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Nova doesn’t see me coming, too immersed in conversation with her admirers, until my presence has bachelor number one drifting his attention to me.
Sucking in a breath, Nova isn’t able to conceal her initial reaction fast enough. “Dev.”
“Fancy seeing you here tonight.” I wink, attempting to keep my tone light even though I’m two seconds away from launching an interrogation.
“Well, I do work for TSG.” She sweeps her champagne flute around the room. “Couldn’t miss a work function like this if I want to keep moving up in the ranks.”
It’s not that I didn’t know she’d be here. I assumed she would, but I hadn’t soldered enough steel around my heart. Hadn’t built enough self-restraint to avoid her altogether.
Suit Dude clears his throat, elbowing Nova in the ribs.
“Right. Sorry. Devin, this is my cousin, Leo.” She sweeps her hand to her VIBE date. “And his best friend, Shep. He does some photography for TSG athletes.” He holds up a camera I hadn’t noticed, tipping his head in a hello.
Her cousin.
His best friend.
With the jealousy fog disintegrating, Leo’s familiarity registers. I’ve seen him around the agency. “Leo Holmström?”
“In the flesh.” He offers a polite smile, extending his hand, and I shake it. “It’s good to finally meet you. I’ve heard a lot of great things.”
My eyes ping-pong between the cousins and all of their similarities sharpen as if under a microscope. The sunny-colored hair, the ocean eyes and slope of their noses, the easy smiles. How did I not see they were related? She wasn’t interacting with him like a lover. She was handling him the way she would a brother.
“If they’ve come from Nova, I doubt that.”
“And on that note.” Nova’s eyebrows jump as she tips her flute back and finishes the last of her champagne. “If you’ll excuse me, duty calls.”
My stare eats up Nova with each retreating step, the sway of her hips and how the material clings to her backside. I’m one deep breath away from forgetting myself and charging to fling her over my shoulder before hauling her out of here.
Leo laughs, bringing me back to reality. “You don’t give her enough credit.”
Unable to tear myself away from Nova’s perfect figure, I watch as another woman dressed in red pulls her into a circle, talking animatedly.
“I’m sorry?” It takes every ounce of strength to drag my attention back to Leo. His best friend, Shep, must have walked off when Nova did.
“My beautiful cousin.” His chin juts in Nova’s direction. “You don’t give her enough credit. She’s done nothing but talk about how incredibly talented you are on the field. Granted, that’s the chatter between the agents, too. We’re glad you’re here in Miami and with TSG.”
Oh. “Thank you.” Maybe I should be better at accepting compliments by now, but I’m not sure I ever will.
“And thanks to Nova, I had the privilege of watching you in action on the field.” He swirls his drink. “She dragged me to so many games.”
Like a moment frozen in time, I lose all ability to move, my limbs petrified. “She went to my games?”
“You didn’t expect her to watch you play in the majors solely from a TV screen, did you?”
Coming to see me play in person is what I assumed she’d do—the Nova I know—but she never said a word. Why wouldn’t Nova tell me she was there, in the stands, supporting me?
“How many did you guys go to?”
“Oh, I don’t know. Six or seven. One game for every series. She’d kick my ass if she knew I told you this, but she cried when you walked off the field after the final game.”
I choke on my emotions. Was Willa right? Did Nova sit back and watch me move on rather than tell me how she felt because she didn’t want to bethatgirl?
Memories of long ago conversations come to mind. She didn’t want to unfriend her ex-best friend, regardless of her betrayal, because Nova didn’t want to seem dramatic. She didn’t even cause much of a fight with Logan after he screwed her over, just let it be and moved on. She danced to placate her mom, who would never have expected her to. She would have married a man who treated her poorly, excusing his behavior and hoping he’d change, rather than speaking up because she loved his family and didn’t want to destroy the close friendship their parents had. How is Nova these two very different women?
When she was with me on our road trip and in New Orleans, she challenged me. She didn’t take my crap, and had no problem putting me in my place when I deserved it. Was it because I was a stranger, someone removed from her real life? Though I definitely wasn’t a stranger in Louisiana. What is it about us, about her? She’ll fight me for months on end, she’s killing it at TSG by scoring some significant deals for clients, but she can’t be honest about what she wants in love?
“A tad off subject, but where’s—”
