Page 32 of Snap

"He has Grace to thank for that," Bec said. "Her and her PR skills."

"That's not true," Grace argued. "He would have done fine on his own. He didn't want to get kicked off the team. You know what they say, women are not rehab centres for men."

"That is very true," I agreed. "You did well to put up with him while he got his shit together."

"That's more like it," Grace agreed. "That was hit and miss for a while there."

I remembered. Bam had stood up Grace at some charity event. To say she wasn't impressed was an understatement. She was furious. My father was furious. I thought Bam was an entitled brat, but Grace forgave him.

"So," Grace said. "When do we get to meet this new guy of yours?" She looked at me questioningly.

"I don't know," I admitted. "I mean, it's all very new. Meeting my friends, he might think it's going too fast."

"It might be," Grace said, "But meeting your father, That would definitely be going fast. He's kind of a scary guy." Her eyes widened.

"My dad? Scary?" I considered that for a moment. "I suppose he can be. On the other hand, they might get along pretty well. They're both big fans of the Rapids."

"Oh really?" Bec asked. "Me too. I like this guy already. He sounds very mysterious."

"Does he?" I asked.

"You haven't told us much about him," Ashley pointed out.

My tongue darted over my lips. "I guess I haven't, but I'm not much on talking about myself." I sipped my drink and kept my glass up in front of my face, as though that would deter them from asking any more questions.

"We won't push you if you don't want to talk," Bec said gently. "But we're here for you if you want to. Okay?"

"Okay." I nodded. "I appreciate that, thank you." After a moment and a deep breath I added, "I'm not used to having female friends. Or male ones for that matter." That sounded pathetic, but I was used to keeping people at arm's length, always assuming they liked me for my money. It was a lonely way to be, if safer. These women though, they only saw me for me.

At least, that was how they seemed.

Bec reached over and put a hand on my arm. "We're here for you, any time." She gave me a warm smile.

The one I gave her back was probably watery, but I appreciated her kindness more than I could have put into words.

"Thank you, I said softly. "That's very sweet of you."

"That is a perfect word to describe Bec," Grace said. "Sweet."

Bec blushed. "I'm not sure if I agree with that. Remember how I spent years plotting revenge on Hawk for breaking my heart in high school?"

"Oh yeah," Grace said slowly. "You harboured a lot of pissed off feelings."

"Exactly." Bec nodded. "I wouldn't call any of that sweet."

"Did you kick him in the balls?" I asked.

"No," Bec said.

"Well then," I said, "I would call that sweet. Especially if he broke your heart." Some guys deserved a kick in the balls more than others.

"I take back what I said about your dad being scary," Grace said. "Because you're much scarier than he is." She grinned.

"Hell yeah," I agreed. "I'd say it’s a redhead thing, but that's a stereotype. Let's just say it's a Thomas thing."

They all toasted me with their wine glasses and smiles. None of them questioned my choice not to drink alcohol. Either they were very accepting, or I wasn't the only one they socialised with who preferred not to drink.

That was another thing I left to my father. I've seen him drunk often enough. I didn't want to follow in those footsteps.

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