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“Well, if Lydia herself was ever confused about that, I wouldn’t blame her,” Ava said. “I thought you understood. This was a little bit of theater to help you over a bad spot, and goose the stats for Jenna’s company, and now you decide to have a taste? Of my best friend? What the hell were you thinking?”
Drew spoke through his teeth. “You’re pissing me off.”
“Yeah? Well, the feeling is mutual.” Ava’s voice was low and furious. “I love Jenna. And I mean, for real love her, get me? She’s the kindest, most selfless, principled person I know. She is not a disposable squeeze toy for you to play around with!”
“What makes you think I’m playing?”
His sister laughed harshly. “Oh, I don’t know.” Her voice was heavy with irony. “Your track record? You bore easily, big brother. Don’t think I or the rest of the world hasn’t noticed. You’ve left a trail of high-profile, royally pissed-off women in your wake. If you do that to my girl Jenna, I will rip your head right off your neck.”
“It’s not that I bore easily,” Drew said. “I’ve just been choosing badly.”
“Seriously?” Ava shook her head in disbelief. “You just now realized, at the ripe old age of thirty-four, that you should maybe take something other than a pretty face and a hot body into consideration when choosing a lover? Wow, Drew! Boom! Blinding insight, huh? Congratulations! Better late than never, I guess!”
He turned his back on her and stared out at the view. “I don’t get this,” he said. “If you think she’s so fabulous, what made you think I wouldn’t notice?”
Ava made a frustrated sound. “I don’t know. I just didn’t think it through. I never would have imagined the two of you together, because you...” Her voice trailed off.
Drew stared her down. “You think I’m not good enough for her,” he said.
Ava bit her lip. Her angry flush had faded. “No. I didn’t say that.”
But she’d hesitated too long for her denial to be convincing.
They were locked in an awful silence, unable to look away from each other.
Finally Ava shook it off. “Damn it, Drew. Just don’t lead her on, okay? I don’t want to be responsible for that. It would suck if she got hurt and it was all my fault.”
He walked over to the door. “Get out.” He opened it for her.
The crowd of people gathered outside suddenly turned away and wandered off with extreme nonchalance. Damn. So they’d been yelling loud enough to be heard through the expensively sealed soundproofed door. Ava stalked out, chin high, lips tight.
Drew closed the door after her, leaning against it. Stung.
He wondered if Jenna felt like Ava did. That he was faithless and irresponsible. Good for nothing but sex. A dog on the furniture, like his uncle said. He wondered if she was just amusing herself while keeping her shields up and her heart fully armored.
It didn’t feel like that was the case, but it would serve him right if it was.
Ava and all the rest of them could all go to hell. He’d make this work. He could be a better man for her. He’d show her. If it took years. A lifetime.
This was the first time that the concept of spending a lifetime with one woman made sense to him.
Roddy’s song ran through his head, along with a powerful sense memory of that soul-melding kiss they’d shared at the Wild Side. Roddy had nailed it with those lyrics.
He’d found his reason why. He was all hers. It was a done deal. On his part, at least.
All that was left was to convince her that he was for real.
“So, Jenna. Enough business. Let’s dish a little. We’re all so excited about your upcoming wedding!” Helen Sanderson said. “Give us some juicy details!”
Jenna looked around the table at the older ladies, all Bev’s philanthropist friends from the Bricker Foundation, who were smiling at her expectantly.
“Um, we don’t actually have firm plans yet,” she hedged.
“Well, we certainly can help with that,” Jayne Braithwaite said eagerly. “We have experience in these kinds of things. All of us have helped our kids get married.”
“It was such a shock to hear that Drew Maddox finally got lassoed,” Margot Kristoff confided. “That boy always was way too handsome. It’s so satisfying when one of those types finally figures out what’s good for him.”
“Hendrick was like that, years ago,” Bev mused with a nostalgic air.
