“Allie told me.”
Are you freaking kidding me?
Miriam couldn’t believe her best friend had sold her out. They were going to have a nice, long talk when she got back. She shook her head in disbelief. When she did, a man in uniform caught her eye. He had one hand on his utility belt as he slowly walked over to where they stood.
The only thing worse than Silas showing up at the airport? The TSA getting involved.
Miriam caught the man’s eye and gave him what she hoped was a reassuring smile. “Sorry about the scene, officer. You see, we didn’t think we were going to get a chance to say goodbye before my flight left. But it looks like my, uh, boyfriend made it after all.” Miriam gave Silas a tight smile. “Right, dear?”
“Right.” He wiggled the bouquet in front of him.
Miriam groaned as several leaves fell to the ground.
The man’s eyes followed the leaves as they landed against the carpet and went back up to Silas and Miriam. He gave them both a hard look. “Next time, maybe try calling her instead.”
Silas nodded enthusiastically. “Of course. I was just so excited to see her, I wasn’t thinking.”
The security guard mumbled something under his breath. Miriam apologized again as he walked off.
“That was close.” Silas sighed and gave Miriam a small smile. “I thought they might take me to the interrogation room never to be seen again.”
She smacked his arm. “It would have served you right after the scene you just made. What if he thought you were a terrorist?”
“It was a risk I was willing to take to catch you in time.”
The corners of her mouth turned down into a frown. “Silas, you can’t just show up and tell me not to get on the plane.”
His face became serious. “But I’m not telling you not to get on that plane. I’m begging you.” He set the flowers on the ground and reached out to grab both of her hands in his. “Please. Don’t go.”
She pulled her hands back. “What am I supposed to do? Call up the GM and say, ‘Thank you for paying for the flight to come interview, but I’ve decided to stay because my ex-boyfriend asked me not to?’”
“No. Of course not.” He ran his hand through his hair. “I don’t know what I thought you’d say. But I’m afraid if you get on that plane, I’ll never see you again.”
“It’s just an interview. It’s not like it’s a one-way ticket.”
“I know.” He pressed his lips together. “It’s just...I didn’t even know you wanted to work for MLS. I thought you were happy with the Storm.”
She didn’t know if she wanted to either. And she was happy with the Storm. “Sometimes you don’t know you want to work somewhere else until they offer you the position.”
The words echoed a similar sentiment to the explanations Silas had given when he left the Storm for the Wolves. After the pain he’d caused with his sudden departure, being able to say this to him should made Miriam feel vindicated.
But she didn’t feel better. The words tasted like ash on her tongue. She finally had a deeper understanding of how difficult it was to make a tough decision like this, and it was one of the hardest things she’d ever done in her life.
She was already wavering, and she knew if she stayed talked to Silas any longer, he’d convince her to stay. Even though she still wasn’t sure if she wanted the job in South Carolina, she didn’t want to live with what-ifs forever, either.
She took a step toward the monorail. “I’ve gotta go.”
Silas
“Can we get a round over here, please?”
Silas had reluctantly asked Finn to meet him at City Bar for a drink after wandering aimlessly around Waterfront all day. The team captain was the closest thing Silas had to a friend, and after watching Miriam board the monorail that led to the terminals at Tampa International, he realized he could really use one right now.
He’d been relieved that Finn had said yes, even though they hadn’t spoken more than a handful of words to each other since they’d arrived at the sports bar. Silas wasn’t sure where to begin, and Finn wasn’t making it easy on him.
His knee bounced wildly under their high-top table as his eyes scanned the room. All twenty big screen TVs that hung in various places around City Bar were turned to different sporting events. One of them was a Major League Soccer game. It wasn’t the team Miriam interviewed for today, but it was still painful to see it. He looked away and fixed his eyes on the table in front of him.
The waitress set two pints of beer on their table before rushing off to get orders from her other customers.
Silas lifted his glass. “To losing the love of your life.”
Finn rolled his eyes as he clinked his glass against Silas’. “To not being dramatic.”
They drank in silence for several minutes, but eventually Finn cleared his throat. “So, do you want to talk about it? Or just wallow in it?”
Silas glared at him.
“For what it’s worth,” Finn said, “I thought she was going to forgive you.”
So had Silas. He took a sip of his drink and looked at Finn. “It’s not the first time you’ve been wrong.”
Finn lifted his hands. “What are you talking about? I’m never wrong.”
Silas snorted. “Remember when you told Emmeline that waxing didn’t hurt and that girls were just whining over nothing?”
“She made me prove it by letting her wax my chest.” Finn groaned, but it soon turned into a hearty laugh. “It was worse than a kick between the legs. I’ll never question a woman’s tolerance for pain again.”
“And what about that time we played the Moons in their arena, and you were convinced that one of their fans was making eyes at you?” Silas barely kept the smile from his face as he remembered
