She checked the address on the card once again against the street address in front of her. She'd be lying if she said she wasn't nervous. He'd invited her, sure, but this wasn't what they usually did; this veered off course from their usual interactions. A celebration, for once, instead of a crisis. Planned and premeditated, instead of sought out desperately in moments of need.
She'd considered not coming. Leaving this part of his personal life to his personal life. They had a connection that was intense, honest, and real, and she never doubted for a second how much he meant to her, and how much she knew she meant to him. But theirs wasn't a normal relationship. It was a singularity.
Still, she'd been there for his first book release, and she'd decided she'd be damned if she missed his second.
She smoothed out her skirt and made her way inside.
The layout was similar to Truncheon, but had a bit more of an industrial feel. The turnout seemed good, and she immediately scanned the room for Jess. Her plan was to make sure to find him at some point in the evening, and lose herself in books (it was a publishing house, after all) or easy small-talk for the rest of the night. Not seeing him right away, but spotting a bench by a bookshelf in the corner, she made her way over.
At some point in the evening he found her. True to form, she'd lost track of her whereabouts while lost in prose. His new release was engaging but never over-simplified, having the unique qualities of being honestly interesting while still provoking and challenging.
"Up to your usual standards?" he asked.
At the sound of his voice, her focus pulled back into the real world. She looked up at him and told him, almost reprimanding, "Jess. This is amazing."
He smiled at her, amused. "Glad you like it, I think. It's really not much, but I can't say I'm not excited to see it picked up."
"It's so much more than 'not much' and you know it. I'm expecting you to sign it later, and don't even think about refusing."
He shook his head but didn't stop smiling, flattered and proud in that self-deprecating way that came so naturally to him. "Come up front, I want to introduce you to a few people."
True to her word, by the end of the night she really had made him sign her copy. The party was beginning to wind down, and she turned to him seriously before she made her own exit.
"I know it's cliché, but I have to say it: I'm really proud of you, Jess. I know Truncheon closing was hard on you, but this is just more proof of how talented you are. Getting published again by the same company is hard enough; finding someone new to take you on is ten times harder. I'm really happy for you." She said the words genuinely, and while he had to try hard not to squirm under the praise, he didn't doubt her sincerity for a second.
"Thanks, Rory. It means a lot to me that you came." He reached out to touch her arm and in the process noticed the new ring adorning her hand. He wasn't sure how he'd missed it before.
He nodded at her left hand and said, "You got some news of your own to share?"
She seemed confused for a second, then sheepish. "Oh. Um, yeah. You remember Daniel, my boyfriend? He proposed." Despite her hesitant smile, her eyes lit up when she said it.
Wow. "You're engaged." He was not expecting that tonight.
"Yes. Yes, I am." She couldn't help but grin when she answered, beaming outright. "I'm excited, Jess. I think this is really right for me, finally."
He didn't voice the questions that came to his mind: Wasn't it awfully fast? Was she sure about it being "right"? What exactly made her think that? And how could she be sure, considering this boyfriend never seemed to actually be around when she needed him? Instead he managed to smile back at her and offer his congratulations. He had no right to expect her to share the good things in her life; no right to ask her to explain her choices. He was the one who'd reached out to her tonight, deciding to share something important to him. Yes, she'd come, but that didn't mean she was under any obligation to do the same; to include him in any more than just the hard parts of her own life. He knew his uncensored opinions had no place here. Besides, she truly seemed happy. Maybe it was him; maybe there were other reasons for his mixed reaction. Reasons and feelings he could excavate and analyze later. Reasons he hoped didn't look like jealousy.
For now though, he just gave her a hug and wished her the best. Tonight, they both had good things going for them in their lives and no big tragedies to weigh them down. For the moment at least, life, ostensibly, was cooperating. There was no sense in over-complicating it.
A/N: Aaand, we're back! This chapter is woefully short, but doesn't quite work with being combined with the next, so I'm just putting it up and putting it out there. Eventually, I'll be reformatting this whole fic to flow better, fingers crossed. For now, you just get two chapters for the price of one. ;) As always, please read & review! -Z