She took the can and gave him a sugary-sweet smile over one shoulder. “Here’s a news flash. I’ve become immune to your charms.”
She spun around, leaving him holding an unwanted hot dog and the urge to prove her wrong. He left the speared hot dog and went back to his chair that had conveniently been positioned next to Rachel. She didn’t hesitate to pick hers up and move it to the opposite side of the fire pit and him. If their friends hadn’t gotten the hint that this was a bad idea, they’d surely figured it out now.
Sam cleared his throat around the awkward silence and smiled. “This reminds me of old times. Remember when we ran off to Nashville that Sunday for the football game without telling our folks?”
“Who could forget?” Chase said. “We didn’t have the money to buy tickets, so we spent the day in the parking lot, tailgaiting.”
“And Matt was the only one who didn’t get grounded,” Savannah added.
Because his dad hadn’t given a rat’s ass what he did. “We should have all gotten our stories straight and then none of us would have been in trouble.”
Rachel gave him an accusatory stare. “I believe it was Matt who told Chase’s dad we went to the lake right after Chase had told him we were at the fall festival in Yazoo City.”
“Just one of my many shortcomings,” he said. “Do you want to go ahead and recite all of them while you have the chance?”
Jess jumped in quickly like a marriage referee. “Savannah’s diary got us into the most trouble.”
“Sorry,” Savannah muttered. “I had no idea my mother would read it and that she’d have the audacity to call everyone’s parents.”
Sam chuckled. “Best I recall, your dad wasn’t too happy, either. I wasn’t allowed to come over for two weeks, although that didn’t stop me from sneaking into your bedroom.”
Savannah smiled. “No, it didn’t, and we almost got caught then, too.”
“Wasn’t that the first time you two did it?” Jess asked.
Savannah’s cheeks turned red as a robin’s breast. “Yes, I believe it was.”
Sam reached over and patted her thigh. “Took me two years to convince her, but I managed to climb up that old trellis one night and sweet-talk myself right into her bed.”
“It took me five minutes to convince Jess to let me in her bed,” Chase said with a grin.
Jess rolled her eyes. “Oh, please. We didn’t plan that whole dorm-room incident. I just thought you were pokin’ fun.”
Chase leaned over and kissed his wife. “You can’t deny that was some mighty good fun.”
“A little too good,” Jess said. “That’s how we ended up with Danny. But I’m glad we did.”
Matt wasn’t too keen on the current course of conversation. Hopefully they had enough sense not to mention his and Rachel’s first time.
“When was your first time with Rachel?” Chase asked Matt.
Great. Just great. He looked at Rachel, and Rachel looked at him, right before they simultaneously said, “Our wedding night.”
Sam shook his head. “No way. To hear you tell it, Matt, you’d been doing it since the two of you hooked up in the seventh grade.”
That earned him another glare from Rachel. “Not true,” he said. “Whenever you asked, I always said that it’s disrespectful to a lady to kiss and tell.”
“He’s right,” Chase chimed in. “He was always evasive. He just let us assume they were doing it.”
“I think it’s remarkable,” Savannah said. “I can only imagine how special your wedding night was because you waited.”
Rachel shifted in her seat, a sure sign of discomfort. “It seemed like a good idea at the time, but things aren’t always what they’re cracked up to be.”
Matt could think of several responses, none of them very nice. He picked the least caustic one. “Sorry I disappointed you, sweetheart.”
Jess shot out of her chair, nearly knocking it over. “I think this hot dog’s done, and after I’ve finished this one I just might have another, since I’m eating for two now.”
That was news to Matt, but Rachel didn’t seem all that shocked by the announcement. She also didn’t seem too pleased, or maybe it was that ever-present sorrow he’d seen in her eyes for a while now. Under different circumstances, he would’ve gone to her, consoled her. But for the past few months she’d made it pretty clear she didn’t want or need his consolation. No reason to think she’d welcome it now.
She did put on her happy face, but she still couldn’t fool him. “How far along are you, Jess?”
Jess returned with a plateful of food and lowered herself into the chair. “Twelve weeks. I suppose you could say this is a honeymoon baby.”
Sam frowned. “You two got married four months ago, not three.”
Chase winked at his wife. “It was a long honeymoon.”
“Yes, it was,” Jess added. “And we wanted to wait to tell everyone, just in case.”
In case something happened with the pregnancy. Matt had been told that problems usually occurred during the first trimester, only his son had been born later in Rachel’s pregnancy. He’d been informed after the fact that having a baby always posed some risk to mother and child if something went wrong, which it had. That was a risk he didn’t care to take again. A risk he wouldn’t take again.
Rachel suddenly stood and rubbed a temple with her fingertips. “I’m sorry to cut the evening short, but I have a headache. Savannah, do you mind taking me home?”
“Not at all.”
Rachel didn’t hesitate before she took off through the trees, heading for the car at a fast clip. Matt rose and brushed past Savannah before she could move. “I’ll handle this,” he called over one shoulder, although he had no idea how he’d handle it. He only knew he had to try.
He found Rachel standing by Savannah’s luxury sedan, arms folded across her middle, her head slightly lowered. He figured she could be crying, but he also knew she’d do her best to hide it from him.
“You okay?” he asked as he approached her.
She swiped at the moisture on her cheeks with her fingertips. “No, I’m not okay. I’m tired and I want to go home.”
He saw an opportunity and grabbed it. “I’ll take you home.”
“That’s not a good idea.”
Stubborn woman. “It’s just a ride. I won’t ask to come in or pressure you into anything. We don’t even have to talk.”
“That wouldn’t be a first.” She lifted her chin and sent him a determined look. “I’d rather have Savannah take me.”
He intended to keep prodding her until she gave in. “No reason to inconvenience her when it’s on my way.”
“I appreciate the offer, but no thanks. If you want to help, then please go back and tell Savannah I’m ready to leave.”
Apparently she wasn’t going to budge, and he decided not to waste his time. He backed away, hands held up in surrender. “Fine. At least you can’t accuse me of not trying to give you what you need, although lately I damn sure don’t know what you need from me.”
“I need…” Her gaze drifted away. “Never mind.”
He did mind, but he sure as hell wasn’t