“You crazy kids have fun!”Hallie yelled from the front porch as she pretended to snap a photo with her hands.
Sydney knew that her best friend was living with the chaos of the last twenty-four hours. Two days ago, Hallie had been trying to coax her out of their shared living space. Now, with the wind at her back and an axe to grind, Sydney was decked out in a soft, olive-colored dress that came to mid-thigh, ready to take on the world. The elastic waist didn’t hurt, hidden as it was by an adjustable, woven belt in a sand color that, she thought, accented the dress nicely. She’d worn her blonde hair down, flowy and softly curled so that it cascaded in waves around her shoulders.
Sydney knew that she looked good, and she knew that everyone at the party would know it, too.
Eat your heart out, Grant Devereux IV.
She didn’t want him back, not by a long shot, but after months of focusing on nothing but tennis, then weeks of wallowing in misery, it was nice to get dressed up, regardless of the occasion.
A pair of strappy, open-toed heels in the same color as the belt completed her look, and she focused on keeping one foot in front of the other as she navigated the gravel driveway.
Reese walked slightly in front of Sydney over to the passenger side door. They both reached the door, and Reese opened it and gestured for Sydney to get in. “I’m creating an ambiance,” she said with a rueful grin that Sydney found herself matching.
The rest of the day was likely to be nightmarish, so why shouldn’t they soak up the last moments of fun before entering into the belly of the beast?
Reese turned to face the inn entrance and slipped her sunglasses on. “You’re seriously the best, Hallie. I’m sorry I’m already flaking out on day two.”
“Perks of being the owner,” Hallie said, zero judgment in her voice. “Just know that if I meet someone beautiful who wants to whisk me away on their sailboat for a few days, I will be calling in sick.” She fake-coughed for good measure.
Reese laughed, and it made Sydney go a little soft inside at how well Reese and Hallie were getting along. She wanted Hallie to be happy. To be excited about whatever it was that would come next for her.
And she liked that Reese seemed so calm, like maybe this day was going to go better than Sydney anticipated.
Plus, to Reese’s credit, Sydney knew that she’d been up since six a.m., doing work to get up to speed on the management of the inn. Hallie had told her during her daily return to the room for her smoothie, impressed with the information Reese had absorbed as she’d sat out in the check-in area, poring over a binder that Hallie had prepared for training.
Sydney eased her long legs into the car as Reese and Hallie finished their conversation, waiting a few seconds before Reese shut the door for her.
It was a gorgeous day. White, puffy clouds were splattered across a vibrantly blue sky, and dozens of sailboats dotted the horizon.
Reese had texted her last night, asking if she was free for a Devereux family event today, and Sydney, still keyed up from theendorphins that had come from her run a few hours earlier, responded without thinking twice.
She’d never really understood people who made poor choices for the thrill until now. Inserting herself back into Grant’s life was one of the top most idiotic things she’d ever done, and still, she relished the chance to take back the narrative.
Grant wasn’t some person she’d dated for a few months who’d blown her off because her travel schedule was too much for them to handle or because they were jealous of the attention her celebrity status afforded her.
He’d been her partner for six years. Her cheerleader. The person who’d always supported her pushing herself to get to the next level. The one she’d been making plans with for a life after tennis.
A marriage. A home. A family.
And now, even though Sydney knew it was a special level of masochistic, she was going to put herself right in his crosshairs and watch him move down that path with someone else.
Maybe it would help things make sense. There was a part of her that wanted to see them together. To see what they had. To see how itfeltto see Grant again.
Their breakup had happened quickly, all things considered.
She’d caught him with Brynn, and once her brain had caught up to speed and she understood what was happening, she’d turned around and walked right back out. No overdrawn conversations. No excuses as to how she’d ‘misinterpreted’ what she’d seen.
It had all happened in seconds, in an apartment she’d tried to visit as often as possible but that, for the first few years of their relationship, they’d called home together. It wasn’t until she’d joined the women’s pro tour that she’d bought her house in Florida and moved down there full-time.
She’d asked Grant to go with her, but he’d said that it wasn’t the right time. He was gaining more seniority within The Devereux Group and was responsible for more hands-onmanagement within their portfolio, along with spearheading the expansion opportunities they’d been pursuing in surrounding regions and states, like New York.
Given the way he’d supported her dreams, she’d wanted to do the same for him.
So together, as a team—the same way they’d picked out the bed he’d slept with Brynn in, the artwork that adorned the walls, the way the spice rack Brynn casually selected oregano from in the kitchen was organized—they’d made the decision to do long-distance.
He’d never given her any indication that he hadn’t wanted to make it work.
She still felt so mind-fucked by the entire situation.
