Broken(14)

Before Jocelyn could reply, Decker gave his brother a playful shove and grabbed Jocelyn, twirling her around. She giggled. “Put me down. You’re making me dizzy.”

Decker grinned, putting her back down as instructed. “You look great. New York has been kind to you. We’re all so proud of how your career turned out.”

Jocelyn felt shy all of a sudden at the mention of her career. “Thank you. Um, Ridge, Decker, this is my good friend Kyla who’s visiting with me.”

Decker smiled wolfishly as he eyed the tall beauty up and down. He took her hand in his and brought it to his lips. “Any close friend of Jocelyn’s is a close friend of mine, or at least I hope so.”

Ridge took the model’s other hand. “Don’t listen to him, sweetness. He’s full of hot air. Nice to meet you.”

“Okay, give the lady some room,” Stone growled, appearing at their side like lightning. He took Kyla by the elbow and guided her away from his brothers. “Sit next to me.” There was a note of command in that invitation.

Kyla moistened her lips with the tip of her tongue and glanced Jocelyn’s way. Help me was stamped all over her face.

Jocelyn hooked her arm through Kyla’s. “She’s sitting by me.”

Aunt Earlene objected. “Now don’t you all go messing up my seating arrangements.” The laid-back matron quickly morphed into drill sergeant at the mention of her dinner seating being tampered with. “Kyla, you can sit next to Ridge on the end, and Jocelyn can sit with Cade.”

The moment she’d feared since her arrival was finally here and all she wanted to do was bolt. Though the need to turn around and leave without a backward glance seized her, she somehow found the nerve to remain where she stood. Reluctantly, she sought Cade out among the diners.

Before she could help herself, a gasp escaped her lips when her gaze collided with a pair of piercing blue eyes narrowed with blatant hostility. The old cliché if looks could kill came to mind, but it wasn’t a strong enough description. Not only would she be dead on the spot, she’d be six feet under as well. Never had she been on the other end of so much contempt, and it twisted her on the insides. Yet, she couldn’t break eye contact.

Cade Devlin. The first man she’d truly loved, and probably the only one she ever would. Her breath came out in short pants and her heart beat at an erratic pace. The pure hatred radiating from him held her paralyzed. Even if she wanted to move, Jocelyn couldn’t. She’d expected some hard feelings, but not this animosity so strong she could feel it in her bones. The tension must have been felt by Kyla too because she sprang to her rescue.

“Aunt Earlene, if you don’t mind very much, could I switch places with Jocelyn? I hate to cause trouble but I have this thing about being close to a window.”

Jocelyn knew what Kyla was doing and she appreciated her for it. It was one thing to sit at the same table with him glaring at her throughout dinner, but being so close to him, there would have been no hope of eating a single bite.

Earlene sighed as if she realized her seating chart was doomed, but ever the gracious hostess, she nodded accommodatingly. “Of course, sweetheart.”

Kyla grasped Jocelyn’s arm, forcing her to tear her gaze from the angry blond still shooting daggers at her with his eyes. The concern marring the other woman’s face was enough to snap Jocelyn out of her small panic attack. Pasting a smile on her face, she waved at her father and Lavern, who were already seated, as she moved to take her seat next to Ridge.

After taking her seat, she realized this arrangement wasn’t much better because Cade sat across the table. Though one chair over from her direct line of vision, he was still close enough for her to catch him out the corner of her eye. This was going to be a long dinner. She silently prayed for the strength to get through it without having a complete freak out.