Chapter 1
BYRON
Six years later…
“The emailfor this lame high school reunion clearly states a reply was required three weeks ago.” I feign disappointment to hide my relief. It’s not how I want to spend my Saturday night.It’s the last place I want to be.
“Come on, Byron. I could use the support. Paige will speak to me if you’re there.”
“Mase, you’ve got this. Paige already likes you. Talk to her whether I’m there or not.”
“You know I always freeze and then sound like an idiot.”
Mason doesn’t need me for this. “We’re no longer at school. Just talk as though you’re in a meeting. Wait, no. Engineers bore the fuck out of me.”
Mason laughs hard. “You’re one to talk. I still don’t understand the rules of basketball, and with all that shit-talking you do on the court, you sound like you’re still in high school.”
I grin even though he can’t see my face. “King of the court.” He laughs again. “Act like it’s me you’re talking to. It’ll bring out the best in you.”
He moans, and I hear it through my AirPods. “You know they’ll make an exception because you’re the Byron Hendricks.”
“What’s the dress code?”
“Smart casual.”
“Just so you know, I won’t be staying long enough to eat, so my being there won’t mess with their precious numbers.”
“They won’t care. Just pose for some photos to keep the prefects happy.”
Before I curse, an alarm goes off on my phone. “Hang tight. Someone’s at the door.” I check the security camera on my app. “My sister’s here.”
“You have an hour to get ready. I’ll wait for you at the bar.”
“No promises.”
I end the call and jog down the staircase to answer the door. “You have the new code?”
Charlotte pushes past me. “You keep changing it. That tells me too many girls stay over,” she says aggressively. She has a point. “Get yourself a security guard.”
“I have one when I go out. What’s up? You’re not here to discuss who I sleep with or my protection.”
She digs her fists into her hips. “No, because everyone knows you’re not sleeping.” She rolls her eyes. “And God, I hope you’re using protection.”
Charlotte is the female version of myself—blue eyes and light brown hair. We are closer in age than our other siblings, and for the most part, we understand each other. Though she is hard to read of late, and tonight, with the shadows under her eyes and the agitation in her expression, she looks ten years older than me.
“Wait, who is everyone?” I ask.
“Everyone in theoffice. Every player is watched. We prepare for collateral damage.”
“Jesus.” I tilt my head to the ceiling. “Does admin need to know every detail of what happens off the court?”
“Yes. I’m not about to let anyone fuck up and ruin our team, and that includes my brother.” She walks into the living room and pours herself a whiskey.
“Help yourself.”
She glares at me.
I shove my hands into my track pants pockets. Charlotte doesn’t intimidate me. Ever since she left college and began working at the LA Sharks’ administration department, she has taken on personal responsibility for keeping the players in shape and in line. It might be my father’s team, yet her personal investment in the team is too much for my comfort. She knows almost everything about me.
She raises an eyebrow. “How many times have you changed the code on your door?” She walks to the balcony and takes in the sprawling city at dusk as the sun sets over the ocean. The view is one of the best, and I’m lucky to have a brother who works in real estate who discovered this beauty in Hollywood Hills for me.
Charlotte tilts her back and neck before taking another sip. She’s doing this more often lately, as though it somehow relieves her tension.
“Are you okay, Lottie?” I despise her treating me like I’m a teenager, but I hate seeing her stressed out like this.
“Of course I am. I just need you two douchebags to pull your heads in.”
Why does she always bring Brandon into this?
“As my sister, you get away with snarky remarks about me, but you don’t have the right to do it to BJ.” I shake my head. “And as much as I want to stand here and chat about trivial things, I’m about to head out.” I press a button, and the twenty-foot glass doors slide closed.
Charlotte walks inside and eyes what I’m wearing. “You’re not going anywhere important dressed like that.”
I grin. “Observant. I was upstairs about to get dressed. I’m attending our high school reunion with Mason.”
Her eyes go round. She looks like our mother when she is surprised. “It’s not on your calendar.”
“Do I have to report to you every time I want to piss?”
“No, and don’t talk to me like that.” She downs the last of her drink.
“I’m not a fan of being managed like I’m still at school.”
“If you and Brandon didn’t mess up so spectacularly on your last away game, we wouldn’t be in this position.” Her edgy tone sharpens as she mentions Brandon’s name.
“We apologized, and all parties were consenting adults.”
“If photos are leaked?—”
“There were no photos. How many times do I have to say it?”
She stares at me. “Fine. But it’s the last week of August. You need to be at your best for training in the morning.”
“Lottie, this is not my first rodeo.”
She places her glass on the tray. “Don’t be a dick when you’re out tonight. Call if you need me.”
“Thanks, Mom. I’m going as a favor to Mason. I’ll be bored as fuck.”
She smiles, and it reminds me of the Charlotte I knew before she started working for the team.
I follow her to the door. “Did you visit for a reason?”
She turns, and for a moment, I see her vulnerable side. “Have you heard from BJ? He’s not answering my calls.”
“He doesn’t need to be lectured by you.”
Charlotte’s expression changes, leaving me confused.
“All right. Enjoy your night.”
An hour later,I’m walking into the ballroom decorated with red and black balloons—our old school colors. Flags with our school emblem are displayed on the stage. I look around at the same people gathering in the same groups and find Mason talking with Paige not far from the bar. I should walk out and text him I told you so, but he turns and waves before I do.
“Hey.”
“You made it.” He pats my back. Mason is dressed in a suit with a paisley pocket square, and Paige is in a long red evening gown, her blonde hair swept up off her bare shoulders.
“Smart casual, hey?”
He grins at me. “If I said it was formal, you wouldn’t have come.”
I huff out a laugh. “My fault for not reading the email thoroughly. It did make my job convincing security tougher than usual. He said you added my name to the list.”
“Looking out for you, bro.” He pats my back harder than before. “You remember Paige, right?”
I lean in and hug Paige. “Of course. How are you, Paige?”
“Great. It’s really good to see you both again.” I smile and turn to Mason. His beer glass is half full. “I’ll grab you both some more drinks?”
Making a mental note that Paige is holding a crystal champagne glass, I make my way to the bar and stop when a woman steps in front of me. She is my height in heels and looks directly into my eyes.
“Byron Hendricks. I missed your email response.” Jessica James’s expression is not joyful. She was prom queen and queen everything in high school—her best years. I haven’t heard anything about her since, which I’m happy about because she spent every day at school giving me hell.
“Sorry, Jess. It was in my spam. Mason convinced me it was okay to come.” She doesn’t smile. “I promise I won’t eat a thing, and I’m on the water, so…” I shrug. “I’m getting drinks for my friends.”
She presses a hand to my shoulder. “I guess it’s okay, then.” She straightens her back, full of authority. “I made sure there is plenty for everyone, so please enjoy yourself.” Her eyes lower and track over me before meeting my gaze again. “I heard you’re in the big time now. The first student from our school to make the NBA. You look fit,” she drawls.
“I was always fit, Jess.” I wink at her, then sidestep her and head toward the bar. I order drinks and a bottle of water, then gather the drinks with the bottle tucked under my arm. Before leaving, I catch the sound of a familiar laugh, and it stops me in my tracks. My chest constricts as my body remembers her.
At the other end of the bar, Giana Monroe talks with some friends. For a moment, I allow myself to watch her. She smiles, her brown eyes full of life. There was a time she smiled like that for me.
Long dark hair falls over her tanned bare shoulders. From here, I can see the way her full breasts fill out her dress and spill over somewhat.
My throat tightens. I thump my chest, not getting enough air to my lungs because I’m thrown back to a time when we were at school, and I’m remembering things I had pushed out of my mind.
The last time I saw her…
“Are you finished, Byron?”
A voice snaps me out of my daze. “Yeah, sure. How are you, Carter?”
“I’m good. And you?”
“Good, man. I’ll come and see you later.”
He nods. “It’s been a while.”
I move so he can squeeze past to get to the bar.
Most of the people here I haven’t seen since school. It’s not that we didn’t get on, but our lives took us in different directions. I quickly learned who was fake and who I could trust. It’s why my teammate, Brandon, and I got on so well. We met at college, and his laid-back Aussie attitude resonated with me. Apart from my basketball friends from college and the LA Sharks, I only stay in contact with a few friends from high school.
When I find a space, I turn and look back to the bar, where Giana is still smiling. There was always something about her. She was almost the one.
Mason and Paige take their drinks and thank me.
“I see you ran into Jessica.” Mason smirks, understanding what would have gone down.
“Yeah, but I sweet-talked my way into staying. She told me to enjoy the night.”
Paige laughs. “It’s because she had a crush on you.”
I choke on the water. “She hated me.”
Paige rolls her eyes. “Secretly, she was in lust with you. She wouldn’t chase you because she thought she was too good for that, so she got you to notice her in other ways.”
I shake my head. “I think you’re delusional. She treated me like I was scum.”
“Yeah, I agree with Byron,” Mason adds. “She said some pretty awful stuff to him.”
I stare at Mason. “Don’t bring it up. I don’t want to remember the bullshit.” I was the skinny, geeky kid back then, and she squished my confidence like I was nothing but an insect. I look at Paige. “She tried to get me kicked off the basketball team. She wanted to ruin me.”
Paige shrugs. “I’m not saying what she did was right… only what I heard from others.”
“News flash. If you want someone to like you, don’t set out to destroy their future.”
Mason clicks his glass with my bottle. “That’s a warning label if ever I heard one.”
“Damn straight.”
“Hello, Byron.”
Giana’s gentle voice wraps around me, and Mason has that knowing look in his eye. I turn.
“Giana.” I lean in and kiss her. “You look beautiful.”
Her dark waves fall over her shoulders as her large brown eyes meet mine, her smile shy. She lowers her gaze. “You didn’t get the memo?”
“No. My fault for skimming the email.” I grab Mason’s shoulder. “My friend here mentioned the dress code was smart casual. If you can’t trust your friends, who can you trust?” Everyone laughs.
“He wouldn’t have come if I said he had to wear a suit.”
Giana smiles at Mason. “He never did like suits, not even for prom.”
“How are you, Gigi?”
“I’m wonderful, thank you.”
“The Mediterranean sunshine agrees with you,” Paige says to Giana, then glances at me.
“Absolutely.” Though her glowing skin is not the reason I can’t take my eyes off her.
“How long has it been since you two have seen each other?” Mason asks.
“Too long.” I smile at Giana and allow myself to admire her for a few seconds before it gets weird. She is even more beautiful now, and my body hums with the attraction. After high school, we caught up after our first year at college. My memory of the last time is blurry, but I left her on not so good terms. I can’t recall the exact reason why we stopped texting, except that we were both busy. All those feelings I had for her then rush back to me now, and I’m kicking myself for not trying to stay in her life. I tried to reach out again years ago, but she had disappeared. It was as though she didn’t want to be found.
“Gigi is now famous,” Paige says excitedly. “Her art features on Isabella Leto’s new fashion line. She is a fabric designer and works with the chief textile designer for Leto Designs.”
Designs? My brain catches up.
“After graduation, Byron and I spent an afternoon talking,” Giana explains. “He knows I’ve always wanted to be a working artist.”
We did more than talk. It was a fun, intimate day. Giana told me her concerns about being an impostor in the art world. She didn’t think she was good enough, even though she was accepted into one of the best creative colleges in the country. I emphasized her talent, and she had a way of extracting all my doubts about making it to the NBA. Every insecurity I had about not being big enough or good enough, she squashed with her wise words.
“Yet here we are,” I whisper. We had a connection, one I cherished. We were young and reckless, and on different career paths. It wasn’t the moment our story began. The last time I saw her hits me, and my gut tightens. I had almost managed to push it out of my mind.
“And yes, he has seen my work,” Giana says to Paige gently. “At the end of our freshmen year, I came back to LA and we caught up.” Her brow flinches. I swallow, hard. It was my mistake. “You might not remember,” she says to me. “You came to see me, and I showed you my work.”
Mason lands a hand on my shoulder. “I remember Byron mentioning it.” His fingers dig into my muscles. He gives me a look, and I fake recognition.
“I remember. I can’t for the love of God remember your piece, but I do remember loving it.”
Giana looks down, and her smile fades. “I really should get back to my friends. It was lovely to see you again. See you soon, Paige.” She almost floats across the floor, and I can’t tear my eyes away from her. I check out who she is with.
Ugh. Jessica freaking James is in her circle of friends.
“Byron,” Paige snaps. “You looked clueless.”
“It’s because he was as high as the Empire State Building,” Mason quips.
Fuck. “Why didn’t you remind me of this?”
“It was your worst year at college. Between fighting with your parents and being dropped from the team for finals, you were struggling.” He shakes his head. “Man, that was some bender you rode over summer break. I do recall you talking about her parents’ house, but you didn’t say much else.”
Paige coughs. “No need to elaborate, Mason.”
Every time I sneak a glance at Giana, she is laughing with her friends.
“Paige, do you happen to have her number?”
Paige’s smile is understanding. “If I give it to you, don’t mess up this time.”
A deep frown creases Mason’s brow. “You never told me about the last time you saw Gigi.”
“I never told anyone,” I murmur.
“If you want to make amends, you’re in luck,” Paige adds. “She’s home for a few months until she decides where to travel next, and tomorrow, she’ll be at a fashion show, but it’s booked out.”
My smile grows. There is always one more seat when you know the right people.