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Chapter One
Matt arrived at the reception hall ten minutes early. Round tables of ten occupied the center of the area. He barely recognized the school’s gymnasium, transformed as it was into a lavish ballroom, its high ceiling crisscrossed by welcome banners.
Spying one of the two bars located on each side of the basketball net, he headed toward the one on the left.
“Are you open?”
The barman glanced at the name tag affixed to his shirt. “Yes, Dr. Matt. What can I get you?”
“Scotch on the rocks, please.” Matt dropped a bill into the tip cup. “Are they expecting a lot of people?”
“About three hundred, according to the Dean of Students. I’ll fix you a second drink before it gets so crowded that you can’t get near the bar.”
“Good idea, thanks.”
A glass in each hand, Matt sauntered over to a nearby pub table and set down one of the glasses. Pleased with his observation spot and its view of the two bars and the entrance door, he sipped his drink, challenging himself to recognize his classmates.
At six o’clock sharp, a group bustled through the door, the women sitting at a table. Matt focused on the men hustling to the bar. No one looked familiar. More people invaded the gymnasium, the women and men lining up for drinks.
This time, Matt recognized three men who’d played football with him. They got their drinks, walked by his table, glanced in his direction, but continued to their destination. No one acknowledged him.
The makeshift ballroom filled with incredible speed. Two women stopped beside him, placing their glasses on the pub table. “Do you mind?”
“Not at all. Help yourselves, please.” He smiled at the familiar faces. “Hanna and Jacquie, right?”
In their elegant dresses and perfect makeup, they looked even prettier than they had fifteen years ago, but the rocks on their fingers forbade any flirting.
“Yes.” They answered together. “And you are?” Jacquie arched her eyebrows.
He pointed at the left side of his shirt.
Hanna twitched her lips. “No name tag.”
“Ah shoot. I must have lost it.”
Before he could identify himself, another woman joined their table.
The newcomer squinted at him. “No way, I almost didn’t recognize you. Since when do you have long hair and a beard?”
“It’s a recent change. How are you Brenda?”
The shy brunette who used to compete with him for top grades looked stunning today. He’d forgotten her last name but wouldn’t bother asking.
“I’m doing well, busy with my practice.”
Her practice? Was she a doctor by any chance?
“Wait a minute,” Hanna protested. “We still don’t know who this guy is.”
“Matt Winston,” Brenda answered for him.
“No way!” Jacquie squealed. “The proper conservative Matt who wouldn’t waste a minute of his time attending a party?”
Her eyes round, Hanna kept staring at him. “Are you sure? I say it’s the black sheep Winston, the young brother Royce, trying to fool us.”
He snorted. “Nope. Only boring, dull Matt here.”
He’d heard Hanna, Jacquie, and Jocelyn call him a few unflattering names during their senior year. Suddenly annoyed by their assumptions, he pulled out a small leather card case.
