Sixteen
Nick had to remind himself he was a grown-arse man who owned a business and not a fourteen-year-old waiting at the Blue Light Disco for the girl he liked to turn up. Ever since he’d noticed the booking they’d taken for the Hayward private party, he’d been catching himself being ridiculously happy. His adult brain was sick of reminding him tobe cool, man!
Sadly, it hadn’t been Jenny who’d come in to discuss the menu with the functions coordinator, but her daughter. Nick had left them to it.
Thankfully, the day of the party was hectic, which stopped him becoming too jumpy and looking like an idiot. But when Jenny walked in, he found his eyes following her around the room as she greeted people with a bright smile. He caught himself wishing he was on the receiving end of one of them. In the few times he’d been around Jenny, her default modes had been stressed or—in the case of the hospital—superprofessional. He’d never really seen her shine like she did tonight. Her whole face lit up. She was … beautiful. He felt something akin to being kicked in the chest.
With customers waiting patiently, Nick dragged his gaze from Jenny, and for a few minutes he was kept too busy to continue watching her. But when he did have time to catch his breath, he saw her smile slip. He followed her gaze towards a couple who’d just walked inside and begun greeting people. The older guy had an arm resting around the younger woman’s waist. Nick wondered who they were.
‘I still can’t believe he has the nerve to bring her to stuff like this,’ Cassie said as she came up beside him.
‘Who are they?’ Nick asked, hoping he sounded only mildly curious.
‘Savannah’s father and his girlfriend,’ Cassie said in a disgusted tone. She shook her head. ‘Poor Jenny. Everyone was talking about it when it happened. It was horrible.’
Nick felt a rush of protectiveness flow through him for the woman who seemed to be bracing herself as the pair headed over to her. What man in his right mind would trade Jenny for the swollen-lipped Barbie doll beside him? Maybe that look was the current hot trend, but it did nothing for Nick. Of course, that could be because he felt ancient nowadays, but still, as a normal, red-blooded male, all that fake eyelash, lip filler and butt implants crap turned a perfectly good-looking woman into someone who looked like she was made out of plastic. It wasn’t for him.
His forearms flexed automatically as he saw the woman lean in and whisper something to the man before they shared aneyeroll. Maybe he was just super sensitive, having just found out who these people were—they could have been discussing the weather for all he knew—but he had a sudden urge to shield Jenny. He watched her straighten her shoulders as though preparing to take on the entire front line of an enemy division.
‘Jen,’ Austin said with a curt nod, barely glancing at her, until he did a double take.
‘Hello, Austin. Kirsty,’ Jenny forced out politely. Austin’s girlfriend was dressed in a short, clinging dress with a plunging neckline that ended just above her belly button.
‘It’s Christy,’ the younger woman said, barely managing to cover her snarkiness.
I know, you bimbo-faced whor—‘Oh, sorry,’ Jenny amended with so much saccharine in her tone that her teeth began to ache.
‘New haircut? Cute,’ Christy said in a bored voice before turning away, dismissing Jenny.
‘I thought this was going to be a small gathering,’ Austin said, looking at the crowd.
Jenny shrugged. ‘You know Savannah. Miss Socialite. Hard to believe we have a twenty-six-year-old daughter, and a nearly twenty-eight-year old,’ she said, letting her gaze settle on Christy, who had only just turned twenty-seven a few months ago.
‘There you are,’ a voice said from behind her as an arm slipped around her waist. Jenny straightened in surprise. She stared up at Nick’s smiling face and felt her mouth drop open.
‘Hey. I’m Nick,’ he said, ignoring her shocked expression as he extended a hand towards her ex-husband.
Austin seemed equally as surprised and hesitated a moment before reaching for the offered hand. ‘Austin.’
Nick nodded. ‘Ah, okay, the birthday girl’s dad.’
‘Yes,’ Austin said, and Jenny was quietly impressed at how well he was able to cover his obvious confusion.
Unlike herself. What was going on?
‘If you don’t mind, I need to borrow this sexy woman for a minute,’ Nick went on, drawing a startled snort from Jenny, as he took her hand and led her away.
She finally regained her wits as they reached the corner of the room. Jenny tugged her hand out of his and took a step away. ‘What on earth are you doing?’
Nick folded his arms across his chest and gave an offhand shrug. ‘I figured you could use some help.’
‘Help?’
‘I overheard that was your ex.’
‘So you decided to create some gossip to add fuel to the fire?’ she snapped.
‘I thought it’d wipe that smug look off his face.’
