Page 87 of Almost

“I’m sorry—”

“I’m sorry—”

“Bash—”

“Thalia—”

I chuckle in relief, already feeling a little better. “Wait, let me talk,” I blurt out quickly, and Bash falls quiet. “I’m sorry about our fight. I was upset because I love Henry, and all I want to do is help Chris, but I feel helpless. The situation sucks, and I didn’t handle it right by taking my frustration out on you. I’m not saying you’re right about me not handling change well, but I…I overreacted, and I’m sorry.”

Sebastian is quiet enough that I can hear commotion in the background, meaning he’s already at the stadium. Shit.

“I know, love. You’re doing everything you can, and I admire you for it. I shouldn’t have said what I did. I’m sorry too.”

Man, we’ve definitely matured from our days of yelling at each other.

“I’ve really missed you,” I admit as more people in front of the screen start to complain about the delay.

“I missed you too,” Bash echoes. “When does your flight get in? I want to talk more about this with you, but…”

“You have a game. I didn’t forget, I promise,” I say, grabbing my carry-on to move to a quieter area. “I’m doing my best to make it, but my flight was just delayed. I wanted to at least try and clear the air so you didn’t think I was stillupset with you, but I’m going to do my best to get there before halftime.”

“Hey, it’s okay if you don’t make it. I want you here, but I want you to be safe. It’s just a game; there’s no reason to rush.”

“I love you, Bash,” I say, my eyes filling with tears because that might be the sweetest damn thing he’s ever said.

“I love you too. We’ll talk after the game, okay? I have something to talk to you about, and I want to hear all about your trip,” he says, just as the background noise gets louder on his end.

I shake my head as my mind immediately spirals to worst case scenario after the last few days. “I really wish you would just start telling me the things you want to tell me instead of saying you have something to tell me. It sends my brain immediately to worst case scenario every time.”

He laughs deeply as I roll my eyes, glad that he finds this amusing. “Thalia, I promise it’s nothing bad. If you really want to know, then I can tell you now.”

“I really think I’d prefer that so I don’t spend the entire flight back hypothesizing theories.”

“Well, when everything happened with Kiera, my agent gave me the number of a private investigator, in case I needed it. I called to have him look into Allie, but I haven’t heard anything yet. I only thought that if there’s something he can find to help Chris keep Henry, it doesn’t hurt to try.”

No fucking way. “You didn’t have to do that, but thank you. I…I don’t even have the right words.” My smile is so wide, I wish he were here to see it.

“Anything for you,” his voice rumbles, before he sighs. “I’m really sorry, but I have to go.”

“Kick some Falcon ass out there today; I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

~

I made it to the stadium after halftime, just in time to see Sebastian get sacked. My stomach drops, but it’s quickly replaced with relief as he staggers to his feet. Blake is chatting absently with one of the other wives, and I make my way to sit next to her.

Her face lights up when she spots me. “Lia! You made it!”

I plop into the seat, shaking my head. “Barely. My flight kept getting delayed, but I didn’t want to miss this game.”

“Did you see Bash get hit a minute ago?”

“I did,” I confirm, smiling at Gina, a wife who does book club with Blake, where she sits on the other side of Blake. “How is it going?”

“It’s awful. The refs are missing half the calls, but we’re still playing strong,” Gina says, as I turn to scan the field for Sebastian and Owen.

“So how was—”

I cut off Blake by leaping out of my seat at the same time as Gina to yell at the refs as a player on the other team jolts forward before the snap. “Offside! How the hell do you miss that? You’re right there!” I shout exasperatedly, my patience already at a low from my morning at the airport.

---