Page 37 of Takes Two to Tango

Kate shook her hand, gaze dropping to Meg’s boots. “Are those Ferragamo?”

“Nah, vintage Masiero Lorenzos.”

Kate raised her eyebrows, then linked her arm through Meg’s. They paired off speaking a language not comprehended by anyone who didn’t have a lifelong subscription toVogue.

Nellie shook her head. “Fashion still escapes me. I just wear what Kate tells me to.”

Rayne shifted in her not-so-designer shoes and wondered as the guest of honor how long she would have to stay. How strange it felt to be feted by women who once seemed so disinterested in her …or bullied her. Fame cured a lot of evils, and the hypocrisy of it ruffled her feathers a bit. If she’d been merely a dental hygienist would any of them even be here?

She watched as Brandi drifted off to speak with a few women who were discussing Spring Fling Gala. Stacy, the co-host, had also disappeared. No way could she and Meg slip out early. They’d have to await the gathering of Louis Vuitton bags and declarations of getting home to laundry and packing lunches for the next day

So she spent a few minutes catching up on Nellie's life - the man who'd followed Nellie home from Vegas, their wedding on the porch of Tucker House, the birth of their daughter, and the expected arrival of a new baby in a few months. Amazing how life changed so quickly. The last time Rayne had been in Oak Stand, Nellie had been taking care of her sick grandmother and, honestly, looking resigned to a life of loneliness. "So enoughabout me. I hear you and Brent had a little fun in the town fountain. Way to make a splash."

Nellie's eyes sparkled. Any other person and Rayne would have been peeved, but the woman in front of her had a heart of gold, if not a need to tease.

"Well, we weren't having fun," Rayne said, before pausing. But theyhadbeen having fun. More fun than she'd had in forever. The sound of Henry's laughter had stayed with her as she pulled the sheet to her chin and snuggled into the soft mattress in her old room. Then her mind had turned to Brent. The way he'd looked at her.

Had he looked at half the women in this room that way?

Probably.

No doubt he'd perfected that mixture of passion and sincerity in his mirror and then applied it on whatever poor creature tottered his way in her too-high heels, enveloped in a martini haze.

So why was she being taken in by his practiced seduction routine? Once she'd known it was all an act, a way to be what his father and the town expected. The boy who threw touchdowns and winked at fawning cheerleaders. The boy with the golden arm and tarnished reputation. But then that night had come. The night where she realized he wasn't pretending. He'd become that person.

And he hadn't changed. Pieces of the sincere boy he'd once been, the boy he'd been with her, might still float inside him, but he embraced the life he'd made for himself. A life of honky-tonks, easy women, and few ties. A life that would never include her. She didn't fall out of cars, half-drunk in the middle of the night. She didn't sleep around. And she damned sure didn’t pretend to be who she wasn’t to make others happy.

But then again, here she stood in the middle of a group of woman invested in the community and in one-upping each other, pretending like she belonged. So there was that.

"Brent went in after my sandal.” Rayne stared at the half-empty wineglass in her hand. The chardonnay tasted better for some reason. Maybe she'd have another.

Kate popped up at her shoulder holding a plate of Goldfish crackers. Obviously, her former arch nemesis had been snacking from the kids' table. "But the question is …what was your sandal doing in the fountain?"

Rayne looked at the tiny woman with the fashionable leggings and oversize patterned shirt. She looked happy. Something about her glow made her more approachable, less snarky and brash. Kate's mischievous blue eyes slid to Nellie's and she grinned like a naughty elf.

"Well, I-" Rayne snapped her mouth closed. "You two are trying to create smoke where there's no fire."

Kate shrugged and took a sip of the bottled water she held. "Oh, I don't know. Brent usually does more than take a gal's sandals off."

Rayne stiffened and looked across the room at Heather Breaux demonstrating something her little girl had done at ballet. Or at least that's what it looked like. "Yeah, that's the problem with Brent, isn't it?"

Kate grinned. “Well, some would say it isn't a problem. More of a talent.”

"But Brent has always had a thing for you. Since, like, grade school or something," Nellie said, her gaze sweeping the room. Her sharp eyes landed on a few women and something stirred in the depths. "Yeah, he was all swoony over you.”

Rayne choked. Years ago Brent had showed no evidence of acknowledging even his friendship with Rayne.

Nellie thumped her on the back. "You okay?"

Rayne cleared her throat and wiped the moisture from the corner of her eyes. "Sorry. Wrong pipe."

Kate narrowed her eyes as though she knew it wasn't the wine. It had been the words. “She’s right. Brent had it bad for you. I could have my hands around that guy's-"

Nellie punched her friend.

"-um, shoulders and he'd be talking about this butterfly Rayne had found under a crepe myrtle. Or a new recipe Rayne had come up with on her own. He talked about you all the time except when he talked about how his dad wanted him to gain more yards on each carry. Or how his brother Denny had been better at avoiding sacks. Football and Rayne. Two opposite things, huh?”

Rayne didn't know what to say. She assumed that when Brent had been with Katie Newman he'd done very little talking. But chatting about her when he was making out with another girl? Strange. She always thought the relationship she'd shared with Brent had been a secret. As though he was one way with her but ashamed to acknowledge her when he was out with others. She'd been merely his gawky, skinny, socially awkward neighbor. She'd had no idea he'd even mentioned her to anyone, maybe other than his parents. "I-uh-don't really know what to say to that. I had no clue. Um, I’m sorry?”

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