Chapter Thirty
BREE
“What does Houston have to do with this?” Mia’s skeptical expression holds a glimmer of humor.
I shrug. “I’m a Texas gal, so it seemed appropriate.”
“Not for long. We’re going to make a Sarabella beach gal out of you yet,” Sophie quips.
When I sent out my text for help, I didn’t expect to arrive at my apartment and find the whole gang there already. Sophie, Mia, and Lily literally dropped everything to come over, and they don’t even know the details yet. These women take this stuff seriously, and witnessing it heals something deep inside me. I feel like they’ve claimed me and that maybe, just maybe, I’ve found a place to call home again.
Yes, I had—have—great parents. They were there for me whenever I needed them growing up. But since they divorced and sold the ranch, it’s like they started a whole new chapter of their lives that doesn’t include me.
I get it, though. I’m an adult, responsible for my own choices and decisions, but sometimes, a girl really needs her peeps. I haven’t known Mia, Sophie, Lily, and Harper that long, but in some ways, I feel like I’ve known them forever.
And they’re my posse. They have my back. And boy howdy, do I need that right now.
We’re squeezed around the small coffee table, sitting on the floor in the living room of Harper’s and my apartment. Mia sets five small glasses on the glass top and opens the bottle of wine she brought with her—red this time. It seems that Mia chooses her wine according to the seriousness of the situation. When she asked how bad it was, I saidreallybad, which, according to Mia, required a meaty red aged in bourbon barrels—her words.
I can’t think of a worse-case scenario more treacherous than what’s headed my way. Chase never does anything without having multiple motives. I’ve no doubt his change of position is as much about Wade as it is about his long-running desire to be a goaltender.
As Mia pours, I fill them in on the details of the latest Chase Files, earning gasps from all of them when I show them the spreadsheet on my phone.
Sophie growls, sounding like her fiancé, Luke. “He hinted at some kind of exciting change in his hockey career, but he wouldn’t tell me the details when I interviewed him.”
Harper chews on her thumbnail. “Can’t you just delete it and claim there was a technical glitch?”
“I thought about it, but then I’d have to notify Chase that his application wasn’t accepted, and knowing him, he wouldn’t believe me and still show up. Besides, I’ve sacrificed enough of myself for that slime ball. I refuse to compromise my values, too.” Hot tears burn behind my eyes as bitter regret sours my stomach.
“Nor should you!” Sophie rushes over and hugs me from behind as Mia and Harper each hold one of my hands.
“How could I have been so stupid? And now I’ll never get rid of him.” Months of bottled-up fear, worry, and stress stream down my cheeks as the dam breaks.
Lily looks so angry, I swear I can see steam rising from her head like some cartoon character. Her expression stern, she leans across the coffee table. “I know people. Want me to put a hit on him?”
Just when I think she might be serious, one side of her mouth ticks up. We all burst out laughing, and it feels good. So good.
I take the tissues Harper so thoughtfully went into the bathroom to fetch for me and blow my nose like the blubbering fool I am. “Is it awful that I kind of wish you were serious?”
Lily lifts a single brow, her eyes penetrating. “I could still have someone rough him up for you.”
She cracks a smile, but a tiny shiver runs through me. Who is this woman?
Sophie tugs her hand free. “Or, we take him down with words.”
Mia nods. “I’ve read the first draft. It’s epic.”
“But I thought the article wasn’t planned to be published for another month?”
Sophie taps her chin in thought. “That’s for print, but not the digital edition. I might be able to pull some strings and see if they can do an early feature.” She picks up her phone and taps out a message. “Can’t hurt to try. I’ll ask the editor if they can run it like an exposé.”
Her words are like a lifeline of hope. “Before the event?”
No way would Chase still come to the All Goalies game in the midst of that embarrassment.
She holds her hands up. “I don’t know. Maybe.”
Sophie glances at her phone and frantically waves us over. “Oh, he’s already replying!”
