Most of the guests had cleared out, so I went in search of Serena to see if there was anything I could start cleaning up, packing up, or whatever. I was getting tired and needed something to keep me busy before I found a corner and nodded off.

I walked into the back, and when I first saw her chatting with Kylie, I wanted to run in the other direction.

Kylie was not my favorite person, and the last thing I needed right now was to have to fend off her advances.

But the way they were talking, the closeness, the whispering, gave me pause.

Did they know each other? I didn’t think they did, other than a little interaction during filming, which didn’t seem like enough for Kylie to be attending Serena’s big night. Rena had never said anything about Kylie at all, but if they knew each other, why wouldn’t she?

I stepped closer and heard something about a bet … What the hell was going on?

“Give me a break, Kylie,” Serena said, her voice taking on a frosty tone. In fact, her whole demeanor had changed, making her look more like the woman who’d first moved in next door, rather than the one I’d been spending my nights with.

“It’s okay, Serena, you can be honest. If you were able to land Jed, when I obviously wasn’t, I’ll pay up,” Kylie said, sending my thoughts scrambling. “C’mon, you’ve known me forever, you know I always pay my bets.”

What the fuck?

“What’s going on here?” I asked, stepping forward, unable to hold my tongue any longer.

Serena’s façade cracked a bit when she saw me, but Kylie’s smile grew coy as she said, “Jed, just the man I was hoping to see.”

“Serena, what’s going on?” I asked again, ignoring Kylie and focusing on the woman I was falling in love with.

“Nothing, ah, Kylie just stopped in to see how the show was going,” Rena replied, her lie filling me with anger and betrayal.

“Don’t lie,” I ordered, my tone hard. “What bet is she talking about?”

“There was no bet,” Serena argued, but I cut her off and turned to Kylie. “What were you just talking about?”

“Just a little wager we had about who could bag you first,” Kylie explained innocently. “It was no big deal, Jed, nothing to get your panties in a twist about. Just something between two high school friends.”

“Jed, I never agreed to any bet,” Serena said, placing her hand on my arm.

I jerked my arm away, too angry to have her touching me.

“But you knew about a bet, and you know her … have known her since high school,” I stated, wanting her to deny it, but not sure if she’d tell me the truth regardless. She’d lied to me a few seconds ago, maybe she’d been lying the whole time.

“Oh, even longer than that,” Kylie offered.

I shot her a glare, then turned back to Serena, who was in full haughty ice queen mode. Her head held high, nose in the air, looking at me the same way she’d looked at the movers that day.

“I already told you I didn’t make a bet about you. Yes, I’ve known Kylie a long time, but we aren’t, and have never been, friends. She’s here trying to cause trouble.”

“So what were you doing with me, then, huh? Slumming it?” I asked, so angry and confused that I had to clench my hands at my sides to try and rein it all in.

I was cognizant of the fact that we were still at the gallery and there were other people around. As angry as I was, I didn’t want to make a scene. I wasn’t that guy anymore. But, I also wasn’t a guy who enjoyed being fucked with like I was some sort of boy toy.

“No, of course not,” Serena replied coldly, her tone pissing me off even more. “I’m afraid we’ll have to finish this discussion later. I still have clients … guests, and I need to see to them and finish out the night. Jed, I’ll talk to you later. Kylie, you need to leave.”

Serena turned and glided out, like a queen going to see her subject.

“Now that she’s gone, what do you say we get out of here?” Kylie had the nerve to say.

I turned my head and said, “How about you stay the fuck away from me.”

I ignored her gasp, walked around her, and headed out the back door.

My mind was reeling and my emotions were going haywire. I needed time to think, to release some of this anger and energy, and I needed to get far away from Serena, her fucked-up friend Kylie, and whatever the hell had just happened inside that gallery.

I drove home, a little faster than necessary, and headed straight for my workshop.

I turned my music on, loud, took off the stupid jacket and tie I’d been wearing, along with the button-up shirt, which left me in my T-shirt and slacks.

I looked around the room, nothing I was currently working on was calling to me, and decided to start on a new river table. It would take a lot of time, muscle, and concentration, and was just what I needed in that moment.

I got out everything I’d need: Power jointer, jigsaw, hand saw, circular saw, and some other smaller tools, then went to the back of my shop to pick out the wood I wanted to use. Once I had a few nice pieces of cedar, I went back inside, set them against the wall, then grabbed one for my table.

I took a few deep, calming breaths, needing to get my head on straight before I worked with power tools. I may have been a hot head, but I wasn’t an idiot.

I allowed myself one stray thought and wondered, which Serena was the real one … the stuck-up woman with a heart of ice, or the sweet, funny, caring woman I’d been with over the last few weeks.

I was almost afraid of the answer, so I blocked it all out and found that space in my head where I could shut off the world and just create.