Settling the Score (The Summer Games #1)(79)

“Freddie.”

Andie’s voice was the first thing to break through the static. Her fingers wove through mine as she pulled me aside. I’d nearly stepped out of the party, but she was there, pulling me toward her, pulling me out of the fog.

“I have to go,” I said, staring at her lips. They were always an irresistible shade of pink, plump and beautiful. I’d miss her lips.

“No,” she said, shaking her head and trying to catch my eye. I wouldn’t let her leave me. “The party just started. Stay. I need to see you. Stay.”

She was magnificent in that black dress, small, and subtle, and real. I reached out to run my finger along her collarbone, feeling her inhale a sharp breath. I’d miss that skin, just above her breasts. She was extra sensitive there and I knew if I leaned down and pressed my mouth against her, she’d crumble in my arms.

“I’m leaving,” I said, my voice nearly unrecognizable.

Her hand squeezed around mine, trying to force me to stay. It wasn’t the same as Caroline’s touch. When Caroline grabbed my tie, it was with a vengeance. Andie touched with love and need and passion. I’d miss her touch.

“Caroline is pregnant.”

Her hand slipped away from mine.

One second she was there, begging me to stay, and the next she was stepping back and shaking her head, already losing sight of us. I’d taken her into that broom closet and I’d tried to show her how good we could be together. This was too much though, even for my Andie.

“What do you mean?” Her voice was shaking.

She was crying and I was stepping back, giving her the space Caroline demanded.

“She’s pregnant.”

I leaned forward to wipe the tears from her cheeks, but she turned her head away before I could.

“Don’t.”

I’d never had my heart broken by a single word before.

She spun around and walked away from me then. I wanted to shout out after her.

Don’t go.

Don’t leave me.

Don’t end this.

She was already gone though, weaving through the party as fast as she could. She was putting as much distance between us as possible, building on don’t until it wasn’t just a word, it was a wall.





CHAPTER FORTY-ONE


Freddie




I LEANED FORWARD in the elevator and punched the number for Andie’s floor before I could change my mind. The Sports Illustrated party had ended a few hours before, but I’d left early and taken a cab around Rio. I’d been in the city for weeks and had yet to see anything beyond the village and the pool. The city was alive in a way I hadn’t realized before. The streets were warm and colorful and loud. Music streamed out of the bars and restaurants we passed, setting a backdrop for the drive. I watched as friends and couples fell out of bars, laughing and hanging on one another. Everyone was out on the town, partying and inhaling life in a way I never had before. I found myself wishing I could be one of the people on the streets, a normal bloke with a pint in his hand, without a worry in the world.

I told the cabbie to keep driving until we’d wound through what felt like most of the city’s streets. By the time we made it back to the village, I could finally breathe again. It’d been nearly three hours since Andie had walked away from me and I already missed her.

I leaned forward and punched the number for her floor again, willing the elevator to speed up.

I’d had time to think, and now I needed to see her.

The hallway leading to her door was quiet enough that as I knocked, I could hear voices murmuring inside.

I couldn’t help but smile a little as Becca whipped the door open and tilted her head, confused.

“Freddie? What are you doing here?”

“Is Andie here?” I asked tentatively. I wasn’t sure if Andie had already told her the pregnancy news or not; I had half a mind to cover my face in case a punch was coming my way.

“Is that Andie?” Kinsley shouted from the living room. “Tell her that I’m mad at her for disappearing at the party!”

Becca rolled her eyes. “No! It’s Freddie!”

“Oh! HI FREDDIE!”

I tugged my hands through my hair. “Becca, is Andie in there?”

She frowned and glanced back to Andie’s open bedroom door. “No. Didn’t she tell you? She’s hanging out with Georgie. I’m not sure when they’ll be back.”

Ah. That explained the aggressive text messages I’d been receiving from Georgie for the last two hours.



Georgie: You’ve royally screwed up this time. I mean honestly, Fred, what were you thinking?!

Georgie: I’ll strangle you myself if you got that mad cow pregnant. She’s bonkers and her spawn will be bonkers too.

Georgie: Oh my god. She’s probably going to call it Paprika, or Apple, or god forbid—Caroline Jr.

Georgie: I will not have a niece called CAROLINE JR!



“Right.” I fisted my hands to keep from dragging them through my hair for the hundredth time. “Could you tell her I stopped by when she gets home?”

I could see the pity in her eyes as she nodded. She felt sorry for me, the bloke chasing after Andie. It was an unfamiliar sensation to lose the chase, and as I walked back to the elevator bank, defeated, I wondered if maybe I’d never had Andie at all.