Hearts Collide (Canyon Cove Book 4) (16 page)

“Jackie, over here,” he called out.

He grabbed a waitress as she was walking by and motioned to the table and then to me. She called a bus boy, who moved another table over and put down a place setting for me.

As I sat down next to Dennis, he smiled at me then turned and leaned towards his friends. I moved a little closer, trying to hear the conversation, but the restaurant was too loud and I was too far away.

The waiter came and brought everyone drinks, except me.
Had I been talking to Becca that long?
Before he walked away, he came over and stood in front of me as he placed his tray underneath his arm.

“Hi, I’m Trevor,” he said. “Would you like to order a drink while you wait?”

He pointed to the empty chair in front of me. I felt so out of sorts that I wasn’t sure what he was asking. Did he think I was there alone?

“I’m with them,” I said.

Trevor looked over at the group who were laughing at something Dennis said, then shrugged.

“What can I get you?” he asked.

Dennis’s friends cheered loudly as they did a round of shots.

“A margarita on the rocks, no salt,” I said. “And a glass of water.”

I nursed my margarita as the night went on. No one spoke to me, but who could? The restaurant was too loud. Still, I blamed Dennis because he pushed me to go out with them and to sit next to him at the end of the table, away from everyone else.

Trevor the waiter was filling my glass of water when the woman sitting across from Dennis leaned across the table towards me. She had bright blue eyes and short platinum blonde hair that stood out from her caramel skin so much, she reminded me of a candle. Earlier I thought I heard someone called her Penny.

“Dennis said you’re a waitress,” Penny said. “Bet you’re glad you’re not working tonight. What restaurant do you work at?”

Dennis turned and answered before I could speak.

“Jackie thinks she’s too good to work in a restaurant,” he said.

“That’s not true,” I said. “I just prefer events.”

I bit my tongue before I ended up blowing up at him. I hated when he answered for me and I knew what was coming next.

“Doesn’t matter,” he said. “Either way, it’s not a real job. It’s what someone does when they can’t do anything else.”

“Oh? Then maybe you should find somewhere else to stay.”

“Boy, you’re sensitive tonight,” he said. “Maybe you should have stayed home.” Dennis turned back towards his friends. “I saved her from sitting around in her shitty apartment.”

“My shitty apartment? The one I can’t get you out of?”

I waited for him to say something, anything, but it didn’t matter. He didn’t hear me. He was yucking it up with his friends again.

Not wanting to hear what else Dennis had to say, I sat back in my seat and waited for the dinner to end. I would have gone home if I could, but on New Year’s Eve I knew I’d never be able to get a cab.

Maybe I was being sensitive, but if I was it was only because I was done putting up with Dennis.

Sitting by myself at a table for nine wasn’t the worst. If anything it was something I had grown used to when we dated. Whenever we were out with someone else Dennis always made me the butt of his jokes and he found ways to put me down. None of it was very obvious and I doubted that anyone ever noticed, but it was something I could count on whenever we were out with other people. Dennis liked being the center of attention.

My meal was good and the waiter was very attentive with me, but not with the rest of the table. It made me feel even more like I was eating alone. There were a few times when I caught the waiter looking in my direction and he’d quickly look away.
 

He felt bad for me. I could see it in his eyes. It made me feel even worse. If a stranger felt bad for me, why didn’t someone I had a relationship with for four years not notice how he was treating me? Maybe he just didn’t care.

I didn’t have any lingering feelings for Dennis, but I always thought we were friends. Maybe I was wrong. How else could I explain that sitting at a table with eight other people made me feel even more alone? I should’ve stayed at home.

When the check came, Dennis finally turned towards me. As he leaned towards me, I expected him to ask me for money, but he surprised me.

“Tonight’s on me,” he said. “Sorry I dragged you out and then hardly talked to you.”

“Don’t worry about it,” I said.

Thinking over my relationship with Dennis, I wondered how I ever thought we were friends. We were barely friends when we dated. Samantha was probably right when she called Dennis a rebound from Marc. When I thought about it I realized I tried to replace Marc with Dennis, even down to our friendship.

“Aren’t you forgetting something?” Dennis asked, interrupting my thoughts.

I stared at him blankly. “What?”

“You’re so rude you can’t even say thank you?”

His tone had acid in it. Usually I would back down and apologize when he made a comment like that, but not anymore.

“Have you ever thanked me for all those times I let you stay with me? Or the many times I brought home lunch or dinner for you?” I stood up, not wanting to be near him anymore. “I’ll meet you outside. If I had another way home, I would take it. Oh and that reminds me, you’re moving out tomorrow and don’t expect to ever stay with me again.”

As I headed towards the door, I glanced over at the bar. Standing facing the bar were two men in expensive suits, one with blond hair and the other with dark hair. My stomach churned recognizing Brent and Gunnar.

How is it that everywhere I go he shows up? Damn town is too small!

I thought about how wonderful Brent was when I finally broke down about Marc. But that meant that he, out of everyone, should understand how much being stood up meant to me.

How could he do that? Why didn’t he show up for our date?

I pulled my coat around me tightly and continued walking towards the door. I had to stop this. How did I become such a bum magnet? I looked at my watch and saw it was getting closer to midnight.

I was never one of those people who made resolutions, but I promised myself that as of midnight, I would only date great guys. Unless he was worthy of me and my time, he wouldn’t get the time of day from me. No more assholes.

As I reached the door, I turned around hoping to get one final glimpse of Brent sitting at the bar, but he wasn’t there. Behind me, Dennis’s group of friends got stuck behind a waiter.

There were too many people in that section of the restaurant, but I still noticed Brent approaching Dennis. A second later Dennis disappeared as the crowd gasped.

What happened? Did Brent just punch him??

It didn’t make sense to me. Why would he hit him? With my heart beating wildly in my chest, I pushed through the crowd to reach them.

Chapter Eighteen

Brent

The bartender poured a couple of glasses of vodka on the rocks and set them down in front of Gunnar and I. The restaurant was packed with the New Year’s Eve crowd. Smiling faces drifted past with the constant hum of conversation. It was the last place I wanted to be.

“Aren’t you glad I dragged you out?” Gunnar asked.

“Actually no,” I said. “I can’t believe I gave in to you.”

“Don’t be such a pussy, man. You said it yourself, you weren’t dating, you were just fucking. What do you care if she’s got a boyfriend?”

I sighed. “You just don’t get it, do you? It was never just fucking to me. Ever. I only did it because I thought maybe if we kept spending time together she’d leave his sorry ass.”

“That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard. Trust me, if there’s one thing I know it’s women,” Gunnar said.
 

His gaze shifted to a tall redhead. She smiled at him and he nodded his head once towards her, then once towards the curvy brunette next to her.

“I know what’ll get your mind off Jackie,” he said.

“No, the last thing I want is to talk to another woman,” I said.

“Who said anything about talking?” he said with a grin.

The two women walked over to us. As Gunnar and I rose from our stools to offer them to the ladies, I saw Jackie’s boyfriend Dennis walk towards a table with a group of people.

Gunnar introduced the two women to me, but I was so preoccupied with seeing Dennis without Jackie that I didn’t hear their names.

Where is she?
I wondered.
And why don’t I ever see them out together? It’s New Year’s Eve, why would he go out without her?

As I turned around and looked towards Dennis’s table, Jackie rushed past. She was fresh faced and her hair looked a little messy like it always did after sex.

I clenched my fists as I imagined her with him. I felt like someone stabbed me in the heart as I thought of him touching her soft skin, kissing her sweet lips. Did he even realize what an incredible woman he had?

Gunnar and his friends kept talking, drinks came and went, but my mind was at a table somewhere else in the restaurant. I had no idea how much time had passed, but every few minutes I turned around hoping to get another glimpse of her.

Gunnar placed his hand on my shoulder and leaned towards me.

“What’s going on? You haven’t said a word since my friends came over,” he said.

“She’s here,” I said.

“She? As in your girl?”

“Exactly, my girl. But she’s here with that douchebag.”

“Then do something about it. You have your choice of two beautiful women right in front of you but you could care less. For months you’ve talked about nothing but her, but have you ever told her how you feel?”

He was saying everything I was afraid to say to myself.

“No,” I said. “You know that.”

“Listen, if it were me, if I was that crazy about a woman, nothing would stop me from making sure everyone knew she was mine.”

“Yeah, in a normal situation of course that’s what I’d do. But things with Jackie are complicated,” I said. “She doesn’t even like me.”

“Fuck complicated. You’re a goddamn idiot if you think any woman would waste a minute of her time with you if she wasn’t into you.”

I shook my head as I let Gunnar’s words penetrate my thick skull. I knew he was right. I knew I was letting every chance I had with Jackie slip away because of whatever she had going on with that guy.

I was so afraid of losing what I had with her that I never told her I loved her. It wasn’t about the sex. I wanted her, all of her, all the time.

As I turned around again, I saw the group Dennis came in with leaving. Dennis was hanging back with a woman with bright blonde hair. I looked over the crowd again, trying to find Jackie, but she wasn’t there.

Waiting for Jackie to join them, I kept an eye on the group. Dennis slipped his arm around the blonde’s waist and whispered into her ear. It was an intimate gesture most people wouldn’t notice, but I knew he wouldn’t have done it with Jackie there.

The group stopped as a waiter walked past with a large tray of food. Dennis leaned closer to the blonde and kissed her.

“That fucking asshole,” I said.

“What’s going on?” Gunnar asked as he turned to look.

“He’s cheating on her,” I said, my fists clenched.

I might not have told Jackie the truth about how I felt, but I’d be damned if I let that guy get away with hurting her.

I pushed my way through the crowd until I was face to face with Dennis.

“Hey, it’s Brent, right?” Dennis asked, a big smile plastered on his face.

“This is for Jackie,” I said.

My fist collided with his face, sending him onto the floor. The blonde knelt beside him asking if he was okay. Gunnar patted me on the back.

“Oh my god! What’s going on?” Jackie said as she pushed through the crowd.

She looked at Dennis still on the floor, rubbing his chin, then turned around to me.

“Brent? You did this?” she asked as confusion spread across her face.