“You figure he timed his departure to coincide with a day when everyone would be distracted?” he guessed.
“Right.” Luke nodded, scraping his dart off the desk and passing it from hand to hand like a hot potato. “And despite the proposal and all the drama of that day when the locals were putting Rachel on the spot, asking her where she’d been or if she’d said yes, she never once sought out her father?”
Gavin shook his head, unable to make the leap in his friend’s logic. “I don’t follow. So what?”
“She was only eighteen and all of Yuletide was demanding answers from her about why she skipped the parade and why she wouldn’t marry me. Wouldn’t it have made sense to call in her father—affable Chris Chambers, the founder of Yuletide and everyone’s favorite perennial Santa—to run interference for her?” Luke quit tossing the dart back and forth. He met Gavin’s gaze with an unblinking stare. “I’ve always wondered if her dad warned her he was leaving and she knew perfectly well he was already long gone by then. She could have been covering for him.”
“Impossible.” Although even as he said it, he wondered if he was quick to defend her because it was a reflex, or because he truly believed in her. “The cops questioned her—”
Was he still letting an attraction to Rachel overrule common sense? It made him wary that everyone else suspected her of something.
“We don’t know how much they asked her though. They were following the money. And I’m sure she didn’t know he was taking those town funds until afterward.” Luke flicked the fins of the dart with his finger. “But she could have known he was leaving and did him a favor by not calling attention to him that day. She certainly couldn’t have helped him any more if she tried.”
That last part was true enough. But none of the rest.
“No.” Gavin didn’t buy it. “You ended up helping him far more than she did. Chris Chambers saw a good time to leave and he took it. Your proposal was the perfect cover.”
“Maybe.” Luke moved to take his next shot while the party outside suddenly quieted. “I just know she and her mother sure never suffered financially afterward. I’d have a care about how close you let Rachel get to you, Gav.”
“You’re way off base,” Gavin told him as he wandered toward the open door to the hallway, wondering what was going on in the living room. “She didn’t sell you out to the town that day; she was unwilling to make things uncomfortable for you.”
That said a hell of a lot about her character in his book. He had always seen something special in her—even back when she’d been dating Luke and Gavin had forced himself to stay away. He hadn’t been the right kind of guy for her then and he sure wasn’t the right kind of man for her now with a career on the other side of the globe. But the Rachel he remembered had always possessed a gift for making people feel good about themselves. For making the world around her a little brighter. It bugged him to think she’d stifled that side of herself since then. Yuletide needed more of that playful spirit.
It also bugged him that Luke didn’t bother answering him. He was too busy looking over Gavin’s shoulder toward the living room to see why the party had gone silent.
Surprise, surprise.
Rachel was coming down the stairs with Kiersten, Emma and two of the other bridesmaids behind her.
All eyes turned toward her, the party going quiet. Quieter.
Dead silent.
One by one, the bridesmaids peeled away.
There was no way he was going to let his date stand there alone with most of Yuletide glaring up at her. He glanced over at the vacated karaoke stage heaped with baskets of feather boas, tiaras and big sunglasses for the aspiring stars. He spotted a beat-up guitar in the corner and a game plan came together.
Gavin strode to the bottom of the stairs and held out a hand to his descending date. He’d been apart from her for only an hour, but he’d forgotten how beautiful she looked tonight in her red dress and her Ugly Christmas Sweater Vest. She held her head high, dark hair shining in the warm glow of a pine-bough-laden chandelier.
“Looks like the stage is all ours,” he announced, never one to shy away from a moment in the spotlight. Even if this moment cost him any sway he had with the townspeople. “Time to entertain this rapt crowd with a holiday duet.”
Chapter Five
Rachel had braved a homecoming to fulfill her pact with her girlfriends. Then she’d faced a date with Gavin Blake even though she was still way too attracted to him. Tonight, she’d forced herself back into the presence of people who didn’t trust her and clearly didn’t want her around.
What more damage could it possibly do to sing a song?
As the party guests stared her down in the Garretts’ living room, she thought she might be more comfortable singing for them than having to make actual conversation. Besides, Gavin seemed determined to stick by her through this hellish evening and she didn’t like the idea of him having to make stilted conversation by her side. He didn’t deserve any of this hostile reception.
Bottom line: a song seemed easiest.
“What will we sing?” she asked Gavin even as he whisked her toward the low, makeshift stage that was draped with a few green Christmas tree skirts.
A low rumble of interest—or, more likely, a protest brewing—went through the crowd while Gavin sorted through a box of props on the stage.
“I heard you sing ‘What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve?’ for the Yuletide Summer Queen contest.” He set a tiara in her hair, tilting it this way and that until he was satisfied. “We can do that as a duet. You lead; I’ll take the second stanza.”
He dragged a couple of stools to center stage, putting them side by side.
“Right.” She peered out over the crowd. And sure enough, there were scowling faces. But Kiersten was there, too, surrounded by Emma and the bridesmaids who had at least been open-minded enough to let her pitch refashioned dress ideas without walking out of the room. “Because that summer doesn’t hold any bad memories for anyone.”
Gavin wrapped a white boa around her neck, faux feathers flying. His green eyes locked on hers.
“I had some really good times that year.”
Her heart skipped a beat as her thoughts raced to that one unforgettable kiss. If her world hadn’t derailed right afterward, it would have been a highlight for her, too.
“Um.” She licked her lips, throat gone dry. She couldn’t think of an argument when her thoughts were humming with runaway romantic thoughts. “Okay.”
The grin that stole over his face revved her pulse and made it easier to think about him than about all those cranky faces filling the restless living room.
Gavin picked up the guitar that looked more suited to a teen than a grown-up. It must be three-quarter size. But still, he tuned it quickly, making a few adjustments as he took a seat on his barstool.