The Bracelet by Mary Jane Clark Page B

anything?”
    â€œNo, I can handle it,” said Piper, eyeing the icy slush covering the stretch of pothole-ridden macadam that separated her from Peter Cooper Village. She wished her feet were encased in her warm, soft Uggs instead of the open, strappy shoes she’d gotten a pedicure to wear. “I’ll be right up. Is anyone else there yet?”
    â€œA few people.”
    â€œI’m so sorry I’m late, Jack.”
    â€œForget it. Just come.”
    When she entered Jack’s apartment, Piper saw that more than a few people had arrived. The place was already crowded. She didn’t recognize most of the faces as she scanned the area, but she knew that many of them were men and women who worked with Jack at the FBI.
    â€œMy mother pretty much sent everything left over at the end of the day from the bakery,” said Piper, putting down the tray and shopping bags with the ICING ON THE CUPCAKE logo emblazoned on the sides. Jack was standing at the counter in the tiny kitchen, opening a bottle of wine.
    â€œWay to go, Terri! Thank her for me,” said Jack as he leaned over to give Piper a kiss on the cheek. “Glad you’re here.”
    â€œWhat can I do?” she asked, taking off her coat.
    â€œWhoa,” said Jack, his eyes sweeping up and down her body. “You can just stand exactly where you are and look like that all night. No, go out into the living room and stand in the middle of the rug so everybody can see you.”
    She smoothed the fabric of her short black skirt and adjusted the glittery, sleeveless emerald green top she’d chosen because it brought out the color of her eyes. Gold bangle bracelets decorated her well-toned arms. Her blond hair fell long and loose around her shoulders.
    Piper smiled. “Stop, you’re making me blush.”
    â€œPlease, you love it. And if you can’t agree that you look absolutely gorgeous tonight, then you’re never gonna believe it.”

    Passing trays of pigs in a blanket, cheese puffs, and bacon-wrapped scallops, Piper had the opportunity to mingle and meet Jack’s friends. Every one of them recognized her name when she identified herself.
    â€œSo you’re the famous Piper. Jack is always talking about you,” said one man.
    â€œWow, Jack finally got something right. You are as pretty as he said you were,” said another.
    Piper was unprepared when one inebriated guy took hold of her arm and asked, “Why don’t you two get a room already?”
    As she wriggled free from his grasp, Piper could feel her cheeks grow hot. Instinctively, she looked around the room for Jack. She spotted him in the corner, laughing with a group. She’d thought about it—that was for sure.
    Jack and she were just friends, weren’t they? She’d been getting the feeling that he wanted more. Now his friends had pretty much confirmed that.
    Piper was uncomfortable with the idea. Her own wedding had been called off seven months before. She hadn’t been the one who’d done the canceling. It wasn’t that she was still in love with Gordon. In fact, when she thought about the whole thing, which was less and less often, she realized that there were many reasons it hadn’t worked out. The breakup was for the best. Still, a broken engagement was completely humiliating. She deserved an Oscar for the performance she’d put on for her family and friends—at the very least a Golden Globe was in order.
    Only Jack Lombardi, a guy she’d met and befriended in karate class, knew how miserable it had been for her. Over pasta dinners and plenty of red wine, he’d listened as Piper unburdened herself. Jack had been totally supportive, vacillating between vowing to physically “take care of Gordon” and gently soothing Piper when she wept. He’d kept reciting the same mantra: She was “much too good for him.”
    The whole experience with Gordon had left Piper