A chill that had nothing to do with the temperature of the room traveled up Christy’s spine. Lauren had made it clear in Las Vegas that she wasn’t giving up on David. Now she was here. With him.
It took all of Christy’s willpower to force her lips into a semblance of a smile. “How nice.”
Sara and her husband exchanged glances.
“They didn’t come together or anything,” Sara said quickly. “Lauren was standing there when I asked David if he’d do me a favor and make some of that dip.”
“Sara, it’s okay. I trust my husband completely.” The lie easily slid from Christy’s lips. “If you’ll just point me in the direction of the kitchen…”
Though Sara appeared reassured, Sal wasn’t so easily fooled. He shook his head. “I’ll show you.”
Christy steeled herself against the sympathy in his eyes. She forced a bright smile. “No, really. You two attend to your guests. I’m more than capable of finding the kitchen.”
“If you’re sure?” Sara said.
“I’m positive.”
“The kitchen is that way.” Sara pointed to a hall. “Second door on your right.”
“If you run into the camera crew, you’ve gone too far,” Sal said.
“Camera crew?” Christy asked, forgetting for a moment the reason she’d originally agreed to come.
“From Entertainment Today.” A shadow of annoyance crossed Sal’s face. “They’ve taken over the entire house.”
“They have not.” Sara chuckled. “Sal’s all about security. He doesn’t like having strangers in the house. But I’ve worked with these people before. Actually, they mentioned your name when they called to set up tonight’s taping, so I think they’d like to get some shots of us together. That is, if it’s okay with you.”
“No problem.” Christy wished she could be honest and let Sara know how Entertainment Today happened to be there in the first place. But if she did, Sara might think the only reason she’d agreed to come had been for the publicity. Of course, that had been the original reason, but then, she hadn’t known this party was for her.
“Sara—” Sal squeezed his wife’s shoulder “—I’m sorry to interrupt, but Meg is frantically trying to get your attention.”
“My manager,” Sara said apologetically. She waved at a woman across the room. “She gets kind of stressed.”
“Go on. I’ll be fine,” Christy said. “Don’t worry about me.”
“I’m glad you came tonight.” Sara smiled, her blue eyes clear and direct.
Christy returned the smile, the sincerity in the other woman’s tone warming her heart. “I’m glad I did, too.”
She only hoped she could still say that after she saw her husband.
David added a slight sprinkling of garlic to the bowl of ingredients. Sara had fallen in love with the odd concoction one year when he’d thrown it together and had brought it to a Super Bowl party. Though he didn’t mind making it for Sara, he wished that Lauren hadn’t been standing next to him when Sara had asked. Because though Sara’s kitchen was spacious, Lauren’s hovering was making him claustrophobic.
More than once, he’d been tempted to tell Lauren to go back to the living room and he’d take care of the dip. But she genuinely seemed to be trying to help and he didn’t have the heart to kick her out. Still, if she didn’t stay out of the way, he was going to have to do something.
He reached for the wooden spoon, but Lauren got there first.
“You want this?” She held up the utensil, dangling it between her fingers, a teasing gleam in her eyes. “Come and get it.”
“Lauren, I’m not in the mood for games.” David didn’t bother to hide his irritation. “If you want to stir the dip, then stir it. Sara’s waiting.”
“She can wait a little longer,” Lauren said. “You haven’t told me if you like my dress.”
“If I tell you, will you stir the dip?”
Lauren smiled. “I’ll think about it.”
David heaved an exasperated sigh and shifted his attention to her dress. The garment was an odd shade of red. Though it wasn’t a style he particularly liked, he had to admit it looked nice on her. And her perfume had a pleasant scent. He wondered if there was somebody at the party she was trying to impress. “You look nice.”
“Is that all?” Her smile couldn’t quite hide her disappointment. “Just nice?”
A sense of unease coursed through him. For a second he had the crazy feeling that Lauren was flirting with him. But that couldn’t be. She knew he was married. And not just to anyone, to her former best friend. So his first instinct must have been correct. There must be some guy at the party she was interested in and she was feeling insecure and in need of some reassurance.
“Actually, you look fabulous.” Because he knew her confidence had been hit hard by his marriage, he laid it on thick. “You’re a beautiful woman, Lauren. Any man would be lucky to have you at his side.”
“Even you?”
Her lips trembled and his heart twisted. He wished his opinion didn’t matter so much to her.
“Even me.” David awkwardly patted her shoulder.
Lauren captured his hand with hers and cradled it against her cheek. “I’ve missed you, David. I can’t tell you how much.”
“David?”
David’s gaze jerked upward at the unexpected feminine voice. He’d thought he and Lauren were alone in the kitchen. But staring into the flashing blue eyes that he hadn’t seen in weeks, he realized just how wrong he was.
Chapter Six
Christy swallowed hard and forced a bright smile. “Sara sent me for the dip.”
It wasn’t quite the truth, but it sounded better than saying she’d come looking for her husband and had found him holding hands with his old girlfriend.
At least Lauren had the grace to blush. “David said you weren’t coming.”
Christy stared at the woman who’d once been her best friend in high school. “I was able to get an earlier flight back.”
“I thought you had an interview Monday with the Chicago Sun-Times,” David said with a puzzled frown.
“I did,” Christy said. Though she hadn’t expected David to jump for joy, she’d expected more than this cool reception. “But I decided I’d rather be here with you.”
“Really?” Lauren raised a skeptical brow. “I would have thought a chance for publicity would take priority.”
“Then I guess you were wrong.” Christy met Lauren’s challenging gaze with one of her own. “Nothing is more important to me than my marriage.”
The door swung open with a clatter before Lauren could respond.
“Are you two going to hang out in the kitchen the whole night?” The intruder’s voice rang with mock exasperation. “Everyone’s asking about you.”
Christy’s gaze shot to David. How long had he and Lauren been in here, anyway?
“Rusty, you remember my wife, don’t you?” David said, tilting his head in Christy’s direction.