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Inside the hall, I found Colin and Amy already seated at a table for six. Jason’s friend Carter Hearst was also at the table, along with another man I didn’t recognize. There was no Jason, however. Amy had mentioned that he was out of the country, and I hadn’t let on that I didn’t know anything about his movements anymore.
“You’ve met Carter?” Amy asked after giving me a welcome hug.
“I remember.” I smiled at him. “How’s Amber?”
“She’s fine,” he said with a boyish grin. “It’s good to see you again. I’ll tell her you said hey.”
The other guy was from Colin’s office. He introduced himself and spent the evening trying to draw me into conversation.
“This is really impressive,” I told Amy after reading the profiles of some of the other photographers included in the book. “You’re like…walking among legends.”
“She’s a legend herself,” Colin pronounced, pride in his eyes. “Oh, and congrats on the promotion Daph. Amy told me.”
I tried to look enthused. “Thanks.”
Though the launch was for a photography book, there were performances by a choral group, a violinist, and a troupe of dancers who put on an ethereal performance that left us all applauding.
I tried to enjoy myself, but Jason was never far from my thoughts. There had been a part of my mind that’d hoped maybe he’d be there because of how important his sister’s work was to him.
I’ll never walk away from you.
And yet he had, with no explanation.
I drank the champagne that was being served very generously. I saw Colin lean toward Amy and whisper something to her. She smiled as they exchanged a quick kiss, and I felt a tiny sliver of jealousy cut through me.
How was it possible that their journey was turning out so differently from Jason’s and mine? Like a slightly less tragic version of Anna Karenina.
Was there some moral lesson I wasn’t learning?
Was there some way in which our love had been a wrong kind of love?
Was there something I’d done wrong?
I emptied the glass of champagne in front of me and looked around for a waiter so I could get some more.
And then I saw Jason.
He stood at the edge of the room, his eyes on me. Our eyes locked for a moment then he straightened and strode toward our table.
Eyes turned to look at him as he walked, like he was a whirlwind of raw beauty, sexiness, and devastating confidence. His dark jacket was flawlessly cut and fit perfectly. His dark hair laid back in soft waves, making my fingers ache with the memory of contact. He certainly didn’t appear to be feeling the misery I was experiencing. He looked handsome and dynamic, and I almost couldn’t bear to look at him.
He reached our table and went straight to Amy, leaning down to kiss her cheek. She looked around, shocked to see him.
“Jason!” She gave me an accusing look. “You didn’t tell me he was coming.”
His eyes met mine again, dark and searching, and my gaze dropped to my empty glass. Thankfully the waiter appeared, and I helped myself to more champagne.
I listened with half an ear as he talked with everyone else, everyone but me. He said something to a passing waiter, and a moment later, someone brought another chair and set it next to me.
He sat beside me, and all my senses tuned to him. My eyes stung, and I blinked frantically, trying to keep the tears from falling. Someone climbed onto the stage and started to give a speech, and I concentrated on following each word like my life depended on it.
At first, he didn’t say anything. I saw Amy watching us with a puzzled glance so I smiled at her, and she looked away, reassured.
I could smell the light spicy scent of Jason’s cologne, and it took me back to places I couldn’t bear to remember, not right then, not while he was still pushing me away.
“How are you?”
The gentle words sent a bolt of anger to my brain. How dare he talk to me like there was nothing wrong, like he hadn’t asked me to leave his apartment—his life.
