“I know, honey. It’s my own fault, I wasn’t paying attention,” I say, letting the pet name slip. She doesn’t chastise me for using it in public and I hug her tight.
“Is everything okay?” she murmurs quietly against my skin and I stiffen. I don’t know how long I can keep my secrets from her.
“Of course,” I say cheerfully. Maggie pulls away and frowns at me. Shit, she’s not buying it.
“It’s just that you’ve been acting weird ever since we got back from Melbourne, and you went to Charleston without me, and, I don’t know,” she says, running a hand down her face in frustration. “I thought we didn’t have any secrets between us.”
I swallow hard and hang my head. I hate this. “We don’t. I’ve just had a lot on my mind and my mom had an issue with her roof, so I wanted to be there for the repairs,” I say, hating how bitter the lie tastes on my tongue.
Her shoulders drop and her sad eyes roam over my face. “Sure. I think I’m going to go shower before we have to meet my family for brunch,” she says, turning away, not looking at me.
“Mags, wait,” I say, grabbing her wrist. She looks up at me with glassy eyes and even though we’re not supposed to kiss in public, per our agreement, I lean in anyway. She can tell me to stop, she can push me away.
For what feels like the first time in a long time, she doesn’t. That small act lifts the pressure off my chest and gives me the courage to close the gap between us.
My lips meet hers in a gentle but pressing kiss, and I try to convey everything I’ve been feeling the past couple of weeks. She opens up for me, our tongues swirling, our bodies pressing everywhere. I love that we’re practically the same height and I don’t have to bend down to kiss her. I love that I can wrap my arms around her and feel like I’m home.
She pulls back slowly and blinks at me in a daze. “What was that for?”
“I’m sorry I’ve been weird recently. There’s a lot on my mind that I want to tell you, but I want to find the right time. Let’s get through brunch first, okay?” I smile, tucking a blonde strand of hair behind herear.
Her blue eyes focus on my lips and she slowly nods. “Okay, Ro. I’ll try to be patient.” She smirks. I smile back and steal another kiss from her before I run off the court and head to the men’s locker to shower.
With each step, I’m more confident about asking her the big question. I just need to find the right time.
CHAPTER 10
Maggie
February - Palm Beach
The restaurant is packedwhen we arrive. I take in the various people in tennis and golf attire, recognizing some of them from all my years at the country club. I nod hello to my coach who’s chatting animatedly with Levi Carmichael, the number one golfer in the world, who frequents our club every time he’s in Florida for a tournament. My coach waves and points to the table for us to join but I shake my head politely.
Rowan smiles and leans in to whisper, “Can you imagine if we ditched your family to sit with your coach?”
“My dad would be silently fuming before snapping altogether,” I snort, trying to imagine it. No one could ever measure up to my dad’s expectations when it comes to tennis—not my coaches and definitely not me. “There’s a reason I keep my professional and personal life separate,” I mumble as we approach the table.
“He might be a fan of Levi’s though,” Rowan jokes and I smile.
“Everyone is a fan of Levi’s. Just look at him.” I nod towards the golfer in his crisp white outfit and perfect brown hair and green eyes.
I see Rowan glancing at me with a curious glint, but I shake my head. Rowan gives me a teasing look and his hand lands on the small of my back where he rubs his thumb back and forth. Even through the material of my tennis dress, his touch is warm and soothing. I relax under it and mentally prepare myself for brunch.
I take a good look at everyone as we approach the table. My mom is sipping on what I’m sure is her second or third mimosa, my father looks impassive as he listens to something my sister is telling him, and next to Andreea I spot her boyfriend, Max. She doesn’t bring him to family events often, and the sight of him at the table catches me off guard.
I exchange hugs and pleasantries with my mom and when my dad stands to hug me, I pat his arm and feign ignorance. When I hug Andreea, she whispers, “Thank you so much for being here.”
“Is everything okay?” I ask, getting the feeling that whatever she invited us here for is important.
“Yeah.” She pulls out of my embrace and sits back down. Rowan and I take our seats at the round table. He ends up sitting next to my mom while I sit next to Andreea. Max seems terrified, sitting next to my dad. His black hair is longer than last time I saw him at Christmas and he looks disheveled. Stressed, even.
The waiter comes around and Rowan and I both order pineapple margaritas and omelettes. We make stunted conversation as we wait for our food, and I wish my sister would have given me more of a heads up about this. I catch her eye and shegives me a forced smile, her anxious energy rolling off her in waves. What’s so important that we needed to be in one room together?
Is she sick? Is she moving jobs? Is she?—
“Max and I are getting married next week,” she blurts out, her wild blue eyes pinned to mine. I just stare back, my jaw somewhere in the vicinity of the floor. Out of all the things I thought my sister would say, marriage was not at the top of my list.
I always thought she and I were on the same page about it, that after seeing so many marriages fail around us, including our parents’, we wouldn’t consider it a path for ourselves. So what changed? And why is this the first time I’m hearing about this?
