Chapter 5
Five
“You crazy kids have fun!” Hallie yelled from the front porch as she pretended to snap a photo with her hands.
Sydney knew that her best friend was living with the chaos of the last twenty-four hours.
Two days ago, Hallie had been trying to coax her out of their shared living space.
Now, with the wind at her back and an axe to grind, Sydney was decked out in a soft, olive-colored dress that came to mid-thigh, ready to take on the world.
The elastic waist didn’t hurt, hidden as it was by an adjustable, woven belt in a sand color that, she thought, accented the dress nicely.
She’d worn her blonde hair down, flowy and softly curled so that it cascaded in waves around her shoulders.
Sydney knew that she looked good, and she knew that everyone at the party would know it, too.
Eat your heart out, Grant Devereux IV.
She didn’t want him back, not by a long shot, but after months of focusing on nothing but tennis, then weeks of wallowing in misery, it was nice to get dressed up, regardless of the occasion.
A pair of strappy, open-toed heels in the same color as the belt completed her look, and she focused on keeping one foot in front of the other as she navigated the gravel driveway .
Reese walked slightly in front of Sydney over to the passenger side door. They both reached the door, and Reese opened it and gestured for Sydney to get in. “I’m creating an ambiance,” she said with a rueful grin that Sydney found herself matching.
The rest of the day was likely to be nightmarish, so why shouldn’t they soak up the last moments of fun before entering into the belly of the beast?
Reese turned to face the inn entrance and slipped her sunglasses on. “You’re seriously the best, Hallie. I’m sorry I’m already flaking out on day two.”
“Perks of being the owner,” Hallie said, zero judgment in her voice. “Just know that if I meet someone beautiful who wants to whisk me away on their sailboat for a few days, I will be calling in sick.” She fake-coughed for good measure.
Reese laughed, and it made Sydney go a little soft inside at how well Reese and Hallie were getting along. She wanted Hallie to be happy. To be excited about whatever it was that would come next for her.
And she liked that Reese seemed so calm, like maybe this day was going to go better than Sydney anticipated.
Plus, to Reese’s credit, Sydney knew that she’d been up since six a.m., doing work to get up to speed on the management of the inn.
Hallie had told her during her daily return to the room for her smoothie, impressed with the information Reese had absorbed as she’d sat out in the check-in area, poring over a binder that Hallie had prepared for training.
Sydney eased her long legs into the car as Reese and Hallie finished their conversation, waiting a few seconds before Reese shut the door for her.
It was a gorgeous day. White, puffy clouds were splattered across a vibrantly blue sky, and dozens of sailboats dotted the horizon.
Reese had texted her last night, asking if she was free for a Devereux family event today, and Sydney, still keyed up from the endorphins that had come from her run a few hours earlier, responded without thinking twice.
She’d never really understood people who made poor choices for the thrill until now. Inserting herself back into Grant’s life was one of the top most idiotic things she’d ever done, and still, she relished the chance to take back the narrative.
Grant wasn’t some person she’d dated for a few months who’d blown her off because her travel schedule was too much for them to handle or because they were jealous of the attention her celebrity status afforded her.
He’d been her partner for six years. Her cheerleader. The person who’d always supported her pushing herself to get to the next level. The one she’d been making plans with for a life after tennis.
A marriage. A home. A family.
And now, even though Sydney knew it was a special level of masochistic, she was going to put herself right in his crosshairs and watch him move down that path with someone else.
Maybe it would help things make sense. There was a part of her that wanted to see them together. To see what they had. To see how it felt to see Grant again.
Their breakup had happened quickly, all things considered.
She’d caught him with Brynn, and once her brain had caught up to speed and she understood what was happening, she’d turned around and walked right back out. No overdrawn conversations. No excuses as to how she’d ‘misinterpreted’ what she’d seen.
It had all happened in seconds, in an apartment she’d tried to visit as often as possible but that, for the first few years of their relationship, they’d called home together. It wasn’t until she’d joined the women’s pro tour that she’d bought her house in Florida and moved down there full-time.
She’d asked Grant to go with her, but he’d said that it wasn’t the right time.
He was gaining more seniority within The Devereux Group and was responsible for more hands-on management within their portfolio, along with spearheading the expansion opportunities they’d been pursuing in surrounding regions and states, like New York.
Given the way he’d supported her dreams, she’d wanted to do the same for him.
So together, as a team—the same way they’d picked out the bed he’d slept with Brynn in, the artwork that adorned the walls, the way the spice rack Brynn casually selected oregano from in the kitchen was organized—they’d made the decision to do long-distance.
He’d never given her any indication that he hadn’t wanted to make it work.
She still felt so mind-fucked by the entire situation.
There hadn’t been signs except that they weren’t together every second of the day.
And if that was a requirement for fidelity, she didn’t know how any couple had ever made it work.
“How are you feeling?” Reese asked from the driver’s seat as they rolled along the coast. “You’re awfully quiet. Regretting your decision?”
Sydney understood that if things imploded, it would be far worse for Reese’s day-to-day life than her own. What Reese was really asking Sydney was if she’d be able to keep it together at the event and beyond; to really go through with this.
“I want answers,” Sydney said, staring out the window. “I just felt so blindsided by the whole situation.”
Reese made the turn onto the private road that would lead them to the Devereux home. “Do you think you’ll be able to get them?”
“I—” Sydney turned and looked at Reese, who was already focused on her. “I want to know if any of it was real. Did I waste six years of my life on someone who only saw me as a way to pass the time, only when it was convenient?”
She appreciated the strained sound that Reese made, like maybe she understood that sentiment herself .
“I don’t know if you’ll get those answers with my brother. I’ve never thought very highly of him, but you’re a capable, talented, beautiful woman, Sydney. There must have been something that kept you with him for six years.”
Lips pursed, Reese shifted her focus back to the road, looking intently at it even though she knew exactly where they were going.
“Just say it,” Sydney urged.
She could see Reese chewing on the inside of her lip, mulling over what to say. Finally she broke the silence with, “Even if that something was him intentionally misleading you.”
Sydney uncrossed and recrossed her legs. “You may be right, but still, what does that say about me? That I didn’t see it for so long? Am I delusional? Or just an idiot?”
She hated the insecurity in her voice, that she was letting someone like Grant make her feel this way.
They pulled into the cul-de-sac five minutes early. The driveway was already filled with at least a dozen vehicles of varying degrees of wealth and obnoxiousness.
Reese parked the car and pushed her sunglasses onto her forehead. Honey-brown eyes bore into Sydney’s. “It says that Grant was really good at hiding it.”
Sydney chose not to respond to that. “I thought this was a small get-together?” she asked, changing the subject as Reese cut the ignition.
Reese rolled her eyes in response. “I’m sure my father can’t help using Grant’s wedding as a business opportunity.”
“Ah, yes… Tripp Devereux. Not my favorite person I’ve ever met.” She cut her eyes to Reese. “No offense.”
“None taken. I have my own issues with the man, so let’s just add that to the list of our current commonalities.”
Reese got out of the car and walked around quickly, opening Sydney’s door again.
It gave Sydney a chance to admire Reese’s outfit.
She was wearing silky palazzo pants in a gorgeous dark cyan.
A white-and-magenta pattern was woven throughout, giving the illusion that the shapes were flowers.
Reese had gone simple on her top, a similarly silky, fitted white button-down with the top three buttons undone, tucked into the high waist of her pants.
Reese’s dark hair was voluminous, a perfect abundance of tresses that flowed from her side part and cascaded around her cheeks and jawline before resting below her shoulders.
Sydney wondered if it felt as soft as it looked; her attention was momentarily distracted by the strands of auburn and gold glinting throughout.
If that hair was natural, Reese had won the genetic lottery.
Reese cleaned up exceptionally well, and Sydney knew that the two of them together would turn heads today.
“You look—great,” Sydney said when she accepted Reese’s hand, changing course at the last second, even as the word ‘beautiful’ had pushed into the forefront of her mind.
Was that a faint blush on the elder Devereux’s high cheekbones?
Sydney’s grin grew impossibly wider.
The Cape Cod mansion loomed before them, and Sydney waited for Reese’s cue to head in.
“Now it’s my turn to ask,” she said, her forearm brushing against Reese’s warm skin when the brunette didn’t take a step forward. “Regretting your decision?”