Page 60 of Heat Advisory

“I’m going to get a drink,” I said and then slowly walked to the bar area to catch my breath.

Jay was right, though. Some walls were meant to be broken. Others were meant to be broken while pinned against them.

Funny enough, I couldn’t wait for Jay to do both.

After Morgan and her husband left for the night, I stayed to help Mrs. Rainer collect Morgan’s gifts so she could put them in her car.

The whole time, I kept eyeing Jay from across the room. And every time I looked, his eyes were on me. Usually my butt, but sometimes my face or what I was lifting, but always on me.

I grabbed the final box Mrs. Rainer had given me to put all the gifts in as Jay walked over to me.

“You almost done? Or can I grab something?” he asked. “I’m here to speed this along.”

His grin told me why he wanted to speed this along, and wanted that too, so I pointed to the cards on the next table over and told him to gather them up.

I had just put the last gift in the box when I heard a voice I hadn’t heard in years call out behind me.

“Jay, is that you?”

“Yes, it’s me,” Jay responded to her.

“It’s me, Regina Wallis. We went to high school together.”

Regina Wallis. She’d been the most popular girl in school and had made no secret of the fact that she had a crush on Jay.

“I’m vacationing with some girlfriends here and was peeking into the room to see what was going on, and I thought that was you tucked in the corner.” Her voice was so saccharine sweet that it made me want to puke.

“Good to see you,” he responded, and I could tell from the look on his face that he didn’t remember her. That made me feel good inside.

“What are you up to?” she asked, taking a few steps closer. “Did you move back home?”

The look in her eyes was predatory, and I felt my body moving of its own free will toward him.

“No, I’m just here for Morgan’s wedding. I live in Reno now,” he responded, continuing to grab the cards.

I kept my eyes on her as I set the box on the table in front of him and then put my hand on his arm. “Do you need help, babe?”

He glanced up at me and then my hand on his arm and gave a small, wry smile back to me. He knew what I was doing and found it funny.

“I’m sorry… Who are you?” Regina asked me, clearly not happy that I was interrupting her chance to flirt with Jay.

“I’m Cora O’Hara, Jay’s fiancée,” I told her, placing myself between her and Jay.

She looked at my hand with the ring on it, which I had strategically placed on top of my other hand resting over my stomach. She looked up at me and then over at Jay to have him confirm.

“Cora also went to high school with us, but she was in Morgan’s class,” Jay responded, putting his hands on my hips.

She stared at his hands, then back at him, and I noticed the change in her demeanor. “So, I guess this takes me out of the running?” she asked, as if my confirmation of this wasn’t good enough.

I knew the question was meant for Jay, but I was ready to go upstairs, and this was only delaying it, so I decided to intervene. “You were never in the running. You’re not exactly my type.”

I heard Jay snort behind me and his hands at my hips squeezed a little, but I just kept strong.

“I meant…” Regina started to say, but I cut her off.

“I know what you meant, but he’s mine and about to marry me, so he’s off-limits,” I said politely while making my point very clear.

Her face went from sweet, to confused, to pissed off in just a few seconds. “Well, it was good to see you, Jay. Have a nice night.”