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A touch of concern washed over his expression and he tilted his head to the side. I watched him for a moment as his lips parted like he wanted to say something, but he quickly shut them as his friend stepped beside him.
“You’re Juliette, right? Coach Anderson’s daughter?”
As if the day wasn’t taxing enough, that question deflated me completely. I had always lived in my father’s shadow and it was no different here. I was stupid to think I would be known for anything other than being the coach’s daughter.
A sigh escaped me and I nodded. “Lincoln Matthews.”
He was much more attractive up close, but he wasn’t Mac. My body tensed at the thought. I needed those thoughts to be extinguished immediately.
His green eyes narrowed for a moment as he smirked. “You know who I am?”
I rolled my eyes. “I know who all of you are.”
Mac raised a questioning brow at me and I shrugged. Mischief danced in his blue eyes, but he didn’t touch the subject of me denying knowing who he was when we first met. I brushed off the unwanted thoughts of him and straightened my spine.
“You should come out with us,” Lincoln offered with a wink. I watched Mac from the corner of my eye as his body instantly went rigid.
“I’d rather not,” I told him in a bored tone as I finally unlocked my door and turned the handle. I stepped past the threshold, turning to look at the two men across from me once more, but my eyes met Mac’s instead. “Try to stay out of trouble tonight. It would be a shame if either of you messed up your careers by doing something stupid and careless.”
Lincoln looked confused and Mac looked pissed.
I shut the door without another word and locked it behind me.
Moving here was definitely a mistake.
CHAPTER FIVE
MAC
“So, are we going to talk about whatever the hell that was?” Lincoln questioned me as we climbed into his car. I glanced over at him, meeting his green eyes before I shook my head.
“Nope.”
Lincoln rolled his eyes as he started the engine and backed his car out of the parking spot. “When were you going to tell me she moved in across the hall from you?”
I shrugged. “It wasn’t worth mentioning. She moved in a couple days ago. There’s not much else to say about it.” I paused, mulling over how much information I was willing to spill. “We’ve only seen each other in passing.”
“Hm,” he hummed, merging into rush-hour traffic. “Whatever that was between the two of you definitely looked a little more than that, but I’ll let it go—for now.”
I stared straight ahead, looking out the windshield without giving anything away through my expression. “You really want to talk about me after you just invited her to come out with us?”
Lincoln laughed out loud and shook his head at me. “She said no. And I only asked because I wanted to see how you would react.”
“A test?” I asked him with irritation heating my blood. “Really?”
He shrugged with indifference and flashed me a look of innocence as he pulled into the parking lot at the end of the pier. “Don’t take it personally, Sullivan. I just don’t want to see you get into any trouble for fucking Anderson’s daughter.”
“Number one,” I told him as I climbed out of his car. “I’m not fucking her. Number two. If I was, I wouldn’t get caught doing it.”
The words tasted bitter on my tongue as soon as they left my mouth. It was mainly to get Lincoln off my back, but I couldn’t help but internally cringe as I played them over in my head again. It made me sound like I was a pig. If Juliette had heard me speak those words, I was certain she’d never talk to me again.
I wouldn’t blame her. It was a fucked-up thing to say, but it worked.
Lincoln chuckled and fell into step beside me as we headed toward the pier. “I knew you were smart.”
I pushed him away from me, listening to the ocean breeze carrying his laughter as we walked up to the bar. Nico and Wes were already there waiting for us. They both turned to look at Lincoln and I as we sat down next to them.
“Look who finally decided to show up,” Wes said with his eyebrows raised. “Better late than never, I suppose.”
