Page 34 of For the Boys
“Well, we had some help…” Lexie turned and pointed. As if in slow motion, several people moved at once, giving Berkley a direct line of sight to a man standing at the bar.
Brent looked up and caught her eye, smiling sheepishly.
“You didn’t,” Berkley breathed, heart pumping double time. Her earlier anger and confusion over his actions softened some, influenced by this grand party he had thrown for her.
But she was still mad and hurt, and embarrassed that she was mad and hurt.
“Look, don’t be mad, okay?” Amelia started, clearly mistaking Berkley’s facial expressions for anger over the surprise and not at Brent. To be fair, Berkley hadn’t told her friends what she’d heard Parker and Mitch discussing. If she had, they probably would not have brought her to this party. “He actually reached out to Lexie for help. We love you, and we want you to be happy. We figured this certainly couldn’t hurt things.”
Once she got over the shock of it all, Berkley couldn’t help but smile and drag her friends in for a group hug. “I love you guys,” she said.
“Happy birthday, babe.” Amelia kissed her on the cheek.
Once the photographer finished snapping shots of them, her friends circled around her.
“You have to go talk to him,” Kimber said. “He helped us put this whole thing together. He literally paid for everything, and he and Cole were here yesterday helping us set up.”
“But I thought the deal was that he had to come talk to me?” Berkley asked. Her friends glared at her.
“He threw you a damn party! Don’t you think that shows he’s really interested?” Amelia asked.
Berkley sighed. “Okay, fine. What should I even say to him?”
“Oh my God, you’re such a girl.” Lexie sighed. “How about ‘Thank you?’ I think that’s a good start.”
Berkley took a deep breath and slowly made her way toward the bar. The trip took longer than she would have liked because people stopped her every couple of steps to wish her a happy birthday or try to give her more free alcohol. She politely declined, still holding the now sweating beer and watery Jack and Coke. She’d get herself a drink when she got to the bar, one she watched the bartender pour and hand directly to her.
As she moved through the crowd, she studied Brent. Seeing him on the ice in college or on TV over the last few years hadn’t prepared her for seeing him in the flesh. The way she felt drawn to him was entirely unexpected. He was so much bigger in person: tall with a broad-shouldered build that tapered into a trim waist, and biceps that strained against his dress shirt. Without a helmet to hold it back, his thick dark hair curled onto his forehead. His strong jaw was shadowed by dark stubble, and he had high cheekbones and a full mouth that stretched into a wide grin at the sight of her. His black dress pants molded to his thighs perfectly, and he held his suit jacket by two fingers over his shoulder.
The shock of the last twenty minutes had worn off, along with the buzz from the wine she had consumed earlier. The shaking in her knees could be blamed on nothing other than her proximity to Brent Jean.
She desperately wanted to be mad at him, but there was a good chance she was overreacting. Afterall, a man expressing interest in her did not give her the right to tell him what he could and couldn’t do when they weren’t even together.
“Hi,” he said when she stepped up next to him at the bar. Though she was wearing heels, he still towered over her. Laugh lines appeared at the corners of his bright blue eyes when he smiled down at her.
“Hi to you too,” she said. “Thank you for doing all of this. You really didn’t have to.”
“I know.” The corners of his lips rose, and that small act did funny things to her already jumbled insides. She couldn’t stop herself from picturing him with his hands all over some random woman in Tennessee. As much as she hated to admit it, she wanted to be the one he put his hands on.
“You really didn’t have to do this.” She had already said that, but it was worth repeating.
“I wanted to.”
“I’m sure you were warned that I hate surprises.” She almost scolded him for spending a ridiculous amount of money on someone he didn’t know, but she also wasn’t in the habit of being rude to people for being generous. While terribly misguided, the gesture was incredibly sweet nonetheless.
“I was.”
“And yet, here we are.” With a raised brow, she gestured around the space.
“I couldn’t help myself.” He locked his eyes on hers, and she couldn’t help softening a bit under his gaze.
“Just don’t make a habit of it.”
Brent nodded. “Understood.”
She set her untouched drinks on the bar and pushed them toward the edge before signaling the bartender. When he reached her, she ordered another beer, requesting to open it herself.
He set a full bottle in front of her, and she picked it up, removed the cap, and took three large swallows.
