Page 11 of Play Your Part

“Kennedy!” she hissed.

Against my better judgment, I opened the comments on the photo, unable to contain my curiosity. The first one was from one of his teammates,Taking Palmer City by storm.Hilarious.

I rolled my eyes and was about to say something to Gemma when I read the second comment. The words sent ice through my veins.Enjoy my leftovers. No wonder this stupid photo went viral. Justin had made it known the woman in the picture was his ex, and she was with Alexei Volkov, his sworn enemy.

Gemma continued to talk, words I entirely blocked out.

I cut in, “Oh my God. Did Justin seriously writethis? Why would he do that?”

She peered over my shoulder. “Oh, I don’t know. He thinks his ex-girlfriend is hooking up with his mortal enemy?”

“Yeah, but my father will see it—”

Our conversation from yesterday came back to me in one startling moment of realization. Justin didn’t care what my father thought anymore.

And clearly, he had no love lost for me either.

“Right. I forgot for a second.”

“I hate him, Kens. And I know he’s my fiancée’s friend, but I want to hurt him for what he did to you.” Gemma blew out a long breath, shaking her arms as if she had kept those feelings in her limbs. “Oh, it feels so good to tell you how much I never liked him for you.”

I threw my arms in the air. “What are you talking about? You told me that all the time.”

“Okay, fine. I did. But I’m going to say it again. He was never good enough for you.”

I bit my lip. As my friend, Gemma had to say that, but objectively speaking, I offerednothingto Justin Ward. He was a famous, award-winning athlete. He had millions of dollars and a legion of fans. I had no career, nothing of substance as I stood by his side. Other women would look better as his arm candy. I couldn’t even cook for him.

How had I not expected him to wake up and realize he could do better than me?

“Gem—” I started to speak before abruptly stopping. Those luminous brown eyes never left my face. There was no point in asking her for reassurances I knew weren’t true. Instead, I asked, “Do you mind if I stay here for the next few weeks?”

When my dad traveled for business, I usually found somewhere else to stay, not wanting to be alone in the large, empty, quiet house. For the last six months he had been gone more than usual after acquiring a company on the other side of the country. Most of that time, I stayed with Justin, but whenever Justin and Matt hit the road for away games, I crashed here to spend the time gossiping, watching movies, and shopping with Gemma. It never lasted more than a week though.

“Of course,” she replied immediately. “Stay as long as you want.”

I dipped my head. “Thanks. I just need a little time… to figure out what’s next.”

Gemma’s signature devilish smile returned. “So there’s no truth to this?”

“You’re joking, right?” I had zero interest in even looking at another man. I couldn’t fathom a time when I would, the hurt still too raw for me to think beyond it. And even if I were trying to get back out there, I would not choose Alexei Volkov.

Gemma shrugged. “I would understand. Alexei isfine.”

“Not you too. I already got an earful from Connie,” I said, rolling my eyes. “Oh shit.What time is it?” I looked around Gemma to the alarm clock on the nightstand. 9:35 a.m.My alarm would have gone off in ten minutes, but since I didn’t want to continue this conversation with Gemma, I wrenched the blankets off me and slid out of bed. “I promised Connie breakfast to tell her all about the party.”

The McIntyres were committed to spending nearly all their weekends together, which meant most of my weekends belonged to me. Every so often, I babysat for them to go to an event or helped if either were going through a particularly stressful week of work. And sometimes, like today, I saw Connie because of how close we had grown this past year.

Gemma laughed softly. “Well, that conversation will certainly be entertaining.”

I paused rifling through the closet to turn back to her. “You think she saw the picture?”

“Oh, Kens. That wholewe’re obsessed with the Wolvesgroup probably already knows it’s you.”

I wore Connie’s dress; if anyone could identify me in the picture, it was her. But even if she did tell that group, did it matter if people assumed Alexei and I kissed in the backyard? Justin’s comment made it clear we’d broken up, so I wasn’t cheating on him. Alexei had a reputation for hooking up with many different women. It wasn’t like we did anything wrong. It was a funny story, and people would move on in an hour, after something else interesting happened.

“Aren’t youinthat group?”

Gemma hopped off the bed and headed to the hall. “I was. To get the lowdown on Matt. They have the best dirt.” She paused in the doorway, a gleam in her eye. “Have fun at your lunch.”

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