Her dad actually came to one of her matches. I blink back my surprise and smile, knowing how much that must mean to Maggie, no matter how much she thinks she hates him.
Maggie continues to scan the crowds and it hits me like a kick to the stomach.She’s looking for me. The realization makes me feel like shit. Why the hell did I decide to stay away? Regardless if we’re together or not, I should have been by her side. It’s what a best friend does.
“Fuck,” I mutter, my hands curling tighter around the cup of coffee.
“Sit down, and let me watch,” Jacob says.
I move out of the way and sit back in my chair right as Maggie sets up to serve. She bounces the ball twice on the clay court and hits a perfect shot. Except—the game stops and the commentators are speaking increasingly faster over one another. While clay courts are playable in light rain, the play will stop if heavier rain starts, which is exactly what happens. The pouring rain drives everyone off the court.
“Think they’ll postpone it for long?” Jacob asks, sipping on his latte.
“I don’t know,” I say, bouncing my leg and gripping the arms of the chair just a little too hard.
A reporter starts broadcasting from the arena and I can see Elena and Maggie in the background heading to the lockerrooms. Maggie pauses with her hand on the handle and spins towards the reporters, giving them a practiced smile.
Her words are drowned out by the French translator that speaks over her and I turn the volume up louder than I should, but I still only get glimpses of what she’s saying.
“Mate, I don’t want to get hearing aids too on top of this injury. Let’s just watch it on my tablet,” Jacob says, pulling up the feed without the French translation. I turn the TV off and sprint to his side.
“What about Rowan?”
“Rowan is the type of person who’s there for his friends and right now, Jacob needs him more than I do,”Maggie says, shivering. There’s a soft, genuine smile on her face as she continues,“That’s one of the many reasons I fell in love with Rowan. He’s always been there for me, loving me unconditionally, even when I didn’t know what I wanted or needed.”
Jacob gasps and puts a hand to his heart. “OMG, she said she loves you.”
I shush him and turn the volume up on the tablet.“So the two of you are together?”the reporter asks.
“It’s…more complicated than that. Rowan’s my best friend and the only person I’ve ever loved. And if he’ll have me, I’d like to be his for the rest of my life,” she says, looking like she’s holding back tears, though that could just be the rain that’s soaked her to the bone.
More questions filter in, but her dad wraps a towel around her and says,“That’s enough.”
“Well, well, well,” Jacob says, wearing a smug grin as he lowers the tablet to his side.
I stare at the window, dumbfounded, until Jacob lightly punches me in the stomach. “Ow.”
“What the bloody hell are you still doing here? Go get your woman,” he says, shoving me away from him.
“What about you?” I ask, reeling over Maggie’s words. She wants me, but most importantly she wants to try giving us a real chance.
“Me? Mate, I’m confined to this bed, I’m not going anywhere. You wanted your grand gesture, well—you got it. If you don’t run through the rain to get to her, I will be sorely disappointed,” Jacob says, grinning.
I laugh and give him an awkward side hug. “I love you, man.”
“I know, I’m irresistible.” He winks, lifting up his cup in a salute.
I don’t runthrough the rain to get to Maggie, since the car I ordered picks me up at the hospital door and drops me off at the arena’s entrance. Instead, I sprint to get inside, but I’m immediately stopped by security.
“Ticket?”
“I—” my heart pounds and I’m starting to panic. “I don’t have one. I’m one of the players,” I say, trying to explain who I am. I go to reach for my wallet and badge but realize I don’t have it on me. In the frenzy of running to Maggie, I must have left it at the hospital.
“Good try, you can’t go in if you don’t have a badge,” the burly security guard says in broken English.
“I’m Rowan Amory, I’m a professional player. I’m playing tomorrow in the final on this very court,” I say, voice raising over the pounding rain hitting the sidewalk behind me.
“No badge, no entry,” the guy says, annoyed.
“But—I—” I stammer as he crosses his arms andstares me down.
