“I wasn’t planning to be here.” Bex chews on her bottom lip, a hint of hesitation in her demeanor. “But I figured why not? It’s my dad’s first year as head coach and Preston’s last season with the team.”
Not quite the reason she begged me to drive her to Boston, but, okay.
“So,” Sydney says, tapping her long manicured nails on the armrest between us. “Drake mentioned you read my books… and Chloe’s, too.”
Heat burns my cheeks. Why am I embarrassed? She’s the one who writes those dirty stories. I’m only the person who reads them.
“Yes,” I admit. “I’ve read a lot of your books and the series you cowrite with Chloe.”
“Can I tell you a secret?” She leans in close enough for me to feel her breath on my earlobe. “I only wrote under my legal name to piss off my father. He hates my profession. But you know what, I love it. Writing sexy books makes me happy. It’s also kept my love life pretty… shall we say, interesting.”
“Mom,” Chloe snaps. “You don’t know how to whisper. We can hear every word over here. Please save everyone from hearing another disgusting story about you and Dad.”
Sydney tilts her head back and laughs. “I don’t tell disgusting stories. I save those for when we write books together.” She clamps her hand down on her daughter’s knee and laughs again.
Chloe chuckles and shakes her head, a tiny smile crossing her lips. “Don’t embarrass him,” she warns.
“I wouldn’t dream of it, darling,” Sydney coos.
Drake’s mom is a real character. After reading the bio on her website and watching some of her hilarious YouTube videos, I figured she’d be interesting to meet. Drake shared enough with me to provide a clearer picture, but meeting Sydney Carroway in person is an experience.
Midway through the game, Sydney touches my arm with her long, red fingernails. She leans in close, her sweet perfume filling my nostrils. “I’d like you to come for Easter dinner. I told Drake to ask you, but in case he forgets, I want to invite you.”
“Come,” Chloe says, leaning over to flash a set of bright white teeth. “Jacque makes the best honey glazed ham with sweet potatoes.”
Confused, I ask, “Who’s Jacque?”
Chloe chuckles. “Oh, Drake didn’t tell you about our chef? Jacque is amazing.”
“He mentioned you have one just not by name.”
“Drake keeps begging Mom to send him to his house to cook for his teammates.”
“Probably because Shannon stopped cooking for them,” Bex says.
“Regan mentioned Jamie’s girlfriend,” Sydney says. “Poor thing, little Jamie.”
I almost laugh at the way she says little Jamie because he’s a big guy until I remember Jamie is a junior.
“He screwed that up,” Bex adds. “What an ass?”
Sydney looks taken back by Bex’s forwardness, but she brushes off her comments, made aware of the situation by Jamie’s mom. Their families are so close I doubt there’s a single thing they don’t share with each other, their children’s love lives included.
“So…” Sydney says to me, “… dinner. Will we see you at the house?”
“Yes. I’d love to come. Thanks for inviting me.”
“You know…” Chloe says, “… you’re Drake’s first girlfriend since high school.”
“Yeah, he told me.”
“He’s a big guy,” Sydney says. “But my Drakey is sensitive. Please be careful with my baby’s heart. Don’t hurt him.”
“Syd,” Carter says in a tone that sounds threatening. When their eyes meet, I can see Drake’s dad issuing a silent warning to his mom.
It says stop embarrassing the damn kid.
“I would never,” I whisper, and Sydney smiles in response.
