Page 27 of Keeping Score

She smiled, but it didn’t quite reach her eyes.

I frowned.

“All we have to do is make it official,” I grinned.

I joked about it a lot with Maggie, mostly as a way to see where she was at. I knew going into this thing that she was more independent than most. But I also knew she felt forced into that role in a way.

I’d let us move things at her pace. On her terms. She wanted to build her career first, get established. I couldn’t fault her for that. But lately, I’d had the itch to start moving things along.

And with all this mention of family lately, I was starting to think Maggie was dropping hints that she was ready for that too. For

all of it.

She paused, looking over at me with wide eyes.

Was she nervous?

“Don’t worry, Mags.” I laughed at her bewildered expression. “I won’t pop the question here next to the Make Way for Ducklings statue.”

She laughed, but it came out strained, and I realized my mistake.

Tara, my oldest sister, always said girls liked surprises. I forgot that a proposal was probably the biggest surprise in their life—which meant talking about even the potential of it should be strictly off limits until the actual moment, right?

I cleared my throat, moving on from the topic swiftly, but it didn’t escape my notice that the tension in Maggie’s shoulders didn’t quite seem to settle.

First Text

Maggie

Five Years Ago

UNKNOWN: Have I already been ghosted?

MAGGIE: Who is this?

UNKNOWN: OUCH 💔

UNKNOWN: After everything we’ve been through?

MAGGIE: Gonna need more details, babe. Your number isn’t saved in my phone.

UNKNOWN: Aww, pet names already? I guess I’m doing better than I thought. 😁

UNKNOWN: I’ll forgive you for ditching me last night, if you let me take you to dinner tonight. I nearly dropped my phone, remembering the boy I’d drunkenly humiliated myself in front of the night before.

Brody.

Oh, God.

Liam’s cute friend and teammate, Brody Callahan.

How was it possible that this man saw me nearly tumble over myself while drunkenly singing ABBA songs, and he still wanted to see me again?

It didn’t make sense.

In my defense, I knew last night hadn’t been a good look, but I had been as powerless to stop it as anyone.

I’d gotten a message from my dad. An email, if we were being specific. For the first time in fifteen years. Said he saw me on LinkedIn and wanted to reconnect, if I was willing.