Page 107 of For the Boys
Mackenzie started listing things off, detailing how much she was willing to spend, the square footage she wanted, and the amenities she was looking for. Berkley provided insight where she could, especially on neighborhoods and off-street parking. Mackenzie reminded Berkley of Jessica, and her heart squeezed at the thought of her sister, who she hadn’t spoken to much since Christmas.
When Mackenzie asked about public transportation, Berkley said, “I hate the city bus system, but that probably says more about my need to be in control than it does about the actual state of public transit in this city. The People Mover is nice for getting around downtown though.”
“What’s the People Mover?” Mackenzie asked, and Berkley launched into a description of the monorail train system that moved about downtown on elevated tracks. It had thirteen stations and could reach speeds up to fifty-six miles per hour.
When she finished, Mackenzie said, “Wow, that sounds so cool! And you can see the river and Canada from up there?”
“Sure can.”
“Good to know. So you can give all of that information to my brother, and he can pass it along to the realtor. I’m flying in late tonight, and I’m planning on staying at least a week. Do you think if the realtor sets up showings for this weekend, you could come? Brent will be on a road trip, and I know next to nothing about Detroit.”
“Absolutely,” Berkley assured her. She could certainly spare a few hours to help Mackenzie out. She was Brent’s baby sister, after all. Berkley wanted to make a good impression.
“Great!” Mackenzie said. “I can’t wait to meet you! Mom is going to be so jealous I got to before she did.”
A chill ran down Berkley’s spine at the thought of meeting Brent’s parents, especially his mother. Mothers were often overprotective of their sons—if Logan’s relationship with their mom was any indication. A meeting with his parents was inevitable, but she wasn’t sure she was quite ready. Best to start small, with his sister.
“I’m excited to meet you too,” Berkley said. “Brent has said nothing but wonderful things about you.”
Mackenzie snorted. “I’m sure. Right after he finished complaining about what a pain-in-the-ass little sister I am. I’ve been kind of, shall we say, uninspired since graduating high school. The fact that he even brought me on as his partner in FLEX was a miracle, but it ended up being exactly what I needed.”
Berkley’s heart softened. “He’s very proud of you.”
“I hope so. Anyway, I’m sure you’re super busy with your law school stuff, and I have to start packing now if I want to be on time for my flight. And plus, there’s the whole business of dropping out of college. Bye, Berkley!”
Mackenzie hung up without waiting for a response. Berkley took a screenshot of the notes she’d made during the call to send to Brent. After receiving confirmation that he would pass the information along to the realtor, she responded with a thumbs-up and returned to studying.
That night, Kimber, Amelia, Lexie, and Berkley went out for dinner. It felt good to be around her friends again. It was just the four of them, like it used to be before Brent came into the picture.
Brent was certainly a bright spot in Berkley’s life. Their relationship was new and exciting and something she thought about nearly every second of every day, like a low-level hum in the back of her brain. Sometimes, she found it difficult to balance it with her other priorities.
While she loved spending time with him, she couldn’t quite give herself to him completely. The photos of him and Anna she’d found on his phone might have been perfectly innocent, but the messages on Instagram from other women definitely hadn’t been. Several of them had been opened before she found them, and the thought made her a little sick. There was absolutely nothing stopping him from accepting what any one of those women was offering.
She hadn’t been enough for a normal guy like Lee, so how could she assume she would be enough for NHL superstar Brent Jean?
Reservations and insecurities aside, her relationships with Amelia, Kimber, and Lexie were struggling, and she vowed to be better.
Berkley left for the restaurant directly from campus after logging several hours in the law library despite classes being cancelled. The weather had cleared up after her phone call with Mackenzie, and she always did her best work when ensconced in the quiet, surrounded by books.
When she arrived, she found Kimber and Amelia seated at a four-person table. A box was resting on the table in front of each of them along with two more in front of the empty chairs. Each box was white and was wrapped with a burgundy ribbon, a tag with the name of the recipient affixed to the top.
“Hey, guys,” she said, pulling her chair out and dropping heavily into it. “Sorry I’m late. Where’s Lexie?” she asked.
“Here,” Lexie said from behind her. “What is this stuff?”
“We have no idea,” Kimber said. “FedEx dropped them off as we were leaving. There’s one for each of us, so we decided to bring them along.”
Strange, Berkley thought.
A waiter approached the table. “Good evening, ladies!” he said brightly. His tawny hair was pulled back into a tight bun at the base of his skull, his face clean-shaven. A tattoo of what appeared to be lyrics to a Foo Fighters song curled around his left bicep, which flexed as he passed out menus. “Can I start you off with something to drink?”
“Rosé?” Berkley asked her friends. They nodded in agreement. “Rosé, please.”
“Coming right up!” he said. “I’ll be back with that momentarily, and in the meantime, someone will be coming by with bread for you to munch on.”
They all murmured their thanks as he moved away from the table.
“So,” Kimber said, eyes resting on the box in front of her, “shall we?”
