Dancing Barefoot (10 page)

“
Jacques told me about seeing you.”

“
So you said.”
Be casual, aloof, cool.

“
He stormed around his apartment, acted like a maniac.” Ava rolled her eyes upward. “That’s when I knew I had to see you for myself.”

“Why is that?” 
She averted her gaze, unable to relax.     

“You know why.
"

“I have no idea why.
So many reasons...hard to pick just one.” She blushed, suddenly wondering exactly how much detail Jacques had gone into about their encounter.

“
I suppose so...things are complicated between the two of you...”

"An understatement."

"The chemistry between you two has always been electrifying."

"I can't believe he told you about that." Her face burned. She stared at the descending numbers a
nd gritted her teeth together. She needed to find him and tell him to shut the fuck up. "It was a one time thing, a mistake, he called it."

"Really?" A satisfied smile spread across Ava's face.  "But the passion..."

"My God, what's wrong with him? Why does he feel the need to tell everyone he sees about every detail of our lives? He's ruining everything." Tap, tap, went her foot against the floor of the elevator. "Why is he suddenly Mr. Reporter? I'm not doing it, by the way. I know what he's up to."

Ava shifted her Gucci bag from one arm to the other and leaned
her shoulder against the wall. "You need to do it."

"Him and his big ideas.
No way. Not happening. Is that really why you're here? To twist my arm into cooperating with him? You've wasted a trip."

"You both are so dramatic, everything is black and white, so
extreme."  Ava laughed, the sound eliciting an answering smile on Jessica's lips. "The sex must be amazing."

"
Yeah, it was mind blowing, okay? But that's just us, how it is, and...you know. He said it was mistake so that's what it was. One night of regret." She blew a strand of hair from her face without looking away from the numbers. "I can't believe he told you all of that."

"Actually, he told me nothing. I have no idea what you are talking about regarding his plan and cooperating with him, but
now I'm dying of curiosity. As for the sex, well, Jacques and I are close but some subjects are off limits." Ava tossed her head back and laughed loud. "I've missed you, Jessica.  So dramatic, just like Jacques."

She bit back a retort, after all now she'd been the one to lay it all out there. Great. She knew from experience that Ava was the last person you wanted having ammunition against you. Devious, th
at defined Ava Sinclair. Look at how she'd so easily wrangled information from her in only a few minutes. She shook her head in self-disgust.

"Now I know why he returned to New York later than planned
, he spent the night with you. Tell me," Ava leaned close, "how long did the argument last before you two were all over each other again?"

“
That's enough, I've said too much as it is.” Her panties melted to her skin at the memory of him ripping her tank top into pieces. 

“Do you ever wonder what would have happened if you had married him?”

She must have been very bad in a former lifetime. “We would be sisters, for one.” 

“That is
a good thing, yes? A benefit?” Ava’s smile widened. Unlike Jacques, no dimples appeared. 

Shoes seemed too tight for feet that seemed to swell
during the past five minutes. “I really don’t have time to play what-if games with you.” 

“No? You have no feelings left for him then? You won’t care if you never see him again, if he marries someone else? I suppose
it's good that you have moved on, very healthy of you.” Ava sashayed ahead of her when the elevator doors opened to the lobby.

Marry someone else?
The floor tilted beneath her feet. He had left the ring, told her that…oh my God, he was getting married. She gritted her teeth and jogged to catch up to Ava.

“Who’s he marrying? When?”
Sweat beaded her skin. 

"What do you care? You have no feelings for him."
With a slight movement of her hand, Ava managed to snag a taxi in under thirty seconds.  “I’m in the mood for Italian, know of a place close by?”

“I shouldn
’t be going anywhere with you. You're dangerous."

“
Dangerous? How flattering.” Ava pulled her into the cab and nodded at the driver. “Take us to the best Italian restaurant you know. Pronto.”

She
remained silent in the taxi, swung her foot in the air and chewed her bottom lip. Thoughts raced in every direction. She could care less if he married some woman. He'd been right labeling the other night as a mistake. As for him wanting her paintings hanging with his photographs, maybe that had been more Miranda's idea than his. She had hard time believing he'd want to see her again after the way they'd left things.

It wasn’t until the waiter had delivered a martini that she snapped out of her musings.

“When is he getting married?” She looked at the martini and wondered when she had ordered it.

“He is not getting married.
It bothered you, though, didn’t it? The idea of him making a home, a family, with another woman?” Green eyes hardened with determination. “A woman like Simone?”

“Simone?” She downed the martini in one swallow.

“They're dating. It’s really more like he goes someplace and she follows along. You remember Simone, don’t you?” 

“Vaguely.” Oh, she remembered that woman with the lethal eyes and bad attitude. 

“So…you sketch buildings for a living now? Fascinating.  Jacques told me that you hide your artwork—”

“Hide?
I'm not hiding anything, I…” She closed her eyes, counted to ten and grinned at Ava. “He has no idea what I do or don’t do.”

“He mentioned your hair.”

“What did he do? Go back and hold a press conference?” She held up her empty glass when the waiter walked by. This lunch definitely called for more than one martini. 

“
I've missed you,” Ava said so softly she was barely heard across the table.

“I missed you, too.” She looked away, unable to meet her gaze. “
I'm surprised you don’t hate me.”

“I did for awhile.” Ava shrugged.
“But then I didn’t, then I understood. You were too young, he wanted too much.”

Jessica blew out a long breath and relaxed against the back of the booth.  “He didn’t want too much, that wasn’t th
e problem. I was the problem. It was all me, my fault. He didn't do anything wrong. I couldn't be the person he needed me to be.”

“You
were exactly what he needed.” Ava grinned.  “You needed him, as well, yes?”

Jessica fidgeted in the seat
, disliking the word
need.
“Why are you here?  I’m sure you didn’t fly up from New York early just to tell me that Simone is dating Jacques. That’s really not my business and I—”

“Isn’t it? You should have seen your face when I mentioned her name.”

“He told me he was dating someone, I just didn’t think he would stoop to dating that viper. She can't have changed that much...is she still a maniac? Does she still have a wicked temper? No wonder he stays on the move, best to take her in small doses, I'm sure.”  She chewed her lower lip at the thought of that woman kissing him, touching him…Screw one martini, she needed a pitcher. “What can he be thinking?”

“She
says she loves him.”

“
Oh, I'm sure she does just as much as I love having my eyes poked out with sticks.”

“And you and Marc,” Ava said, her grin fading, “how long have you been together?“

Sighing, she toyed with the napkin on her lap and stared at his sister in an attempt to read her thoughts.  She failed. 

“Marc and I are…
friends, good friends. I don’t have time for relationships.  With Marc…or with Jacques. I'm good solo.”

“You and
Jacques are so dramatic about everything. I believe the phrase is over-the-top, yes?” From the pocket of her white jacket she produced a large envelope. She held it in the air for a minute, hesitated, and then slid it across the table. 

“What’s that?”
Refusing to touch it, she leaned back in the booth and folded her hands in her lap.

“His itinerary.”

“Itinerary for what?” 

“He returns to Boston
this afternoon.” Ava’s wicked grin returned and matched the light in her eyes.   

“Will Simone be with him?”
She stared at the folded paper on the table between them and thought of her words to Sela about stalking.

“Not until Friday.”

“I've been told that he wants my paintings hanging at his show.” She toyed with the edge of the paper before lifting her gaze to Ava's. "Why does he want that? I heard it directly from the gallery owner. Is he trying to humiliate me in public? Is Simone behind it?"

“
He didn't mention this. Believe me, Simone is not involved. She doesn't want you within a mile of him.” Ava folded her arms on the table and leaned forward.  “Are you going to do it?”

“Ava—
”

“You used to know what you wanted.  Why do you look so nerv
ous? What are you afraid of? Surely you’re not afraid of Jacques?  Or me?”

"I'm not nervous."
She pushed the paper around in a circle with her index finger. "Why do I need his itinerary? I'm not the kind of woman who chases a man who's already been caught by someone else."

"Simone," Ava said with a twist of her lips. "Those few years after you left him were
disastrous."

"How long have they been together?" She froze and held her breath. Ava shook her head and looked away. "
How long?"

"On and off for almost
three years now, that we know of. We lost touch with Jacques for over a year after you left. When he reemerged, they were together and answered no questions." Ava leaned back in the booth.

Three
years. They'd only been together May through September a world away. Another lifetime ago. She took a long sip of her drink and swirled it around in her mouth.

"She makes him incredibly unhappy,
edgy, but she has a hold on him. None of us can figure it out...We are all concerned he is lost to us, the Jacques we once knew." Ava's cool and in control facade slipped to show deep concern. 

"Who is
we
?"

"Carter, Kevin, my parents, myself." Ava shrugged elaborately and fidgeted with the stem of her martini glass. "Simone is poison."

"I have no right to get involved in this." She rolled her shoulders back, her blood boiling at the thought of Simone making love to Jacques whenever she wanted. It made her sick to her stomach.

"He told me you returned to Italy." Ava watched her carefully.

"I did." She avoided this subject on all fronts, yet now it kept recurring like a horrible nightmare. "I'd rather stay focused on now, okay? No looking back."

"He loves you, never stopped. I know. He's here because of you whether he is conscious of it or not.
"

An overwhelming sense of
urgency to flee came over her. He'd spent three years in an on and off again relationship with the one woman on earth she despised.  They'd had only five months together. That's it.  Despite the length of time, they'd somehow managed to fool themselves into getting engaged and planning some fantasy. She'd been right to run then...and she should do it now.

"I need to get back to
the office." She stared at the uneaten pasta on her plate.  "This isn't going to work. I hope we see each other again this week, though. I really have missed you."

Ava snagged her hand and
squeezed until she looked up. "He has never lived with her, has told me he will never marry her, but there's something holding him to her that he needs a reason to end. Be that reason. Fight for him. Can you honestly tell me that you don't care?"

"Of course I care, but he doesn't.
" She yanked her hand away. "He thinks I am dead inside, gave me his ring, that's that. The end. I don't want to see him again and I definitely don't want to see Simone. Listen, Ava, this was a mistake. I'm sorry. I can't be what you want me to be...never could. I'm not that person you knew in Italy, I'm not. My life here is uneventful and that's what I like about it."

"He's still very much in love with you," Ava whispered. "You abandoned him, he's like an abused dog lashing out
, but only to protect himself. He did all of this for you...the gallery opening here when he could have had his choice of venues in Manhattan and the book signing close to your apartment when he is not doing any other signings anywhere. Does that sound like a man who doesn't want to see you?"

The facts of what Ava said didn't match the venom she'd seen in his eyes Friday night. With a sigh, she leaned back in the booth and closed her eyes. Why did everything have to get so screwed up?