“She’s freaking out,” Heather said out of the corner of her mouth.
“Look, he’s here.” Roman shifted his gaze toward the entry of the ballroom.
Anna’s entire expression froze in place. She resisted the urge to adjust her girdle as quarterback legend and golden boy Drake Walsh strolled into her world, settling right back into the hole he’d only recently drilled into her heart.
Seriously?
Grr, no. Drake wasnother date. They’d already decided that when she’d broken it off with him. Their goals in love and in life did not align. He may have been from Denver and he may have visited often, but helivedin Miami.Shelived in Denver, and when she’d offered to give up her flower shop and move to Miami, he’d said…no.
Just like that.
No.
Not even ahey, let’s slow this down. Justno, that’s a bad idea.
Hence the following implosion of the beginnings of what she’d hoped would be her future.
She may have been a little touchy about it all, but she’d put herself out there and he’d ruined it.
“Rome?” she asked her brother. “Drake’s my pity date?” Shock infused her tone like the top-shelf whiskey in her nearly untouched eggnog martini.
“Yes.”
She was officially going to do bodily harm to her brother. She stared at him with the stare she’d perfected with two older brothers and a younger one—the one that clearly got her point across. That point being—
“Run.” She’d give him a thirty-second head start before she pummeled him with the pointy heels of her shoes.
Roman did not run.
Instead, he seemed to double down and widen his stance, shove his hands on his hips, and give her a look like she was in the wrong on this one.
Her chest went tight because maybe, just maybe, she was a teensy bit wrong.
But so was Drake.
And two wrongs did not make their relationship work.
“Hear him out,” Roman said, sympathy practically rolling off of him. Sympathy that was really pissing her off. “You need to know where he’s coming from.”
Anna’s pulse thrummed as Drake strode toward their little huddle with purpose.
There were things Anna knew about Drake: he was super hot, excellent in bed, perpetually single, unwilling to commit to anyone off the football field, and apparently…her date.
Again.
She might as well just call her heart broken a second time and be done with it. Blinking, she hoped he’d disintegrate into a mirage. That didn’t happen.
He caught her attention, and for a moment, she could’ve sworn there was an apology in his gaze. A question in his expression—would she let him pretend nothing had happened and they hadn’t ended?
Drake sauntered toward them, eyes locked with hers. Anna’s chest heaved.
“Why would you do this to me?” She cut a look toward her least favorite brother of the night.
“Give him a chance.” Roman’s voice dropped low enough so only she could hear it.
“We broke up.” Anna’s throat worked against the silver chain of her choker necklace. Roman’s thirty seconds were about over, and she wasn’t entirely kidding about pummeling him.
Without even meaning to, she slipped her gaze back toward Drake.
