“Ryker, hey!” the girl with the long hair called, lifting her hand in a wave. “I wondered when you’d be getting here.”
For a moment, the girl didn’t even seem to realize he and Jenna were standing together. She brushed Jenna aside to lean in and give Ryker a kiss on the cheek. Jenna glanced away, heat burning her face. Despite her size, she felt tiny, and not in a good way.
“Hi, Ryker,” the girl with short hair chirped, looking at him from beneath her long lashes.
“Hey, girls,” Ryker said. He reached out and took Jenna by the hand, making her look up. “Have you met Jenna yet? She’s in town for a few days.”
Matching expressions of confusion floated across the girls’ features. They glanced at Jenna and then down to Jenna and Ryker’s joined hands, before exchanging a glance with each other.
Seemingly oblivious of the tension, Ryker continued. “Jenna, this is Nikki and Megan,” he introduced the short-haired girl and the one with longer locks respectively.
“I was hoping you’d be here,” Megan said, flipping her hair over her shoulder. “You want to grab a drink or something later?”
He glanced at Jenna. “Oh, no, thanks. I’m with Jenna, so we’re kind of busy.”
Jenna felt stupid. Of course he’d know people here. He’d lived in this town his whole life, had been to school here, and now ran a business. For some reason, the possibility of them bumping into past or even future girlfriends while they were walking around hadn’t occurred to her.
Ryker tugged on her hand and pulled her away from the two girls.
“Sorry about them,” he said, when they were far enough away for the girls not to hear. “They were a couple of years below me at school, and don’t know how to take no for an answer.”
Something twisted inside her. Those were the type of girls Ryker should be hanging out with, not embarrassing himself on the arm of a big girl like her.
“It’s fine if you want to go and meet them for a drink later,” she said, trying to make her voice light. “I’ll just hang out at the house.”
His brow furrowed in confusion. “Why would I do that?”
“Uh, ’cause they obviously like you, and they’re kind of … you know … hot.”
He snorted. “Yeah, and don’t they know it. Anyway, I’ve already got a hot girl sleeping in my bed tonight. Why the hell would I want to go anywhere near those two?”
She stared at him, her mouth opening and closing, but not finding the words. He grinned and pulled on her hand, leading her through the throng of people.
“Come on. The procession will be starting any minute now, and we’ll want to get a good spot. You’ll be amazed how many versions of a papier-mâché tomato people can come up with.”
Jenna couldn’t help but laugh.
They found a spot near the front of the crowds, people laughing, bustling and jostling behind her. Voices and music mingled, together with the scents of the numerous food stalls. Having Ryker by her side made her feel special, as if she were better than she was because he had chosen to be with her.
Farther down the road, movement and music began to approach. Ryker gave her a nudge and nodded toward where the floats had begun to wind their way down the street. Various trucks and tractors pulled giant sculpted tomatoes in different forms, all of which had scantily clad, pretty girls positioned upon them and holding on for dear life while still maintaining winning smiles.
Through the crowds, Jenna’s eyes locked on a familiar cold, gray gaze.
She felt as if someone had thrown a bucket of cold water over her, literally freezing the breath in her chest. She stumbled backward, bumping into the people behind her, blindly clutching for Ryker’s arm.
He must have noticed something was up. “Jenna? What’s wrong?”
He caught her hand and pulled her toward him, and she lost sight of the steel-like gaze that was so familiar and yet so frighteningly distant.
“It’s him,” she said, her eyes filling with tears, her heart hammering. She peered over Ryker’s shoulder. “Garrett! He’s here.”
Ryker turned in the direction she was looking. “Where?”
“Just over there, beside one of the floats.”
She looked frantically, but the gray eyes had vanished. She’d always believed that when this moment came and she saw him again, she would turn and run for her life, but instead she found herself pushing through the crowds, wishing she’d not lost sight of him. Ryker followed close behind, calling apologies to the people she shouldered out of her way.
Garrett was nowhere to be found.
“Damn it!”