She was one of the few people in her life who knew that Patti made it a habit to visit her dad’s grave and keep him updated on everything that was happening in her life. Not everyone understood her need to do it, like her mother, but Jules did. That was part of what made her such a great friend. Last year, she even helped her celebrate what would have been his sixty-third birthday with a small graveside party.
Patti picked at the vegetables heaped on her plate, configuring them into flower patterns. “No. I’m not sure I’m ready to tell him what a mess I’ve made of my life yet.”
Jules patted her on the knee. “Honey, you haven’t made a mess out of your life. So you’re single, who cares? At least you get to bring a beautiful new life into the world. I don’t think he would complain about having a grandchild, do you?”
“No.” Patti sulked, realizing that he wouldn’t even get to meet it.
“What’s with all the gloomy faces?” Patti and Jules looked up to find Piper waddling toward them with a big smile on her face. “This is a party you two. I want to see laughing and smiling and, gosh darn it, I want dancing.” She grabbed one of the empty chairs at their table and plopped down on it. “Good lord, if this kid doesn’t come out soon, I swear I’m going to lock Tate in the bedroom and make him orgasm me into labor.”
“That would barely be a hardship,” Tate said, grinning as he walked up behind her and dropped a kiss to his wife’s cheek. His hands found her shoulders and he began massaging them as he looked up. “Ladies.”
“Tate,” Jules and Patti said as one.
“What the hell are you eating vegetables for,” Tate asked, his face scrunched up in disgust, “when we hired ‘The Cook’ to make all those insanely expensive and flamboyantly designed cupcakes and hors d’oeuvres?”
“For the ten-thousandth time, his name is Tom,” Piper said, rolling her eyes in exasperation.
“He put his mouth on my wife, therefore, he will always be ‘The Cook,’” Tate retorted.
“Looking forward to being a father?” Patti asked him, hoping to change the subject before it spiraled out of control. Not that it was likely, since it was rumored that Tate and Tom had actually formed a pretty tight friendship once he was sure that Tom’s relationship with Sheila wasn’t just a sham.
A serene look came over him, but he shrugged it off, affecting a most unaffected look. “Eh, it’s no Cubs game, but it’s still pretty exciting.”
Piper reached back and smacked him on the thigh. “What he means to say is that he’s over the moon about it. Isn’t that right, honey?”
“That’s right, dear.” He chuckled, and then gave her another kiss. “Looks like we have a couple of new guests. I’m going to leave you ladies to it and go say hello.”
All three women turned to look in the direction Tate was headed, and Patti felt her stomach flip wildly when her gaze fell on the man with the dark countenance standing in the doorway.
“Holy shit, look who’s here,” Jules said under her breath. “And he brought a friend, too. Who the hell is that tall drink of water, Piper?”
“Oh, him?” Piper turned back around to face them, acting as though she couldn’t see that Patti’s whole world had come to a complete stop, and every ounce of oxygen had been sucked from the room the moment Jon walked through the door, leaving her gasping for air. “That’s Jon’s friend, Travis. Tate goes golfing sometimes with them. I guess he’s a nice enough guy. Why, you planning on introducing yourself?” She grinned knowingly.
“Nope, but you are. Oh and here they come. Look alive ladies.” Jules tossed back her hair and fluffed her boobs.
“Travis, this is Patti, Jules, and my lovely wife, Piper,” Tate said, pointing each of them out.
“Nice to meet you,” Travis said politely, smiling at each of them.
“And I’d introduce Jon, but I think you’ve already met.”
Patti’s heart pounded. She couldn’t take her eyes off Jon. He was so handsome in his black slacks and soft blue button down. His black tie had been loosened slightly, but he still looked every bit as dashing and professional as she remembered. He must have just come from work. She wanted to ask him how his day was, but realized that it wasn’t her place to do that anymore.
Jon glanced at her once, acknowledging her presence, but as the day wore on, he seemed to be deliberately avoiding her.
He moved around the room, chatting with random groups of men who were almost as boisterous as the women were when they became excited over something they found particularly interesting. It was good to see him in a social setting, watching him laugh and smile as though nothing was bothering him, but Patti thought she could see subtle signs that all was not right in his world. He had shadows under his eyes, like he hadn’t been sleeping well, and although he smiled often and at all the right times, it seemed tight to her, almost forced.
Could it be that he was having a hard time with all of this, too, or was that just her trying to reason out an excuse to talk to him?
By three o’clock, Tate and Piper stood at the front of the room calling everyone’s attention. “It’s time to open the gifts,” he announced. “And you’d better hope yours is good, or else you’ll be seeing it again come Christmas.” Everyone laughed at his little joke.
Patti watched dutifully as her friends began tearing into their gifts. She sipped her water. Tried to ignore her preening friend who was making a damned fool of herself trying to get the attention of Jon’s friend.
“He’s so hot,” she breathed, staring openly at him. “Don’t you think?” She glanced at Patti expectantly.
“Totally.” She nodded.
“You didn’t even look!” Jules hissed. “Look at that man, and then you tell me you don’t think he’s got it going on.”
Patti sighed and forced herself to look, but she wasn’t looking at the man Jules had her libido set on. She only had eyes for one man, and he was looking right at her. Their blue eyes locked, and Patti’s insides seized up. Everything that had been left unsaid was right there in his eyes for her to see, and Patti wasn’t sure how much longer she could wait to talk to him. After the party, she decided. She would catch him then and force him to talk to her. Come hell or high water, they were going to work this out.
“Okay, quit ogling my man,” Jules said, jerking back her attention. “So, what do you think?”
“He’s amazing. Perfect,” she said, but her words were directed toward the only man she had eyes for…
“So you think I should go for it?”
Patti nodded. “Definitely.”
Jules grinned, pleased with her answer. “It’s just too bad he’s friends with that asshole. You really dodged a bullet with that one, but at least you got something good out of it.”
Patti frowned. “What are you talking about?”
“Him, Jon, or whatever his name is. The guy you were dating?” Jules sent him an evil glare. Patti glanced up, seeing his brows lift in question. Jules leaned in, whispering conspiratorially in her ear. “A couple of the girls went out for drinks after work the other night and Sheila told me that she saw him having dinner with some bimbo.”
“How does she even know it was him?” Patti inquired, her stomach beginning to knot. “She only met him once, and we weren’t even dating yet.”
“Well, she didn’t call him by name but she said it was that hot guy who followed you to our table a couple of weeks ago. The same one who had two girlfriends.” Her eyebrows rose up and she gave Patti a challenging look. “It doesn’t take a genius to figure out who she was talking about.”
No it didn’t. Patti didn’t want to believe it, but she trusted her friends, and if they said they saw him with another woman, she was inclined to believe them. “Well,” she said, shifting in her chair. She played idly with the food on her plate, trying to quell the growing sickness brewing in her stomach. “It’s not like we’re dating anymore. He’s free to see whomever he wants.”