There was something cathartic about putting all your energy into a workout. Miriam was huffing and puffing as she pushed herself harder on the elliptical. She was in the zone and thinking that it was a great idea to go to the gym when two girls got on the treadmills in front of her.
They both looked immaculate with their adorable ‘messy’ buns and cute workout clothes. Miriam glanced down at her old college shirt and running shorts. Her outfit did the job, but it wasn’t doing her any favors. It screamed, “Yeah, I’m working out. But I’d rather be eating pizza and watching reality TV.” Miriam would never be one of those girls who looked cute at the gym. She sighed as she watched them set their machines to a brisk walk.
It was strange, one of the girls looked slightly familiar. Miriam couldn’t figure out why until she saw the Storm t-shirt. The girl with dark hair was wearing it, and on the back was a signature. When Miriam squinted to see it better, she saw it was written by none other than Silas Jenkins.
Miriam realized why the girl looked familiar. She was the gorgeous girl from outside The Sports Emporium at that first meet and greet. It looked like her love for Silas was still going strong.
Good for her.
Miriam tried to ignore the two girls as they talked excitedly. But when Miriam heard one of them say Silas, she gave up on that. She turned her music off, though she left the headphones in, to get a better shot at hearing what the fan club was saying about the golden boy.
“Come on, McKensie. You’re so making that up,” said the girl not wearing the Storm shirt.
“I swear.” McKensie held her hand up. “We worked out together two days ago and when we were done, he said he wanted to do it again.” She waggled her brows. “Soon.”
The other girl squealed. “What did you say?”
McKensie shrugged. “Only if he was lucky.”
“O.M.G.”
“I know. Ever since he got back from Wisconsin, we keep bumping into each other. There’s this chemistry between us. It’s like we’ve known each other forever.”
The other girl’s eyes were wide. “It’s like fate.”
“Right? I always had this feeling I was going to date a professional athlete. I thought he would be a football player, but I guess European football is close enough.”
The two girls giggled.
Meanwhile, Miriam wasn’t sure what to think. Just because some obvious groupie-wannabe said she was hanging out with Silas, that didn’t mean it was true. People lied all the time to make themselves look better. They talked about their run-ins with celebrities at local coffee shops or pretended to catch oversized bass. Sometimes they told the story so many times, they started to believe it themselves.
Hearing McKensie talk about Silas was no different.
Then why did Miriam feel like she might be sick? She took a deep breath and tried to calm her racing heart, but it was no use. Her mind kept going to the what-ifs.
What if McKensie is more than a fangirl?
What if Silas changed his mind?
The timeline certainly made sense. If McKensie was to be believed, they’d started hanging out the same time Silas started ignoring Miriam.
Fears of something like this happening had dominated too much of her time with Silas, and it was causing problems even now—when they weren’t actually dating.
She stepped off the elliptical and went to the bathroom. Once inside, she splashed cool water on her face until the urge to throw up passed. She dried her face with a paper towel and looked at herself in the mirror. The reflection that met her was not that of a crazy woman who jumped to conclusions. It was a rational adult who had the means to find out what was going on.
She pulled out her phone and sent a message to Silas.
Miriam: Can we talk?
His reply was fast.
Silas: I’m so glad you texted me. I have something to tell you.
Miriam tried to ignore the feeling of dread that pooled in her belly. She knew that something wasn’t necessarily McKensie.
Miriam: Okay. Should I call?
Silas: It’s more like something to SHOW you. Can you meet me tomorrow instead?
She thought it was weird that he didn’t want to talk now, but she’d had almost a week of radio silence. One more day wouldn’t kill her. Plus tomorrow was a rare Saturday where the Storm didn’t have a game. She’d have the entire day off. Without a legit reason to say no, she typed her response.
Miriam: Okay.
Silas texted her an address.
Silas: Meet me here at nine.
Miriam clicked on the address. When her map app opened, it pulled up a house in Waterford. She zoomed in. There was nothing extraordinary about it. It looked like a regular house.
Her mind raced at the different reasons Silas would ask her to meet him at a house. They ranged from a surprise proposal—which was insane—to an intervention of some sort. Miriam cleaned up and grabbed her gym bag.
With no clue of what her show and tell with Silas meant for their future, Miriam was thankful it was only a day away.
Silas
Convincing Bernard to come back out to the house was no easy feat. But when Silas said he was ready to make an offer on it, the real estate agent reluctantly agreed to come at nine.
Silas wiped his palms over the thighs of his pants as he waited for Miriam to show up. With every passing minute, Silas got more anxious about what she would think about his surprise. It might have been a little impulsive to buy a house without letting Miriam see it first, but Silas wanted to prove how serious he was about settling down in Waterfront.
“Mr. Jenkins, if you’ll just sign right here”—Bernard pointed at the bottom of the page—“we’ll send this right over to the selling agent. Usually, we get an answer within twenty-four hours depending on the
