Page 6 of This Time Around
“That’s not true!” Allie tossed her hair. “She looks just like her mother. Very beautiful.”
Jack rolled his eyes. She sounded so convincing, so sure of herself. If he hadn’t seen her face when he’d stood there on the doorstep, he might have even believed her.
“Paige’s mother died when she was eighteen months old,” he said, making Allie’s face go pale again. “And you might still be the world’s best liar, but you can’t fool me. Admit it—you haven’t cyberstalked me once in the last sixteen years.”
Allie folded her arms over her chest and met him with a level gaze he remembered with something less than fondness. “So what? Are you accusing me of that like it’s a bad thing?” She frowned. “I meant the stalking, not the lying. And I’m sorry about your w—about Paige’s mother.”
“Thank you.”
Her expression softened again, something he hadn’t seen often when they were together. The Allie he remembered never backed down, never apologized. “I mean it,” she said. “I’m really sorry.”
It was on the tip of his tongue to say, “Me, too,” but he realized she wasn’t apologizing for anything sixteen years ago. She felt bad for bringing up the dead mother of his child. He appreciated that Allie didn’t ask for details, didn’t even press to find out if he’d actually been married or if Paige was the result of some drunken fling. It would be just like her to think the worst of him, even now.
Jack volunteered nothing. He didn’t want to tell his sad story and see any trace of pity in Allie’s face. What he wanted to see was awe. Respect. Maybe embarrassed shock that he’d turned out successful, despite her predictions to the contrary. Jack Carpenter had made something of himself, dammit.
Why the hell did he need her to know that?
Jack cleared his throat. “I’m actually running my own company now,” he said. “Started out working on video games and sold one a few years ago for a pretty nice profit.”
“Wow. That’s great.”
He knew his words sounded like boastful assholery, and he ordered himself to shut the hell up.
But his tongue didn’t obey. “After that, I founded Clearwater App Development,” he continued, somehow unable to stop the flow of stupid words. “I’m actually killing two birds with one stone coming out here for my reunion. Paige and I are making the move to Portland and I’m finalizing a deal to move our headquarters from Silicon Valley, too. The tech sector is really booming here.”
He wanted to pick up those stupid metal flowers and stab himself right through the eyeball to skewer his brain. Why the hell was he giving her his fucking résumé?”
Allie stood silent for a moment, looking pleasant and polite. Then, ever the gracious hostess, she gave him a warm smile. “That’s wonderful. Congratulations. It sounds like you’ve done very well for yourself.”
He nodded, not trusting himself to open his mouth again for fear of what might come spewing out. Maybe he’d start talking about bank balances or how much he’d spent on his last car.
He should probably ask her about her own career, since she’d posted surprisingly few details on social media over the years, leaving him pretty much empty-handed when he had tried to cyberstalk her. Or maybe he could talk about something benign like food, since that’s a subject she’d always loved. He was preparing himself to ask about good restaurants in the area when Paige burst into the room.
“Daddy! Don’t forget to call your girlfriend at seven.”
Allie kept her face frozen in a mask of practiced nonchalance. In a ten-minute span, she’d gone from thinking Jack Carpenter had a beautiful wife named Paige, to realizing he was a widowed father, to knowing he had a girlfriend serious enough to require a phone call in the middle of a dinner party.
She held the most neutral expression she could, unwilling to let any of that rattle her. She felt secure with herself and her place in the world. She didn’t need a man or a million-dollar bank account or an adorable daughter with dimples that matched Jack Carpenter’s.
She saw no trace of the dimples as Jack turned to her with the tiniest hint of sheepishness in his expression. Or maybe Allie was imagining it. He held her gaze for an uncomfortable instant, then looked back at his daughter. “I don’t have a girlfriend, sweetheart.”
He was talking to Paige, but Allie sensed the comment was meant as much for her. She said nothing, though she was holding her breath, not wanting to miss a word of this conversation.
“Dad,” Paige said with the exaggerated patience of a preteen girl. “Lacey. Lacey is your girlfriend and you said you’d call her at seven.”
Jack shot another glance at Allie, and she concentrated on looking bored, like she didn’t care one way or another if Jack Carpenter had a girlfriend. Or if he had a million girlfriends. It made no difference to her.
Not now, anyway.
“She’s been on this kick lately,” he said to Allie. “Her best friend’s mom let them binge-watch a bunch of old Full House episodes and now she’s obsessed with boyfriends and girlfriends and wanting me to date someone and?—”
“Hey, it’s none of my business.” Allie shrugged and glanced toward her kitchen. Wade stood there looking like he might explode with laughter, which meant he’d heard the whole conversation.
For a lawyer, Wade had a surprisingly lousy poker face. She shot him a warning look and turned back to her guests.
“No worries if you need to make a call,” she said. “I need to put the finishing touches on dinner, so you can phone from outside or step into the guest room. It’s the second door on the right down that hall.”
Jack looked at her a moment, then nodded. “Thank you.”
