The tall redhead shifted his gaze and a flush raced up his neck, turning his face as red as his hair. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know—”
“No problem,” David said quickly. “You didn’t interrupt anything. The three of us were just catching up.”
Rusty’s gaze returned to Christy. Now that she’d had a chance to study him for a moment, she realized he looked vaguely familiar, though she still couldn’t place him.
“I don’t believe we’ve met.” Christy extended her hand. “I’m Christy—”
“I know who you are.” Rusty made no move to take her hand. “We went to high school together.”
“Really?” Christy let her hand fall to her side. “I’m afraid I don’t remember you. I don’t think I knew anyone in high school named Rusty.”
“It’s Aaron.” David cast the redhead a censuring gaze. “No one except the guys on the baseball team called him Rusty back then.”
Aaron.
A light went on in Christy’s head. Though she’d never had any classes with Aaron Addison, she knew who he was. He’d been one of David’s friends and the guy who’d doggedly pursued Lauren all through high school.
She shifted her gaze and took another look. He’d been a good five inches shorter back then and his hair had been longer and bushier. But it was definitely him.
“It’s been a long time, Rusty.” Christy offered him a polite smile. “How have you been?”
Rusty ignored her question. His gaze dropped to the ring on her left hand. “I understand you and David got hitched when he was in Las Vegas.”
“That’s right.” The blatant disapproval in his tone took Christy by surprise. She wondered if it was her that was the problem or marriage in general. “So are you married, Rusty?”
“Nope.” Rusty cast a sideways glance at David. “I’m not going to settle.”
He could have been merely voicing what hundreds of other single men and women said every day. But if that was the case why did his gaze shift to David? And why did David’s jaw tense?
“Good for you.” Christy lifted her chin. “I don’t think anyone should settle on something as important as marriage.”
“I agree,” David said. He smiled and moved to Christy’s side. “I’m glad we waited for each other.”
Warmth flowed through Christy at the unexpected show of support. Before she’d left Las Vegas, she and David had agreed to present a united front. And they’d promised to keep to themselves the fact that they weren’t ecstatically happy about their marriage. So his words shouldn’t have surprised her. But they did.
Christy returned David’s smile. His dimples flashed and his arm slipped about her waist.
She breathed in his strong masculine scent and reveled in his closeness. And in that moment, for the first time since she’d arrived in St. Louis, happily ever after didn’t seem quite so far out of reach.
Christy stared at the steaming cup of hot chocolate. At the party there had been so many people to talk to, so many people to meet. But since they’d walked through David’s front door, it was as if Christy’s normally busy tongue had decided to tie itself into knots.
“Having Entertainment Today at Sara’s party was really a stroke of good fortune.” David took a sip of the cocoa and peered at Christy over the top of his cup. “You can’t buy that kind of publicity.”
A chill traveled up Christy’s spine. Did he sound suspicious or was that only her own overactive imagination? Christy took a deep, steadying breath and resisted the urge to chatter mindlessly, something she had a tendency to do when she was nervous.
“No, you can’t.” Keeping her gaze lowered, Christy took great care stirring the mound of whipped cream into the steaming cocoa.
“Did you know they were there?” David raised a questioning brow. “You didn’t seem surprised when Sara came to get you.”
“That’s because she warned me when I got there.” Christy licked the sweet cream off the spoon. “She asked if I’d mind being in a few shots and I said no, that’d be fine with me.”
The tension in David’s face eased. “You and Sara certainly seemed to hit it off.”
The interview segment had gone well because of that fact. The bond that she’d felt with Sara had translated into an easy camaraderie when the camera rolled. Christy nodded. “Sara’s great. I can see why she’s one of your closest friends. Her husband seems very nice, too.”
“Crow’s a great guy.”
“Crow?” Christy frowned. “I thought his name was Sal?”
David laughed, and once again that dimple she found so cute flashed in his cheek. “Sal used to be an undercover cop, and Crow was his street name.”
“Crow.” Christy rolled the word around on her tongue and wrinkled her nose. “He doesn’t look like a Crow to me.”
“You should have seen him when Sara first hooked up with him.” David shook his head. “He had hair past his shoulders and a permanent scowl on his face. When she announced they were getting married, everyone was shocked.”
“I can’t imagine why.” The picture David painted didn’t jibe with what Christy had seen at the party. “Anyone can see they love each other very much.”
“There’s no question about that,” David said. “In fact, Sara always said it was a match made in heaven. She’s made a believer out of me.”
“Maybe a year from now they’ll be saying that about our marriage,” Christy said lightly.
“Our marriage? Made in heaven?” David laughed. “I have a hard time seeing the Elvis impersonator who married us as God’s emissary.”
“God works in mysterious ways,” Christy quipped, fighting to keep a straight face.
“Think about it. Two words,” David said. “Elvis. Sin City.”
“That’s three words.” Christy’s lips twitched. “But look at it this way. After that kind of start, we have nowhere to go but up.”
“Funny you should mention going up.” David’s hazel eyes shone with a curious intensity. “I was just thinking about going up. Up to bed, that is. Care to join me?”
He stood and circled the table, holding out his hand.
Christy knew what he was asking. A shiver of excitement traveled the length of her spine. She’d realized she’d been kidding herself. She had missed him. “Sure, but it’ll cost you.”
“Cost me?” A frown furrowed his brow.
“Not money, silly,” Christy said with a laugh. “I was thinking something more along the lines of a song. I vaguely remember a hunky guy singing ‘Love Me Tender’ in the Jacuzzi that first night. I’d like a repeat performance.”
A hint of red colored his neck. “You can’t be serious.”
“You did it before,” she reminded him.
“Yeah, but I’d also had a little wine.”
“C’mon, David,” she said with a saucy smile, surprising herself with her boldness. “It’ll be a good time.”