I laugh and walk into the kitchen to fetch my own glass of bubbly. “I’m not making any promises. Hell, I barely got to speak to Maddox before he had to leave for training camp, and so much has happened since then. The last thing we’re thinking about is doing interviews.”
Amelia and Noelle walk through the sliding patio door at that moment, joining us. Ethan and Nick are trailing behind them.
“You’re here!” Nick shouts, reaching for me to give me a hug. “I swear, I love you, Pen, but now if you don’t bring Maddox around, there will be words.”
Ethan slugs him. “Jesus, man.”
“What? We officially have an NFL quarterback as part of the group now. Don’t act like you don’t want to hang out with the guy as much as the rest of us. Sucks he’s at training camp right now. I mean, I get it. But later on, he’d better be here. And if we could get season tickets, that would be great, too.” He turns to Ethan, who looks ready to punch him. “What? Don’t act like you haven’t thought about asking him.”
Damien chuckles. “Nah, he’ll probably just get stage fright again and forget how to speak.”
“Fuck you, Damien,” Ethan retorts.
“Boys, you need to go! Girl talk is about to commence, and your drama needs to be taken elsewhere,” Charlotte declares, waving her hands to shoo them out of the kitchen.
They all grab another beer and then head outside, where Ethan is preparing burgers on the grill.
“Hi, Auntie Penelope!” Oliver squeals, pausing only to hug my legs as he runs past then darting outside to the pool.
“Um, hi.”
“He’s been waiting for Ethan to go outside so he could swim. I told him he had to wait,” Amelia explains.
“I’ll catch up with him later then.”
“Okay, tell us. How did Ohio go? And then Texas?” Noelle finally speaks up. “I mean, judging by that picture, things went well, and you two are official now.”
The smile on my lips says it all. “Yes, we are, although that’s obviously not how we planned to let everyone know.” My face falls. “But I went home, and it was hard. My parents were obviously thrilled I was there. And I visited Jacob’s grave.”
The girls’ expressions are nearly identical, their sympathy touching after that revelation.
“But I’m glad I went. And then after another day spending time with my parents, I knew I couldn’t wait until Maddox returned to LA to talk to him. So I booked a flight to Texas to surprise him, where I told him everything.”
“We are so proud of you, Pen.” Amelia’s eyes are clouded with moisture as she looks at me.
“Thank you. And if it weren’t for you three, I know I would have never gotten here. I-I can’t even begin to tell you how grateful I am to all of you. And again, I’m so sorry I didn’t say anything sooner.” I feel my own throat close up with emotion.
“We know, Pen. We know.” Noelle squeezes my hand. “And you’re done running, right?”
“Yes. I’m done. In fact, today was a turning point in this entire thing.”
“How so?” Charlotte asks.
I take a sip of champagne and then explain what I learned. “Well, on Monday, when I met with Charles, I found out it was Liam who leaked the photo of us. And apparently, he had more. He’d had us followed numerous times because he suspected something and wanted me to get fired. Apparently, he’d asked to be the Los Angeles Bolts’ PR rep within the franchise, but they turned him down. Next thing you know, they hired me.”
“Oh my gosh,” Amelia whispers.
“So he was waiting for the right time to expose us, but he wasn’t very good about covering his tracks. Charles met with the representatives from the team, including the owner, and offered up a suggestion that would spin things in a new direction, one they could use...”
“And...?” Noelle raises her eyebrow.
I take a deep breath and try not to smile too hard. “You’re looking at the new head of PR for the team, ladies.”
“Holy shit!” they all scream in unison.
“Are you serious?” Charlotte asks.
“Yes. And I have Charles to thank. He vouched for me, and I am so excited. Working with the team has been incredible—and now I get to do it full-time!”