Deciding to help her out, I place my arm around her shoulders, “Hey, baby. Sorry I was late.”

She blinks up at me in confusion before she catches on. “It’s okay.” Leaning into my touch, she glowers at the guy. “I was just telling this asshole here that I was waiting for my gorgeous girlfriend.”

I narrow my eyes at the asshole in question. “You can fuck off now.”

He mutters something under his breath before he takes a sip of his beer and the bartender returns with my drink.

I go to pay for it, but the girl waves a hand. “Nope, it’s on me.”

When I protest, she shakes her head and says, “You did me a favor and came to my rescue. Paying for your drink is the least I can do.”

“Thanks.”

“I’m Kit.” She leans in. “And the name of my new girlfriend is?”

I can’t help but laugh. There’s a genuine aura about her that I dig. “Bianca—”

“If you two hotties are gonna hook up, can I at least watch?” the asshole from before cuts in.

I’m about to tell him off, but out of nowhere, some tall, scary guy rushes over to us.

Before I can blink, he grabs the dipshit’s collar. “If you don’t stop hitting on my wife, the only action you’re going to get tonight is that beer bottle shoved up your ass.”

The guy’s eyes widen and he looks like he’s about to shit his pants. “Sorry, man. I didn’t know she was taken.”

Kit pinches the bridge of her nose and I notice the glint from her wedding ring. “Dammit, Preston. What are you doing here?”

His entire focus shifts to her. “We need to talk.”

Despite my curiosity, I slink off the barstool because that situation sounds complicated as fuck and I want a drama-free night.

I’m about to go to the bathroom to apply some more lipstick, but my phone buzzes with an incoming text.

Jace: Where you at?

Bianca: At the bar. Where are you?

Jace: Look to the left.

When I do, I spot Jace, Cole, and Sawyer in the middle of the nearly empty dance floor.

Sawyer’s pretending to reel Cole in like a fish and Cole’s flailing his arms, pretending to be caught.

Good Lord. It would be embarrassing if they weren’t so damn cute together.

I smack a kiss on Jace’s cheek. “Hey. Where’s Dylan?”

He takes a sip of his drink. “She’s still backstage with Landon.”

Sawyer practically has heart-eye emojis flashing in her brown orbs at the mention of Landon’s name. “I can’t believe we’re hearing Landon Parker sing his new song tonight.”

I have no clue who Landon Parker is, but he’s obviously a big deal if Sawyer’s this excited about it.

Then again, her favorite musician is Nick Jonas…so there’s that.

Cole looks like he’s bursting at the seams and ready to pop any moment.

“What’s wrong with you?”

“I tried to wait for Dylan to come back, but I can’t hold it in any longer.” He looks at Sawyer. “I have to tell them.”

Sawyer beams. “Do it.”

Excitement lights up his features. “Okay, so…I have some really big news.”

Jace and I exchange a glance.

“Great,” Jace says. “Spit it out.”

Cole takes a breath. “The Patriot’s organization reached out and strongly suggested that I declare for the draft early. Obviously with Tom Brady leaving for Florida and all, they need a new quarterback.” He peers at Sawyer who’s blinking back tears. “And evidently…they want me.”

Holy shit. This is huge.

Jace and I both erupt in cheers and rush to give him a hug. I can’t believe my freaking brother is going to be an NFL football player.

“Damn, that’s huge,” Jace exclaims. “But what about finishing school?”

Cole shrugs. “What’s the point? Yeah, an education is important, but I’ve wanted to be in the NFL my entire life. Who knows if I’ll ever get another shot at it. Plus, I can always finish school on the off-season.”

He’s right. He needs to jump now before the opportunity slips from his fingers.

Jace hugs him again. “I’m really proud of you, brother. I knew you could do it.”

My heart swells. “Me too.”

He smiles at Sawyer. “Sawyer’s already agreed to move to New England with me after her senior year is over.”

Sawyer pulls him in for a quick kiss. “And I’ll visit whenever I can in the meantime.”

As sad as I am that Cole will be moving away—along with my girl Sawyer—I’m so happy his dreams are coming true.

Cole grins. “It’s crazy. Never in a million years did I think I’d be taking over for the best football player in the whole entire world. I mean Tom Brady is the GOAT and my favorite football player for a reason. He’s hands down the most skillful quarterback to ever step onto the field.”

Oh, boy. Here we go.

As proud as I am of my brother, I don’t want to hear him drone on and on about Tom Brady the entire night.

“Seriously,” Cole continues as more people pile inside the venue. “The dude has an arm that’s pure fire—” His jaw drops as he focuses on something behind me. “Holy shit.”

Grabbing Sawyer’s hand, Cole runs over to some tall blond guy wearing a Saint’s jersey. His arm is draped around a curvy redhead.

“Holy fucking shit,” Cole yells, and I swear his voice cracks. “You’re Asher Holden.”

Smiling, the guy whispers something into the redhead’s ear before he removes his arm and shakes my brother’s hand. “Hey, how are you? I take it you’re a Saint’s fan?”

Cole looks like he’s going to pass out. “More like a fan of you. Dude, you’re my favorite football player in the world.” He gestures to Sawyer. “I was just telling my fiancé how you’re the GOAT and the most skillful football player to ever step on the field.”

Jace and I exchange a humorous glance.

“Yup,” Sawyer says dryly. “He talks about you all the time.”

Not stopping for a breath, Cole continues hammering on. “I’m sorry about what went down at Duke’s Heart. They did you dirty, man.”

Shrugging, Asher puts his arm around the redhead again. “Yeah, but it all worked out for the best in the end.” He gestures to the stage. “Have a good night. I’m gonna try to grab a good spot for the show.”

Not taking the hint, Cole says, “Can I buy you a drink? It would be awesome if I could ask you a few questions and get your advice about a few things.”

For a moment I think Asher’s going to decline—because let’s face it, Cole is acting like a crazy fanboy right now—but to my surprise he says, “My boyfriend will be on stage any minute and I really want to watch him perform, but come find me after the show, okay?”

Cole shakes his hand so hard I’m surprised it doesn’t fall off. “Sweet. Talk to you after the show.”

Cole turns back to us when Asher walks off. “I can’t believe my favorite football player is here tonight.”