Page 109 of For the Boys
Less than a month. Berkley felt tears spring to her eyes, already mourning the loss of a friend who had been a constant in her life since she’d started college.
“Do not start, Berkley,” Lexie warned. “We are not crying today. We can cry the day she leaves but not before. Until then, we celebrate this badass bitch landing her dream job.” She raised her glass in the air above the table, and the four friends toasted to Kimber.
Berkley sniffed. “I suppose this means we’re going to Vegas.”
Kimber perked up. “Really?”
“We deserve one last hoorah together, don’t we?”
“Hell yeah we do!” Kimber said, hopping up from the table to wrap her arms around Berkley’s shoulders. “You’re the best, Berk.”
Berkley rolled her eyes. “Technically, you could go without me.”
“Where’s the fun in that?” Amelia said.
“This is going to be amazing,” Lexie said. “I know I said I wouldn’t go without you, Berk, and I meant it, but I’m really glad you changed your mind.”
Kimber sat back down and began chatting excitedly with Lexie and Amelia about what to pack, what casinos they would hit up, and who they were most excited to see in the skills competition.
Their excitement was infectious, but it still didn’t fully penetrate Berkley’s anxiety. Seeing her friends happy made her happy of course, and as a hockey fan, she was excited about seeing the NHL’s best participate in the skills competition and All-Star Game, but she couldn’t quite shake the nagging feeling that she was being bought, that accepting this trip would be her way of signing on for something she didn’t, and couldn’t, agree to.
“Vegas, baby!” Amelia cheered, raising her glass to the middle of the table for a toast.
If her friends noticed that Berkley hadn’t joined them, they didn’t say anything.
It will be fine, she told herself.It will all be fine.
Despite her aspirations of becoming an attorney, Berkley didn’t actually enjoy confrontation, especially not in her personal life. She was known among her friends as the peacekeeper, the diplomat.
It was this facet of her personality she employed when she met Brent at his apartment after dinner. Her own reservations about the extreme amount of money he’d spent on the Vegas trip aside, it was an amazing gesture. She could hold it together, slap on a smile, and act grateful for a few hours.
And she was grateful, if only because she got to take one last trip with Kimber before she left.
“Hi, babe,” he said when she walked into his small foyer. He leaned down to give her a kiss, taking her coat when she slipped it off. “How did you and the girls like my gifts? Are you excited?”
“Oh, yeah, definitely! Thank you so much!” His smile lit up his entire face, making her glad she had decided to keep her feelings to herself.
“Is that her?” an excited voice asked from down the hallway.
Berkley stepped past Brent, and there stood Mackenzie. She was of average height, probably halfway between five and six feet tall, with a curtain of dark hair—the same shade as her brother’s— that fell just past her shoulders. Her ocean-blue eyes sparkled as she studied Berkley, and Berkley was struck by the similarities between Mackenzie’s face and Brent’s. The same wide mouth, same rounded eyes. Where Brent was all angles, chiseled cheeks and jaw, Mackenzie was softer, more feminine. But there was no mistaking these two as anything other than siblings.
“Holy shit, you’re tiny,” Mackenzie blurted.
Brent growled a warning, and Berkley laughed. “Really? I hadn’t noticed. And here I’ve been thinking your brother is just a giant,” she said, winking up at Brent, who stuck his tongue out at her.
“To be fair, he is a giant. But it’s pretty funny to see you two standing next to each other. How do you even kiss?”
“Mackenzie!” Brent scolded.
Berkley walked up to Mackenzie and gave her a hug. “I just get a running start and launch myself at him,” she said when she pulled away, and Mackenzie giggled.
“Oh, God,” Brent said. “What have I gotten myself into?” He turned and disappeared around the corner. The refrigerator whooshed open, followed closely by the tinkling of a bottle cap hitting the counter.
Berkley nodded to Mackenzie to follow her as she walked into the kitchen, where Brent was standing at the counter, a bottle of beer pressed against his lips. He pulled it away and set it down, licking a lingering drop off his bottom lip. Berkley sucked in a breath as a jolt of desire shot straight to her center. Heat rose to her cheeks.
She’d be damned if he wasn’t the sexiest man she’d ever seen.
Brent grabbed Berkley a beer and slid it across the island to her. Climbing onto a bar stool, she cracked it open, taking a long pull to cool off.
