Chapter Twenty-Eight
It’s Friday night, and I’m a mix of emotions as I drive on the freeway away from the Real Miami offices.
It’s finally time for girls’ night out, and I’m so excited about it.
I can’t wait to get home and get ready. In fact, I’ve even set the mood with a Spotify playlist of pop Christmas tunes, and “Santa Tell Me” is on right now.
Perfect, I think with a smile.
I had a blast with Hadleigh on Tuesday, and I have no doubt a night out with her friends will be just as fun. I could broaden my friendship circle to include Marley and Ava. I picture an evening full of stories, laughter, and good conversation, and the mere idea of it fills my soul with happiness.
I’m making friends.
And maybe some of these friends could stay in my circle forever.
But when I think of what else is happening tonight, my mood changes. I draw my lower lip between my teeth as my happy feeling is replaced by anxiety.
The Manatees have the last game of their West Coast road trip tonight.
And it’s at Las Vegas.
I come to a stop in traffic, with cars barely going over thirty miles per hour. I told Ethan in no uncertain terms that if he lays a finger on Aiden and it’s not hockey related, I will never speak to him again. He promised me he won’t, and I’m choosing to believe him.
But it doesn’t mean I’m not anxious about it.
Aiden has reassured me it will be fine—he can handle anything Ethan wants to start, but he won’t instigate anything. I know that’s the truth. Aiden isn’t the type to start some bullshit fight with Ethan. It’s not his personality.
I decide I’m going to take Ethan at his word. I’m going to trust him to have evolved into a normal adult since last week.
Traffic drags, and after slogging through it, I’m finally home.
I park my car and head up to my apartment.
I kick off my shoes, drop my purse on the kitchen countertop, and let Mochi and Matcha out of their condo.
I nestle each of them to me, giving them kisses, and take them into the living room so they can run free for a bit.
I take a video of them that I’ll send to Aiden later when he’s up from his afternoon nap and smile when I think of him watching it.
He loves my chinchillas, and he likes getting cute videos of them when he’s on the road.
Mochi pops up onto my leg, and I stroke his silky fur. “You’re my sweet boy,” I coo to him. “Aren’t you?” He gives me a happy squeak that makes my heart happy.
Aiden has brought Milo over a couple of times, but we always keep them separated. Milo is the sweetest, and I adore him, but he’s still a dog, and chinchillas can be prey in his eyes. But he can still hang out with us, and I do love that.
Because when we’re all together like that—both of us in the same place, with all of our pets—it feels like home.
It feels like forever.
My phone buzzes next to me, and I see it’s a message from a new group chat Hadleigh has created called XOXO, with me, Ava, Marley, and Isla in it.
Hadleigh: NEW GROUP HUGS AND KISSES TO YOU ALL. Isla is included because if she were here, she would 100 percent be going out with us tonight.
I grin at that. Hadleigh is a very loyal friend. I have a feeling she values the friends she makes, too, and always makes them feel included.
Even when they’re in Monaco.
Hadleigh: Scarlett, are you sure you want to be the sober driver tonight?
I grin and reply:
ABSOLUTELY. Just tell me where we’re going and I am at your command. Unless you want me to drive to Boca or something. Then you all need to chip in gas money.
Marley: HA, NO TO BOCA! Thank you in advance, Scarlett!
Ava: Yessssssss, thank you!
Hadleigh: How does sushi sound tonight? THEN WE DANCE.
Japanese food! I reply that I’m in for that, and so does everyone else. I agree to pick up Hadleigh first, then Marley and Ava together, since Ava is going to crash at Marley’s house tonight.
After Mochi and Matcha have had their free-roaming time, I put them back in their condo and take a nice, hot shower.
Then I wrap a towel around my body and one around my hair and flick through the outfits in my closet.
I choose a black halter minidress that will be perfect for dancing.
I slip into the slinky dress, dry my hair, and apply my makeup.
Aiden should be up by now, so I send him a picture of me in the bathroom:
If you like this, I can wear it the next time I see you.
I grin wickedly.
Brooks is typing …
You do not want to know the ideas that are running through my mind right now. None of them are decent.
Another text quickly follows that:
Damn. You look so freaking hot.
A shiver of excitement runs through me from Aiden’s compliment.
Brooks is typing …
Save the dress for our first night out together. I can’t wait to let the world know you’re mine.
My excitement is tempered by fear.
I want this more than anything. To have a normal relationship with Aiden, doing things like going on a grocery run or eating out in a nice restaurant.
That is going to happen. We both want it.
But at what cost will we have it? Aiden being shopped to another team? Dad humiliating him? My parents not speaking to me? What if Aiden is shipped off somewhere like Seattle? Where will that leave us?
I know we will still be together. I know that.
But our lives could be turned upside down. Will the life we’re building together in Miami be ripped apart because we dared to violate some unspoken code?
I shake my head and tell myself not to worry about it now. Christmas will come soon enough, and once it has passed, we’ll talk to my parents.
And we’ll make them see that what we have is real.
We have to, I think. Failing here is not an option.
Because I don’t want to think of what life will be like if they don’t come around on the idea of me being with Aiden.
* * *
“There they are!” Hadleigh says.
I spot two beautiful girls standing outside of an apartment building in the Brickell area of Miami. I pull my car over to the curb where she’s pointing and unlock the doors.
Hadleigh lowers her window and grins at them. “Get in, losers, we’re getting sushi!” she calls out excitedly.
I hear a burst of laughter from the girls, and I laugh, too. They open the doors and get into the back seat of my car. I turn and look over my shoulder. “Hello!” I say brightly. “I’m Scarlett, your Uber driver for the evening.”
“Hello, I’m Marley,” the beautiful brunette says. “This is my friend Ava.”
I study them both for a brief moment. Marley has amber-colored eyes, while Ava’s are a very dark brown, almost like espresso, and her hair is long and jet-black.
Greetings are exchanged, and I put the address for the sushi restaurant in South Beach into my navigation system.
“We should arrive in nineteen minutes,” I say. “Is everyone okay with a pop Christmas playlist?”
The music is approved, and it fills the car along with chatter.
I’m glad Marley and Ava are talkative, so there are no awkward pauses as we begin to get to know each other.
When they find out I work for Real Miami, both think it’s super cool, and I answer a lot of questions about what it’s like to work for a pro sports team.
I don’t volunteer that my dad is the coach for the Manatees, shifting the conversation back to them.
“What do you guys do?” I ask as I drive.
“I’m working on my master’s in business at Miami, and I work part-time at my parents’ floral shop. So nothing interesting. Not like Marley’s job,” Ava says.
“Hey, hold on, I think floral design is interesting. She has a talent for it,” Marley insists. “You should see some of her bridal arrangements.”
“I’m just impressed you know how to stick flowers in that green foam-block thing and get them to stand upright. I took a class once for fun. It did not end well,” Hadleigh says.
“What? But Hadleigh, it’s not hard to use florist foam!” Ava protests.
“Says the florist,” Hadleigh teases.
“Marley, tell Scarlett what you do. You didn’t tell her, did you, Hadleigh?” Ava asks.
“No. I always like hearing people’s reactions to Marley’s job,” Hadleigh says.
“I feel like I should be afraid now,” I tease. But I am curious.
Marley laughs. “No, no, it’s just weird. I guarantee you’ve probably never heard of it before.”
“I’m intrigued. Go on,” I say, pulling up to a red light.
“I work at the Hotel Fredrico,” she begins.
Hm. That’s not nearly as interesting or dangerous as what I had envisioned she was going to tell me.
“And I’m a soap concierge,” Marley finishes.
I furrow my brow. “A what?”
“A soap concierge.”
“How does that even work?” I ask, intrigued.
“See? Marley has the most interesting job,” Ava insists.
“The hotel hired me to make seasonal soaps for all the guests, and I also make a selection of soaps for the spa,” Marley explains.
“It started as a hobby in college because I was bored. Then my friends encouraged me to sell at craft shows. At one show, a woman from Hotel Fredrico stopped by and began ordering from me, and to my surprise, my hobby ended up being my new career.”
“Oh wow, that’s amazing,” I say.
“I started for them as soon as I graduated from Miami,” Marley continues. “Not exactly a great use of my marketing degree, being an artisan soap maker for a luxury resort, but I love it.”
“I actually met Marley at a wedding show,” Ava says. “I was intrigued by her soaps. I was there for the floral business, and Marley was showing soaps as a gift idea for wedding guests.”
“You two might know my friend Georgie,” I say. “She does hand-painted Mason jars. Georgie’s Jars?”
“Oh! I’ve seen her stuff!” Marley says. “Super cute.”
We continue to talk the whole way to dinner, and it seems all too soon that I’m pulling up in front of the sushi bar in South Beach, the name lit up in neon outside and palm trees wrapped in white twinkling lights lining the street.
I fumble for the phone in the console and drop it, and the soundtrack suddenly changes from Wham!
singing “Last Christmas” to a very somber—and very loud—“O Tanenbaum” as the valet opens my door.
He looks rather surprised by my Friday night musical choice, and Hadleigh bursts out laughing in the seat next to me.
Now everyone is laughing—including the valet. “Festive,” he quips.
I laugh. “I swear that is not the playlist I had on.”
“Sure,” he says, grinning at me.
I finally get it switched off, and we all pile out of the car, still cracking up at the valet’s reaction.
“Think about it,” Hadleigh says, her eyes sparkling. “He opens the door to find four hot girls vibing to ‘O Tanenbaum!’”
“Well, he won’t forget us,” I joke.
We all crack up again. I’m sure it’s not nearly as funny as we think it is, but we are hysterical all the same. We head inside the restaurant, and I take in the space. It’s very sleek, in shades of black, white, and gray, with light-wood tables and chairs and lots of bamboo for decor.
The hostess leads us to a table, and we all take a seat. The girls start chatting again as I peruse the selection of mocktails on the menu. I’m debating between a virgin cranberry Moscow mule or a spiced pear martini when the conversation turns to men.
“I know Hadleigh is single,” Marley says. “But she did get to meet Xavier Williams last week.”
I lift my eyes from the mocktail menu and turn my attention to Hadleigh, who immediately looks embarrassed.
Wow. She really does look like she’d rather live under a floorboard for the rest of her life than talk about Xavier Williams.
WHAT HAPPENED, I NEED TO KNOW.
“Who’s that?” Ava asks. “Should I know?”
“Um, he’s a famous F1 driver,” Marley says. “A very hot F1 driver.”
“Ooh, and you met him?” Ava asks Hadleigh.
She lifts one arm in a simple shrug. “My best friend is dating an F1 driver, and I got invited to the race. He was very nice.”
Argh! It’s killing me not to know what happened between them! But my gut says I’ll never find out.
“I’m single but looking,” Marley says, grinning. “But Ava here has a gorgeous new boyfriend.”
I shift my gaze over to Ava. A sheepish smile passes over her face, and she tucks a strand of her black hair behind one ear.
“Oh? Details,” Hadleigh says, leaning forward in her seat.
“His name is Carlos, and we just started going out,” Ava says. “He’s getting a master’s in sports engineering. If I could have filled out a form listing everything I could want and more in a man, it would be Carlos.”
Ava talks about his attributes, and I think of Aiden. If I could have written a list of everything I could hope for, everything I could dream of—well, I got it and more in Aiden.
I’m so lucky. Even with our circumstances and what we will face when we tell my parents, I know Aiden is the right man for me.
“What about you, Scarlett?” Ava asks. “Are you seeing anyone?”
That familiar knot of anxiety appears in my stomach again. I told Hadleigh I wasn’t seeing anyone, just like I told Georgie.
“Nope,” I say. Then I shift my gaze back to the menu, closing the door on that subject.
I hate this. I hate lying to these girls, and I only hope they can all understand why I did it when the truth finally comes out.
Then I think of Aiden and everything he means to me. He is worth all of this.
And anyone who cares about me will hopefully understand this, too.