Chapter 451 - Just Someone

Chapter 451: Chapter 451 - Just Someone

Zac looked surprised, although it lasted only a moment before his expression returned to normal.

"Roxie."

Jesus. Hearing him say her name again was strange. Seeing him this close felt even stranger.

She’d already gotten a good look at him when he arrived, but standing a few feet away was different. Those familiar blue eyes were looking directly at her now, and she could see the tattoos along his neck more clearly. He even smelled good, which was irritating considering she’d spent the entire walk over here preparing herself to behave like a perfectly reasonable adult.

She smiled anyway. "Hi, Zac."

"Didn’t know you were coming."

"Neither did I, until a few days ago."

He nodded. "I see."

And that was it.

Roxie waited for him to say something else, perhaps ask how she’d been or make some comment about seeing her after so long. Instead, Zac took a sip from his glass, looking perfectly comfortable with the conversation apparently being over.

Well, fuck you too.

She’d walked all the way over here, and that was the extent of their reunion?

For God’s sake, she hadn’t even expected anything special. A simple question about how she’d been would have been enough. Even Jace had managed to ask about her work, and the man only talked to her during football games.

Kyle glanced between them, his earlier smile fading slightly. Mason had gone quiet too, looking visibly uncomfortable as his eyes moved from Zac to her. At least one of them was showing some emotion about this ridiculous encounter.

Roxie maintained her smile and turned toward Kyle.

"Anyway, I was just saying hello. I haven’t greeted everyone yet."

"Good seeing you, Roxie," Zac said.

She looked back at him.

Good seeing you?

God, he sounded like someone she’d worked with at a conference.

"You too," she answered, keeping her smile in place.

She was already preparing to leave when Mason cleared his throat.

"So, Roxie, are you joining us tomorrow? Kyle’s been trying to get everyone on that boat."

Her body paused before she’d even taken a step.

Wonderful.

She wasn’t sure whether to thank the bastard or curse him. She’d come over here to show everyone they could speak normally, and now Mason was apparently determined to keep her standing beside Zac for another five minutes.

Then again, leaving after barely exchanging a few words might give the people watching them something else to talk about.

God, why did she even care?

"Apparently I don’t have a choice. Ava’s already decided for me."

Kyle laughed. "Good. We’re going to have a great time."

Roxie turned toward him, grateful that someone was finally saying something normal. She asked about the boat and whether Kendall had planned more activities afterward, and Kyle started explaining the schedule while Mason complained that nobody had asked whether he wanted to spend an entire day on the lake.

"You’re the best man," Kyle reminded him. "You have responsibilities."

"Since when does that include sitting on a boat all day?"

"Since I decided it does."

Mason shook his head. "I should’ve charged you for this."

Kyle laughed, and Roxie found herself relaxing a little as their conversation continued. The two men were arguing about the following day’s plans, with Mason insisting that he deserved some time to enjoy his vacation.

Zac remained beside them, occasionally joining the conversation when Kyle addressed him.

He seemed perfectly comfortable.

Which was beginning to irritate Roxie.

She knew ten years had passed. She’d hardly expected him to throw his arms around her or start reminiscing about their relationship in front of everyone. But for God’s sake, they could at least acknowledge that they hadn’t seen each other in a decade.

She’d gotten a warmer reception from Jace, and the man had barely spoken to her outside football games.

"So, are you still working in New York?" Mason asked her.

"Yeah. Same network."

"Still doing the evening news?"

"For now."

Mason raised an eyebrow. "For now?"

Roxie smiled. "Long story."

It was an understatement, but she had no intention of explaining her current problems with Crestline during a wedding reception. She was supposed to be enjoying two weeks away from that mess, and the last thing she needed was a room full of people finding out about her forced leave.

"Well, congratulations. I’ve watched some of your reports," Mason said.

"Thanks. Apparently my audience is entirely made up of former football players."

Kyle laughed.

"You should come interview us sometime."

"About what? Your wedding?"

"Why not? Kendall would love that."

Roxie gave him a look. "I’m sure she’d love having cameras follow her around while she’s trying to get married."

"She’d probably tell them where to stand."

That made Roxie laugh, because she could easily imagine Kendall doing exactly that.

For a few minutes, the conversation continued comfortably enough. Kyle was telling Mason about an incident with the wedding preparations, and Roxie listened while occasionally adding something of her own.

She almost forgot Zac was standing beside them.

Almost.

Because every time he spoke, she was reminded of how familiar his voice sounded. It was deeper than she remembered, but there were still little things about his manner of speaking that hadn’t changed.

And he was treating her like someone he’d met at a business event.

Wonderful.

She was considering another excuse to leave when a woman’s voice came from behind them.

"Zachary."

Roxie turned toward the voice.

It was the woman from the helicopter.

Up close, she was even more beautiful. Her long hair fell neatly over one shoulder, and the evening dress she’d been wearing looked even more expensive beneath the terrace lights. She had the kind of figure and face Roxie usually saw in advertisements, and it certainly wouldn’t surprise her if the woman turned out to be a model.

Then again, it wasn’t unusual for Zac to date women who looked like that.

"I’ve been looking for you," the woman said as she approached. "Kendall’s been introducing me to people."

Zac glanced at her. "I was right here."

"I noticed."

She slipped her hand around his arm before turning toward Roxie with a friendly smile.

"Oh, hello. Haven’t met you."

Roxie smiled back.

"Hi."

Zac looked between them.

"Olivia, this is Roxie. We went to high school together."

Roxie almost laughed.

High school.

They went to high school together.

Well, technically, he wasn’t wrong.

Olivia smiled and offered her hand. "It’s nice to meet you, Roxie."

"You too."

Roxie shook her hand, still thinking about the introduction.

Of all the possible ways he could’ve introduced her, he’d somehow managed to choose the one that made her sound like someone he’d occasionally borrowed a pencil from.

Jesus Christ.

Was he deliberately trying to be an asshole, or was this genuinely how he thought of her now?

She glanced toward Zac, but he was looking at Kyle, apparently listening to something about the wedding arrangements.

Roxie suppressed the urge to roll her eyes.

Fine. High school acquaintance it was.

"Are you here for the wedding too?" Olivia asked.

"Yeah. Kendall and I were on the cheer team together."

"Oh, that’s lovely! I’ve just met her. She’s wonderful."

"She is," Roxie answered, smiling.

Olivia glanced toward Kyle. "And congratulations again. Everything looks beautiful."

"Thank you," Kyle answered. "Although my future wife might disagree after what happened tonight."

Olivia laughed. "I’m so sorry about the helicopter. I had no idea it would cause that much trouble."

"You’re fine," Kyle assured her. "It’s this asshole we’re blaming."

He pointed at Zac, who merely smiled and took another drink.

"You’re welcome," Zac answered.

Mason shook his head. "Unbelievable."

"You should’ve seen Kendall’s face," Kyle continued, looking toward Olivia. "I thought she was going to throw something at him."

"Oh, she told me," Olivia answered, laughing. "I apologized about five times."

"She’ll get over it."

"Easy for you to say," Mason muttered.

Kyle laughed, apparently finding the whole thing hilarious now that Kendall was occupied elsewhere.

Olivia looked genuinely embarrassed about the trouble they’d caused, which Roxie found rather amusing considering the man responsible didn’t seem the least bit concerned.

She was friendly, easy to talk to, and apparently just as aware as everyone else of how ridiculous Zac could be.

How unfortunate.

Roxie would have preferred someone who was irritating enough to dislike immediately. Instead, Olivia was being perfectly pleasant, and Roxie couldn’t even blame her for looking beautiful.

"So, Roxie," Olivia said, turning toward her again, "do you live here in Italy?"

"Oh, no. New York."

"Really? We just flew in from New York."

Roxie nodded. "Yeah, I heard."

Olivia smiled. "You should’ve seen the view from the helicopter. It was incredible."

"I imagine."

"It really was. I was terrified when we started landing on the water, though."

Roxie laughed. "I would’ve been too."

"I kept asking whether we were supposed to land there. I thought we were going straight into the lake."

"That would’ve been an interesting way to arrive at the wedding."

"Exactly!" Olivia laughed before glancing at Zac. "And he was acting like it was perfectly normal."

"It was perfectly normal," Zac said.

Olivia looked at him. "For you, maybe."

Mason laughed.

Throughout the conversation, he remained close to Olivia, occasionally answering her questions, although he seemed more interested in listening to Kyle and Mason discussing the helicopter arrangements.

Roxie glanced at him once.

He met her eyes briefly before looking back toward Kyle.

There it was again.

That perfectly normal, completely indifferent expression.

Her smile tightened slightly.

Oh, he could go fuck himself.

She was beginning to regret walking over here, although she’d sooner swallow her champagne glass than let him know that.

And really, what was she supposed to do? Ask him why he was behaving like this?

Excuse me, Zac. Could you please explain why you’re treating me like someone you barely remember?

God, even imagining the conversation made her want to laugh at herself.

She had walked over here because Karen suggested it would stop people from staring. Now she was standing beside her ex-boyfriend and his beautiful date, discussing helicopters and sightseeing as though this was a perfectly ordinary situation.

Maybe everyone else was handling it better than she was.

Or maybe they were all pretending.

She glanced toward Mason, who had been unusually careful about keeping the conversation going whenever it slowed. Kyle seemed to be making a similar effort, although Zac apparently saw no reason to participate in anything beyond answering questions directed at him.

Well, congratulations to him.

He’d certainly mastered the art of behaving like they had no history.

Besides, Olivia was still talking to her, and Roxie wasn’t about to be rude to a woman who’d done absolutely nothing wrong.

When the conversation finally paused, Roxie smiled at her.

"Anyway, I should probably get back to my friends. It was nice meeting you, Olivia."

"You too! Hopefully we’ll see each other tomorrow."

"Probably. We’ve all been recruited for the boat trip."

Olivia laughed. "I’ll see you there, then."

Roxie turned toward Kyle and Mason.

"I’ll see you two later."

"See you, Roxie," Kyle said. "And don’t disappear before the wedding."

"I’ll try."

Mason smiled. "I’ll come find you tomorrow."

"You better. We haven’t finished catching up."

She glanced toward Zac last.

"Have a good evening, Zac."

"You too."

That was all.

Again.

Roxie turned and walked back toward her table, keeping her expression pleasant as she passed several guests who were still enjoying their drinks. She resisted the urge to roll her eyes until she was facing away from the group.

Unbelievable.

She’d actually gone over there to be nice, to show everyone that she and Zac could behave like normal adults, and he’d spoken to her as though they’d shared a class ten years ago and nothing more.

She could understand keeping things civil. She could even understand avoiding a personal conversation with his date standing there. But the way he’d introduced her had been ridiculous.

We went to high school together.

Jesus.

She wasn’t asking him to announce their entire relationship to a woman who probably had no idea who she was. But surely there was something between complete strangers and whatever the hell that had been.

By the time she reached the table, Roxie was irritated enough that she wanted another glass of wine.

Karen looked up immediately.

"Well?"

Roxie sat down and reached for her glass.

"Well, what?"

"How was it?"

"Wonderful."

Karen narrowed her eyes, clearly unconvinced.

Roxie took a drink.

"Apparently, we went to high school together."

Angela frowned. "What?"

"That’s how he introduced me to his date."

Karen stared at her.

Then Angela started laughing.

Roxie turned toward her.

"I’m glad you’re enjoying this."

"I’m sorry." Angela covered her mouth, although she was still laughing. "He actually said that?"

"Word for word."

Karen pressed her lips together, looking torn between amusement and irritation.

"Wow."

"Exactly."

Angela shook her head, still smiling.

"That’s actually impressive."

Roxie looked at her.

"What is?"

"The audacity."

Karen snorted.

Roxie pointed at Angela with her glass.

"Thank you. Finally, someone understands."

"How did he act?" Karen asked.

"Like we met at some networking event. Very polite. Very professional. Lovely manners."

Angela laughed again.

Roxie rolled her eyes. "And Olivia is nice, which is honestly the most annoying part of the entire thing."

"Olivia?" Karen repeated.

"His date. Beautiful, friendly, apparently terrified of helicopters. I like her."

Angela looked delighted.

"Oh, that’s even worse."

"Right?"

Karen shook her head, although she was smiling now.

"So what did you do?"

"What was I supposed to do? I talked to her. We discussed the weather, the lake, tomorrow’s boat trip. It was a wonderful conversation."

"You sound thrilled," Angela said.

"I am."

Karen gave her a look.

Roxie sighed and put her glass down.

"Seriously, I’m fine. I just wish everyone would stop looking at us like we’re supposed to start fighting in the middle of the reception."

"Did people stare while you were talking?" Karen asked.

"I wasn’t exactly counting, but Kyle and Mason looked like they were waiting for someone to die."

Angela burst out laughing.

Even Karen couldn’t help smiling at that.

Roxie shook her head and reached for her fork. She’d been irritated when everyone kept watching her and Zac from across the terrace, and now she was irritated because he’d apparently decided they were barely acquainted.

The worst part was that she’d given him absolutely no reason to think she wanted anything more than a normal greeting.

She wasn’t asking for an apology or some emotional reunion in front of everyone. She’d simply walked up to say hello.

Yet somehow, she’d been made to feel as though she’d interrupted his evening.

Roxie stabbed the last piece of dessert with her fork.

Fine.

If Zac wanted to behave like they were strangers, she could manage that.

She had spent years interviewing politicians, executives, and people who could barely tolerate her questions while smiling pleasantly into a camera. Being polite to one arrogant football player should be easy enough.

Especially one who seemed to have forgotten that she’d once known him better than almost anyone.

Roxie ate the last piece of dessert and reached for her wine.

She was particularly good at being polite to people she couldn’t stand.