Page 67 of Next in Line
Miles nods toward Sam, and states, “You should have seen our dad when he met Sterling over Christmas break. He was like a kid in a candy store. He always wished I would have played football, so Sterling is like a dream come true future son-in-law for him.”
Sam nods slowly and takes a drink of his beer before replying. “I was never one for team sports.”
“Me neither, but I love watching!” Miles replies jovially, completely oblivious to Sam’s tension. “I’m just glad Megan didn’t end up with one of my buddies from back home. They were always giving me shit about how hot you were.”
I blanch at that response because just this past summer I saw one of Miles’s friends at a college party. They are all several years older than me, so it was odd this particular friend was hanging out at a college party, to begin with, but it must have been destiny because Sterling came out of nowhere and rescued me like my knight in shining armor.
“Your friends are gross,” I reply around my wineglass and can feel Sam turn his head to stare right at me.
“Especially this fucker,” Miles says, reaching across the table and shoving Sam in the shoulder. “He’s going to end up being the Hugh Hefner of Boulder.”
“Hugh Hefner was actually a serial monogamist,” Kate states, her eyes wide and challenging. “He had three wives and was actually very loyal to his girlfriends. It was always the women who broke his heart.”
We all blink at Kate for knowing such details, and then Sam adds, “Well, that’s definitely not me.”
Miles shakes his head and then looks over at me again. “What are the odds Sterling will end up in Denver, Meg?”
I shrug. “He’s done some training camps with their team, which is always promising, but we won’t know until the draft.”
“We,” Sam mutters with a chuckle under his breath. It’s soft enough that I’m the only one who can hear him, but Kate must notice his mood change because she’s watching him curiously.
Miles is still totally oblivious. “I feel like I didn’t get much of a chance to really talk to him at Mom and Dad’s,” he chimes in. “He should come here and visit sometime, Megs. You think he’d do that?”
I nod instantly. “I think so.”
“Cool, I want to get to know him better if you think he’s going to propose soon. I need to make sure he’s good enough for my baby sister.”
“How do you know anyone is good enough?” Sam asks, his eyes narrowing on Miles. “Are you the ‘good enough’ police?”
Miles raises his chin up. “For my sister, fuck yes, I am.”
Sam shrugs. “My sister just got divorced, and I thought that guy was good enough. Clearly, I was wrong. So what magic do you have to tell if someone’s an asshole or not?”
Miles takes a moment to stare at his best friend whose entire body is stiff with tension. “I’m sorry to hear about your sister, buddy. That totally sucks. Is it your older one? You had mentioned they were having problems.”
I exhale heavily when Miles doesn’t seem to understand what Sam is getting at. I’m trying to figure out what Sam is trying to say too. Is he referring to himself, or is he referring to Sterling? Because somehow I don’t think he’s really considering his sister’s situation right now.
“Are you going to work at all, Megan?” Kate asks, chiming in out of nowhere.
“What do you mean?”
She shrugs. “I mean…you’re smart as a whip, you graduated early and in the top of your class at Utah, but you’re planning to marry a future NFL player, so does that mean you’re planning on not working at all?”
My jaw goes taut because Kate’s question seems bitchy and judgmental, but she says it with that bright, happy smile of hers. “I’m going to work. Our plan was for me to start job hunting in the spring. I’m just taking some time off before my future really begins.”
“Your future with Sterling?” Kate asks, and I see a glint of mischief in her eyes that I don’t like.
“Yes, my future with Sterling,” I reply through clenched teeth.
“Man, he must be a great lay for you to be basically putting your life on hold for him!” Kate exclaims, slapping her hand on the table.
Miles puts his hands over his ears. “Gross, you’re talking about my sister, and I can’t hear this!”
Her words sting because she’s using stuff I’ve said to her in confidence against me, and it’s not okay. I lean across the table like I’m a boxer standing toe to toe with my opponent. “I know you write erotic romance novels, Kate, but not everything is about sex.”
She smiles a fake smile. “Then you need to tell me what it is about Sterling that’s so damn amazing. Because you’ve been here for weeks, and I have yet to hear one thing to that effect.”
I exhale heavily, my nostrils flaring with agitation over how quickly she flipped on me. “You don’t have to understand love at first sight, but as a romance novelist, I would have thought you’d respect it.”
