Jared heard a note in his mom’s voice that made him take a second look at her. Her color was high, though that could be attributed to the warmth in the ballroom and the excitement of the event.
Then he noticed how hard she clutched Glen’s arm, her knuckles nearly white.
He smiled, tried not to let her see it was forced, and slid a glance at his father. “I wouldn’t have missed this. So, are you staying much longer?”
“Well, of course we can’t leave yet,” Helena said. “I feel like I could dance all night.”
Now Jared looked straight at his father and saw strain in the lines of his face.
Shit. Shit.
The tension in his head spread through his body as every muscle tensed.
“Are you leaving soon, sweetheart?” His mom smiled up at him, her eyes just the tiniest bit glassy. “Taking your date back to the hotel for the night?”
Jared exchanged another glance with his father. “I think we’ll hang for a little while, dance a little.”
“Well, you have a good time, dear.” She turned to Glen. “I’d like to dance some more myself actually. I feel like I could dance all night.”
“Mom—”
“Jared, we don’t need a chaperone.” Glen smiled at him but it never reached his eyes. “Go on back to your date. Your mom and I’ll be fine.”
Jared felt helpless as his parents walked away back into the thinning crowd on the ballroom floor.
For a few seconds he merely watched them, watched his father maintain his hold on his mother’s elbow, then take her in his arms and move to the music.
They laughed and talked, smiled at each other.
Jared’s eyes narrowed. Okay, maybe he’d been wrong. Maybe his mom was just excited by the party, the recognition. Maybe…
He turned back to the table where Belle was once again sitting with Nana and Tyler. She looked tired, her skin a little more pale than normal.
He quickened his pace, wondering if she thought he’d deserted her.
Maybe—
A commotion behind him made him stop and turn.
Just in time to see his father carry his mother off the dance floor.
“You’re welcome to take a room for the night,” Jared said. “But I don’t think I’ll be back. I’ll probably stay at the hospital.”
Annabelle nodded, seconds from a clean getaway. She gripped the door handle, ready to jump out of the car and go back to her home.
Jared’s mother had been taken to the hospital. Helena’s doctor, who had been at the benefit, had believed she was having a reaction to a new medication.
She understood Jared’s need to go with his mother. But something else was going on here.
The man she’d arrived at the ball with had been replaced with a block of cold stone. There was no way she’d misinterpreted the wave of frigid cold coming from Jared.
He hadn’t said a word since he’d told her he’d take her back to the hotel before he went to the hospital.
Something else was happening here, something she didn’t understand going on in the background.
And Jared had no intention of telling her what it was.
He couldn’t seem to be rid of her fast enough.
It was as if he was done with her. As if he couldn’t care one way or the other what she did.
It hurt more than she’d thought possible.
Forcing a smile, which he never saw, she said, “I think I’ll head home, that way I can open the shop tomorrow.”
Jared nodded, staring out the front window. “Thank you for coming with me tonight. I’ll give you a call later this week.”
Right. Sure you will. Annabelle got out of the car. “Good-bye, Jared.”
He nodded again, sparing her a quick glance. “Have a safe trip home.”
By the time she got her car started, all she saw was his brake lights as he pulled out of the parking garage.
“It just doesn’t make any sense. That doesn’t sound like Jared.”
Kate lifted her whiskey sour to her mouth, nearly missing her lips as she shook her head.
Or it could be that Annabelle had double vision. She’d lost track of the number of whiskey sours she’d consumed in the past couple of hours after she’d closed the shop Sunday at five. Probably more than she wanted to count.
Her brain was a little—No, her brain was a lot fuzzy and the alcohol was doing a hell of a job on that throbbing ache in the middle of her chest. It had loosened considerably in the past few minutes. And so had her mouth.
“Well, maybe I didn’t know him as well as I thought I did.” Annabelle took another swig, no longer grimacing at the burn of the whiskey. “Hell, I don’t even know what I’m bitching about. I was only in it for the sex.”
Kate snorted. “Yeah, right. If you think I believe that, tell me about the bridge you want to sell me.”
“No, really. The sex was great but I knew he was never gonna be around long term. Hell, I might as well have pushed him away. After that night with Dane and Jared—”
Oops. Way too many whiskey sours. Annabelle snapped her lips shut as Kate’s eyes rounded like dinner plates.
“What did you just say?” Kate’s glass and the table collided at high speed. “Did you just say Dane and Jared? Do you mean…Both?”
Oh, shit. She’d let the bag out of the—No, wait, she’d let the cat out of the bag.
Definitely no more whiskey sours.
But now that she’d opened her big mouth, she didn’t want to lie to her best friend. In the past week since it’d happened, she’d wanted so badly to talk to Kate about it.
“Yes. Both.” She drew in a deep breath. “Oh, God, do you think I’m a slut?”
Kate continued to stare at her. “Holy crap. Wait, who’s Dane? When was this? Was it good?”
Annabelle closed her eyes and let her head fall back. “Dane is Jared’s friend. Last weekend. And if I say yes, will you ever talk to me again?”
Kate’s face broke out into a smile so wide it had to hurt. “Hell, yes, I’ll talk to you again. Damn, I can’t even get decent sex from one guy and here you are, getting it good from two.”
Relief at Kate’s response made her suck in much-needed air. “Oh, thank God. It was amazing. I mean, really freaking amazing. I thought maybe it was just that it was naughty, you know? Forbidden. I thought that’s why it was so freaking good. But…”
Kate leaned forward. “But what?”
“But I think it was because of Jared. I think I really liked the guy.”
“Oh, Annabelle.” Kate’s expression fell into despair. “That’s so…so…sad. And you wanna know why? Because I don’t think I ever felt that way about Arnie.”
Annabelle bit her bottom lip. Damn, maybe whiskey sours were good for something other than getting shit-faced. Maybe they were the key to unlocking whatever was stuck inside. “What do you mean?”
Kate’s mouth twisted. “Oh, please, you know what I mean. You never really liked Arnie—”
“No, that’s not true—”
“And I know now I don’t love him enough to marry him.”
Annabelle shut her mouth tight before she could say anything else. Even as drunk as she was, she still had enough brain cells left to know Kate had to come to this decision on her own.
Kate took a deep breath, tears shining in her eyes. “Oh, my God. I can’t believe I said that out loud. I mean, I’ve thought about it but I never came out and said it. It sounds…so final.”
Annabelle reached across the table to take Kate’s hand. “Kate…”
“No.” Kate shook her head, as if trying to clear her thoughts. “No, I don’t want to talk about it. Not now. Right now, I want to know more about this wild side of yours.”