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The man was fucking delicious and that was no exaggeration. His thick hair was short on the sides, almost shaved completely off, but the top was long and groomed to give him an appearance reminiscent of a greaser from the fifties. Jazz knew that some ladies preferred their men clean shaven, but the specimen in front of her was the perfect example of why scruffy was good too. With his strong jaw, stormy blue eyes, and big, muscled forearms showing below his rolled-up sleeves…she felt a little lightheaded.
Where had this man been all her life?
“We’ve already met,” Leo drawled in a deep voice, flashing a straight white smile that had her blinking in confusion.
Jazz’s mouth dropped open, instantly ready to argue with the gorgeous male in front of her. There was no fucking way they’d met before. She would have remembered it. “I don’t think—” she started, only to stop when he flashed her a full smile. That grin was too familiar for her not to know.
“I was the first to call you Jazz,” he said, folding his thick arms across his chest. “And you used to call me Leonard.”
“Leonard?” she echoed, the name bringing back a slew of memories along with it. There was no way the boy she’d grown up with was the guy standing in front of her right now making her hot and bothered. “Leonard Trask? Is that really you?”
“The one and the same.” Leo held a big hand out for her to shake. “It’s good to see you again.”
Jazz was at a loss for words, her eyes still wide at the revelation that the man in front of her was the boy who drove her more than a little nuts as a teenager. Looking toward Winter, she could tell that her friend was about to explode with curiosity.
“Do you remember when I told you about Janet from when I was little?” Jazz kept her eyes on her best friend as she spoke even though she was tempted to keep staring at Leo.
“Yeah, that’s your parents’ housekeeper. Right?” Winter looked back and forth between her and Leo, her eyes wide.
“She was so much more than that. She’s the one who made cupcakes for my class, took care of me when I was sick, and helped me with my homework. She even took me shopping for my first bra.”
“That was an interesting trip,” Leo quipped with an arched brow.
“Janet is Leo’s mother, but back then he went by Leonard.” She gestured to the older and somehow even hotter Leo. He’d always been attractive but now that he was all grown up, the man was droolworthy. “Leonard liked to drive me crazy when we were younger.”
“That’s a little bit of an exaggeration,” he corrected with a grin. “I just wasn’t a fan of sharing my mom with a girl—no matter how cute she was.”
Jazz ignored the last bit, her brain still stuck on how he came to be standing in front of her at her best friend’s engagement party.
“How the hell do you know Will?” She nodded toward the men across the room. “Where did you come from? Have you been in Lawrence this whole time?”
“Oh, dear.” Winter waved to someone across the ballroom. “I have to go wrangle another relative it seems.” Grabbing another glass of champagne from a passing waiter, the bride-to-be moved towards her crazy family with surprising speed.
“Should I—”
“I got it,” Winter said without a backwards glance. “You two catch up.”
Jazz turned back to Leo.
“To answer your question, I’ve known Will for years. Our parents sent us to the same summer camp when we were twelve and the rest is history. After graduation, I moved up to Colorado for a change of scenery, but we’ve always kept in touch. I was working at a station close to Estes when I mentioned to Will that I was thinking of coming back. Two months later, and here I am standing in front of you.” Leo took a sip from the beer bottle he held by the neck when he was finished.
“I can’t believe it,” she said, still a little stunned to be seeing him in the flesh. Jazz bit her lip. The sight of his throat working as he swallowed was nothing less than whimper-worthy, making her neglected nether regions tingle. She shook her head to clear it a bit. “Calm down.”
“What was that?” he asked, leaning forward.
“Ahem,” she cleared her throat, mortified she’d said that out loud. “I said, how’s your mom?”
He shrugged his big shoulders, crowding closer to avoid a server carrying a large tray. “She’s doing good, decided to move to Florida with her sister now that she’s retired.”
“And you, are you married?” She asked as nonchalantly as she could. “Kids?”
“Nope and nope.” Leo looked down at her through thick lashes that looked far too plush to be real. “What about you?”
“Nothing on my end either. I just graduated so I’ve been busy with school.” She gave him a small shrug. “The parental units actually keep trying to set me up, but that’s working out like you’d expect.”
Jazz was getting ready to say more when the sound of someone tapping their glass pulled her attention away from Leo.
“Attention everyone, dinner will be served in a few moments, so please find your tables and get comfortable.”
