Warmth radiated next to Reese, and the familiar scent of soft perfume enveloped her senses. “Don’t worry,” Sydney said quietly, leaning closer to Reese to be heard over the din of the crowd. “Hallie won’t spill the beans, if that’s what you’re worried about.”
Reese met her stare, and the buzzy feeling in her limbs that seemed to crop up whenever she was near Sydney reared to life. “I didn’t think she would.”
They stood, shoulder to shoulder, staring out at the expanse of grass before it fell away into the ocean below.
“I love what you’ve done with the place,” Sydney commented as she turned her focus back toward the growing darkness.
The patio was bathed in fairy lights that would be turnedoff when the fireworks started. They were woven around the unused outdoor heaters and crisscrossed through the trellis that created a privacy wall on the right side of the brick-laid space.
It gave the patio a soft glow, complemented by laughter filling the yard as various configurations of people silhouetted in front of them waited for the show to start.
Reese had spotted Sydney the second she’d walked through the French doors and onto the patio about fifteen minutes ago. She’d come in with a group of people Reese didn’t recognize.
Reese nodded toward them as they sat on a blanket in the middle of the crowd. “I see you brought friends.”
Sydney nodded, a vibrant smile settling on her lips. “Jenna, one of the full-time students at the training center, and her parents. I also dragged Brian here,” she added proudly, indicating her former coach.
Reese let the excitement flutter through her, knowing that she wanted Sydney to be impressed by her event.
She’d come to accept since they’d had their conversation yesterday that Sydney had that effect on her. The start of their friendship—if that was what it was—was beyond messy, but she wanted to be closer to Sydney, in whatever ways that meant.
“Are you excited for your trip back to Florida? You leave tomorrow, right?” Reese let the words hang between them, already knowing the answer to her second question. Sure, she wanted to spend more time with Sydney, but she was also intent on keeping her tethers to reality.
“Yep. I have an early flight out, and my parents are picking me up from the airport.”
“Both of them?” Reese asked. She couldn’t remember once in her life that both of her parents had come to pick her up from somewhere. On her few, sporadic trips home over the last decade, it had always been easier to get a car at the airport than to accept her mom’s offer to drive into Boston and pick her up.
Sydney laughed. “They’re, um… very hands-on parents. And besides tournaments and when I moved to Florida initially, this is the longest I’ve gone without seeing them.”
Reese honestly couldn’t imagine that reality. “So do you just, like, show up at one another’s houses? Have a standing weekly dinner when you’re not away?”
She found herself wanting to know more about Sydney’s life—herreallife, the one that Reese would never experience.
“We live together,” Sydney said, like it was the most normal thing in the world. “I used to be traveling at least half the year, and when I’m home, I have full training days. I like coming home to people.”
That was an insane concept to her. Reese and Megan had lived together in San Francisco, but they’d spent long days in the office, with Reese mostly squirreled away working on the coding for the software. When they’d been home together, their life had consisted of takeout dinners and discussions about work before prepping for the next day.
Living with a partner had been fine, but living with her parents? Inconceivable.
Then again, she had to assume that she and Sydney had very different parents.
Reese tried to hide the disbelief she knew was etched across her face. “Not a solitary creature then?” was what she settled on.
Sydney shrugged. “My parents have always been my biggest champions, and life on the tour can get lonely. I wasn’t exactly Miss Popularity, so it was really nice to come home to people who loved and supported me.”
Reese’s heart squeezed even though, again, she found Sydney’s words hard to believe. “I can say, honestly, you’re one of the most likable people I’ve ever met. Annoyingly so,” she teased, gently elbowing Sydney’s side.
She noted how Sydney grew still, wrapping her arms around her torso. “I appreciate you saying that, but it isn’t a sentiment shared by everyone.”
“Just don’t go into the hotel business and we likely won’t havean issue,” Reese joked again, trying to ease the tension that had permeated the moment.
That made Sydney laugh, and Reese loved hearing the sound. “Don’t worry. My experience is either staying in hotels or covering for Hallie so we wouldn’t get in trouble in this one. No fear of competitionhere,” Sydney said, the implication in her words clear.
“But my family is another story,” Reese finished for her.
Sydney gave a slow nod. “In tennis, I’ve learned that focusing on what I’m doing instead of on anyone else is the most important thing. I’ll give that same advice to you.”
Reese brushed their shoulders together again, knocking gently into Sydney. “Sage wisdom, Ms. King. I’ll have to file that away for a rainy day.”
