’t really deny that I do have feelings for Ava. To be honest, I’m just doing everything I can to ignore them.

But she avoids me as she moves around the table, setting out plates and napkins on one end of Colby’s twelve-seat dining room table. The furniture in Colby’s house has been shifting little by little since he and Gabriella got engaged, and this is one of the new additions.

“How are you feeling?” I ask Ava, pulling out a chair at the table and sliding into it.

She glances up and gives me a nervous smile. “Good as new.”

“Except the fact that you can’t have guacamole anymore.” I hang my head at the tragedy, and when I peek up at her, her smile relaxes for a second. Just because I have to keep my guard up romantically around her doesn’t mean we can’t be friends. Having to be around her more because of the wedding would be a lot easier if we were.

“I try not to think about it too much.” She fidgets with one of the plates, adjusting it and then fussing with the napkin she sets on top of it. That must be a habit she’s picked up since she started planning events, wanting things to look perfect.

She did always make time for special stuff when we were together. She conjured a spectacular anniversary dinner once on a ridiculously small budget when our money was so tight I couldn’t fathom how she’d gotten such great steaks. She never did tell me how she managed that, but her face glowed with pride the entire time we ate.

I shake the memory away. Stuff like that makes me question how she could sacrifice and fight for that little dinner but not make it through a couple more tight years so we could be together.

“Uh, what stage of grief would you say you’re in?” I ask, knowing I sound awkward coming out of my thoughts like that but trying to go for lighthearted anyway.

“Probably bargaining,” she says. “I spent longer than I should have looking up alternative dips I could stomach.” She shrugs and crinkles her nose.

“Unsuccessful, I take it?”

“Totally.”

I put my elbows on the table and lean toward her. “Maybe if you eat the guacamole with salt-and-vinegar chips, they can overpower your allergic reaction to the avocados.”

Her shoulders shake with laughter. “That makes zero sense, J.” She bites her lip like the nickname slipped out and moves sideways, adjusting another plate that doesn’t need adjusting given that this is just dinner with friends.

I slide right over the slip. I can’t blame her. This conversation does feel comfortable and easy. I lost count of the number of times I called her babe while I was worried about her. “How will you know unless you try?”

She looks back up at me, shaking her head and widening her eyes mockingly. “Are you trying to kill me?”

I chuckle. “By the way, I’m sorry about that picture blowing up. Social media is a beast.” I scowl.

She tenses, unsurprisingly. “Yeah, people can be really nasty online.”

It’s my turn to stiffen. “Didn’t realize being connected to me was such a horrible thing.” I try to make a joke out of it, but my voice has gone as tight as my shoulders.

She tilts her head, her brow furrowing. “When people think the only reason I got the job planning Gabriella’s wedding is because I’m sleeping with you, it’s not great.”

My mouth drops open. “What?”

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