Page 82 of Here We Go Again

“Bring it on,” his mom says from across the court. “Stop dawdling.”

I exchange a look with my mom, who gives me a tiny eye roll of commiseration, then Theo serves the ball. It arcs high and wide and bounces over the line, and I practically groan. Because now the serve comes to me.

Mom sends the ball back to our side of the court, and Theo retrieves it, walking it over and handing it to me. “You’ve got this,” he says. “Make sure you look where you want the ball to land.”

I nod and step across the back court line to serve. It’s good, landing just in front of Mom. She sends it back, and Theo volleys it over to his mom, who returns it into our kitchen. Theo races up and hits it just before a double bounce, then his mom spikes it hard, sending it directly toward me.

I let out an unglamorous squeak as I make contact with the ball, but I manage to hit it, sending it all the way to the back left corner of the court. It bounces just inside the line, and they miss it.

We won.

I lift my arms over my head and look over to Theo, then I chuck my paddle onto the ground and leap into his arms. My hands land on his shoulders as I wrap my legs around his waist, eyes locked on his. He catches me easily, his arms hooking under my butt, nothing but pure joy on his face.

Something warm and intoxicating unspools in my chest. I really like spending time with him. But even more than that, I like being the one who makes him this happy.

“Aren’t you glad we decided to fight for the win?” he asks.

“Fine. Yes,” I say. “It was totally worth it.”

“That’s a lot of celebrating for a team still down three games to one,” Kim says, and Mom chuckles.

“Oh, let them have their fun,” she says. “They earned it.”

Theo slowly lowers me to the ground, but he keeps his hands on my waist, his expression softening. “I like being on a team with you,” he says, his voice quiet enough that I’m sure our mothers can’t hear.

“Yeah, me too,” I say. “It was really fun.”

He licks his lips, his eyes never wavering from mine as he says, “Look. I know you have a list of very practical reasons to say no. But would you possibly forget them all and have dinner with me tomorrow night?”

My eyebrows lift.

“On a date,” he continues. “A real one. Just the two of us. I want to get dressed up and take you to a nice dinner somewhere and hold your hand in public and know that I’m out on a date with the most beautiful woman in the room.”

I’m suddenly grateful that I’m still holding onto him, my hands gripping his forearms. Otherwise, my knees might actually give out. I used to scoff at the idea of a man making any woman go weak in the knees. I thought swooning was something that only happened in books.

But the current of electricity moving through my body is rendering my muscles all but completely useless. His words sound so good. And the way he’s looking at me, so hopeful and sincere and vulnerable.

I shouldn’t say yes. All my practical, logical reasons still exist. But I can’t bring myself to say no.

So I don’t.

I lift my shoulders into a shrug and smile as I say, “Okay.”

21

BECCA

“Come on,” Mom says from the other side of the changing room door. “There’s no point in trying it on if we don’t get to see it on you.”

“I barely have it on all the way,” I say as I adjust the dress across my boobs. “Just give me a second.”

With the fabric finally draping evenly, I prop my hands on my hips and study my reflection.

Honestly, I have no idea how I wound up here, shopping with Mom and Kim at a boutique that’s much too expensive, trying on a dress I never would have chosen in the first place.

My mother is a force all on her own, but add in Kim Williamson, and the pair of them are virtually unstoppable. After breakfast this morning, they didn’t even give me a choice about how to spend my day. I have a date tonight—Theo must have told them—and they were determined to make sure I was ready. Manicures, pedicures, blowouts at the dry bar, and then shopping for a new dress. End of discussion.

I didn’t love the idea of spending the entire day away from Theo, but I suppose I can’t begrudge a little bit of Mom time, seeing as how I did come on vacation with her.