“Just an impulse. Why not invite him? Maybe he’ll bring some cute cop friends.”
Jenny asked pointedly, “Aren’t you going to be there with Joe? You know, your current boyfriend?”
Stevie waved a hand. “I am. But Tess, here, is looking. And I have other single friends who’ll thank me for inviting Gavin. Sandy, for example. You know she has a thing for men in uniform.”
“Sandy has a thing for men. Period.” She could only imagine how Sandy would react to seeing Gavin among the usual crowd. Like a hungry hawk spotting a particularly tasty prey, most likely. The image made her stomach tighten, but only because she’d hate to see any of her male acquaintances caught up i
n Sandy’s avaricious talons, she assured herself.
Stevie giggled. “True. But there’s still Tess. You thought Gavin was good-looking, right, Tess?”
“I have eyes,” Tess said drily. “But I also have a rule against dating friends’ exes. That never works out well for the friendship.”
This was Jenny’s cue to assure Tess that she had no objections at all if Tess and Gavin were to hook up at the party. But she toyed with the remains of her lunch and said nothing.
“Besides,” Tess said speculatively, “it seemed to me as though Gavin is still interested in Jenny. You saw the way he looked at her, right?”
Jenny reached hastily for her water glass and took a deep sip before saying, “You’re wrong about that. He’s aware that I’m seeing someone else. But even if I weren’t, trust me, Gavin is no more interested in getting involved with me again than I am with him. That ship sailed—and sank—a long time ago.”
“So you’d be fine with him dating Tess, or anyone else he might meet at the party?”
Shooting Stevie an irritated look, Jenny muttered, “Of course.”
She pushed her plate away then. “I really should get back to the store. I have a ton of things to do today.”
Stevie reached out quickly to touch her hand. “Sorry, Jen. Don’t rush off. I’m just teasing you.”
“Yes, I know. It’s just a busy day for me.”
Her teasing amusement gone now, Stevie looked anxious. “You didn’t really mind that I invited Gavin, did you? You said the two of you got along fine at the cabin, so I figured it was okay to invite him and maybe some of his friends. For the band and the fund-raiser’s sake, of course.”
“No,” Jenny lied evenly. “Of course I don’t mind. It just surprised me, that’s all.”
Maybe she’d come up with a reasonable excuse so she wouldn’t have to attend. It wasn’t her type of gathering, anyway. She was only going because Stevie had wheedled a promise out of her, saying she needed someone to talk to while Joe was playing. Since Thad was out of town, anyway, it wasn’t as if Jenny had anything better to do. Now if only there were some honorable way to get out of that promise...
“You did tell Gavin that you’re seriously involved with Thad, didn’t you, Jenny?” Tess asked curiously. “I mean, the way he looked at you, I’m not sure he understands you’re fully off the market. And he bought you shoes.”
Snatching up her purse and the shopping bag, Jenny stood. “I really do have to go. I’ll pay at the register on my way out. I’ll talk to you both later, okay?”
Her friends probably watched her hasty departure with open mouths of surprise. They would certainly be unable to resist speculating about why she’d felt the need to bolt. But she had a sudden, almost desperate need to find someplace quiet where she could just be alone to think.
She was well aware of the irony that it was the same aspiration that had gotten her into this mess in the first place.
* * *
After mentally debating for a couple of days about whether he would attend, and then going back and forth on whether to ask one or more of his friends to come along, Gavin showed up at the Saturday-night event alone. Even as he’d made the drive to the venue, he’d almost turned around a couple of times and headed back home, asking himself why he was doing this. He wasn’t a party guy, and he wouldn’t know anyone here other than Stevie and Tess...and Jenny, of course. His suspicion that spending more time with Jenny was his primary motivation for going almost made him change his mind again.
He’d thought of asking Avery, but since Avery and Jenny didn’t get along—not to mention the bad history between Avery and Stevie—that hadn’t seemed like a great idea. So he’d come stag. He had nothing better to do that evening, anyway, as it would be another week before he was cleared for duty again. The fund-raiser seemed like a worthy cause, though he wondered if it was simply an excuse for a party. And yes, maybe he wanted to see Jenny again, if only because he’d been wryly amused by the expression on her face when Stevie invited him.
It wasn’t that he expected anything to happen between them, he assured himself. After all, she was seeing another guy. She was considering getting engaged, if she hadn’t already. Yet, he’d noted the lack of a ring on her finger, which could mean she hadn’t yet made that leap. She certainly hadn’t seemed all that sure about it when she’d broken the news to him. If she wanted to marry the other man, wouldn’t she have jumped on the chance to accept his proposal? If she really loved the guy, would she need to go off by herself to “consider all possible ramifications” before giving her answer?
None of those things were any of his business, of course. If Jenny wanted a practical, socially advantageous marriage which probably had her snobby grandmother salivating in delight, then it was entirely her choice. Hell, maybe she’d even be happy in such a union. But if she really loved that Thad guy, would her skin have flushed, her eyes dilated, her heart have pounded in her throat when Gavin had impulsively kissed her? He’d looked at her closely when he’d drawn reluctantly away, and he’d seen every one of those reactions. Had her response to him been due to nothing more than surprise? Had he only imagined that the sizzling attraction between them had flared back to life the moment she’d stumbled into his bedroom? Did those old feelings still burn only in him?
Maybe he just needed to make one last attempt at finding out for certain before he closed the door on their past again, this time for good. He wasn’t one to encroach on another man’s claim, but the last he’d heard, Jenny hadn’t given an answer yet. It wasn’t a done deal until she made that pledge, right?
Maybe he’d meet the guy tonight, and see for himself that Jenny was happy. Wasn’t that all he’d ever wanted for her? For himself?
The band was playing on the open-sided, covered deck of a Little Rock restaurant and club located on the bank of the Arkansas River. The sun had just set when he arrived. The big deck glowed with gold fairy lights hanging from overhead and strung in numerous potted trees. Soft floodlights were tucked discreetly into corners. A dais was set up for the band with the river view behind them, but as he paid his cover, he was informed by the hostess that the band was on a short break. Recorded music played from speakers until they took their places again.