Page 14 of Spotlight
At the restaurant, I spot our group immediately. Archer and his teammates stand out – taller and broader than everyone else. My nerves are back, but as soon as I spot Sabrina and the blissed-out smile on her face, I relax.
“Congratulations!” I say, embracing her tightly.
Her laughter tinkles next to my ear. “I’m so glad you’re here.”
We pull back and she gives me a once-over with an appreciative nod. “You look hot.”
“So do you.” Then again, she always does. Her long, red hair is curled and falls over one shoulder. She’s in a pale purple dress that looks gorgeous against her pale skin and makes her brown eyes pop wider.
Her fiancé, Archer, steps up next to her, sliding one arm around her waist as he tips his head at me. “Hey, Olivia. Glad you could make it tonight.”
“Me too. Greer wanted me to pass on her congrats and let you know she’s mastered signing the alphabet.”
“Is that right?” His smile lifts higher and hazel eyes twinkle with admiration. Archer is deaf. He wears hearing aids, but he also signs—something Greer has thrown herself into learning ever since she met him. I don’t know how he did it, but Archer won over my daughter in record time. It usually takes her a while to warm up to men. I could probably read a whole lot of things into that, but the simple fact is she’s predominantly around women. With the exception of Grandpa, of course.
“She’s very excited to show you the next time she sees you.”
“I can’t wait to see it. Tell her I’ll drop by the studio after her class on Wednesday.”
“She’ll love that.”
Someone nearby laughs loudly and the three of us look over at the commotion. I must have reverted back to being nervous because Sabrina laughs softly and says, “Let me introduce you to some of the guys. They’re not as intimidating once you get to know them.”
I’m not so sure of that, but I follow as she and Archer work their way into the circle of men.
“Sabrina!” The guys all yell and lift their drinks to cheers the bride-to-be.
“What about me?” Archer asks, looking around at his friends.
The guys laugh, but a few tip their beers in his direction.
My gaze travels around the circle. Almost as if on cue, each of the guys looks from the happy couple to me.
“What did I say? Best behavior tonight,” she scolds them playfully. Grabbing my hand, she tugs me farther into the center and begins to introduce the guys.
Some of the more well-known Mavericks players I recognize, like Cody St. James, Merrick Thomas, and of course Sabrina’s brother Brogan Six. He lifts a hand above the crowd to wave at me. I mirror the action, but then Sabrina is pulling me away to another group of guys. Someone, Archer, I think, hands me a glass of champagne.
I take a small sip as Sabrina begins to introduce me to Archer’s brothers. Knox, the motocross rider, Hendrick, the former NFL player. I can see the resemblance in them and Archer. I smile and then glance over at the last Holland brother.
“And this is Archer’s youngest brother, Flynn.”
I glance over at the last man in the circle with one of those friendly, too-bright smiles reserved for first introductions. I’ve heard a lot about Flynn. He’s a professional baseball player that has been crashing with Archer and Brogan after he was cut from the Twins. Sabrina has mentioned him a few times, and I even saw him once, briefly, when I stopped by the apartment. He was passed out on the couch so we didn’t speak, but the point is I know of him, and Archer is the kind of good guy that makes me believe his brothers are all equally as nice.
Which is probably why my stomach lurches so violently when I’m met with familiar brown eyes. I stare at him the way you might an optical illusion—waiting for the man in front of me to morph into someone else.
Because this guy? I know him.
The playful smirk I remember twists with recognition and shock.
“This is my best friend, Olivia,” Sabrina says. Her voice sounds far away like she’s in a tunnel. Or maybe I am.
I hear Hendrick and Knox’s greetings, but I can’t seem to look away from the guy I have thought about every day since New York. Who am I kidding? Every minute. Granted, a lot of those thoughts were anger that he snuck out while I was sleeping and couldn’t be bothered with saying goodbye, but I haven’t been able to shake him.
I open my mouth to say… something… anything, but nothing comes out. Did he know this whole time? That night was he laughing and waiting for me to recognize him? Was it all some joke to him?
An embarrassed flush spreads through me.
“Olivia,” Flynn says my name slowly like it’s part of a puzzle he’s just figured out. He extends a hand.
