Page 66 of For the Boys
“What about your dad?” the man in question asked as he stepped into the sunroom. “Breakfast is ready! Where’s Jess?”
At the mention of food, Jessica shot straight up and made her way toward the door. Berkley would’ve bet good money she had been pretending to sleep the entire time in order to eavesdrop on her older siblings. It was something she’d been notorious for when they were children.
Logan and Berkley shared a knowing look before following their dad to the kitchen.
“So when are you planning on heading back to Detroit?” her mom asked Berkley as she placed a cut of steak on her plate. Steak was another Daniels family tradition, reserved only for Christmas.
“My semester starts January tenth, so I think I’ll head back sometime the week before,” she said, taking a scoop of mashed potatoes. “Why, are you trying to get rid of me already?”
Her mom glared at her. “Of course not. Just thought you might want to spend some of your winter break with the girls.”
“Or her boyfriend,” Logan whispered.
“Boyfriend?” Jessica exclaimed in mock-surprise. “Berkley has a boyfriend?”
Berkley glared at her siblings in turn. “I hate both of you.” She whirled on Logan. “You for not keeping your big mouth shut,” she said, and then turned to Jessica. “And you for pretending to sleep in the sunroom earlier so you could eavesdrop!”
Jessica had the gall to look offended. “I did no such thing! I was tired. I don’t know which dumbass in this family came up with the idea of getting up at the crack of dawn on Christmas morning, but I hate it. I need my beauty rest.”
“You’re a terrible liar, Jessica,” her dad scolded. “And watch your mouth. I suppose now that the cat’s out of the bag, though, you better tell us what’s going on, Berk.”
Berkley groaned. “Fine.”
And so, she told her family about Brent—about how he had colluded with her friends to throw her a birthday party, about attending Warriors games and meeting his teammates, about their first date. She decidedly did not tell them about the night she was drugged. That was a can of worms that absolutely did not need to be opened in front of her family, particularly her dad and brother.
“I can’t believe you’re dating a professional athlete, and aWarriorat that,” Jessica said, injecting all the reverence she could muster into the team name. “And you didn’t tell me the second he asked you out.”
“How many times do I have to tell you people that it isn’t serious enough to warrant talking about yet?” Berkley blew her hair out of her face and shoveled a forkful of corn into her mouth.
She loved her family—she really did—but there were times, like now especially, when she wished she were an only child.
“I suppose I should be grateful you’re dating someone who can actually take care of you instead of some pretty boy like that last boyfriend of yours,” her dad said, taking a swig of his beer.
“Dad!” Berkley protested. “Evan was not a pretty boy.”
Logan snickered. “Yes, he was. That dude had a skincare regimen that was more involved than your own.”
“Logan Finley Daniels!” Berkley shouted. “I told you that in confidence!”
“Attorney-client privilege doesn’t apply to gossip that juicy, Berk. You really should know better.”
“I hate you,” she said, glaring daggers at her brother.
“You do not,” he said, throwing a roll at her. “Besides, he might not be a pretty boy, but he’s definitely a playboy.”
Her mom, who up to that point had been silent, raised an eyebrow. “A playboy?”
“Yeah, Mom, you know…” Logan said, dropping his voice to stage whisper, “someone who sleeps around.”
“He’s not like that anymore,” Berkley said defensively.
“According to you,” Logan said. “But I could pull up over ten articles right now detailing his exploits.”
“Trashy gossip rags hardly count as viable news sources, Logan,” her mom said, taking the words right out of Berkley’s mouth.
In all honesty, Berkley had spent a number of hours since she and Brent started hanging out combing those exact trashy gossip rags, searching for tangible proof that Brent was a changed man. She wanted to trust him, and most days she did, but it was also hard to remain steadfast in that conviction when things kept happening to make her resolve waver. First, there was the woman in his suite talking about how good he was with his hands. Then, there were the comments on his Instagram photos. And Berkley couldn’t forget the way other women looked at him when he was out in public, like he was a piece of meat and they hadn’t eaten in days.
Most recently were the photos from the athletic-wear shoot, the ones Brent had done with Anna Hartley. Berkley didn’t know much about Anna, as she wasn’t a huge soccer fan, but she knew enough. Anna was tall, with gorgeous auburn hair and an athletic body. The way she and Brent looked together in those photos, well…it was enough to make anyone wonder if something more was happening behind the scenes.
