Ollie rolled her eyes. “You spill one glass of wine, and suddenly, you’re barred from any open containers.” She took a long pull from the squiggly straw. “It’s fine. Drobrek might think he’s won, but I’m always going to get him back.”
“Where is your guy anyway? He’s been running around all night, and I want to thank him for hosting again.”
“Oh, he’s already getting all the thanks he needs.” She nodded to where Parker was chatting up one of the front office assistants. I wracked my brain for her name but came up short, only recognizing her because she’d set her sights on our third baseman early in the season. Parker said something, and she swung her head back, laughing a little too loudly to be genuine. Ollie scoffed, just as loudly. “He seems like he’s doing just fine over there without me.”
“Maybe because the person he really wants doesn’t seem to have any interest.”
Ollie shot a glare in my direction. “Don’t start with me, D. We’re justfriends and everyone knows it.”
Not even close. In fact, Ollie and Parker were the only ones who believed that lie. But even after questions from almost everyone on our team, they both failed to see the spark—the lingering search formore.
She whacked her hand against my chest. “Besides, this isn’t about me. You’re the one walking around like a kicked puppy. Seriously, go talk to Brianna.”
My jaw ticked, annoyed at her pushiness. “Why do you care so much, Ol? If Brianna doesn’t want to talk to me, I’m not going to force my way in.”
Ollie’s face softened, looking more vulnerable than I’d ever seen her before. “Brianna is the best person I know. She’s been through a lot, and I hate that she let it cloud her perspective. She deserves someone who is going to see her,the real her, and not be afraid to put in the work.” Ollie nudged my side again. “And you might be that guy. Plus, I really hate her ex-husband, and I get immense joy imagining his face when he finds out you two are an item.” She took another sip of her drink. “Think about it, D. If you two are good with leaving well enough alone, then ignore me, but I’d never be able to live with myself if I didn’t try.”
I chuckled. “For someone who hates unsolicited advice, you sure love to dish it out.”
“All part of my charm.”
Ollie winked, and then someone else called her. She walked away after squeezing my arm, leaving the unspoken implications in her wake. But before I could think too deeply about it, I was on the move, ready to find the person who’d occupied my thoughts all night.
When I found Brianna,she was standing on Parker’s back deck, staring off into the night. With summer in full swing, humidity still clung to the air, making it thick and sluggish. Or it might have been the tension ricocheting through my bones. I almost turned back around when Brianna peeked over her shoulder, shaking her head. “Should’ve known you’d find me.”
“Hiding from me, Bri?” I asked, taking the spot next to her.
“Not exactly,” she breathed. “Just trying to navigate how to be around you after everything.”
“I know the feeling,” I answered. A quip sat on the tip of my tongue, but I bit it back, enjoying the silence between us. There was nothing awkward about it, even with the strange situation we’d found ourselves in. In the past, there was always a line between the women I slept with and the rest of my world, but with Brianna, all of them had blurred, making her a consistent presence. In the past, it would have bothered me. Instead, tonight, I soaked up her companionship, letting the subtle floral scent of her perfume override my other senses.
“I always thought I’d want to live out here,” Brianna said. Her voice was quiet, more to herself than to me. “But now that I’ve been in the city for a little while, I miss the noise—the constant hum of people.”
I nodded as I shifted my gaze, watching her bright eyes as she stared up at the sky. While she stayed fascinated by all the stars circling us, she transfixed me, consumed by the peace written on her face. She sighed, closing her eyes tightly. “Do you ever wonder if there is some pre-determined plan? Or if we’re all just winging it?”
“Not sure,” I said gruffly, forcing my eyes away from her. “I like to think there’s some higher purpose, that we’re all working towardour end goal, but I’ve always believed our choices define us—that how we decide to live our lives matters more than any higher calling.”
“I like that,” Brianna smiled. As she opened her eyes, she turned back toward me. “You were watching me in the kitchen, while I was talking to August.”
“Yeah,” I admitted, not bothering to hide it with a convenient lie.
“Why?”
I ran my hand over my face. “Because you were smiling at him, not the wide smile you do when you’re uncomfortable but the slight one when you find someone funny.”
Brianna furrowed her brow. “You didn’t like me smiling at someone else?”
I reached out, tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear. “Not for the reason you’re worried about, angel. I don’t care if you want to talk to anyone else. We both know you’re too strong to be kept down. But I didn’t like that I couldn’t talk to you, couldn’t show all the guys how much you mean to me.” I grinned at her. “And yeah, I didn’t like Banfield shooting his shot with you.”
Brianna shook her head. “He tried flirting with me, but I shut it down.”
“Why, Bri?”
“Besides the fact that he’s almost a decade younger than me?” She leaned forward, pressing her hands to my chest. “There’s this other Hawks player I can’t get out of my head.” Brianna sucked in a slow breath as her hazel eyes shone with vulnerability. “And I might not want to.”
I reached down, pulling her closer, eliminating the space that had been there all night. Once Brianna stood cradled against my chest, that unease slid out of me, and I took the first full breath of the evening. “I don’t want you to either, and if you can’t tell, I’ve been thinking about younonstop, Bri. I want more than a couple of stolen nights with you.”
“So where does that leave us?” Brianna asked.
