Page 29 of Forecheck
“What’s a WAG?” Lexie asked.
Ahh, dear sweet Lexie. The best friend I’d ever had, but not much of a sports fan.
“It’s an acronym,” Amelia explained. “It stands for Wives And Girlfriends.”
“Shit, Berk,” Lexie said. “Whether you guys have defined your relationship or not, this is pretty sweet. I’d milk it for all it’s worth.”
I narrowed my eyes and pursed my lips. “Lex, how long have you known me?”
“Seven years,” she answered immediately.
“And what about me in those seven years has shown you that I need or want a man to buy my affection?”
Lexie’s expression slackened as she realized her mistake. “Absolutely nothing,” she said softly.
“Exactly.”
“I’d hardly consider this buying your affection,” Amelia said. “He wanted to see you and he made it happen. I appreciate the initiative.”
“He could’ve asked first.”
“Oh, stop being so fucking independent and enjoy yourself!” Kimber burst out.
“Kimber…” Lexie warned.
I put a hand on her arm. “It’s fine, Lex.”
It wasn’t fine, not at all. Maintaining my independence had always been one of the most important things to me. I never wanted to rely on a man—or anyone—for anything. I refused to be one of those women who couldn’t do anything for herself. Kimberknewthat about me—all three of these women did. And while I may not have been the easiest to deal with sometimes, I knew the right man would accept me,allof me, for exactly who I was.
But now was not the time to remind Kimber of that. When Brent could walk through that door at any moment, I wasn’t about to cause a scene with my friends.
Kimber’s gaze remained locked on me, waiting for me to explode.
I simply offered her a fake smile and said, “You’re right, Kimber. I should enjoy myself.”
Kimber blinked, clearly confused, but I turned toward the bar before she could utter another word.
“You took it way too easy on her,” Lexie said, coming up behind me at the bar.
I withdrew a beer from the fridge, extended it to Lexie, and grabbed another when she accepted. We took them onto the balcony, far away from Kimber and Amelia—who stood at one of the bar-height tables inside, whispering conspiratorially—to wait for Brent to arrive.
“It’s not the time or the place to have that conversation with her,” I said to Lexie, finally responding to her last comment.
As much as we liked to pretend it didn’t, our group had a natural divide—us versus them, Lexie and Berkley versus Kimber and Amelia. It had been like that since the early days of our friendship. I’m not saying Kimber and Amelia weren’t good friends of ours, because they were, but Kimber had a bad habit of giving me backhanded compliments and treating me like I was beneath her. Amelia, on the other hand, was just spineless enough to follow her lead. I’d always gotten along better with Lexie because we were two peas in a pod—stubborn, outspoken, fiercely loyal, protective, and would take a bat to the back of anyone who wronged us.
I couldn’t say the same for Kimber and Amelia. And for someone who was building a career out of fighting for people who couldn’t do it themselves, I could admit: I’d become a bit of a pushover lately. I would say something to Kimber about what she’d just said to me—about the other times she’d spoken to me in a similar manner over the years, about her and Amelia letting themselves into my home uninvited, about the other wrongs I felt I’d suffered at their hands—but tonight wasn’t the night.
“I’m not debating that,” Lexie said. “But you have to do it eventually.”
“I will,” I promised.
“This is a hell of a view,” she commented, abruptly steering the conversation to safer ground. “I don’t know about you, but I could get used to this.”
Despite the irritation clawing at me, I couldn’t help but smile at Lexie. “Me, too.”
I might have been a little freaked out, but…I wasn’t above wishing for this. I wasn’t above praying that this would become the norm for me, for Lexie. That Brent would become a permanent fixture in my life.
As if I’d conjured him, his voice floated through the suite.
