Page 38 of The Comeback

Jett and I are surprised by this. It’s not surprising she knows. She was tagged in the same viral photo Jett and I were, but it’s bold of her to call it out like that. She laughs at both of our wide-eyed reactions.

“I’m sorry you got mixed up in that” is the only thing I can think of in response.

She shrugs. “I already knew about you.” She turns to Jett and her smile widens. “I definitely did my homework before going out with you, honey.” Her light Texas accent gets deeper as she says honey. It would be disarming if I didn’t have years of experience with women just like her from my wedding and event planning. “Your social media feed is … light. A few scrolls backward and Ava was in all the pictures.”

He grimaces, but the expression quickly disappears. He’s been a lot more active on social media lately, especially in posting pictures of him and Hayden that have fans excited about a look into a little bit of his private life. And in the last week he’s been reposting more of Hayden’s pictures to his account.

If I weren’t controlling my reactions with a death grip, I would have gasped at the pain that shot through my heart just thinking of the pictures of us that are so easily accessible. I haven’t scrolled back that far.

And they’re still there, according to Hayden.

As much as he’s ignored me the last seven years, he didn’t erase me.

“You caught me,” I say with a light laugh of my own. I have no idea what to follow this with. I want to wonder why Hayden would throw this out there, but it’s all over her interactions online. Taking people off guard with her sweet meanness. Is that a thing?

Movement behind her catches my attention, and blessedly, Dalton walks up to join us. He lays a hand on my back and leans in to kiss my cheek. “You good?” he asks in a low voice.

“Yeah,” I whisper back, but I hope he sees the gratitude in my eyes when he pulls away, hand resting lightly on the small of my back.

Jett tenses.

“Hey, Jett,” Dalton says, holding out his hand, smiling in that welcoming, cheerful way he always did. Dalton once told me back in high school that he knew I was all Jett’s and there was no point in rising to a fight with him.

Jett shakes his hand, and he even smiles back, but his shoulders don’t relax. “King,” he greets him, just like when they played football together.

I turn to Dalton. Time to get us out of this weird situation. “Dalton, can you help me with something?”

“Of course.” He lifts his hand in a wave. “Good to see you,” he says to Jett. He nods at Hayden and follows me away.

“Is this a real something you need help with, or was that code for ‘Rescue me right now’?” he asks as we walk away. He drops his hand from my back, falling into step beside me.

“Rescue,” I say. “For all of us. That was so awkward. Let’s go stand by the table and pretend to inspect the place settings.”

He laughs. “I’m sure that will be so convincing.”

“I doubt Jett will call us on it. He wanted out of that as badly as we did.” I glance over my shoulder to confirm my suspicions, but Jett’s eyes are on me, even as he’s facing Hayden, listening to whatever she’s saying now. I quickly turn away. No more ogling. Look where that got me before.

CHAPTER 23

JETT

Where Ava was all professional businesswoman at the last dinner party, tonight she’s dressed like she’s just another one of the guests. Her pale-pink dress with the off-the-shoulder, drapey top and crochet details is soft Southern charm to Hayden’s sexier choice. And by the way Hayden greeted her, I wonder if she caught me staring at Ava when we walked in. I thought for sure that the kind woman I’ve come to know over the past few weeks would win Ava over with just a few words, but Ava had her back up right away. That’s so unlike her that I can’t reconcile it. She said she was just being careful about Hayden, and I want to believe that, but I can’t dismiss jealousy after Ava set her mind before Hayden said a word.

To be fair, Hayden didn’t even try to charm her. The ex remark would put anyone on their guard. It certainly did me. It feels off from the woman I watched reach out to person after person the other night when we made a run to Target together, grabbing things off the top shelf for a mom trying to wrangle a grumpy toddler, letting a clearly frazzled woman with a cartful of dinner items go in front of us in line, the way she talked to the checker like they were old friends catching up. I guess it’s fair that both women are on their guard around each other, but it has me feeling jittery. Who wouldn’t be? This is a recipe for the exact disaster Colby has been begging me not to set off.

Our seating arrangement at dinner says something clear too about what Ava thinks about Hayden and Gabriella’s history being in the past. We’re on the other end of the table from Gabriella and Colby. But Ava and Dalton aren’t sitting near them either. She’s placed them near the middle, like she did the night of the dinner party at Gabriella’s parents, so I feel less excluded.

Once dinner is over, we all head outside, where the outdoor furniture, along with a lot of the indoor furniture, has been arranged in the yard. There’s even a wooden dance floor set up. Now that it’s mid-October, the nights are slightly cooler.

Gabriella stands in the middle of the dance floor, with Colby at her side. “Okay, everyone,” she calls as people settle into groups on the furniture. “The DJ will be playing all the songs Colby and I have each added to the playlist.” She points to a screen above the DJ, where a QR code is showing. “Go to that website on your phones and vote yes or no for each one, please!” She puts her hands together in a pleading motion and grins at everyone. “And don’t be afraid to dance or eat more food.” She laughs as she points to a table filled with desserts and other handheld foods. The music starts, the first one a Latin pop song that I recognize from the night Colby proposed.

Instead of heading for a place to sit, Hayden leads me right up to where Colby and Gabriella are coming off the dance floor. Gabriella keeps her smile in place, but I note the way she bristles. I can grant her that. They both probably still have feelings over what happened, even if they’re grown up enough to put them aside.

“Hi, Gabriella,” Hayden says with that same sweet smile she gave me the night of our first date. I hope Ava’s watching so she can see that everything really will be okay.

Gabriella forces a smile as well. “Hi. I’m glad you came. I told Jett I’d love for us to be able to chat and put everything behind us.”

Hayden leans forward, pulling a startled Gabriella into a hug. I share a surprised look with Colby over top of them, maybe holding a bit of I told you so in my expression. Hayden lets go and leans back. “I’m so sorry about all that stuff I said and did. It was so immature and not the right way to handle my disappointment. I hope you can forgive me.”

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