“Nope,” I say, trying not to laugh.“I’m good.”
Jake nods, then leaves, and the second he’s gone, I look at Blake.
“Are you glaring at rookies now?” I ask.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“You do.”
He takes a sip of his beer, expression innocent.“Maybe I just don’t trust his taste in champagne.”
I laugh, unable to stop myself.
The exact moment Zane looks over, we are both smiling. Of course, the universe is testing me.
“Don’t panic,” he says under his breath.
“I’m not panicking.”
“You look like you’re mentally drafting an evacuation plan.”
“I always have one,” I mutter.
“Hot.”
I roll my eyes so hard it should count as cardio.
Before I can answer, Tess comes barreling over with Gwen in tow.
“We need more dancing juice,” Tess says, breathless.
“I knew you’d come around.”
“I said more dancing juice,” she clarifies.“Not that I enjoyed myself.”
“That sounds fake,” Leo calls from somewhere behind her.
“Shut up, Leo.”
Gwen is blushing and smiling in that soft, surprised way people do when they realize they’re actually having fun after expecting the worst.
“You were right,” she admits to me.
I glance around the room, then, properly, and something settles quietly inside me.
Not fully. Not forever. But enough. I’m here. I’m laughing.
I’m standing in a crowded party in Chicago, wearing purple. I’m holding champagne and making new friends while trying very hard not to notice the hockey player who keeps looking at me like he has already decided something.
For the first time in a long time, my life feels like it belongs to me again.
Messy. Complicated. A little reckless, maybe. But mine.
Tess hooks her arm through mine again. Gwen laughs at something Zane whispers to her, and we both smile. Leo starts dramatically complaining that no one appreciates his dancing. It’s at this moment that I let myself smile.
Maybe coming here was a good idea after all.
Chapter 9
