Cross My Heart (A Contemporary Romance Novel)

a sign that he wanted things to be normal between them again, and no way was she passing up that chance. So she’d gone over, and Michael had cracked his head against that cupboard door, clearly shocked to see her. She’d almost turned tail and run.
    But then, somehow, things had turned out okay. Almost normal again.
    Except for those moments, like right now, when she looked at him and pictured him naked.
    She looked away again but she knew her cheeks were pink. Then she heard muffled music and realized with relief that it was her cell phone.
    She pulled it out of her pocket and glanced at the screen. “Excuse me for a minute,” she said, getting up from the table and going into the front hallway to answer the call.
    “Hey, Molly. Are we still on for Tuesday?”
    “Definitely. We’ll be there in the afternoon. Where are we rehearsing?”
    “An auditorium at a local college.”
    “Sounds good.” Her old friend paused, and when she went on again her voice was uncertain. “Listen, Jenna. There’s something I wanted to run past you. Last night Barb called, and she’s gone off to India or Thailand or someplace. She said she’ll be back by September, but she’s going to miss rehearsals and the first couple of shows.”
    Jenna groaned. “Great, just great. How are we going to find a bass player at the last—”
    “I found one.”
    “You did? Who?”
    “You’re not going to like it.”
    “Why wouldn’t I—” She stopped. “Oh, no, you didn’t. Are you kidding me?”
    She sank down on the stairs and massaged her temples with one hand.
    “Jenna, it’s no big deal. Derek and I aren’t together or anything. We haven’t been for a long time. If you want to know the truth...I think he kind of...regrets things. The way things ended, I mean.”
    “Damn it, Molly. I assumed when we agreed to this reunion tour that Derek wouldn’t even be a topic of conversation, much less part of the band. I don’t want to see him, and I definitely don’t want to be on the same stage with him.”
    “He knows every one of our songs. He’s a great musician. And he jumped at the idea when I mentioned it to him. Jenna, he really has changed. You know he’s been in AA since Irontown broke up—”
    “No, I didn’t know that. I didn’t know that because I don’t care about Derek and I don’t care what he—”
    “Please just think about it. Okay? Not just because of the band, but—” Molly hesitated. “I hated it too, you know. The way things ended. The three of us were such good friends, before—”
    “Before you betrayed my trust and broke my heart?”
    She regretted the words as soon as they came out of her mouth. She’d meant them to be flip, but they’d come out sounding bitter.
    She closed her eyes and leaned her head against the wall. Maybe Molly was right. All that crap with Derek had gone down years ago. If she really had moved on the way she believed, wouldn’t this be the best way to prove it to herself?
    She’d forgiven Molly. Maybe it was time to forgive Derek, too.
    “Sorry,” she said after a moment. “I will think about it. Okay? I’ll call you back in a few hours.”
    “You will, really?”
    “Yes.”
    “You’re the best, Jenna. You know that? And I’m beyond psyched that we’re going to be playing together again.”
    When she thought about the music, she was psyched too. When she thought about the people involved, she was a little more ambivalent.
    She stayed where she was another minute or two, her eyes still closed. Then she heard someone sit down next to her.
    “Are you all right?”
    She opened her eyes to see Michael sitting one step down, which put his head about level with hers. His brown eyes were serious and concerned. She let herself feel warmed by that concern, but then the memory of another expression flashed into her mind—the memory of Michael looking down at her in bed, his eyes hot and hungry and possessive.
    She swallowed and looked away. “I’m fine.”
    “You sounded a little upset on the phone.” He paused for a second and then added, “I didn’t hear what you were talking about, just the tone of your voice. And then you were just sitting here...”
    She shifted so she was sideways on the step, her head resting against the wall. “Want to hear something funny?”
    He shifted too, leaning back against the banister and facing her. “Sure.”
    “Do you remember the guy I told you about? The one I was ready to marry, until I found out he was cheating