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“Hi!” Sariah exclaimed. “You’re so much more adorable than your pictures do justice to.”

Before I could process that she’d apparently seen enough pictures of me to form an opinion, one hand slapped Rhodes upside the head, making him visibly flinch.

“Hey!” he protested.

“He’s so much cuter than you said!” she scolded. “You need to apologize.”

I nearly bit my tongue to keep from commenting as I began to understand exactly how these two worked. Rhodes might’ve been the most intimidating person in Everdale, but Sariah was completely immune to him.

“I’m not apologizing to you—”

“Not to me!” Sariah interrupted. “To Theo!”

“Why the hell do I need to apologize to him?” Rhodes demanded. He pulled back to glare at her, and she narrowed her eyes right back. The unspoken glaring conversation between the two of them was nothing short of impressive and a little terrifying. Neither of them blinked or backed down. Rhodes’ jaw tightened, and Sariah’s brow lifted in defiance. The moment dragged on until Rhodes finally broke. He sighed a little dramatically and said, “You won’t be able to pull the bride card forever.”

“But I can tonight,” she replied in a sing-song voice, all too pleased with herself. Grabbing his cheeks, she physically turned his face toward me. The fact that he allowed it surprised the hell out of me.

His eyes met mine. Another drawn-out sigh escaped him, and he straightened as much as he could with a grown woman still hanging off him. Somehow, he managed to look as professional as he did when he dealt with the press after each game.

“I’m sorry I underplayed just how cute you are to her,” he said. Sariah impatiently gestured for him to continue, and Rhodes briefly closed his eyes. When he opened them again, his expression was so gravely sincere that I almost broke down laughing. “I deeply regret my actions and the irreparable harm my gross misrepresentation of your cuteness has caused. There’s no excuse for what I’ve done. I can only hope that, with time, reflection, and attempted personal growth, I can become the man you deserve.”

I tried not to grin, but it was a struggle. He was laying it on so fucking thick. And honestly, it was more entertaining than it should’ve been. This was a whole new side of Rhodes—one I never would’ve believed existed if I wasn’t seeing it with my own two eyes. This level of drama was something I’d expect from Jude, not Rhodes.

“I understand that forgiveness is not something I’m entitled to, nor would I ever presume to demand it from you. All I can do is acknowledge my failures, promise to do better in the future, and humbly ask whether you can find it in your heart to forgive me,” he continued.

I stared at him, and Rhodes stared right back. Sariah finally slid down until her feet hit the deck, but she stayed tucked against his side as they both waited for my verdict. I gave the matter more consideration than it truly deserved. I looked away toward the water, my lips pressed in a thin line thoughtfully, as if I was really debating it. I wasn’t. Truthfully, I was debating how many buttons of his I could playfully push in this matter before he made me pay for it later.

The answer was many.

I nodded to myself as I looked back at Rhodes and grinned.

“Nope,” I said. I could see the flicker of a warning cross his face—the one that told me he’d make me regret it later while I was naked and on my knees. Which I was fine with.

Sariah gasped immediately as her face lit up.

“Oh, I’m going to like you!” she exclaimed.

Rhodes groaned as Sariah abandoned him completely and crossed the distance between us. Her arm hooked through mine with the easy confidence of someone who had apparently decided we were friends.

And just like that, I was swept into another side of Rhodes’ life—the one filled with friends and barely controlled chaos. Here, he was playfully dramatic and quick to laugh. He was surrounded by people who knew this version of him well and brought out what I had a feeling were some of the very best parts of him. And as Sariah dragged me across the deck to meet everyone, I couldn’t wait to know this version of him too.

CHAPTER 58

Theo

Porn! Porn! Porn!” Rhodes and Sloane harmonized the word, singing at the top of their lungs.

I stared at them, caught somewhere between disbelief and laughter. I was completely mesmerized by this loud, uninhibited version of him, even if I didn’t understand most of what they were talking about.

“And this is why they’re banned from musical theater karaoke!” Sariah practically shouted to be heard over them.

“It’s an appropriate song!” Rhodes protested as Sloane burst out laughing.

“It’s not!” May chimed in.

“Now, hold on,” he shot back as he leaned across the table with one hand raised to tick off his points. “We had to sing a song from a musical, it had to be a duet, and it had to be something that no one else in the room had sung.”

“Enter The Internet is for Porn!” Sloane exclaimed.