Page 29 of The Comeback

Her expression relaxes, and she even starts to laugh. “It doesn’t surprise me that you didn’t see the comments.”

I don’t know if it’s leftover protectiveness from the night of her allergic reaction or what, but my hackles rise. Whatever my issues with Ava being here and our past, she’s a talented woman, and to have her abilities diminished to resulting from a connection to me? It makes me want to go respond to every single one of the people who claimed it. Maybe I do need a social media manager, because that’s something I wouldn’t mind tasking someone with.

“You have several big events in your portfolio,” I say, trying to keep the growl out of my voice. “Why would anyone think that?”

Her eyes are soft, the way she looked at me after I brought her home from the hospital, and I’m melting again, wanting to move toward her, have her in my arms again the way she was last Sunday night. “Most trolls don’t go check out someone’s portfolio before spreading rumors online, and the people who do know my portfolio only know about The Hope Sanctuary Alliance.” She looks down at the mention of people who might know of her previous events.

“The Hope Sanctuary Alliance?” Tension has risen back in the air, but thankfully it doesn’t seem directed at me.

“A charity that folded. I was involved in a fundraiser for them that went sideways.” She makes a face and shrugs, but her mouth is drawn into a hurt frown for several seconds before she pulls her lips up into what she probably thinks is a careless smile.

I hate how fake that smile is and how it can look so unhappy. “What happened?—?”

“Who’s ready for tacos?” Gabriella interrupts, coming into the room with a couple of serving platters filled with meat, cheese, lettuce, salsa, and other toppings, with guacamole conspicuously absent.

I hold Ava’s gaze a moment longer, but her explanation about the fundraiser will have to wait for another time. The vulnerability in her expression dissipates into the air, and we both turn to Gabriella, whose gaze bounces between us, but she doesn’t say anything.

“You take taco Tuesday seriously.” I raise an eyebrow at Gabriella.

“Colby does,” she corrects with a laugh.

Colby comes in behind her with another serving platter, this one piled high with tortillas. “This woman’s corn tortillas are to die for. I take any excuse for tacos seriously.”

We all settle in for dinner. The conversation flows easily, but there’s a nervousness to both Colby and Gabriella that echoes Ava’s when I first came in. Because this is clearly a double-date-type situation and they feel guilty? I can’t guess.

“So,” Colby says after he’s finished at least half a dozen tacos. “How was your date with Hayden?”

Before I can stop myself, my gaze darts across the table to where Ava sits. He’s going to talk to me about Hayden with Ava sitting right there? Maybe he and Gabriella aren’t as intent on setting me back up with Ava as I thought.

But she looks just as uncomfortable as I feel, so what’s Colby doing?

Casting another glance in Ava’s direction, I turn to Colby. “Good. We have a lot more in common than I thought.”

Colby nods slowly, then looks over at Gabriella like he doesn’t know what to say next. She takes a deep breath, and I remember with a start the history she has with Hayden. Hayden and I went out Thursday, and by Friday afternoons, I’m usually deep in game mode. Once I’d dropped her off, I compartmentalized the date and everything about it to think about later. While I did spend a few hours with her at the University of Houston game on Saturday morning, I was still 99 percent in the football zone.

“Is this about that thing that happened between you two in college?” I ask. But why in the world does telling me about the incident require a full dinner and Ava involved in the strategy? I feel like I’m missing something.

“You know?” Gabriella’s eyebrows jump in surprise.

“Hayden told me about it. She didn’t want things to get awkward or for there to be surprises. She felt bad about what happened.” I look from Gabriella to Colby to Ava, unsure.

“Oh…” Gabriella says, but the skin around her deep-brown eyes is pinched, and I catch disbelief in her tone. She shares a look with Ava, so I can assume Ava knows about what happened too. Maybe she’s just here for moral support for Gabriella, the best friend to back up Gabriella’s story on the horrible things Hayden said. Colby must not have known about it since he never mentioned anything to me when I told him about meeting Hayden.

I don’t want to dismiss Gabriella if she’s still hurt over it, but Hayden seemed so apologetic. I hurry to defend her so that maybe I can nip some of this in the bud. “She felt horrible about it. She told me she shouldn’t have handled things the way she did. Is bringing her to your wedding going to be a problem?”

Gabriella taps her fingers softly on the table, studying me. “Maybe,” she finally says. “It’s not just what happened before. We’ve noticed she supports some issues that are opposite of mine.”

The professional way she worded that and her use of “we” makes me prickle. The “we” is more likely to mean her and Ava, not her and Colby. If they’re talking about Hayden’s political stances, the problem is with PR at the wedding, not the fact that things could get potentially awkward between Gabriella and my date. My defenses rise, and my tension must be obvious, because I catch Gabriella and Ava sharing another look, confirming my suspicions. Ava’s eyebrows go up in an I told you expression. It irritates me even more to know that she can still predict my behavior.

I turn to Ava, who has the real issue with this, whether it’s really because she’s worried about how it will look having Hayden with me at the wedding or something else. Something personal. Is she jealous? Do I want her to be?

“People can have their own opinions without messing up the PR. Isn’t there something about how no publicity is bad publicity?” I should know.

Claire never gets rankled when the press slams me for bad games or bad decisions on the field. “Your name is out there,” she always says. Even when she called me about the mess with the picture of me and Ava going viral, her concern wasn’t that the picture had been posted. It was because I’d neglected to get my side out there for her to work with.

Ava narrows her eyes. “I’m not saying this lightly.” Her voice is calm and collected. I guess if she does weddings, she has practice keeping her cool in heated situations. “I put a lot of thought and research into everything about Gabriella’s wedding, including the guests. Hayden has a history of using her platform to attack people she disagrees with. She did it to Gabriella four years ago. I’m just trying to make sure everything goes well.” She holds my gaze, her eyes trying to tell me something. Maybe, Trust me? There’s a certain amount of begging in the widening of her eyes. But she’s wrapped the issue up in so much that I’m not sure what to trust.

“She told me she was sorry.” My voice is softer than the firm voice I meant to counter her assertions with. I turn back to Gabriella. “This is your wedding. If you’re uncomfortable with Hayden being there because of what she said in the past, I understand.” I won’t purposefully create more drama. It’s the last thing I need when I’m trying not to lose focus on my game amid all the distractions and still be there for Colby the way a friend should be.

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