collecting dust in your closet since then?”
She couldn’t help but grin at Matt’s crack, which only made Bernice scowl harder.
“No.” Bernice snatched the bear suit out of Matt’s hand and repositioned him on the stool. “I had him in the attic. I just thought Jackson might like to see him since he didn’t make it to the reunion.”
Matt frowned. “You brought him to the reunion? Must have been a cheap date.”
“He was on display.” Bernice’s patience was running on fumes.
Sliding onto the stool next to Hayley, Matt shrugged. “I don’t remember seeing him that night, do you?”
“I only remember having to leave early because some jackasses decided to take the party to Sunset Bluff and were setting off fireworks.” Not that she’d minded leaving as she’d stupidly let Matt talk her into going to the reunion to begin with. She would have preferred listening to Gramps and Trudy bicker all night over pretending she’d been friends with most of the kids she’d graduated with.
“That doesn’t sound so bad,” Jackson said.
Hayley snorted. “They ended up setting a car on fire.”
“Hayls just hated missing out on a good time.” Matt grinned.
“It was a wonder one of you didn’t drive right off the cliffs that night.” More than a few, including two other cops she worked with, had certainly drunk enough to do something that stupid. Ten-year reunions were apparently a reason to be ten times crazier than they had been in high school.
“Wasn’t there a time you would have been leading the pack?” Bernice inquired, smirking just a bit.
Hayley went with the same tactic she’d used back in high school when Bernice wanted to get a reaction out of her. She ignored her completely.
Bernice lifted a shoulder at the dismissal, her attention predictably drifting back to Jackson.
He nodded at the mascot. “And how did his tail catch fire?”
Damn. He just wasn’t going to let it go, was he?
“Not everyone respected that he was a symbol of school spirit,” Bernice put in, her disgusted tone probably meant to hurt Hayley’s feelings. The gossip-queen-turned-real-estate-agent wasn’t making it hard to remember why the two of them had never clicked.
“Hayls, how did his tail catch on fire?” Matt, not clueing in that she’d rather talk about anything but the mascot costume and impulsive high school pranks, bumped her arm.
“That was Gavin.” She honestly didn’t have a clue which one of them might have been responsible, but it was an answer. At least Gavin wasn’t here to mind being thrown under the bus.
Before anyone could poke holes in her explanation, she slid off her stool and went behind the bar to pour herself a beer.
Another regular, Tim, motioned her down the bar. The woman next to him, Sarah, was only a year or two younger than Tim’s fifty-five. Both of them had lost their spouses to cancer a few years back, and as far as Hayley knew, the pair had been dating for a few months now.
A few people would occasionally grumble about how affectionate the two were in public, insisting they needed to get a room, but Hayley thought they were cute together and lucky to find someone else to share their lives with.
“So how’s the torrid romance going?” Tim asked.
Hayley smiled and leaned a hip against the counter. “I’m not sure torrid is the word I’d use.”
“So what word would you use?”
The question came from behind her, just loud enough for Tim and Sarah to hear, and close enough to Hayley’s ear to shoot a warm shiver straight up her spine.
Jackson waited for Hayley to turn around, enjoying the way she brushed across his chest as she turned. Intentional? He really hoped so.
“It’s almost perverse how much you enjoy making me squirm.”
The other couple grinned, and Jackson only cocked his head. “Are we talking about now or last night?”
Heat filled her cheeks, and she gave the other couple her back. “Excuse us a second.” Hayley grabbed Jackson’s hand and dragged him into the kitchen.
“Gavin wasn’t really wearing the suit, was he?”
She gave him a bewildered look. “I thought we were talking about last night?”
“We certainly can, though I got the impression a second ago you didn’t want me to talk about it.” It shouldn’t have been so much fun to tease her. It was even more fun to see how she’d retaliate when he pushed her too far.
“That’s not what I meant.”
“You seem confused.” Jackson smiled. “Maybe a little refresher will help clear your head.” He hooked a hand around her hip, drawing her closer.