“You sure? Because you look kind of panicked.”
I am panicked. But I’m also something else. Something that feels suspiciously like relief.
“I’m not panicked,” I lie. “I’m just processing.”
A car pulls in next to us and I jump. It’s Almardon. He spots Romeo’s Jeep and then me. His eyebrows go up and he grins.
“He’s going to be insufferable about this.”
Almardon walks over and taps on Romeo’s window. Romeo rolls it down.
“Morning,” Almardon says, leaning down. His grin gets wider. “You must be Juliette. I’m Zach. Romeo’s been talking about you for months.”
“Hi,” I manage.
“She’s nervous,” Romeo supplies.
“I’m not nervous.”
“You’re definitely nervous,” Almardon says, but his tone is kind. “Don’t be. The guys are going to love you. Well, most of them. Dex is going to be obnoxious, but that’s just Dex.”
“That’s reassuring.”
“Welcome to the chaos.” Almardon straightens up. “See you inside, Rodriguez.”
He heads toward the building.
Romeo looks at me. “Still want to do this?”
“Do I have a choice?”
“You always have a choice.” His voice is gentle. “I can drop you at the other entrance. You can go in separately.”
He’s giving me an out. Again.
“No,” I say. “Let’s just—let’s do this.”
“You’re sure?”
“Not even a little bit. But let’s go anyway.”
We walk toward the entrance side by side. His hand keeps brushing mine like he wants to reach over and take mine, but isn’t sure what he’s allowed to do publicly. The door opens and we step inside. Immediately I want to turn around and run. Three players are coming down the hall and all three stop when they see me.
“Is this—” one starts.
“Guys, this is Juliette,” Romeo says. I can hear the pride in his voice. “Juliette, meet the peanut gallery.”
“Toronto girl,” Dex says, grinning. “Finally. We’ve heard so much about you.”
“All good things, I hope.”
“Mostly good,” Brody says. “Some embarrassing.”
Romeo glares at him. “I told you guys in confidence.”
“You told us in the group chat,” Luca points out. “That’s public record.”
I look at Romeo. “What exactly did you tell them?”
