to say something, she added, “Mom, are you sure about this?”
Her mother kept that smile pasted on. Heaven forbid they have an honest conversation that pierced the happy bubble. Heather’s greatest fear was that when the bubble inevitably burst and her mother allowed herself to truly grieve for what she had lost, she might be stuck in a marriage with someone she didn’t love.
“What do you mean?” her mother asked, continuing to play the game they’d been playing since the day of her father’s funeral, when her mom had declared she was too young to wear black and had put on a pink dress. Put off until tomorrow what you can’t deal with today. That was Amy Hughes’s motto.
“I mean...it’s awfully soon.”
“Yes, but I married your father after only nine months and look how well that worked out. I may have only met Jerry six months ago, but I’m even older and wiser now.”
Heather hadn’t been talking about how long her mother had known this Jerry dude, but rather about how long it had been since Dad’s death. But of course, Mom realized that. She just didn’t want to talk about it. Meaning Heather had to zip her lips and paste on a smile, or force the issue and risk her mother exploding into tears right before the party.
Heather might be ruthless when it came to running her business, but she couldn’t be toward her sweet-natured mother. So, with a sigh, she said, “Just promise me this party has an open bar.”
“Well, of course it does, honey.”
Of course. The groom had boatloads of money, after all. Jerry what’s-his-name was a real estate developer and had enough cash to ensure his new bride would never want for a thing for the rest of her days. Unlike Heather’s dad, the English teacher, whose heart had always been bigger than his bank account.
She kinda already hated Jerry on principle.
“There he is,” her mom said, squeezing Heather’s arm. “And that tall young man with him—well, that must be Nathan.”
Heather stiffened, unable to prevent the reflex. Ever since her aborted romance with football superstar Nathan Watson last year, she tensed whenever she heard that first name. Which made it imperative to keep away from sports channels throughout the winter. But even that hadn’t been enough—she’d also had to avoid any tabloid-type news for a while, considering he’d been embroiled in a baby-daddy scandal with his pop-star singing ex for months.
How silly she’d been, hoping he would get in touch with her at some point. Her note had been brief and cryptic, surely he would be curious, perhaps even apologetic. But there’d been nothing. Not a single word. Which said everything there was to know about what he’d really thought of her.
She was, indeed, a nobody.
She forced her mind off of Nathan—his handsome face, the amazing three days they’d spent together—focusing instead on her mother’s romantic drama. Her own was in the past and there it would remain. Nate’s utter silence proved that.
“Here we are!” her mother called to the two men who stood on the front patio of the club, almost nose to nose, appearing deep in an intense and possibly heated conversation.
Both men turned toward them, the salt-and-pepper-haired one stepping to the edge of the patio, into a pool of exterior light. Heather’s stomach churned as she noticed the fact that he was good-looking, well-built and eyeing her mother adoringly.
Before she had a chance to process that, though, the taller, younger man walked up to join his father. And the world stopped spinning. Or, at least, her little corner of it did.
“No,” she mumbled in disbelief. “It can’t be.” Fate wouldn’t be so unkind as to thrust her biggest regret into her path at the same time she had to deal with this crazy wedding.
Fortunately, her mother had kept walking, so she didn’t overhear Heather’s words. She was left to stand there on the sidewalk, gazing up at the patio, at the very familiar man whose whole body was rigid with tension. “Nate? Is it really you?”
He froze, staring down at her, recognizing her at once. Even as his jaw unhinged, she could read his emotions as they washed over his face, one after the other—surprise, perhaps pleasure, regret and then anger. She understood each of them. Because she felt all those things, too.
Nate looked the same but for a few lines on his face that had probably been caused by the stress of this last year. They didn’t lessen his attractiveness one bit, serving only to make him more mature and handsome. Which was why, even as her stomach churned with tension, her heart was fluttering and her panties were getting a little damp.
She’d been telling herself for ten months that what they’d shared had only been lust—just hot sex, easily forgettable. But seeing him again now, she couldn’t lie to herself anymore. She’d been well on her way to falling in love with the man. His silence had crushed her, especially after her father’s death, when she’d begun to evaluate her own life, to realize how fleeting it could be, and how desperately she wanted someone to share it with.
Someone like Nate.
And then, finally, he spoke. “You have got to be kidding me. How much worse can this whole thing get?”
Heather had never realized shock and embarrassment could segue so immediately into fury. So much for love and happily-ever-after. Who the hell did he think he was to ask her to come back to Florida with him, then tell the press she was a nobody? To ignore her for months? And now to act as though he’d been injured by having to run into her again? What a prick.
“So nice to see you, too, superstar,” she snapped as she strode up the steps to the porch.
Nate thrust a hand through his thick, dark hair. He rubbed his eyes and sighed heavily before finally facing her head-on.
“I’m sorry, Heather, that wasn’t directed at you. I was just caught off guard.”
“You and me both.”
Her mother and the older man she assumed was his father had been watching them, their eyes rounded. Her mom said, “Nathan? I’m Amy, and I’m so happy to meet you.”
Nate offered her a very tight smile in response.
“Am I correct in thinking you’re acquainted?” she added.
“We’ve met,” said Heather.
Nate nodded. “We, uh, got to know each other last year during a trip to Vegas.”
“What a small world!” His father stuck out his hand to her. “I’m Jerry. So nice to finally meet you, Heather.”
“Hello Mr....Watson.” God, she’d barely even listened when her mother had mentioned Jerry’s last name. If she’d been more attentive, would she have been a little more prepared for tonight? Doubtful. The surname wasn’t exactly a unique one. Besides, who could possibly prepare for such a catastrophe?
Heather shook her future stepfather’s hand. That much, at least, was easy, since her whole body was shaking.
She’d imagined running into Nate again, visualizing a hundred ways it could happen without her having to stalk him at a Thunder game. Yet her imagination could never have come
