Chapter 23

CHAPTER 23

JETT

Where Ava was all professional businesswoman at the last dinner party, tonight she's dressed like she's just another one of the guests. Her pale-pink dress with the off-the-shoulder, drapey top and crochet details is soft Southern charm to Hayden's sexier choice. And by the way Hayden greeted her, I wonder if she caught me staring at Ava when we walked in. I thought for sure that the kind woman I've come to know over the past few weeks would win Ava over with just a few words, but Ava had her back up right away. That's so unlike her that I can't reconcile it. She said she was just being careful about Hayden, and I want to believe that, but I can't dismiss jealousy after Ava set her mind before Hayden said a word.

To be fair, Hayden didn't even try to charm her. The ex remark would put anyone on their guard. It certainly did me. It feels off from the woman I watched reach out to person after person the other night when we made a run to Target together, grabbing things off the top shelf for a mom trying to wrangle a grumpy toddler, letting a clearly frazzled woman with a cartful of dinner items go in front of us in line, the way she talked to the checker like they were old friends catching up. I guess it's fair that both women are on their guard around each other, but it has me feeling jittery. Who wouldn't be? This is a recipe for the exact disaster Colby has been begging me not to set off.

Our seating arrangement at dinner says something clear too about what Ava thinks about Hayden and Gabriella's history being in the past. We're on the other end of the table from Gabriella and Colby. But Ava and Dalton aren't sitting near them either. She's placed them near the middle, like she did the night of the dinner party at Gabriella's parents, so I feel less excluded.

Once dinner is over, we all head outside, where the outdoor furniture, along with a lot of the indoor furniture, has been arranged in the yard. There's even a wooden dance floor set up. Now that it's mid-October, the nights are slightly cooler.

Gabriella stands in the middle of the dance floor, with Colby at her side. "Okay, everyone," she calls as people settle into groups on the furniture. "The DJ will be playing all the songs Colby and I have each added to the playlist." She points to a screen above the DJ, where a QR code is showing. "Go to that website on your phones and vote yes or no for each one, please!" She puts her hands together in a pleading motion and grins at everyone. "And don't be afraid to dance or eat more food." She laughs as she points to a table filled with desserts and other handheld foods. The music starts, the first one a Latin pop song that I recognize from the night Colby proposed.

Instead of heading for a place to sit, Hayden leads me right up to where Colby and Gabriella are coming off the dance floor. Gabriella keeps her smile in place, but I note the way she bristles. I can grant her that. They both probably still have feelings over what happened, even if they're grown up enough to put them aside.

"Hi, Gabriella," Hayden says with that same sweet smile she gave me the night of our first date. I hope Ava's watching so she can see that everything really will be okay.

Gabriella forces a smile as well. "Hi. I'm glad you came. I told Jett I'd love for us to be able to chat and put everything behind us. "

Hayden leans forward, pulling a startled Gabriella into a hug. I share a surprised look with Colby over top of them, maybe holding a bit of I told you so in my expression. Hayden lets go and leans back. "I'm so sorry about all that stuff I said and did. It was so immature and not the right way to handle my disappointment. I hope you can forgive me."

Gabriella blinks at Hayden, a little stiff with Hayden still holding her shoulders. Hayden towers over Gabriella's short stature. "Of course," she says after a moment. "I'm sorry too."

"Can we forgive and forget?" Hayden asks. She tilts her head at Gabriella, her expression and voice genuine and pleading.

It warms me. If Hayden wants something more serious between us, she knows that she and Gabriella have to make amends. I'm flattered that she's willing to basically beg Gabriella to make that happen. And I'm happy we can put this behind us all. One less thing to worry about this weekend. One more thing to pack away so it's not on my mind before one of the biggest games of the season.

Gabriella nods, her once-forced smile growing as she looks up at Hayden. "Yes, of course. It's all in the past, right?"

Hayden drops her hands from Gabriella's shoulders and eases a step back, closer to me. "I sure hope so." She laughs. "I also wanted to congratulate both of you," she says. "If the wedding is anything as well planned as this, it's going to be so fun, and amazing too."

Gabriella continues to smile at Hayden, but it feels a little forced. I don't have all the details of what happened between them, and maybe I need to dig more into that to understand Gabriella's reactions right now. I, of all people, understand that making peace with someone and allowing them back into your life doesn't mean that everything is instantly forgotten. I'll make double sure that Colby knows that if Gabriella's still not comfortable with Hayden coming, it's her call in the end.

"Thank you," Gabriella says. "This is all mostly Ava. I tell her I want something, and she delivers. "

Hayden looks around, nodding in satisfaction. "She's a wonder."

"The best," Gabriella says. "She's making my dreams come true. I thought I saw that you're in the early stages of organizing an event to raise awareness for MS with Councilwoman Wilcox. If you don't have someone in mind already, you should snag Ava." Now Gabriella has turned genuine as she praises Ava, and if she's recommending her, maybe Gabriella does believe that she and Hayden can truly mend fences.

Hayden leans into my side as the conversation continues, and I relax a little more. I was nervous about how tonight would turn out. "She does other events? I thought she was just a wedding planner."

Gabriella shakes her head. "No, she's done some really amazing fundraising events before."

"Wow." Hayden slips an arm around my waist. "She really does it all. How'd you let her go, Jett?"

Her tone is teasing, but it's a knife in me. I didn't let Ava go at all. I fought harder for her than I have for anything else in my life. I was ready to quit football for her. Gabriella and Colby have frozen too, and my nerves are back up. This is the second reference to Ava being my ex tonight, despite the fact that Hayden and I have never talked about her. Not even after that picture of Ava and I went viral. Hayden's made both comments in a teasing, lighthearted way, but it feels heavier than the way her tone makes it sound.

I force a chuckle. "Not quite sure," I say. A couple of Gabriella's bridesmaids have brought their dates to the dance floor now, so I nod at it. "Want to dance?" I ask.

"Of course." Hayden squeezes my shoulder and turns back to Gabriella. "Congratulations again." She leads the way up the two steps to the dance floor. Colby catches my eye as we go by and furrows his brows. I just shrug.

It's a slow song, so when I take Hayden into my arms, I ask, "Are you bothered by my history with Ava? It was years ago, despite what that one post said. There's nothing between us anymore." That's not exactly the truth, but it might as well be.

"Oh no!" Hayden waves away my question with her hand, then tilts her head, some hesitancy in her expression. "That's why I was teasing you. I figured it was a while ago. Should I not have said anything?"

I want to say no. But why should I be bugged when it was a long time ago? Is it because I've noticed I have too many feelings for Ava and I don't have as many as I should for Hayden? She's so blasé about what she said that I'm not sure why I even thought there were barbs to her comments before.

"It's fine," I finally say, but that's something else I can't let go—the way Hayden implied I let Ava get away when Hayden doesn't know anything about it. How Ava was the love of my life. How I knew that even though we were young. How I planned to spend the rest of my life with her.

"Jett?" Hayden pulls my attention back to her, her expression worried.

"We dated for a while," I say, forcing a smile again. "But, like I said, it's been a long time. It's just a little weird having her back in town and around all the time while she plans the wedding. We haven't seen each other since we broke up."

Hayden presses her lips together. "It's bothering you. I can tell. I won't say anything else. I'm sorry. I didn't know."

I let out a breath. "It's fine," I repeat. She didn't know, and I can't hold it against her. Hayden really is a sweet person, and the contrition in her voice now proves it. She didn't mean to get under my skin like that, and I don't know why I let her comments get to me. Maybe because I'm fighting this same battle with myself—It was years ago. It doesn't mean anything anymore.

She rests her head on my shoulder, and my gaze goes over her to where Ava sits next to Dalton on one of the big, squishy couches that's usually in Colby's living room. Maybe that's part of it too, seeing her with Dalton. Those old insecurities are messing with me tonight, and I let Hayden's words add to it.

I've got a few weeks more with Ava around for the wedding, and a lot more time in the future if Gabriella gets her way and Ava comes back to help her with her political career. I've got to shake off the remnants of our past and finally move on.