Page 43 of Romancing My Grumpy Goalie

“She makes a solid point,” Aubrey says.

“That’s too bad,” Layla says. “Nolan could have used a solid father figure, and I was so excited to hear you’d finally found some happiness.”

I was too for one night. Until I realized it would never work out. I kind of always knew, but I let myself get swept up in the moment. It was easy to do with all those muscles and that deep, rumbly voice. I grab my drink and take a pull from the straw.

Time to think about something else.

Thankfully, my phone buzzes, giving me an excuse to mentally change the subject. I have multiple texts from Lucas from fifteen minutes ago that I hadn’t noticed before. That must have been when I was putting in my order and talking to the girls. I’ll check those later. The last thing I need is for the girls to read over my shoulder and create a narrative that doesn’t exist and never will. It hurts too much knowing Lucas and I will never be a real couple.

There’s also a text from Jeremy. Since it could be something important about Nolan, I open it.

Jeremy:You’re engaged to that soccer player, huh?

My heart is pounding in my throat. Oh, no. How could this moment get any worse?

Me:Who told you that?

“You okay, Anabelle?” Layla asks. The entire table is looking at me.

“Trouble with Jeremy,” I breathe.

Aubrey reaches over and squeezes my shoulder. “Aww, honey. I’m sorry. What’s he saying now?”

I tuck my phone into my purse. “The usual.” I stand. “I’m going to the bathroom.”

Before anyone can offer to go with me or interrogate me further, I stalk off to the back hall where the restrooms are. It’s a one-room bathroom, so I have the space to myself. My purse buzzes against my leg as I lock the door.

I pull out my phone and lean against the wall.

Jeremy:It’s all over the internet. Are you letting that guy around our son?

There’s so much to unpack here. I pull a fist up to my mouth and focus on my breathing. I open my phone’s browser and type in “Lucas Hensley engaged.” The first article that pops up is from one of those big celebrity gossip sites.Owen Hadley Congratulates Injured Soccer Star on his Engagement.They’veincluded a video in the article, which I play. The camera shows Lucas and me in the booth looking cozy before panning to Owen promising to buy us a wedding gift. We told him we were just friends right after that, but the video has been trimmed to exclude that part.

The video is embedded from a social media site where it has over a million views already. It’s only been a day.

I take a deep breath and open the texts from Lucas.

Lucas:Brace yourself. I have some bad news, and it’s my fault.

Lucas:Are you available for lunch? I’d rather tell you in person.

Lucas:I wouldn’t blame you if you wanted to find a new mentor for Nolan after this. He doesn’t need to be pulled into my drama.

Me: I can meet you in thirty minutes at Hadley’s.

I’d like to talk to Owen and Alexis as well, since they’ve been dragged into this debacle.

Lucas:It’s a date.

Lucas:Not literally. Shoot. You know what I mean.

I shake my head and drop my phone into my purse. Hadley’s is across the street, so I have a few minutes to kill. The girls are still at the table sipping their coffees with a fresh round of muffins in the center of the table.

And Alexis is there, eyes wide, hands flying through the air as she talks like she’s in panic mode. Lauren is by her side, with her back to me, wearing a grim look on her profile. Lauren is married to Alexis’s brother, and the two women were best friends and neighbors before that.

Accepting my fate, I approach them. They don’t notice me at first because they’re all hyper-focused on Alexis. But then her gaze moves past them to me, and they all turn and stare at me.

“What’s going on?” I say casually, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear.

---