That was good. Em was happy that Miriam was able to trust Silas after everything that had happened between them. She wondered what it must be like to be hurt so badly and forgive someone—more than that, love them.
Just then, the lights dimmed. The game was about to start.
The announcer called out the names of the Washington Orcas. There were a few scattered fans in the stands who’d made the trek to Florida to cheer on their team, but their clapping was barely audible. Em always felt bad for the visiting team. Not only were they fighting against the home field advantage, there were so few people cheering for them.
She started clapping as the rest of the Orcas ran onto the field. This earned her puzzling looks from both Miriam and Frida.
She shrugged. “What? I feel bad for them. Finn has told me how hard it is to be the visitor.”
“Bleeding heart.” Miriam bumped her shoulder. “As long as you cheer louder for the Storm.”
She rolled her eyes. “Well, obviously.”
Spotlights started moving across the stands. “Let’s get ready to welcome your Florida Storm!”
The announcer’s voice boomed through the arena, and Em snuck another glance back at Silas’ super fan. She was jumping up and down and yelling through cupped hands.
“You really weren’t kidding about that girl,” she said to Miriam.
She gave Em a sly smile. “Just wait until he scores a goal.”
Em giggled and turned her attention back to the field where Storm players were called out one by one. She clapped and cheered for each one as they joined their teammates at midfield.
“Now for your starting lineup. Team captain and keeper, number one, Finn O’Brien!”
Em yelled as loudly as she could—loud enough to get her brother’s attention. When he looked her way, she and Frida turned around to show him the back of their jerseys. Finn shook his head, but Em could see the ghost of a smile on his lips. He pretended to be embarrassed, but secretly loved the attention.
“On defense, number nine, Bastian Ramirez.”
The girls continued to clap and cheer as he brought out some kids from the youth league to midfield with him.
“Also on defense, number seventy-seven, Vinny Nelson.”
Em still clapped, though she knew her brother and “The Box” didn’t have a great relationship. He was still part of the team, and she was going to support him.
“At midfield, number seven, Grant Vaughn.”
He jogged onto the field in his green jersey. After stalking him online for the last week, she was surprised at how much more attractive he was in person. When he smiled up at the stands, her clapping hands stilled. When his eyes found hers, her breath caught in her chest.
As if he knew the effect he had on her, Grant’s smile grew wider.
She pressed her lips together tightly to keep from smiling back, but Grant’s gaze didn’t move from Em. Not when the announcer called Silas and Cardosa out onto the field, not when a local singer sang the National Anthem, and not when both Miriam and Frida elbowed her in the ribs from either side.
The only thing that pulled Grant’s attention from Em was the start of the game. He jerked his chin up at her just before he broke their eye contact and jogged over to his spot on the field.
Without him staring at her, Em felt like she could finally take a deep breath—though it was shaky as she released it.
“Oh, my goodness.” Frida leaned in close. “It’s worse than I thought.”
Em’s head jerked toward her best friend. “What do you mean?”
A sly grin touched Frida’s lips. “That’s not some silly little crush. You two were peering into each other’s souls.”
Em pushed Frida away from her. “Shut up.”
“She’s not wrong,” Miriam said.
Em closed her eyes and groaned.Great, did everyone have an opinion on what just happened?“It was just a look.”
