Settling the Score (The Summer Games #1) - R.S. Grey Page 0,97

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.

“Freddie!”

I turned back to see Becca running down the hall after me. She gripped my arm once she’d reached me and her gaze flitted back and forth between my eyes.

“You aren’t just toying with her, are you? Andie?”

I frowned.

“The last few days have been hell for her. She’s been so stressed about her wrist. She’s got that doctor’s appointment tomorrow; did she tell you?” I shook my head and she continued. “Yeah. They’re going to do a full MRI, and then she’s got to hope they clear her for the final game. And that’s not even half of it, Freddie. She can hardly leave our condo without people trying to take her picture or call her names. Even the girls on our team have turned on her the past few days.” I winced and she gripped my arm tighter. “I’m not blaming you, and I’m not even telling you to back off or anything. I just want to know. I want you