She knew my assistant? Or maybe it was a different Sienna…
My confusion mounted. “Ava…?”
She went rigid as if bracing for an impact. Her wide eyes fixed on me as I approached, slid from side to side as if she were searching for an escape. Finally, she swallowed and then spoke.
“Lincoln,” she returned loud enough to be heard over the music.
That was it. Cool and clipped.
Her icy greeting yanked me out of my stupor.
“What are you?—”
“Linc!” Jaden’s excited call cut me off, followed by an aggressive but friendly clap on the shoulder. His smile brightened as his attention slid to Ava. “You finally brought a date to something. My man!”
Ava’s eyebrows shot all the way up at the assumption.
My jaw clenched so tightly that the bone almost cracked. For one, my ex, whom I hadn’t seen in over a decade, didn’t need to know about my dating life… or lack of one. But I couldn’t be mad at Jaden. To me, he was pretty much a twenty-year-old teenager. He hadn’t quite developed the skill to “read the room yet”. If he had, he would have instantly picked up on the tension between Ava and me. Westewedin it.
“I’m not his date,” Ava said.
My jaw tightened some more because she sounded disgusted by the idea.
“I’m Ava Montgomery.” She glanced at her phone screen and then back at Jaden. “And you’re Jaden Cole.”
Jaden, ever with a happy-go-lucky attitude, nodded enthusiastically.
“I’m the journalist from Massachusetts who’s going to…” Her lips twisted in a wry smile. “Hound your existence for a few weeks.”
I almost choked on my next breath. “Come again?”
She ignored me and smiled at Jaden.
“Whoa! I was expecting some guy named Walt,” Jaden said. He stuck out his hand. “Not someone as fine as you.”
Ava blinked as if she didn’t know what to do with being called “fine”. “Uh… Thanks…?”
“Suddenly, I don’t mind this whole feature thing.”
I resisted the urge to roll my eyes when Ava’s smile got wider and they shook hands.
“You were skeptical about it, were you?” she asked.
Jaden shrugged. “I mean… yeah… I’m not thrilled about the attention.”
Ava glanced around the crowded living room. “Doesn’t seem like it.”
“This party was my teammates’ idea.”
“I see.”
I scowled as I watched the two, feeling like Ava was already dissecting Jaden. I had hoped to have a chat with her before they met.
“It’s nice to meet you, Ava. Welcome to my humble abode.”
Ava looked around themansionagain and laughed. “The pleasure is all mine, Jaden. I look forward to working together.”
He rubbed his chin and gave her a once-over. “Me too, Miss Montgomery. It is miss, isn’t it?”
