Page 30 of The Comeback
“Do you like her?” Gabriella asks. Her voice sounds skeptical, and if Hayden hurt her in the past, I can’t blame her.
Unconsciously, I look over at Ava, who’s sitting back in her chair, one elbow on the arm rest and leaning her chin in her hand, for all intents and purposes looking calm. But as someone who knows every line of her face, it’s easy to catch the tension along her jaw and the slight press of her lips together. She stares at the wall behind Gabriella, avoiding looking at me.
I tear my gaze away from Ava but don’t answer. How can Colby expect me to avoid making things messy with Ava but then agree to this weird intervention? It doesn’t seem fair.
Gabriella looks over at Colby. I’m not sure what their silent communication means since her expression doesn’t change and Colby just shrugs. She turns back to me. “We’re doing a dinner thing with the wedding party in a couple of weeks. Bring her to that, and she and I can chat. I’d love to apologize for the way I handled what happened as well.”
“You’re sure?” At the end of the day, this is Colby and Gabriella’s wedding. Claire won’t like it, but I can bring Jenna’s little sister, Carlie, just as easily as I can bring Hayden. Hayden and I can continue to see each other, and I can get to know her for myself. It’s the first time in a while that I’ve connected with someone on a date the way I did with Hayden. It’s just a bonus that talk of our relationship online has been boosting my image.
Gabriella softens. “I can let the past go, Jett. Her stances worry me, yeah, but I’m friends with a lot of people I disagree with.”
Colby stands, leaning over Gabriella and kissing her head. His stance next to her is protective. I’m tempted to tell them I’ll bring Carlie just to be safe. It’s what Colby would want me to do. But Gabriella mending fences with Hayden might be good for her future too. I’ll let her make the call and not make decisions for her.
“All right. Who wants pie?” Colby asks. Relief that the conversation is settled is written all over his face as he leans toward the kitchen.
“Yes, please.” I move to grab my plate, but Gabriella stops me and takes it, waving me back into my seat.
“Sorry,” Ava says, and I look over to see her standing behind her chair. “I hate to miss out, but I need to go. I have some calls to make to arrange the floral mockups for you guys to review, plus some other work.” She moves away to pick up her bag from a small decorative table against the wall. “Thanks for dinner, guys.” She pulls the bag over her shoulder. “Sorry, Jett.” She doesn’t give me a chance to respond before she hurries out of the room.
Gabriella watches her, grimacing. When Ava’s gone, Gabriella turns to me. Her expression is wary. “Ava’s just doing what I asked and doing the best job she can.” She looks at Colby. “I’ll get the pie.” She leaves the room, and even though she didn’t lecture me, the rebuke is clear. I hurt Ava’s feelings with the way I reacted. But what about me? They lured me to this dinner to gang up on me.
“What was this about?” I turn to Colby. “Why couldn’t you just talk to me about it?”
Colby tenses. “Gabriella didn’t want you to feel like her concerns were gossip or a secondhand story from me. She wanted to bring them to you herself, and Ava’s the one who did the research.”
“On everyone or just my date?” I hope he catches my drift that there’s gotta be more to that than conscientious wedding planning.
“Everyone,” he snaps. “Like she said earlier.”
His tone makes me defensive. “Is that a normal wedding-planner thing or part of the special package for Gabriella?” I ask sarcastically.
Colby lets out a huff. “Do you even know why Ava’s so careful about this stuff?”
I don’t answer. I didn’t consider that her pouncing on my date was her being careful. Maybe this is part of the charity stuff she mentioned earlier.
“A client stabbed her in the back,” Colby continues, “ruining a big event and causing a charity to go under. Ava blames herself.” He moves around the table, gathering up plates. Now that I think about it, it’s strange that Ava left without clearing her own plate. She must have been pretty flustered with this whole thing.
“I didn’t know,” I mumble.
He nods at me, but his stance is cautious and stiff. “You know, maybe it would be better if you just avoid Ava until after the wedding?—”
I let out a breath, gesturing toward the door that Ava just left through. He helped arrange this dinner. At the very least, he went along with it.
He holds up his hands. “Yeah, I know. I thought that after the whole guacamole thing, maybe you guys could be friends without too much of a mess, but I don’t think you can. One minute you’re looking at her like you’re still in love with her, and the next you’re assuming the worst about her doing her job with the wedding.”
I scowl. “That’s not—I’m not assuming the worst about her.”
He straightens, folding his arms across his chest. “You have been from the night she came back into town, Combs.”
I flush. My tone was accusatory that night, though I can’t really say what I assumed about her being at Jenna’s GetAwayHome—tracking me down? For what? To beg my forgiveness? It sounds stupid when I lay it all out in my mind. Especially my reaction.
“She’s planning your wedding,” I point out. “How am I supposed to avoid her?”
Colby looks at the table, his forehead wrinkling. “I don’t know. But if you can’t find a way to be involved in this without the drama, I’d understand if you want to step away.”
I sit back, stunned. Colby’s one of my best friends. He’d uninvite me to his wedding?
“I’m sorry,” I finally say.