Page 9 of Play Maker

“What are you suggesting?”

“Shad, or someone of his choosing, will accompany you to the events.”

“Oh, hell no.” The protest exploded out of me without thought, and Rob raised a brow as if to say I was simply proving his point. “If you don’t trust my dates, I’ll go alone.”

Mom winced, and Rob shook his head. “Unacceptable. As a member of the wedding party, you need to present a certain image at each of the events, which will include activities with your date.”

“How many events are we talking about here?”

“Several leading up to the wedding itself, all of them prime opportunities to introduce Hope and her yoga studio to the right audience. Your social skills are a little rusty, but we can polish those up nicely with Shad’s help.”

Shad had remained silent up to then, but his next sentence confirmed my suspicion he’d been in on the wedding plans. “I’ll take good care of her this summer.”

The urge to punch his smug little face rose so suddenly and violently I had to clench my hands together under the table. I turned to my mom, expecting her to be equally offended on my behalf, but her sad smile dropped a brick in my gut.

“He’s not wrong, baby. You have trouble finding dates, and this could be a chance for you to come out of your shell. Please just give it a chance.”

“I can get a date,” I ground out.

The clear pity on her face cut me open. “There’s no shame in admitting when you’re not good at something. Shad has a lot of connections, and who knows, maybe you’ll meet someone you like.”

“I can get a date,” I repeated. My stomach churned with the urge to puke. Heat suffused my body despite the chill in the restaurant, and all I could think about was escaping this hellish nightmare. “I’m sorry, but I think I’m going to head home. My stomach is bothering me. Probably something I ate earlier.” Or the fact that my own mother had tossed me to the wolves.

Mom frowned. “Do you want me to come with you?”

I waved her off as I stood and dropped my napkin on the table. “No, I’ll be fine. I just need to rest. Congratulations. Love you, Mom.”

“Love you too, Blue,” she called to my back. Neither of the men said anything, but I could feel Shad’s gaze on me as I slalomed between tables.

I couldn’t get out of there fast enough. One too many glasses of wine paired with a sharp slice of betrayal. Mom was supposed to be on my side. We were supposed to be a team against the jerks in the world.

The heat smacked me in the face when I emerged onto the street, but I sucked in a deep breath of the warm air. Car exhaust and someone’s overly floral perfume made me cough, and I suddenly missed the pine scent in Addison. An acute pang had me laying my hand over my chest as I struggled to hold myself together.

Mom was getting married. To Rob. I dreaded the day, but she’d looked so happy I’d do anything in my power to help. Despite Shad’skindoffer, I’d find a way to show up with a respectable date as requested.

A couple entering the restaurant gave me a strange look as they passed, and I remembered the entire front wall was glass. The idea of Rob—or worse Shad—seeing me freak out made me start walking. I should call an Uber, but something else niggled at me.

They weren’t entirely wrong. I sucked at talking to people, especially male people. I liked to think I didn’t have many friends because I hadn’t had time to fritter away while taking classes and running the shop, but the truth was I didn’t know how to make a friend. If not for Eva, I wouldn’t have any experience at all.

Then again, I’d spent all afternoon next to Adam, mixing heavier topics with jokes and increasingly bad suggestions for summer activities. Before I’d left, he’d stolen my phone to add his number.In case you need me. Not the actions of someone who planned to forget my existence after I left his immediate vicinity.

A horrible idea circled my mind, encouraged by the wine in my system.

Adam could make friends with a lawn chair, and he had no problem finding dates. His charisma was as natural as breathing. I stopped on the corner and pulled up the contacts list on my phone.

He wanted something to do this summer…well, I had a project for him.

4

Iknew she’d call—I just hadn’t expected it to be a few hours after I dropped her off at her mom’s dress shop. The apartment was dark when I got home, thank god, so I’d brought my stuff in and collapsed on my unmade bed. If Shaw or RJ—or Noah, though I didn’t expect him to spend much time here with Chloe in the apartment right across the landing—knocked on my door, I’d pretend to be asleep.

Sleep didn’t come, but I put in a solid four hours of intense moping before the phone rang. Blue’s name flashed on my screen above the picture I’d taken of her frowning at me.

Her dark brows pulled together over those blue green eyes, staring straight into me, seeing way more than anyone else did. The ringtone started over, and I realized I’d been laying on my bed in our dark apartment staring at her picture like an idiot.

I swiped the screen and tried to clear the cobwebs from my brain. “Hey, Sunshine. Miss me already?”

She huffed. “No, but I do need your help.”

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