Chapter 24

CHAPTER 24

AVA

Dalton has his arm behind me on the back of the couch in Colby's yard, and I'm surprisingly comfortable leaning into him while I scroll through my phone. I warned him I needed to work for a minute (i.e., check Hayden's Instagram to make sure she's not throwing shade on the party). I'm not letting my guard down with her.

"I'm voting an absolute no on this one," Dalton says, tapping on his own phone screen. I've hardly been paying attention to the music the DJ is playing for guests to vote on. I'll see the final playlist, of course, and if I have strong feelings on one, I'll let Gabriella know.

I chuckle at Dalton's words as I read the caption on the picture Hayden posted during dinner. Someone took a picture of her and Jett shortly after they came in, I think. They're posed in front of a decorative table in the foyer that I know is a pick of Gabriella's. "You were never into 80s music," I murmur.

"Should I be worried that you seem to be a little bit obsessed with Jett's date?" he asks in a low voice.

My face turns red immediately. "This is work. For real. I'm concerned about her being here." Gabriella texted me to update me on Hayden's apology. She says things are good, but I watched the whole interaction. Gabriella was on guard, and I'm going to ask her about it later.

Dalton frowns in confusion. "Because she's here with Jett and you guys…?"

I'm glad he's not sure how to end that, because I don't want to hear it. "No, I'm not going to throw down with her," I tease. "She and Gabriella have history. And I'm … wary of her. I can't explain it."

"She seems nice," Dalton offers.

She seems nice. And maybe it is jealousy that makes me think otherwise. Maybe I am reading too much into her social media activity. Everyone's a little shadier online, right?

I just can't shake my distrust of her, and whether that's from jealousy or instinct, I'm going to follow it for now. I'll just tread carefully. She and Jett have left the dance floor and taken seats on a love seat on the other side of the dance floor from me and Dalton. When I look up at them, Jett meets my eye, and I quickly turn away, but not before noticing that Hayden has her phone out, snapping a selfie of them. Or taking a video, maybe. She's moving the phone around, so I go with the second guess.

I hop up off my couch, telling Dalton I'll be right back. I'll have to explain something when I come back, or he'll wonder even more about me crashing Jett and Hayden's cozy moment right now.

"Hey," I say with a big smile as I approach. "Want me to take a photo for you?" I hold my hand out for Hayden's phone like it's a given she'll say yes. This request will do double duty: show Jett that I'm fine with him and Hayden (even though I'm not) and give me a chance to spy.

She hesitates, shares a look with Jett, and then asks him, "Do you mind?"

"Of course not," he says, and he's pinning me with some kind of look. Jett and I used to be able to communicate without words, but whatever he's trying to tell me right now, I don't understand. Maybe I'm no longer fluent in Jett's silent language .

Hayden hands over her phone but then comes to stand next to me. I'm not sure what she's doing until she murmurs, "Let's see, what's going to be the best angle?"

I barely hold back a snort of laughter. Of course. This won't be some easy snap. One thing I've gleaned from Hayden's Instagram profile is that the photos are all good. Until tonight I assumed a professional photographer followed her around.

She lifts my hands and then adjusts the phone in them. I can't look at Jett, or I'm going to burst into giggles, so I focus on the screen. Quicker than I expected, given her interest in the perfect shot, she slides away from me and sits next to Jett.

I snap several pictures right away. "I'll just get a bunch," I explain, acting as though I'm just now pressing down on the screen to take them. Moving my fingers as little as possible, I flick out of camera screen to the photos screen, glancing over the pictures she taken. From what I can tell, there's nothing unflattering of Gabriella here. There's the video Hayden was taking when I saw her a moment ago, and I desperately wish I could check it out, but there's no way without her hearing that I'm playing it. I flick back to the camera screen and take several more before I "accidentally" move my hand to a different angle and Hayden pops up.

"That's probably plenty," she says. "Thank you." She flashes that same sweet smile as when she called me the Ex earlier, and I give my most genuine one back. Jett doesn't see through this woman, but I'll give him a pass. I don't think he's paid attention to the person she is online.

Dalton is voting on another song when I come back, but he puts his phone down when I plop next to him. "What was that about?" he asks, his expression concerned. This probably feels like déjà vu to him, trying to pull me away from the memory of Jett. We hung out a lot when I came back to Houston, and though he never pressured me, I knew he wanted more than what I gave him then. However I might feel about Jett, it's long past time to move on from him. Maybe it's time to give Dalton an actual chance.

I tell him the short version of Gabriella and Hayden's history, quickly going over the posts I found after Gabriella told me about it. "I don't trust her," I say. I give a shrug. "Maybe it is jealousy, like Jett thinks, but she can be subtly nasty online. I don't want to be surprised."

He nods. "I don't blame you there."

I remember the shock that froze me when Mrs. Page's presentation went off the rails, how much we scrambled trying to figure out how to get her off the stage with the least amount of fuss, how Chelsea lectured me for not knowing what was in that presentation. I'm way closer to Gabriella than I was to Chelsea. She's one of my best friends. I can't let something like that happen at her wedding. Not just because it might do damage to her future political career but because she deserves a fabulous wedding. Gabriella helped me back on my feet again after Jett, getting me through one of the darkest times of my life. I refuse to repay her with a black eye to her wedding day.

"I voted yes on this one," Dalton says. "Should we go dance?"

I have to laugh. This is Colby and Gabriella's first-dance song, and they're up on the dance floor right now, gazing lovingly at each other.

"What?" Dalton asks, standing and holding out his hand.

I take it, smiling. "You've got good taste. I definitely think this song's going to make the cut."

Later, when the party is winding down, I walk Dalton out to the front and wait with him while the valet grabs his car.

"Thanks for coming tonight," I say. "It really helped to have a date who understood I was also working."

"I was more than happy to. Great food, great company…" He bumps me gently with his shoulder. "Count on me anytime."

"Can I take you to dinner to thank you?" I ask.

He hesitates, which is a surprise. I figured Dalton was just letting me keep the ball in my court because of our past, but maybe he's more wary about me than I thought.

"Can I ask you something and will you answer honestly?" he asks.

"Of course."

"I know you said your interest in Jett's date is about the wedding, but when you came back to town, that was the first you'd seen each other, right?"

I'm not surprised his question is about Jett and us being around each other again. "Yes, it was. And it's been weird, for sure."

"Is there any way this could be a second chance for you two? You only broke up with him because you were worried about him making it pro. That's obviously not a thing anymore." He studies me after he asks, and while it makes me nervous, I'm grateful for his thoughtfulness.

I shake my head. "I don't think Jett has ever forgiven me. We've put it in the past, but I don't see us making complete amends. Too much baggage." I've thought about it, sure. Maybe even pictured some reunion scenes, especially when he was so caring after the guacamole episode. Yesterday, at the picnic, I felt like I could've reached out and touched the future I always thought Jett and I would have. But he's dating Hayden. There's too much for him to overcome to give me another chance, and I don't regret what I did.

"Okay." Dalton's voice pulls me back to the present. He smiles slowly at me and leans over to kiss my cheek as the valet pulls up with his car. I put a hand on his shoulder and enjoy the close moment. "I'd love to do dinner, but let's take it slow, okay?"

I let my hand slide down his arm as he steps away. I nod. "Fair enough. I'll text you?"

"Can't wait."

Gabriella brings over coffee the next morning. We can't help the draw of working on the back deck here, overlooking the beach. "Last night was fun," she says, beaming. "You did amazing."

I grin back. "It was."

"Is Dalton going to be your plus-one?" she asks, wiggling her eyebrows.

I snort with laughter. "Gabriella, I don't have a plus-one. I'll be too busy to entertain a date all night." I look over at my planner list and open my tablet. "I put a document in the folder with the songs by rank. Go through and make your final cuts and adds, and then I'll send it over to the DJ."

She already has her own tablet open, holding it up to scroll through while she leans back on the deck chair. She's going to drop the tablet on her face any moment.

"What else is on the agenda for today?" she asks as she studies the song list.

"Final approval of the vendor payments so I can send them off, and we need to work on the seating chart. I have a draft for us to start with."

"Hmm" is her only reply. She'll need a bit more coffee in her before we really get to work.

I open Instagram. Hayden's posts last night were what I expected them to be—snapshots of her and Jett enjoying themselves at the party. Her descriptions were benign too and even complimentary, tagging Gabriella and Colby for "really knowing how to put on a party."

This morning's post is the video I couldn't get a look at. It's just Hayden panning the outdoor space, not saying anything. Maybe because she couldn't hear over the obnoxious rap song Colby keeps trying to talk Gabriella into doing some kind of fun, silly dance to.

I check out the post's description, and my heart sinks. I hate that I was right.