Page 126

“You’re a brat.”

“Yes, I am.”

The pride in his voice made me chuckle, even if I was positive we’d end up in the bunk room by the end of this weekend if he kept it up. And we both knew he would.

The late-afternoon sunlight glittered across the marina as I pulled into the parking lot. Somehow, despite my inability to keep my hands off of Theo, we were early. Not too early, but early enough to sit in the car a few more minutes without Sariah hunting me down. I killed the engine and settled back against my seat while Theo immediately became the center of my attention. He was looking out the window, his gaze plastered on the water. The evening was warm, but the breeze coming off the water kept the humidity from feeling atrocious. Palm leaves shifted overhead, gulls called somewhere beyond the harbor, and music drifted faintly from one of the waterfront restaurants just outside the marina.

And beyond it all sat the yacht. It was hard to miss, and I wasn’t even sure it qualified as a yacht, not with its size. May had never been able to do anything halfway. A wedding on a boat could’ve meant something intimate and understated. Could’ve being the key phrase there. Instead, she’d chosen something large enough to accommodate their entire extended collection of friends, bandmates, crew, and whatever other strays we’d accumulated over the years. There were a lot of people to cram into any sort of space, which meant the boat had to be huge.

I did not envy the decorating team she’d hired. There was so much space to cover, and I knew every inch of that boat would be covered in elaborate displays by the time the wedding started.

Tonight, though, everything would be much more mellow. It’d consist of the rehearsal itself, dinner, drinks, and probably several hours of everyone ignoring whatever schedule Sariah had painstakingly created, which was exactly how most of our get-togethers went. The plan was rarely followed no matter who made it.

I glanced back at Theo. For all the anticipation I’d felt about bringing him here, something unexpected twisted through my stomach, as if my nerves were getting the best of me. This wasn’t taking him to meet Vic or showing him my home. This was dropping him in the deep end with all my people at once. These were people who had picked me as much as I picked them. They were the only people who knew me and understood me. Their opinions mattered most.

And while they knew about Theo and were rooting for us, it mattered that they liked him. That they saw him in many of the ways I did—his brat side was just for me. Unfortunately, I couldn’t control that, and it worried me.

Reaching across the console, I placed a hand on his thigh and gave it a light squeeze. He immediately smiled as he turned to me. The setting sun did something wickedly attractive to his face, tracing the sharp contours of his features and illuminating his blue eyes.

“You okay?” Theo asked.

“I haven’t seen her yet,” I told him, picking an easy topic to settle on. I wasn’t sure how to put words to the I haven’t seen her since I left for Everdale part. Sariah and I talked almost constantly. Calls, texts, and video chats filled whatever down hours we had. Distance hadn’t changed our friendship, but almost a year was still almost a year. A screen wasn’t the same as having my best friend within walking distance.

“That’s almost a year,” he said.

“I know.” I nodded slowly, my gaze drifting back to the yacht. “There will be some screaming, probably some yelling, no tears, but maybe some hitting.”

“And what are you going to do?”

“Hopefully survive her,” I retorted, making him laugh. I rubbed my thumb against his thigh as my mind moved ahead of our conversation, anticipating introductions and personalities and all the ways tonight could become overwhelming for him. “If you get uncomfortable or want to go back to the room or even leave, that’s fine. Just tell me, and I’ll figure it out.”

“Rhodes,” he began, his voice soft, “it’ll be okay.”

My gaze shifted back to him, and I found no doubt or apprehension on his face. If anything, he looked amused by how seriously I was taking all of this. His hand covered mine, his fingers slipping through my own.

“I know these are your people, and you want tonight to go well, but you don’t have to spend the whole night worrying about me,” Theo said with a reassuring smile. “If I can handle how Jude and Wyatt treat bad ideas like team-building exercises, I think I can handle your rockstar friends.”

I laughed—genuinely laughed.

“And if I get overwhelmed, I’ll tell you,” he continued, shrugging. “I’m here because I want to be here with you. The rest we’ll figure out. It’ll be okay.”

His certainty soothed the restless energy inside me. I lifted his hand to my mouth and kissed his knuckles.

“Okay,” I whispered. “Let’s go meet everyone.”

CHAPTER 57

Theo

Talking to Sloane Ellis was a lot like talking to the Crocodile Hunter, but maybe it was the whole Australian accent that made me think that. To be honest, he talked so much that I caught only half of what he said, but he was so personable it was hard not to like him.

He was also impossible to miss. Tall, blond, and deeply tanned, Sloane looked like he’d walked straight off an Australian beach and onto the dock he was guarding. Everything about him was big—his laugh, his voice, the sweeping gestures he made when he talked, which he did a lot. Within minutes of meeting me, he’d somehow covered what little he knew about football, what he knew about my football career, told me my nickname was now Rookie, complained about Florida’s humidity, bragged about the quality of alcohol on board, and shared some story involving a kangaroo that I was reasonably certain had happened to him personally.

I glanced at Rhodes once for help—not the rescue-me kind, but the explain-it-to-me kind. He offered nothing more than a shrug and an irritating smile, clearly accustomed to whatever conversational tornado Sloane had dragged me into.

And somewhere in the middle of yet another kangaroo story, I realized this was the Sloane. The other non-boyfriend boyfriend at one point.

Which meant I’d come face-to-face with a man who had slept with my boyfriend. It was fine. Completely fine. I was a mature adult capable of handling the fact that Rhodes had possessed a sex life before meeting me. It would’ve been considerably easier if Sloane weren’t built like a fucking Australian underwear model.