“You’re going,” Claire says in a way that leaves no room for arguing. She’s annoyingly stubborn sometimes.
A whistle on the field signals the end of the game. I’m temporarily distracted from my friends as I watch the guys celebrate on the field. Vaughn is smiling for the first time all day.
“They did it!” Claire clutches onto my forearm and bounces around. She screams for Austin, and he looks up at her, making half a heart with his first and middle fingers. She does the same with one hand, still holding on to me and screaming.
“You two are adorable,” I tell her when she glances my way again.
“I know,” she says proudly. “Now let’s go change. You’re going to knock Mark’s socks off tonight.”
* * *
Three hours later I’m dressed in jeans and a cute top no one is going to see because it’s too cold outside, and my hair has been curled and sprayed. I’m usually a big fan of dressing up and going out, but Claire and Andie have me nervous and antsy as we pull up to Doyle’s cabin.
My breath is visible in the night air as we hustle from the car to the front door. The cabin is small but warm. A wood stove in the living room is going and a group of guys are playing cards at the dining room table.
“Brandon and the hockey guys are out back,” Andie says and takes off toward the back door.
Claire and I follow behind her. Matt Doyle’s cabin sits in front of a large, forested area. The backyard is big, extending out toward the tree line.
A bonfire is already going in the middle of the yard, and people are huddled around it for warmth.
“I’m going to go find Austin,” Claire says to me as we approach Brandon and Mark and the rest of the hockey team.
She stares across the yard, and I look that direction, easily spotting the group of soccer guys. “I’ll come with you.”
“No.” Claire stops, and I nearly ram into the back of her. “Go with Andie and talk to Mark. Don’t ruin my efforts.”
She fusses with my hair, pulling one side over my shoulder. “You look amazing.”
“I should, considering how much time you and Andie spent on me.”
She grins, then her mouth falls into a serious line. “Go.”
“I don’t know what to talk to him about.”
“Just say hi and ask him about hockey.”
“Hockey?”
“Yeah…” Her eyes light up. “Ask him if he’s ready for the game against Stoutland next week.”
Then she leaves me alone. I blow out a breath and huddle closer to Andie. She opens up the circle to let me in. I can tell the second I lock eyes with Mark that Andie or Brandon said something about me to him. That or this hairdo is as magical as Claire hoped it would be.
He’s a cute guy, objectively. His dark hair is a little too long and hangs in his eyes. He’s tall but not overly. Not as tall as Vaughn. And I was right—his eyes are a warm brown. Vaughn’s are a brighter shade of blue, like sparkling sapphires.
“Hey, Lacey.” Mark nods his head as he greets me, smiling so easily it just makes me further compare him to…
Oh my god, I’m comparing him to Vaughn.
“Hi,” I say, pushing the broody, hot soccer captain out of my head.
“Cold out tonight, huh?” He has both hands shoved in his front pockets and his shoulders hunched up to his ears.
“Yeah.”
An awkward silence falls between us. I glance around the yard, gaze landing on the guy I’m absolutely not still thinking about. He’s in the middle of a group of his teammates but has his usual half-interested, bored expression on his face. When our eyes lock, a flicker of something flashes across his face, but there’s too much distance between us for me to decipher it.
Still my pulse quickens, and I look away.
