Page 85 of Rumor Has It

“Hey,” Wren said, her smile impossibly widening. “You uhhhh, you want to meet some people?”

“Do I look okay?” Becky asked.

Wren just laughed. “Rebecca, you just played ninety minutes of soccer. You look amazing.”

Becky blushed. “Okay,” she let out an awkward little laugh. “Okay,” she said again. “I can do this.”

“You can,” Wren said, confidently. “But um, before you do, can we trade jerseys?”

Becky frowned. “What?”

“Like I give you this one and I take the one you’re wearing.” Wren’s hopeful smile made Becky’s heart race.

Wren didn’t look like she had just played ninety minutes of soccer. Sure, she was sweaty, but she just had a glow about her. Like all the weight of the past few months had finally lifted off her shoulders. She looked so happy it was infectious.

Becky’s eyes watered. It was such a kind gesture. She also felt certain that there were dozens of cameras on them at that moment. So, she took a deep breath and did her best to control her emotions. “Can I meet your family before I take my shirt off?”

Wren cracked up at that. “Yeah, that’s probably a good idea.”

“I will trade you though. I would be honored,” Becky meant it. She would be honored to have one of Wren’s jerseys. From their inaugural season in the PWSL and more importantly, from their first game as girlfriends.

“Okay. Let’s go say hi.” Wren nodded towards the crowd.

There, up along the railing, Becky spotted Barbara. The woman beside her looked just like her, and next to them was definitely Mr. Eames. He looked the same as he had all those years ago—happy and proud. There was another woman with them that was definitely Molly. She had grown up, but she was the girl from the photos, the one who had unknowingly and unintentionally broken Becky’s heart.

Becky took a deep breath and wiped her palms on her shorts. She waved nervously as she followed close behind Wren.

“Dad, Linda, Molly, I wanted to introduce you to Rebecca,” Wren said, practically bouncing. After their livestream earlier today, their little secret—if it had ever really been a secret—was fully out. So, Wren confident and loudly added, “my girlfriend.”

Wren’s dad smiled down at them both. “It was a great game today. I was proud of you both,” he said, his voice deep and easy.

Becky’s heart clenched in her chest. He felt proud of them both. It was radiating off him. She could tell how proud he was of Wren—no matter what—but to hear that he was proud of her, too. Becky hadn’t had that kind of parental support since high school, and even then she hadn’t so much felt like her parents meant it, more just that’s what you told your kids after they won a game. Great game. We’re proud of you. But when Mr. Eames said it, it was clear that he meant it. “Thanks,” Becky said, more than a little overwhelmed.

Mr. Eames just smiled at her, clearly missing the moment Becky was having. “Of course,” he said easily. “You had a really good match on Sunday, too. You ate that girl from Utah up.”

Becky frowned, confused. “Wait. You watched my match on Sunday?”

A deep laugh rumbled out of Mr. Eames. “Yeah. Ever since Wren mentioned you were her travel buddy, I kind of… well, I might have guessed this little introduction would happen sooner or later. I’ve watched your whole season, just in case.”

His blush matched Wren’s identically. “Dad, what the hell?” Wren all but yelled in disbelief.

Her dad just shrugged. “I don’t want the details,” he held his hands up and let out another little laugh, “but welcome to the family, Becky.”

CHAPTER

THIRTY-ONE

WREN

It was surreal, sliding into an In-N-Out bench next to Rebecca, squishing her into the booth so deeply that Barbara could fit on the other side, successfully sandwiching Wren into the middle. Molly pulled up a chair and sat at the end. Wren’s dad and Linda sat across from them sipping on their milkshakes like this was the most normal thing in the world.

To Wren, it was a dream come true.

There wasn’t even an awkward questioning session or an attempt to make all of Wren and Rebecca’s history less awkward. Wren’s family just behaved exactly as they usually would. Barbara was busy telling Linda and her dad about Griffith Observatory, Rebecca was fiddling with Wren’s hand under the table, and Wren just got to feel insanely happy.

Tomorrow was going to happen. Their spots on the National Team might be forfeited. It might be years before they got another shot on the roster. And yeah, it would be devastating to not get to be a part of this World Cup, but Wren couldn’t do anything about that now. And honestly, she didn’t want to. She didn’t want to have to hide the fact that she was in love with Rebecca Rothschild. Because she was, truly, fully, and devastatingly in love with her. It would always burn that people might not believe their side of the story, but all that really mattered was that after six long years, they were finally together.

When Barbs finished telling her story, Wren pulled her phone out of her pocket. “Hey, Molly, do you think you could take a selfie with enough reach to get us all in the frame?”