Page 150 of The Girlfriend Zone

I try to stay focused as I snap, but my mind keeps replaying that moment in the office.

Dad stood near his desk, arms crossed, his face tight. Their voices were too low for me to hear, even with my hearing aids. But with my angle right outside the halfopen door, neither could see me, though their faces were right in my line of sight. I couldn’t stop myself from glancing closer.

“Falcon,” he’d said—like a question. “They want Falcon?”

I selfishly hoped they meant his brother, then hated myself for thinking that.

“They want points on the board,” Clementine had replied, and my heart sank, knowing that meant Miles, on offense, not Tyler, on defense.

“It’s a nice offer,” she’d added.

There was a shuffle of feet, and I’d spun around, ducking into the stairwell, breathing like I’d run a marathon.

This couldn’t be because of me.Could it?I had no idea, but even so I texted my dad that Mom was here. I didn’t want him blindsided. He replied with athanks for the heads-up.

I try to shove it out of my mind as the warm-ups end, and fans fill the arena. I don’t have to stay for the game since I’ve finished my workload for the day, but what would I do at home? Pace and wait? The two people I need to talk to are here, so when Josie texts that she has an extra seat with Maeve, I join her.

I don’t tell them a thing though. The situation is far too messy to let others in on—and too personal too.

Instead, I keep myself busy between texts with Melissa about our meeting tomorrow with the bridal website and Sabrina’s message asking about photos for her new skating coach business. Good news, but it feels wrong to have it when I have no idea what’s happening with my…boyfriend. But he’s not really mine yet. Not till we do the hard thing.

I slump in the chair just as Wesley passes to Miles.

“Go, go, go!” Josie shouts, and when Miles scores, she throws her arms around me.

But I’m not even excited about the goal.

“What’s wrong, friend?” she asks.

I wince. “I don’t know. That’s the issue.”

Maeve gives me a sympathetic smile. “Do you want to talk about it?”

It’s a good question, but I don’t know where to start. “Maybe later,” I say, and they both hug me. It helps. For now.

When the game ends—with a win—I make my way out of the stands and toward the hallway leading to the locker room. Maybe I’ll grab some post-game photos since I still have my camera. Just to have them. Can’t hurt, after all.

As I snap Miles and Wesley high-fiving, Tyler and Rowan heading to the locker room, and Christian and Hugo knocking fists, my mother strides over to me once again, a VIP pass dangling around her neck.

“Good news,” she declares, just as I capture the last of the guys.

My stomach dips. “Mom, I’m working.”

“And you’re so good at it,” she says breezily. “But I wanted to let you know I talked to Eleanor, and she said she thinks she can reschedule the calendar shoot. So you can do the wedding.”

“Mom. I really wish you hadn’t intervened in my work. I could have asked her myself,” I say, though truthfully, I wasn’t going to. Butfuckherfor taking away my autonomy.

“This way you don’t have to worry about it.”

“I didn’t want you to,” I snap, furious. “It’s not appropriate.”

She snorts a laugh as I lower the camera, letting it rest on the strap around my neck.

“What was that for?” I ask.

“Nothing,” she says, rolling her eyes. Then, she adds casually, “Baby, appropriate or not, let’s just say it’s fine with me if you bring Miles to my wedding as your date.”

I freeze. Ice in my veins. Terror in my heart.

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