Page 90 of The Golden Goalie

Aiden’s eyes find mine, and I can see the barely restrained anger. “Are you okay?” My eyes widen.He’s mad for me? Something tightens in my chest. I nod, unable to say anything. “I suggest you don’t put your hands on my sister forcibly again, or you and I are going to have a problem. More than we alreadydo,” he adds. I stand there, unsure what to say or do, but Aiden once again takes the lead. “Amber, your sister is looking for you.”

“Oh, okay. I'll go find her.”

Adam turns to me like he’s going to say something, but with Aiden standing right there, he stays quiet. “Go ahead, Sweetheart. I’ll catch up to you soon.” I refrain from rolling my eyes. Barely.

I pat Aiden’s arm as I walk past, not knowing what else to do to show my appreciation. I chance a glance over my shoulder and see Aiden hasn’t moved from his position. I practically run into Brielle; she puts her arm out to steady me. “Are you okay?”

I look behind her and see Sebastian and Stephanie and Gunner as well as a few other members of the team. “Um...” Gunner and Sebastian have matching expressions on their faces; they look angry. Actually, Stephanie does too.

“We all saw him grab you.”

“It’s fine,” I say, trying to brush it off. I glance at the group again and notice Rico is absent.

“Gunner made him go outside to cool off,” she says quietly. I almost play dumb and ask who she’s talking about, but I stay quiet because it’s pointless. “Amber, are you in trouble? I’ll help you.”

My heart softens because I know she means it. “Thanks, Bri.” I step forward and give her a hug, surprising her. “I love you.”

Her arms tighten around me. “I love you too.”

“I want in,” Stephanie says, joining our circle. “I love you both too.”

Bri laughs. “We love you too, Stephanie.”

“Amber.” Adam’s voice is like cold water. I release my hold on the girls, who are both wearing matching expressions.

I squeeze both their hands. “Please just let it go.” I walk over to Adam. Aiden is standing near him with his arms crossed. I give him a nod, letting him know I appreciate him. Adam sweepshis arm around me and pulls me into his side. I do my best not to grimace. I smile at my friends, or at least I try to before he sweeps me inside the large room where we ate.

“Was that you're doing?” he asks when we’re a good distance away from my friends.

“Nope,” I say, popping the p. “That was all on you. Newsflash, grabbing women is not a way to get popular.” I disentangle myself from him, wondering for the thousandth time what I ever saw in him. I stay with him what I think is an acceptable amount of time. “I’m going to head out.” He barely even acknowledges me. I make my way to the exit. I’m tired, my feet hurt, and I’m starving.

When I get home, I am dragging. I make my way up to the front door and head inside. I stop when I see the group gathered in my living room. I turn around and look at the door and then back at them. “How did you all get here? I didn’t see anybody’s cars.”

“We parked up the street, so you wouldn’t see the cars and not come inside,” Brielle says from the couch, where she’s sitting next to Stephanie. Sebastian is sprawled out on the couch next to his girl. Aiden's taken up a spot on the wall behind Brielle, and Gunner’s sitting in the overstuffed chair. I see Rico in the doorway, but I don’t make eye contact with him. Wearily, I take off my shoes. “So, why are you all here?” I ask.

“We want to know what Adam is holding over you.” That’s from Sebastian. Apparently, he’s the spokesperson for the group tonight.

I sigh. “You all need to let this go. I’ve made my choice, and you all need to be okay with that.”

“Wrong answer,” Rico says from the doorway. I bite the inside of my cheek but don’t look over at him.

“You just can’t handle that I don’t want to be with you, Rico.” The words taste like acid in my mouth.

I wait for him to storm out of here, but he shocks me by chuckling. “Want to try that again, Sweetheart?” he asks in a low voice.

“Don’t call me that,” I snap. My temper is rising, and I’m getting frustrated. I’m trying to do the right thing, and they’re making it so difficult. Before I can say anything, there’s a knock at the door. I whirl around, thankful for the excuse to move away from being the center focus of this group.

Chapter 36

Rico

I take a calming breath and try to rein in my control. I’m still furious after watching Adam grab Amber, like she’s a thing and not a woman,mywoman. Theonlyreason I didn’t rip into him was that Gunner made me walk away, telling me to let Aiden deal with it. I barely stayed away. I’m trying to let Amber deal with things her way; I’ve tried to give her space to work through whatever it is she’s working through. But after seeing her with Adam tonight and the way he treated her, I’m officially out of patience.

Amber opens the door and makes a sound. I’m already headed that way. When I get there, my stomach feels gut punched. Amber’s arms are wrapped around a guy I don’t recognize. And just like that, I’ve had enough. I step forward, but a hand on my shoulder stops me. I shrug it off and give Aiden a look. “Just wait,” he says in a low voice.

“Noah?” Brielle walks over to the door and throws herself into the guy’s arms.

I stare at her and then whip my gaze back to Aiden, who’s wearing a smirk. I turn back around. I’m not in the mood to deal with any more men trying to take my girl from me. “Hey, hands off,” I say walking right over to the group of three. Not wanting to be compared to Adam in any way, I don’t touch Amber, even though I want to haul her into my side.

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