Page 43 of The Comeback

AVA

By the time I see Jett’s text, the team is already at the hotel, checked in to prepare for their game with the Nashville Blues, their division rivals.

My heart pounds at his simple words, and heat rushes through me to receive the first text from him since the night we broke up. I want to rush over to the hotel and beg to talk to him. My need to see him is hard to push back, as hard as remembering that just because he understands why I was against Hayden, doesn’t mean that everything is forgiven between us.

I send a simple Thank you, but I leave it at that. This isn’t a conversation for texting, and I don’t want to have it over the phone. I can’t go to the hotel, because tonight he needs to focus. In his five years with the Pumas, they’ve never beaten the Blues, despite some heartbreakingly close games. It’s one of the biggest rivalries in the league. Jett’s been starting quarterback for three of the losses, but I know how badly he must want this. I can only hope that Hayden’s antics haven’t taken him off his game too much.

I text Kristen to give her an update on the situation. It feels weird to keep her in the loop about everything when I’m normally pretty independent in my planning, only keeping her up-to-date in monthly staff meetings. But with the Rutledge account possibly on the line, I don’t want to give Kristen any reason to doubt me.

Ava: The guest I was worried about posted some unflattering things about Gabriella this morning. Her people have the response handled. Shouldn’t be any negative blowback on the event.

Her response comes in so quickly it’s a little unnerving.

Kristen: Thanks for the update. Let me know if you need any more resources. Let’s make sure this goes off without a hitch. We’re in the home stretch! Two weeks and counting.

She adds a crossing-fingers emoji that makes my stomach clench. I don’t need more reminders that this wedding needs to be perfect.

I end up at Gabriella’s apartment on Saturday night. She’s antsy after what went down with Hayden and nervous for Colby and this game. She shows me the post Dalton helped her come up with. Hayden’s not mentioned at all. It’s a rebuttal, but classier. She posted about her commitment to the best education for children, emphasizing some depressing stats for minority children in Texas, and promising that supporting parents without diminishing that education is her top priority. I’ve read the brilliant post multiple times, but I beam over it once more for Gabriella, telling her how perfect it is.

True to her form, Hayden comments on Gabriella’s post with a laughing emoji.

“Wonder what Jett’s going to do for a plus-one now,” Gabriella says too innocently.

I can’t help a snort of laughter. “Gabriella. You’re not serious, right?”

“Well, he’s definitely not taking her. Colby said she told him not to bother coming over to talk about it. That she and I had competing goals and it would always be that way. He ended up breaking up with her over the phone.” Gabriella sets down the giant Diet Dr. Pepper she’s been sipping from on the counter. No wonder she’s so amped.

I lean my elbows on the counter. “What do you think that means, competing goals? That she’s going to get into politics too?”

“She already kind of is, isn’t she?” Gabriella pulls up Instagram and scrolls down Hayden’s profile to a picture of her with Councilwoman Wilcox. “They’re basically besties.”

I hold up my water bottle pointedly at Gabriella and she rolls her eyes. “Well, Hayden’s not very smart,” I say. “Jett liked her. If she’d played her cards right, she could’ve gotten a football husband out of the deal and used him far better than this petty little post was worth.”

Gabriella chuckles and shakes her head. “Jett would have seen the real her eventually.”

I tilt my head. “But maybe she really is sweet in person and her claws only come out online. I know plenty of people like that.”

“Based on what Jett said to Colby about his phone call with her, the claws came out then too.” She takes a long drink of her soda, which I think might be magically refilling. Despite how much she’s drunk, it still seems full. She has a little smile on her face that says she knows more than she’s saying. And her being obvious about it says she wants me to ask.

“What?” Of course I give in. I want the details of what happened between Jett and Hayden, for better or worse.

She spills without any cajoling necessary. “Colby said Jett told him he was already starting to wonder why it wasn’t more than ‘like’ with her, even after a few weeks.” Her look is knowing.

“I don’t think that means what you think it means.” I shake my head at her.

She puts a hand on mine. “Ava. He still has feelings for you. No one hangs on to hurt that long without hanging on to the love too.”

I pat her hand and don’t answer, then get up. “Seriously, Gabriella, throw out that soda. You’re never going to sleep tonight.” I head for her bathroom to wash my face and brush my teeth, Jett on my mind despite my outward dismissal of Gabriella’s words.

“Like I’m going to sleep tonight anyway!” she calls after me.

I scrub at my teeth harder than I should, like I can scrub out the awful relief I feel that Jett broke up with Hayden. I never wanted him to be hurt, and I pray that I’m relieved because Gabriella’s right—he would have seen it sometime down the road, maybe long enough to cause some serious damage to his heart. I could never want that for him.

I have a text from Dalton when I slip into the guest bed at Gabriella’s apartment. I cringe as I realize that while I’m smiling, my reaction to receiving his text is nothing like getting one from Jett. Maybe having to be around Jett more often is a good reason to stay out of Gabriella’s campaign. With this proximity, I’ll never give up hope and move on. That can’t be healthy.

Dalton: Guess you were right about Hayden Reid.

He adds a wide-eyed emoji.

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