Page 44 of Crush
“I figured that, but why Boomer?”
Radar, with his arm draped around Ella's shoulder, laughed. “Someone called him Boomer because he's retiring at the end of the year and it stuck.”
Brynn's head tilted at me with confusion. “But Shea's not a Boomer. He's a Gen X'er. Right, Shea?”
“Yeah, that's right. That's whatIkeep telling them, but they won't listen,” I said.
The boys laughed.
“Yeah, she sounds like Boomer's girl, alright,” Brooksy said.
I glared at Brooksy, shooting daggers at him with my eyes.Don't even.
Everyone else had glasses in hand—bottles of beer, glasses of wine, flutes of champagne, tumblers of liquor. I hated the idea of leaving her alone withtheseguys for any length of time … but it'd be rude not to offer Brynn something to drink.
“Can I get you a drink, Brynn?” I asked reluctantly. “Beer, wine, champagne? Something harder?”
“A glass of red wine would be wonderful.”
“You got it.” I turned to the boys and threatened them with a face that said it all:whatever you're thinking about doing, don't.
Chapter 15
Brynn
Shea lookedsodashing and distinguished in a suit.Walking into that convention center on his arm, I should've felt like I was a fairy tale princess on top of the world—but instead, a sickening feeling lingered in my stomach.
I thought I could manage to hide that fact from Shea—that something was bothering me—but I could tell on the drive over that he knew something was wrong.
It wasobvious.
I felt awful about it. I had to let him know what Chloe had said—but I figured I'd wait until the event was over and done with. I wanted him to be able to enjoy himself. I didn't want to ruin his night.
Once there, Shea led me to the fountain and introduced me to his teammates. They were goofy, and I couldn't help but feel like I was beingwatchedby them. Not in a bad way. More like—they were sizing me up. As if they were trying to gauge what my intentions were with Shea.
Or am I just projecting …?
When Shea went off to get me a glass of wine, Ella and Paige pulled me into a small circle while their husbands joked around with their teammates.
“So what do you think?” Paige asked, her arms encircling the whole of the place. She had just a touch of a southern accent. “Wild, isn't it?”
“This place isincredible,” I said.
“Isn't it?” Ella asked, eyeing a massive Roman column. “I am geeking outsohard over this place. Talk about going all in on an idea, eh?”
I remembered what Shea had told me about Ella. “Ella, you're the interior decorator, right?”
“Sure am,” Ella said.
Shea had also told me that Ella was Lance's little sister. They hadn't always gotten along—but now that Ella was married to Radar, who was Lance's best friend, things between the siblings were a lot easier.
I looked around the breath-taking venue, and at all the strapping athletes and their gorgeous wives. Everyone was dressed so fancy and looked so important.
“I have to admit, I feel like I don't belong here,” I said with a nervous chuckle. “Everyone looks so fancy and amazing.”
“Oh, stop it, Brynn! You look beautiful and you absolutely belong here,” Ella said.
“Ella's right, you're gorgeous,” Paige said as she laid a sympathetic hand on my arm. “Butpst.I know exactly what you mean. I feel the same way. Probably more than you do, in fact.”
