You Can't Go Home Again (6 page)

“It’s a beautiful home, Jenn. You guys will be so happy
here.” Dani bent down to pick the puppy up, pulling him close and scratching
his ears.

Jenn squealed. “I know. I know it’s not your style, way too
new, not enough retro chic, but it’s so perfect. And, in this market, the value
will only go up.”

As she passed the puppy back to Jenn, Dani laughed a little.
“Who ever thought we’d be grown up enough to discuss market value?”

Jenn chuckled too. “Or to be having guests over for dinner,
with their spouses…or rather, significant others, soon to be spouses.”

* * * * *

She saw Dani freeze in place, a jar of jelly half in, half
out of the bag. Hmmm, that was interesting.

Jenn continued, “Sean is going to propose to Joanna soon,
very soon. I think he’s just waiting for our wedding to be over, but Bri says
he’s bought the ring already and everything. She’ll say yes, I’m sure. They’re
really great together. Sara is dating Colonel. Odd name, but he’s a great guy.
I think she met him through online dating, oddly enough, but he does something
with home loans. I’m not sure what. We went through my parent’s bank. Beth, as
you know, is still single, but there’s someone at work Bri told me she’s
interested in. We’re all kind of holding our breath to see if they end up
dating soon. And then, of course, Jace is with Nicole. She works as a store
manager for this small antique store in old town. The one right next door to
the old bookstore and the psychic place that sells all the crystals and stuff.
Anyway, she manages that place.” Jenn had finished unloading and turned around
to face Dani. “You’ll meet her tonight. She is totally perfect for Jason, the
yin to his yang. She’s as sweet and kind as he is cranky, so they make a good
match. Brian figures it’s just a matter of time before he proposes as well.”

She watched closely, looking for any reaction from Dani.
When she saw nothing, not even a flicker, she silently humphed and set about
cutting veggies. There was something going on between those two, she was sure
of it. At some point, she would finally say something that caused Danielle to
twinge, and then she’d know what it was.

Dani grabbed another cutting board, pulling it out of the
same cabinet she’d seen Jenn open, then grabbed a knife and started chopping
tomatoes. “I can’t wait to meet everyone. So, what are we having tonight
besides salad?” Jenn grimaced. She wasn’t much of a cook, and Dani knew it, so
when she saw the wicked little smirk, she couldn’t help but poke her tongue out
at her friend before answering.

“Spaghetti! The only thing I know how to make.” When Dani
laughed, Jenn threw a piece of cucumber at her. “Shut up! Someday I’ll learn to
cook. For right now we do fine with takeout and whatever Brian whips up.”

By five thirty they were both dressed, the giant table set
for eleven people. Since Dani, Sara and Zack were the only ones without
partners, Jenn had placed them all next to each other, figuring on Zack in the
middle. Everyone else was sitting next to their date, of course. Though this
evening was supposed to be casual, a little bit of Jenn’s mother was popping
out, showing up in all the planning and organization.

When Brian walked through the door at five forty, he
answered Jenn’s glare with a soft smile and a quick kiss. “I’ll be ready in ten
minutes, I promise.” He ran upstairs to change while Jenn got out the ice
bucket.

* * * * *

When the doorbell rang at exactly six p.m., Jenn and Brian
were both still busy in the kitchen, setting out the hors d’oeuvres, so Dani
wandered out to answer the door. When she opened it up, the pleasant smile
she’d been wearing blurred into an icy glare.

Jace glared back

Dani had no idea how long they would have stayed like that
if the blonde on his arm, she presumed Nicole, hadn’t finally said something.

“Hi, I’m Nicole. I’m assuming, since I’ve never met you
before, that you must be Danielle?”

Dani mentally shook herself loose, turning toward the voice,
raising her hand to meet Nicole’s. “Please call me Dani. Won’t you come in?”
She backed up a step, fixing a serene smile back on her face. She was prepared
to leave it there all evening if necessary, but she would not ruin Jenn’s
dinner party. “Here, let me take your purse. Jenn and Bri are in the kitchen,
I’m sure Jace knows the way. I’m on door duty, so I’ll join you in a minute.”

“Thank you.” Dani took Nicole’s purse, catching the brief,
quizzical look she directed at Jace before she smiled shyly back at Dani. She
didn’t know what Jace had told Nicole about their past relationship, but she
seemed confused over the burning hatred emanating from Jace. Well, she wasn’t
the only one! She watched Jason lead Nicole back to the kitchen. His face and
muscles seemed tight, stiff. Probably from all that barely controlled rage.
After one quick sigh, Dani decided to count her blessings. Apparently Jace was
going with the old philosophy… if you can’t say anything nice, don’t say
anything at all.

That was just fine with her!

Dani waited by the door, knowing that everyone would be
arriving shortly. She also needed a couple minutes to compose herself. She
hadn’t thought she would be so upset at seeing him again. Yesterday she had
expected it; it had been five years. But tonight, she’d been startled by the
intensity with which she reacted to his mere presence. She felt a strange
combination of fury, pain and, unfortunately, desire rage up just because he
was there. She figured she would do best to ignore him as much as possible
through the coming week. If she could just get through the wedding, she could
hide out here and dog sit Dakota without having to see him at all.

Everyone arrived within just a few minutes, the last one
being Zack. Zack swung Dani into a hug with a quick kiss on the cheek. “You
look good enough to eat. How about you and I skip dinner and run away
somewhere?” He waggled his eyebrows, adding a lascivious grin, causing Dani to
laugh loudly as she hooked her arm through his.

* * * * *

She had opened the door wearing a purple T-shirt and jeans
with some weird pattern down the side. She’d been barefoot, and he couldn’t
help but notice the bright purple toe polish. She looked adorable, and
completely at home in Jenn’s house. He’d felt the anger rush through him once
again

He’d stood at the door like an idiot, torn between cursing
her and grabbing her. What he’d have done with her once he got hold, he had no
idea. Shove her backwards, toss her over his shoulder…kiss her. When he’d
realized that his girlfriend was standing right next to him, he’d opted for the
silent treatment. .

Now, she was prancing into the kitchen, smiling and flirting
with Zack. Again. . He found himself crushing the soda can in his hand, so he
quickly downed it and headed out to the garage. Time to replace the soda with a
beer.

Dinner was wonderful; simple food, good wine and easy
company. Toward the end of the meal, Jenn clicked her spoon against her glass,
calling for everyone’s attention. As the table quieted down, Jenn glanced over
to Brian.

“First, thank you all for coming. This is our first official
dinner party in our own home, and we very much look forward to many more like
it. Secondly, most of you are going to be in our wedding here in just over a
week. We wanted to give you your gifts now rather than at the rehearsal dinner.
I know it breaks custom, but tonight it’s just us, without all the chaos and
hoopla that will be going on then.”

While he was speaking, Jenn was walking around the room
handing out gifts to each of the bridesmaids and groomsmen. When she reached
Dani, deliberately making her last, she stopped.

“We also have one more favor to ask,” Brian began.

“Dani, would you sing the song for our first dance
together?” Jenn’s eyes were beseeching, warm and smiling. “I know you don’t
perform in front of…well, anyone, but it would mean so much to us both if you
would do this.”

Dani felt a sudden rush of panic. Jenn wasn’t kidding when
she said she never sang in front of anyone. Not since freshman year in high
school, when she had been the understudy for the role of Maria in West Side
Story. She had made one performance and had never been on that side of the
curtain again. As she looked up at her friend, she saw nothing but love in her
eyes. How could she say no?

“Of course. Of course I will. What song did you want me to
sing?”

Jenn leaned down and hugged her. “You choose. You know us
both really well. We wanted you to pick one that you thought would suit us.”

Dani smiled softly. “I know just the song.”

As Jenn headed back to her seat, the noise resumed, with
Zack asking, “You sing? Really? How did I not know that?”

Dani nodded and shrugged all in one motion. She scrunched
her nose a little as she answered, “Yeah, I just don’t like to sing in front of
people. I get a little…mmmm…well, nervous would barely begin to cover it.”

Jace and Nicole were sitting across the table from them, so
Nicole asked, “Are you any good?” When Jace looked at her funny, she
backpedaled a little bit. “I just meant, do you sing like karaoke sing, or
really sing, sing?”

Jace answered for her. “She sings. Very well, if I remember
correctly. And you do sing in front of some people. Or at least you used to.”

Dani glared at him. She had sung for him, many times in
college. But only when it was the two of them, when Jenn and Brian were busy.

Jenn asked, “Really, you’ve heard her? When?”

Jace smirked, glancing at Dani before facing Jenn. “Didn’t
she sing in that school musical one time?”

Dani felt the air whoosh out of her lungs, a giant sigh of
relief. Just as everyone turned to face her for more details, Jenn, her natural
gift of gab taking over, answered for her.

“That’s right. Freshman year. You were someone’s understudy,
and she got the flu, and you had to do the Saturday night performance. What was
that play? Oh, yeah. West Side Story.” She glanced around the table at everyone.
“She was amazing. You guys will love her. Her voice is beautiful. I’ve never
understood why she didn’t perform, instead of staying behind the scenes in
drama.”

Zack looked toward her again. “You were in drama?”

Dani smiled. “Still am, for the most part. But, yes. All
through high school and college.”

“You know,” Beth said, “I’m not sure I’ve ever heard how you
and Jenn met. I know you guys knew each other in high school, but really, how
did you cross paths? At our school at least, the drama group never really hung
with the cheerleaders?”

“Oh, we grew up next door to each other. Jenn didn’t move
until she was almost eleven. She lived in the house across the street until
then.” Dani shrugged. “We just kind of stayed friends.” She glanced toward
Jenn, sharing a look that let everyone know just how real that friendship was.
How deeply it ran.

Jenn grinned. “On that note, let’s all head into the living
room. We are going to play some games.”

Brian led everyone into the living room while Jenn and Dani
did a quick sweep of the table.

“Don’t worry about the dishes, I’ll deal with them
tomorrow.” She glanced around, scrunching her nose while she did. “And the
kitchen. For now, let’s go hang out.”

They all settled around the room, snuggling on the couches,
the guys yanking the girls onto their laps. Dani sat down on the floor, leaning
against the side of the love seat while Jenn pulled out Charades. Everyone
groaned, but it was all in good humor. Everyone sucked at Charades, which was
what made it so fun. Brian ran and grabbed beers for all the guys, and Dani had
brought in the wine for the ladies. She helped herself to a third glass. She
never drank this much, and never two days in a row, but this was a party after
all. And, as they had discussed earlier, they were grown-ups now.

* * * * *

It was guys against girls, and the girls were winning, much
to the guys’ chagrin. When Zack plopped down on the floor next to her and
started flirting again, Jace watched Dani smile and flirt back. He was already
angry, had been since he’d walked in the door, and he felt the fury start to
simmer again.  When Jace saw Zack lean in and whisper in Dani’s ear, his anger
leapt from simmering to murderous. He glanced over at Nicole, giving her a
tight smile as he stood. “I need another beer. You want anything?” When she
shook her head no, he all but ran from the room.

When he came back, he saw that Nicole had moved to the other
side of the love seat and was leaning over talking to Sara. He plopped down
next to her, very aware of the stunning brunette head right by his knee. The
next time Zack got up to act out his movie, he couldn’t help but lean forward
to talk to her. She was making him crazy, driving him mad, and he hated her for
it.

“You know, I always knew how you and Jenn met; what I never
understood was how you managed to stay friends.”

* * * * *

Dani had been trying to ignore him, even when he leaned
toward her, but at the sound of his voice she had to look up.

His question had been meant for her and her alone, but as
often happens, the quieter a voice, the more attention it draws.

“What do you mean?” Dani asked, honestly confused.

“Well, how did you stay friends? I wondered that even back
in college.” He glanced over, looking at Jenn bouncing up and down on her toes,
trying not to shout out the answer since it was the guys’ turn. “Seriously, how
did the drama geek and the homecoming queen ever manage to stay friends?”

By now, everyone was staring at them, and Jace’s voice was
rising. When Dani answered, she could hear the escalating anger in her own
tone, even as she struggled to control it.

“I guess women are just different than men. We don’t dump
our friends over one little dispute.”