Rolling her eyes, she elbowed him in the kidney as she reached the table, setting the plate and her cup down with more force than she intended. Her nerves were shot tonight. “Save that for when you get home.”
He slanted a scowl at her, his expression smoothing out as Colt joined them, his own features schooled into impassive lines. Definitely time to knock their heads together, but not tonight.
She had enough of her own to deal with, thank you very much.
David and Lorraine joined them, diluting the tension, so laughter and conversation drifted around the table. Soon enough, David had his phone out, filling Tick in on football plays he’d missed because he’d fallen asleep on the couch.
“Yeah, I missed that.” Tick squinted at David’s phone screen, a video of yet another moment from the afternoon. “I dozed off, and someone flipped the channel to get her Zafir fix.”
Next to Holly, Colton straightened, a slight frown between his brows.
“Zafir bin al . . . something, right?” Colt gestured with a cheese cube and chunk of pepperoni speared on a toothpick. “The actor from the Middle East.”
“Yes. You know him?” Caitlin’s smile flashed so wide, Holly blinked. Where had that come from? The other woman usually defined reserved.
“Yeah.” A quick grin flashed over Colt’s face. “I serviced the Rosewood Inn out on Nineteen, and it worked better if I went early. The night auditor is from Saudi Arabia, and she loves that guy, has the movies on every night. Let me guess, you were watching the new one where he marries the woman carrying his dead brother’s kid?”
“Actually, yes.”
And they were off, immersed in a conversation about the merits of this film or that one, Caitlin unwinding in a way Holly rarely witnessed. Tick stiffened a moment, glanced at Caitlin, then subsided into his sports discussion with David.
“The alien movie? Way better.” Colt popped a green olive in his mouth. His stance relaxed further, and he leaned his weight on one hip. A sudden happiness fizzing through her, Holly caught Lorraine’s eye and smiled, a do-you-see-this-miracle flashing between them. This singular moment might be worth the ordeal of being here after all.
She allowed the conversation to wash over her, relaxing into the calm around their table, enjoying this glimpse into what could be. Even if Tick and Colt weren’t interacting, this had to be the longest she’d seen them in each other’s company in years.
The sticky residue from her chocolate-covered apple slice clung to her fingers despite wiping them on a napkin. She nudged Colt’s arm, loath to disturb his conversation, and tiptoed to whisper in his ear. “Be right back.”
She picked her way across the yard, speaking to a handful of acquaintances along the way. Her cheeks burned under their curious glances as they asked why she hadn’t helped with the party this year. She and Scott hadn’t been a couple for real, out in the open, but she felt like everyone knew he’d dumped her, chosen Andrea over her. Of course, could someone be dumped when the relationship had never really existed?
Lord, Colt was right. She was stuck in an awful loop. Did he live like this all the time?
She slipped into the powder room off the laundry area to freshen up and wash her hands. Grimacing, she regarded herself in the mirror. The emotional turmoil showed in her face, tight little lines about her eyes and mouth.
“Get it together, Holly Noelle.” She stuck her tongue out at her reflection. “He’s right. You’re moping, and that’s not fair . . . you know you’d be a bitch if he acted like this over an ex.”
Pushing away from the sink, she flicked her bangs away from her face, straightened her shoulders and prepared to plunge back into the fray with an improved attitude. She swung the door open and stepped right into Scott’s back. The container of napkins in his hand smacked on the washer, cascading to the floor from the open end.
“Damn.” He bent to scoop them up. A few fluttered about the pointed toes of her pumps. “Sorry . . . I wasn’t expecting anyone to step out like that.”
She crouched to help him collect the errant paper squares. “It’s okay.”
He stilled, fingers gripping a haphazard spray of paper. “Holly.”
“Hey.” She reached for the napkins he held – an easier choice than the cloth napkins she’d used every year, something thin and temporary and easily disposable. “Let me throw those away.”
He relinquished them to her, rising as she did. His sharp blue gaze dipped over her, but she ignored the sensation while dumping the ruffled napkins in the trash.
Dusting her hands with ridiculous care, she smiled. “It’s a nice party. Andrea did a great job.”
Something evocative flickered over his face, tightening his features before his expression smoothed out. “She tried hard.”
Biting the inside of her bottom lip and trying to maintain her smile, Holly nodded.
Lord, they were so awkward.
It made her heart hurt.
“I’m glad you’re here.” Scott jammed his hands in his pockets. He tilted his head toward the door. “You bring him with you?”
