A Reunion And A Ring (Proposals & Promises 1)

“Mmm.” Tess sighed a bit wistfully. “I wouldn’t mind knowing what it’s like to be on the receiving end of that sort of attraction.”

After swallowing another, more cautious sip of coffee, Jenny couldn’t resist asking, “You never had that feeling when you saw me with Thad?”

Tess grimaced. “I, um...”

“I’m asking honestly, Tess. You won’t hurt my feelings, whatever you say.”

After a moment, her friend shrugged in resignation. “No. I never felt that way abou

t you and Thad. I mean, he’s a very nice man. I admire him quite a bit, and I’ll probably vote for him for whatever office he eventually pursues. He seems very, um, fond of you.”

“But the hairs on your arm have never stood on end around us?”

“Well, no.”

Jenny nodded with a touch of regret.

Tess spoke quickly. “Look, that doesn’t mean you and Thad won’t be very happy. I mean, marriage should be based on more than physical attraction. You and Thad have so much in common intellectually and philosophically. You make great partners. Everyone says so.”

“Everyone but you and Stevie.”

Tess cleared her throat. “Stevie’s an incurable romantic, and I’m maybe a little too choosy for my own good. We’re probably not the best judges of anyone else’s relationships.”

Jenny pushed away her half-eaten egg-white omelet. “I’m breaking it off with Thad. I’m just waiting until he gets home so I won’t have to do it over the phone.”

Her amber eyes going wide, Tess asked, “Because of Gavin?”

“Not in the way you mean. I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t marry Thad even if I hadn’t run into Gavin again. Gavin just made me realize that I’m very happy with my life as it is, and that my feelings for Thad aren’t deep enough to justify what I’d be giving up for him. I mean, Thad hasn’t asked me to abandon my career, but he and I both know I couldn’t give it the attention it requires and still be the full-time political partner he’s looking for. He’s on the road more than he’s in town, and he’s made it clear he would want me to travel with him. As much as I enjoy my time with him, I think in the long run I’d regret giving up my own goals.”

Tess nodded without surprise, proving that she’d had the same doubts about Jenny’s future with Thad. “So... Gavin? Did you and he talk when he took you home last night?”

To her dismay, Jenny felt her face redden. She looked quickly down at her coffee, hoping Tess wouldn’t notice. She should have known better.

“Um, Jenny?”

“I’m not breaking up with Thad because of Gavin,” she muttered crossly. “That’s not what this is about.”

“Okay. Unlike Stevie, I won’t pry into what happened last night. But you know she’s going to ask.”

“And I’ll tell her to butt out,” Jenny snapped, her frayed nerves unraveling. “Yes, Gavin and I have electricity or chemistry or whatever the hell Stevie calls it, but that’s just sex. Okay, maybe it’s great sex, maybe once-in-a-lifetime, mind-blowing, teeth-rattling sex, but that’s not enough to build an entire future on. Because it wouldn’t—it couldn’t—always be that good, right? And then what would we have?”

Tess cleared her throat.

Realizing she’d spoken with a bit more passion than she’d intended, Jenny bit her lip. The three gray-haired ladies at the next table stared at her with wide eyes and open mouths. And then one of them grinned and winked at her.

Jenny covered her face with her hands. She had never been so happy to hear Tess’s phone beep than she was at that moment.

Tess read the text message on her screen, then exhaled heavily. “As much as I would love to continue this fascinating conversation, I have to run. Duty calls. But, um, maybe you should calm yourself a bit before you speak to Stevie.”

Jenny groaned into her hands. Perhaps having breakfast with a friend hadn’t been the best idea today, after all. Clearly it would take more time than she’d expected to recover her characteristic composure that had been shattered last night. She would go home and work on that before she spoke with Stevie.

She would most definitely have to get a grip before she saw her mother and grandmother that evening, a meal she wasn’t looking forward to at all.

* * *

Though Gavin had promised himself he would wait for Jenny to phone him, he kept second-guessing that decision as Sunday crawled by. Maybe he should call her, just to make sure she was okay. But he’d told her he’d give her time.

Though he hadn’t heard a ring, he checked his phone for missed calls Sunday afternoon, vaguely disappointed to see that there were none from Jenny. Was she waiting for him to call her? Had she talked to that other guy yet today?