“Yup.”
“So what brings you into town?” James asked. “Business? Pleasure?”
Pleasure. Definitely pleasure, Will thought, not letting himself glance at Brynn.
“Will doesn’t do business,” Brynn said casually. “He’s unemployed.”
Self-employed, he mentally corrected. But he didn’t say it out loud. Didn’t want to ruin the slacker playboy image she had of him just yet.
“Just reacquainting myself with my old stomping grounds,” Will replied. “Wrapping up a few loose ends that I left hanging when I moved.”
This time, he did glance at Brynn, but she didn’t meet his eyes.
“That’s right, you moved rather suddenly, right?” James asked politely.
Brynn let out a brittle laugh. “Slunk out in the middle of the night is more like it.”
James frowned at her tone. No doubt he wasn’t used to seeing his perfect girlfriend be anything less than pleasant. Will would have warned the guy what he was getting into, except Will had no intention of letting James maintain his status in Brynn’s life for much longer. The very thought of it made his knuckles itch.
“Yeah, my departure was sort of a whim. Seattle just seemed so…vapid back then,” Will said, taking a slow sip of wine and making it clear that it wasn’t the city that was vapid, so much as the woman standing in front of him.
“Mmm, yes,” Brynn mused. “It must have been disheartening to realize you’d slept with the entire female population in the area. Don’t worry, there’s a whole new set of girls who have come of age since you left.”
“Gotta keep it legal,” Will said with a grin.
“Disgusting,” she muttered.
“Well, it was nice finally meeting you, Will,” James said, breaking the awkward silence.
“Likewise,” Will lied.
James slid an arm around Brynn’s narrow waist. “Brynn, sweetheart, if you’re done here, could you come with me for a second? There’s something I’ve been waiting to do, and I want your full attention.”
“Oh, I’m definitely done here,” Brynn said. “William, it was so nice seeing you again. I’m sure our paths won’t cross before you go back, so have a safe flight back to Boston.”
Yeah, about that…
But it wasn’t time to drop his little bomb just yet, so Will merely lifted a finger in response, and watched as James led Brynn away. Setting his wineglass on an empty table, he headed for the coat check. He’d done what he’d come to do. Stage one complete.
Excited murmuring caught his attention as he slipped on his leather jacket, and he turned back to see what the excitement was about. God knew it wouldn’t be Brynn. “Excitement” wasn’t in her vocabulary.
He was wrong.
Everybody’s attention was on Brynn.
The crowd shifted slightly and Will froze as he took in the full picture.
In her hand was a tiny j
ewelry box.
A ring-sized jewelry box.
Will’s gut twisted and it suddenly felt hard to breathe. It’s your damn fault. You stayed away too long licking your wounds.
And now he was too late.
CHAPTER THREE