Maggie
Gala
Five Years Ago
“So, what’s going on with those two?” Brody leaned over his chair to whisper to me.
We were official now. Boyfriend and girlfriend. And that meant we didn’t have to hide anything anymore.
I didn’t have to hide anymore. Not how I felt about him, or anything else.
Because, shockingly, miraculously—he seemed to like me, too. Maybe just as much. It made me feel safe. But more than that, it made me feel happy.
It was hard to tear my gaze off of him, but he was still staring across the table, and if I remembered correctly, he’d just asked me a question.
I followed his line of vision to where he was looking at Cassie draped over Liam’s arm as she talked to the Harbor Wolves coach.
“Oh, them?” I said distractedly. “They’re pretending to be a couple to get Liam excused from the auction.”
“Right,” Brody laughed. “Bullshit.”
I arched a brow at him.
“Are you seriously looking at them and telling me you think any of that is fake?” he asked. “I mean, come on. It’s Liam. You think he could pull off a stunt like that? He can’t even pretend to listen to me tell a story, never mind pretend to be that infatuated by someone.”
I examined them closely. Brody had a point. Liam didn’t go the extra mile for anything unless he meant it and he wanted to.
So, if he was putting all this effort into the whole facade, well, Brody was right—the whole thing was bullshit.
Which meant…
“Oh my god!” I gasped, watching him lean into her touch rather than stiffen and shrug away. “He loves her.”
“Duh.” Brody rolled his eyes. “I’ve known it all along. I can’t believe you haven’t noticed. Here I thought you were going to give me the inside scoop.”
I guess I’d been too wrapped up in Brody lately to notice anything else going on around me.
Plus, the weird-as-hell lunch I had with my dad that still had my head spinning every time I thought about it.
It had been everything I ever wanted since I was a girl, but finally getting it? It felt strangely hollow.
I hadn’t done enough in my career yet. I lacked the accomplishments I wanted so desperately to show him, to prove that I was a daughter he could be proud of. The same way he was still proud of Liam.
But I didn’t want to talk about that now. I didn’t even want to think about it.
I just wanted to dance with the boy who made me feel all the things I never thought I’d let myself feel.
When I tugged him to the dance floor, he came with me willingly. Despite the protests from his teammates, sullen at the thought of losing their comic relief, he stared only at me.
We swayed on the dance floor, while Elvis Presley sang about the humiliating experience I was currently going through without my consent.
I really couldn’t help falling in love with Brody.
It just happened. He encompassed me entirely, not in a way that felt scary, but in a way that felt safe.