Page 41 of The Comeback

“Of course.”

“I know you said your interest in Jett’s date is about the wedding, but when you came back to town, that was the first you’d seen each other, right?”

I’m not surprised his question is about Jett and us being around each other again. “Yes, it was. And it’s been weird, for sure.”

“Is there any way this could be a second chance for you two? You only broke up with him because you were worried about him making it pro. That’s obviously not a thing anymore.” He studies me after he asks, and while it makes me nervous, I’m grateful for his thoughtfulness.

I shake my head. “I don’t think Jett has ever forgiven me. We’ve put it in the past, but I don’t see us making complete amends. Too much baggage.” I’ve thought about it, sure. Maybe even pictured some reunion scenes, especially when he was so caring after the guacamole episode. Yesterday, at the picnic, I felt like I could’ve reached out and touched the future I always thought Jett and I would have. But he’s dating Hayden. There’s too much for him to overcome to give me another chance, and I don’t regret what I did.

“Okay.” Dalton’s voice pulls me back to the present. He smiles slowly at me and leans over to kiss my cheek as the valet pulls up with his car. I put a hand on his shoulder and enjoy the close moment. “I’d love to do dinner, but let’s take it slow, okay?”

I let my hand slide down his arm as he steps away. I nod. “Fair enough. I’ll text you?”

“Can’t wait.”

Gabriella brings over coffee the next morning. We can’t help the draw of working on the back deck here, overlooking the beach. “Last night was fun,” she says, beaming. “You did amazing.”

I grin back. “It was.”

“Is Dalton going to be your plus-one?” she asks, wiggling her eyebrows.

I snort with laughter. “Gabriella, I don’t have a plus-one. I’ll be too busy to entertain a date all night.” I look over at my planner list and open my tablet. “I put a document in the folder with the songs by rank. Go through and make your final cuts and adds, and then I’ll send it over to the DJ.”

She already has her own tablet open, holding it up to scroll through while she leans back on the deck chair. She’s going to drop the tablet on her face any moment.

“What else is on the agenda for today?” she asks as she studies the song list.

“Final approval of the vendor payments so I can send them off, and we need to work on the seating chart. I have a draft for us to start with.”

“Hmm” is her only reply. She’ll need a bit more coffee in her before we really get to work.

I open Instagram. Hayden’s posts last night were what I expected them to be—snapshots of her and Jett enjoying themselves at the party. Her descriptions were benign too and even complimentary, tagging Gabriella and Colby for “really knowing how to put on a party.”

This morning’s post is the video I couldn’t get a look at. It’s just Hayden panning the outdoor space, not saying anything. Maybe because she couldn’t hear over the obnoxious rap song Colby keeps trying to talk Gabriella into doing some kind of fun, silly dance to.

I check out the post’s description, and my heart sinks. I hate that I was right.

CHAPTER 25

JETT

I don’t know why I expected Ava to be the one standing in front of me gloating. Maybe it goes to show how right Colby is about how I think the worst of her. How far I’ve let my opinion of her fall since she left. That, to me, she is still that horrible moment she walked away from me.

Instead, she and Gabriella sent Colby to make sure I saw what Hayden posted this morning, probably knowing I wouldn’t see it on my own for a while. I force back thoughts that I wish it were Ava here. Did she think her presence would make the news worse? Or did she want my best friend here to support me? Maybe I should start giving her the benefit of the doubt and believe the latter.

I sink onto my couch next to Colby and read Hayden’s video post again, shocked that this happened. This is the kind of content that @gabriella.diaz.official thinks your children should have access to and it doesn’t matter what you think, and if you’re not worried about her opinion, you should be. It’s no secret that this future football wife will be using her platform as a step up to DC. Is this what you want representing you someday? And that’s not the worst of it. The commenters are slinging mud at both Colby and Gabriella over a song Colby wants to put on their wedding playlist for fun. To think that I thought Hayden’s apology last night meant I could focus on my game and not have to deal with drama.

“How did Ava see this part of Hayden when I didn’t?” I ask. I’m not sure I want to know the answer. Because I ignored anything troubling about Hayden? Did I? I think about how much this contradicts the woman I thought I knew, the kind person who spent half an hour telling me a story she’d learned about a homeless person she met while grabbing lunch with a friend. I can accept that Hayden’s a complicated woman with multiple facets, but this isn’t Hayden questioning Gabriella’s stance with concern. This is a shot over the bow.

Colby leans forward, propping his elbows on his knees. “Gabriella said Ava dug into her social media and noticed how she treated people there.” He shrugs. “Some people are totally different online. Don’t blame yourself for that.”

That leaves me wondering why Hayden did this to Gabriella, to me. I stand up, exiting the Instagram app and tapping on the phone icon to call Hayden. It’s one thing to disagree with Gabriella on something. Why did she come to that party last night looking for something to start a fight?

“I didn’t tell her anything about the wedding PR stuff,” I say to Colby before I dial Hayden’s number. I don’t want my betrayal to be anything bigger than it is. He has every right to believe I did complain, given the way I’ve acted over their choices. One more thing to be ashamed of.

“Huh?” Colby has already leaned back and picked up the remote to my TV.

“These lines about Gabriella stepping up to DC and representing Texans.” I flip my phone toward him, even though it’s gone blank since I haven’t dialed Hayden yet.

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