“Geez, Jamie, lay off,” Hayden said, appearing in the doorway again. “She just got here. Take a breath.”

Jamie shot him a death glare, but when she looked back at Liz, her giddy smile was back. “It’s so good to have you here again. I was so happy when Hayden told me you would be here for the opening of my exhibition!”

“I’m glad it worked out too,” Liz told her.

Liz greeted Jamie’s boyfriend, James, who was never too far away from the brilliant artist, and her roommate, Meredith, who was a Pilates instructor and had a killer body because of it. Apparently James had moved into Jamie’s room during the fall, so they wouldn’t have to fill the spare bedroom with another unfamiliar body. Liz was sure that Jamie just liked having James close all the time. Liz had had the same feeling at the airport when she saw Hayden.

Her flight had gotten in relatively late, and they didn’t have much time to get ready. Jamie had scored them some comped tickets from one of her art buyers to a private party downtown. Her paintings were picking up steam among high-end clientele and politicians, and these perks seemed to keep dropping into her lap. The event was a black-and-white affair, but not black tie, which meant that the guys didn’t have to wear tuxes and the girls didn’t have to go for formal wear. That was lucky for Liz, who certainly hadn’t packed a floor-length dress.

Instead, she changed into a long-sleeved black sequined dress, thick black patterned tights, and shiny black heels. She wrapped a white infinity scarf around her neck and paired it with matching white gloves and her trusty black peacoat. The temperature difference was stark compared to the balmy seventy-five degrees she had been relaxing in in Tampa.

The five of them piled into James’s Expedition and drove into town. They normally would have taken the Metro, but Jamie had been given a parking pass too.

James pulled up in front of the Gaylord Hotel at Washington National Harbor about thirty minutes later. When Liz laid eyes on the building, she was blown away. It was a colossal structure that looked more like a compound than a hotel, with a glass greenhouse and full Bellagio-style water display inside the waterfront structure.

A valet handed James a ticket and then they were whisked away into the giant hotel. An attendant checked their tickets and directed them through the red-carpeted lobby to a massive ballroom. Hayden wrapped an arm around Liz's waist to hold her close to him as they stepped over the threshold together.

The room was already packed nearly wall-to-wall with people dancing to the DJ’s beats. She could see that the space had been divided into different areas depending on whether you wanted a DJ, live entertainment, or a slightly quieter environment. A set of stairs led up to a secluded VIP area that had her mind drifting off and away to a time when she had walked up similar stairs in Charlotte the very first time she had ever met Brady.

After depositing their jackets at the coat check, Jamie led the way through the crowd, bouncing along like no one was elbowing or running into one another. Finally they found a slightly quieter area and sent the guys to go get drinks.

Jamie spotted an available table near the corner and skipped over to grab it before someone else did; then she waved Liz and Meredith down as if they hadn’t been following her. Free spirit simply did not do Jamie justice. Sometimes Liz wondered how she and Hayden were related.

“Oh my God, Liz, I am so happy that you’re here. Aren’t we, Meredith?” Jamie asked without waiting for Meredith to respond. “I just knew that you and Hayden would start dating. He’s so much cooler when he’s with you. Do you think I could have dragged him to this without you? No way. He’s too uptight.”

Liz laughed softly and took a seat at the table. “Well, I’m glad I could oblige you.”

“Plus, I totally love you as a person. Doesn’t she have such a great presence, Mere?” she asked. Meredith opened her mouth to say something, but Jamie just kept right along. “I’m just so glad that he brought you for New Year’s this year. The snobby bitch he brought last year drove me nuts.”

“What?” Liz asked, before she could think better of it.

“I mean, we weren’t even going to the same party, and I was ready to ditch her before dinner ended. Do you remember her, Mere?”

“Wait, what girl?”

“I remember her,” Meredith said, getting a chance to speak up. “Redhead, right?”

“Yes! That’s her. I don’t remember her name, but I’m glad she’s gone. And I’m glad you’re here!” Jamie cried with a practically buoyant smile.

“Her name wouldn’t happen to be Calleigh, would it?” Liz asked. She heard her heartbeat in her ears when she asked the question. It had to be Calleigh. Who else was a redhead that Hayden had been involved with? But Liz hadn’t thought it was serious. Certainly not enough to bring Calleigh to D.C. with him for New Year’s Eve.

“Calleigh! Yeah, that was it. Do you know her?” Jamie asked.

“She was editor of the paper last year.”

“Oh, yeah, I remember her going on and on and on about that. When Hayden made editor, I was hard-pressed to be happy for him, because she was so annoying about it.”

Liz shrugged, trying for nonchalance. “I didn’t know they were serious.”

Jamie paused as if realizing for the first time what she had just walked into. “Oh, I don’t know if they were. And anyway, that was a long time ago. They broke up when she moved.”

“To Charlotte?” Liz offered.

“Yep. That sounds right. It’s been long, long, long over,” Jamie said with a reassuring squeeze to Liz’s arm.

Liz wasn’t sure why she even let this bother her. She was certain it had something to do with the fact that she just did not like Calleigh anymore. She had once idolized her, but now she realized how misguided that had been. Why had she thought it was ever genius that made the other woman turn down her job offer in New York for the paper in Charlotte? Maybe she had simply wanted to stay closer to Hayden.

The thought struck Liz so clearly that she almost knew it for a fact.

Hayden and James reappeared just then, drinks in hand. Liz couldn’t keep her brain from working overtime, and Hayden gave her a quizzical look. It was as if he could see the wheels turning.

Liz snatched her drink up and grabbed Hayden’s hand. “Come on. Let’s go dance,” she said, drawing him away from the group.