Page 58 of The Games We Play
“I’m aware,” I muttered. “Not that I had any control over you hearing about it.”
Theo rolled her eyes.
“But yeah.” Sighing, I leaned against the back of the bar. “I’m in deep. Now I’m just trying to climb my way out of the hole. Please tell me you came with advice and not just to enjoy the show.”
Theo grinned, unapologetic. “I’m fully up to speed on the plan.”
Perfect.
“The books,” she added with a nod. “That’s genius. If there’s one way to get back into Penny’s heart, it’s through her love of literature.”
I rubbed the back of my neck. “Yeah, well… being creative is the problem.”
Following instructions? No issue. Showing up and doing the work? Fine. But coming up with something heartfelt and original, something that actually stood a chance of reaching her? That’s where I froze.
“That’s why we’re here,” Aspen said with a grin.
I let out a humorless laugh, more exasperated than amused. “Great. Because if there’s something better than one opinion, it’s two,” I said, my tone laced with sarcasm
Aspen and Theo exchanged a look.
Immediately suspicious, my eyes bounced between them. “What did you do?”
Like I summoned them with my words, the door chimedagain.
In walked Boone, his worn cowboy hat sitting perfectly on his head like always, followed by Rhodes, who had a baby strapped to his chest.
I snapped my gaze to Aspen. “You’re kidding me.”
“I tell Boone everything,” she said defensively, lifting her hands.
“And I don’t hide anything from Rhodes,” Theo added smoothly. “Maybe you should try it sometime.”
I scowled, pushing away from the bar and standing up straight, frustration crawling over my skin.
Boone was the first to approach, sliding behind Aspen and leaning down to kiss the top of her head. Rhodes joined Theo’s side, wrapping his arm around her shoulder as Frankie let out a happy coo.
Was this some kind of intervention? All my friends gathered here, watching me like I was a lost cause.
My hands dragged down my face as I groaned again, this time wishing I could rub them all out of existence. But when I looked up, they were still there. Still watching. Still waiting.
They all wore the same expression: gentle sympathy. And somehow, that was worse than judgment.
“You really didn’t have to come,” I muttered to Boone and Rhodes.
“We wanted to,” Boone said, his voice steady and calm. “Aspen told us what happened. We’re here to help.”
Yeah, well I wish she hadn’t.
But there was no going back, so whatever was done was final, and I might as well use it to my advantage.
“So,” Rhodes said, leaning on the bar, a smirk tugging at his lips. “You gonna start, or should we?”
I blinked. “Start what?”
“If we are going to help you, we need to know what happened,” Theo said.
So, thiswasan intervention. They were cornering me, forcing the truth and wanting me to admit my problem out loud.
