Page 132 of The Games We Play
“Weallknow everything.”
“You… what?” I asked, dropping back onto my heels, staring at my friends like they’d just confessed to hiding a body. My skin prickled, my throat tightened, and I could barely swallow.
“We know about the whole Mac thing,” Theo said, her voice soft but sure.
“How?” I breathed, the disbelief in my tone laced with a touch of confusion.
“Mac told me,” Aspen admitted.
“Then she told me,” Theo added with a slight shrug.
I turned to Ellie, the only one who hadn’t spoken yet. She hesitated before murmuring, “Logan told me.”
“The guys know?” My voice pitched an octave higher. “You’re telling me the guys know? Not only did you all keep this fromme, but the guys knew too? Andtheyacted like nothing was going on?”
Aspen winced. “I couldn’t keep it from Boone.”
I whipped my head toward Theo. “Let me guess, you don’t hide anything from Rhodes.”
Theo had the decency to look sheepish.
“Andhetold Logan, who told Ellie,” I finished, gesturing toward her.
A breath escaped my chest in a long, deflating sigh, my shoulders sagging with it. I thought I’d be furious—righteously, explosively angry—but I wasn’t. The heat drained out of me as laughter bubbled up instead. A deep, involuntary belly laugh took over, the kind that made my head fall back and my eyes water.
The fact that my mess of a love life had turned into a glorified game of telephone was honestly kind of hilarious. My friends were so entangled with each other that secrets didn’t stand a chance. And the fact they’d managed to keep this quiet for so long? That was practically a miracle.
When I finally gathered myself, I looked back at them. None of them were laughing. They were sitting there, wide-eyed, watching me like I’d completely lost my mind.
“So… what? Mac came to you for help?” I asked Aspen, my voice finally steady again.
She gave a small nod. “To win you back.”
“He came toyou? Told youeverything? Just to win me back?”
“He was a wreck,” Aspen said, leaning forward. She grabbed my hands, her words spilling out fast, tripping over each other like she was still unsure how I’d react. “I—I know how much you liked him, and it was obvious he felt the same. If he didn’t, he wouldn’t have shown up at my house, practically begging forhelp. I thought I could do something. I thought it was the right thing.”
“Aspen,” I said gently, a smile tugging at the corners of my lips. “It’s okay. I’m not mad. Honestly… I’m impressed.”
I leaned back again, taking them all in. My wild, loyal, meddling friends.
“He really didn’t want to lose you,” Theo said softly.
I picked up my wine glass and took a generous sip before settling cross-legged on the floor. “Okay, spill it. How exactly did you all help him?”
“I told him about the romance books,” Aspen offered with a proud little smile.
“I gave him a hard time for being a lying jackass,” Theo said, raising her glass.
“I was… mostly moral support,” Ellie said with a shrug, looking slightly guilty.
My heart swelled in a way I hadn’t expected. These women, my best friends, had helped the man who hurt me because they believed he was worth it. Because they believedwewere.
That bit of information hit me hard.
They all saw something in Mac. Something worth fighting for. Something worth giving a second chance.
The uncertainty I’d been clinging to started to dissolve, loosening its grip on my chest. I hadn’t realized how badly I needed someone else to believe in him until now. They answered a question I hadn’t even said out loud.
