Page 69 of Forecheck
“Okay,” I said to my agent, cutting him off mid-sentence. “That’s all great. Send me whatever the fuck you just told me in an email. I’ll review and get back to you. Gotta go.”
Two minutes later, my computer pinged with an email. My agent was nothing if not efficient. Still, I ignored it, already focused on my next call and the plans that would come after.
After a bit of searching through the Warriors’ organization phone lists, I found what I was looking for and quickly dialedthe number. Leaning back in my chair, I propped my feet on my desk and stretched my neck side to side while it rang.
When the woman answered, I sat forward again, giving her my full attention.
“This is Brent Jean calling,” I said. “I was hoping you could help me out.”
It's Only You
The Thursday after Brentand I returned from Frankenmuth, Lexie and I went out for dinner. Between my relationship with Brent and her burgeoning…whatever with Mitch, law school, and her constant travel for work, we’d hardly seen each other recently. While Brent was a bright spot in my life, I needed girl time with my best friend.
Normally we’d do things like this with Kimber and Amelia, but my relationships with each of them were still strained. Now that some time had passed, I’d finally responded to Amelia’s texts, and she apologized for not respecting my boundaries and siding with Kimber in that final showdown at my apartment. Despite the olive branch, our friendship was still tenuous at best, but we were working on it.
On the other hand, I still hadn’t heard a peep from Kimber. I wasn’t going to lie—it hurt that she could so easily throw away seven years of friendship like that, but she’d always been stubborn. Frankly, I didn’t feel like I was the one in the wrong. Could I have handled things better? Certainly. But, as the sayinggoes, the ball was in her court. If she wanted to repair the rift between us, she’d have to make the first move.
For now, I was putting that tension behind me to enjoy an evening with Lexie.
When I stepped out of my apartment to head out to dinner, I was greeted by two boxes on my doorstep. They were white with burgundy ribbons, a tag on one bearing my name, the other bearing Lexie’s.
I barely contained an eye roll. I knew who they were from, because there was only one man who got off on both surprising me and buying me gifts, but I couldn’t imagine what was inside that Lexie would get one, too. I hefted them into my arms and carried them down to my car.
When I arrived at the restaurant, Lexie was already there, and she eyed me skeptically as I approached the table with the boxes.
“What are those?”
“I have no idea,” I said. “They were on my doorstep when I left to come meet you.”
“From Brent, I assume?” Lexie asked with a raised brow.
“I think that’s a safe bet.”
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.
I hated that I recognized the lyrics. I didn’t even like the Foo Fighters.
“Can I start you off with something to drink?” he asked.
Lexie and I shared a brief glance before blurting, “Rosé,” in unison.
“Coming right up!” he said with a chuckle. “In the meantime, someone will be bringing some bread for you to munch on.”
We murmured our thanks as he moved away from the table.
“So…” Lexie said. “Shall we?”
“I suppose,” I groused. “Although I guarantee whatever is in here is going to piss me off.”
“Oh, Berk,” Lexie said with a smirk. “Stop being so fucking independent and enjoy yourself!”
I reached out and smacked her for parroting Kimber’s words from a few months ago. “Fuck off.”
“God, she’s such a bitch,” Lexie muttered with a laugh. “Forget about her. She’s clearly fucking crazy. You and Brent have argued. He knows about Lee and the cheating drama. He’s seen the messy parts of you and guess what? He’s still fucking crazy about you. So contrary to her unimportant opinion, you haven’t pushed him away, and I doubt you ever could.”
The words eased some of the tension in my chest. Leave it to Lexie to shoot me straight, to help me put my head back on when it was spinning out of control. The waiter brought our wine, and I took a grateful, fortifying sip.
“Alright,” I said at last. “Let’s open these.”
