Free Ties That Bind by Heather Huffman Page A

went in
search of Gaston. He was waiting for her at the stage door where
she’d first seen him. After brief introductions, he gave Gavin
directions to the nightclub he’d agreed to meet the others at.
    “Kate,” he grabbed her hand and pulled her
back to him as she moved to walk away. His expression was suddenly
serious.
    “If I tell you something, do you promise to
still show up?”
    “What is it?” She frowned.
    “He married one of our cellists. He’ll
probably be there tonight.”
    “Please tell me this is a bad joke,” her
frown deepened to a full-blown scowl. There were some ghosts she
preferred to leave in her past… Peter was at the top of that
list.
    “Sorry. I know; it’s a small world.”
    “Freakishly small.” She considered backing
out now that she knew.
    “We could go somewhere else if you want,” he
offered suddenly. “I’ll just call Jason so he knows I’m not
lost.”
    “No, that’s okay. I’ll be okay,” Kate lied.
It was obvious Gaston wanted to be with his other friends. She felt
like she owed him at least that much. She could feel the question
in Gavin’s gaze as they rejoined the others, but he held his
tongue.
    Kate was quiet on the ride there, trying to
quickly build a mental wall around her emotions required all of her
attention. Gavin absentmindedly stroked her arm, his own arm thrown
protectively over her shoulder. God help her, she leaned up against
him, grateful for something solid and warm to protect her.
    By the time they arrived at the noisy little
club, she’d almost convinced herself he might not even be there. So
naturally, he was the first person she came face-to-face with once
they were through the door.
    “Hello, Peter,” she smiled sweetly, the hand
behind her back nearly crushing Gavin’s.
    “Kate.” He blinked twice. “Kate. Um. You look
good. It’s good… Kate.”
    “It’s good to see you as well,” she nodded
her head demurely. “Now if you’ll excuse me, the rest of my party
is waiting.”
    She turned and walked away with as much
dignity as she could muster.
    “You aren’t going to introduce us?” Gavin
rumbled low in her ear.
    “I have absolutely no intention of doing
that.”
    “Why not?”
    “Well because either you’ll rip him apart in
some misguided burst of chivalry that will land you in jail, or
you’ll be perfectly civil to him and I’ll be mad at you for not
ripping him apart in some misguided burst of chivalry. There’s
really no way for you to win that one.”
    “Makes sense,” he agreed. “And I won’t even
ask you who he is… yet.”
    “I really appreciate that,” she closed her
eyes for a second to compose her happy face.
    “Katie! You came!” Gaston pulled her away
from Gavin to sweep her into a twirling hug that lifted her off the
ground.
    “Please stop calling me Katie or you’ll get
him going on that again,” she nodded towards Gavin, laughing in
spite of herself.
    “I make no promises. So tell me about
yourself,” he set her back on the ground but didn’t relinquish his
hold on her waist.
    “Let me introduce you to my friends first.
You’ll love them.”
    And he had instantly liked them. The evening
was a happy little dream for Kate, her old friend here in the midst
of the new. The only thing keeping her from total euphoria was the
pair of eyes that never seemed to leave her back. What was his
problem? Hadn’t he done the leaving?
    “I don’t think he’s ever really forgiven
himself,” Gaston whispered, noticing the direction of her
scowl.
    “Poor baby.” There was venom in her
voice.
    “Just throwing it out there,” Gaston shrugged
and rejoined the lively banter between Liz and Jack.
    It wasn’t until night turned to early morning
that the little group finally disbanded for home. When the limo
pulled away from Kate’s curb, it didn’t surprise her to find she
wasn’t standing alone on her sidewalk. Gavin gave her a lopsided
grin and wordlessly followed her to the fourth floor. Kate