Wright Rival (Wright)

“I’m going to sneak backstage to see her,” I told Hollin. “I’ll be right back.”

“Give her my regards. That was great, and I know nothing about ballet.”

I laughed. “It’s amazing what happens when she lets her knee rest.”

He roughly kissed me. “Don’t be gone too long.”

“Oh, boo. You’ll have to make friends with the soccer team.”

He laughed. “Yeah, what a hardship.”

I grinned and disentangled myself from him. I found the stage door and entered backstage. I recognized the rest of the artistic staff, who waved at me. Then, I found Isaac and Aly watching from the wings. Aly was in a tutu, as if we could get the girl out of the damn thing.

“Hey,” Isaac said. “What did you think?”

“She was perfect.”

“Isn’t she always?” he asked, practically glowing for his fiancée. He’d helped construct this building and the soccer complex, and he was prouder of Peyton’s fifteen minutes onstage.

“Miss Peyton promised to teach me this role,” Aly said very seriously. “She said that I just need to work on my pirouettes.”

“Absolutely,” I agreed. “You can do anything you put your mind to.”

Tori trotted over. “Hey, Piper!” We hugged like lifelong friends. “Oh my God, I heard about the winery. That’s terrifying.”

“It was.”

“I’m glad you’re okay and that y’all were able to move the wedding to a different location. Peyton has been talking about it nonstop at work.”

“I bet she has. Luckily, the wedding planner is handling everything.”

“Thank God for her!”

Aly took ahold of Tori’s dress and yanked twice. “Excuse me. Where is Miss Peyton?”

Tori dropped to Aly’s height. “That is an excellent question. She was changing. She should be here any minute. Do you want to have your turn on the stage? If we’re quiet as mice, we can dance out there.”

Aly’s eyes widened to saucers. “Yes, yes, yes!”

Tori looked to Isaac. “Is it all right?”

“She’d hate me forever if I didn’t let her. Go ahead.”

Tori took Aly’s hand, and they crept like mice onto the stage. Then, they did jumps and turns and pranced around the stage. I laughed with Isaac at the sight, and Peyton showed up in a long yellow dress.

“Oh my goodness,” she said. “How adorable.”

“Seester, you were brilliant,” I said, hugging her tight.

Peyton squeezed me back just as hard. “Thanks. Not my best, but—”

“Hey,” Isaac said with a sharp look at her. “You’re still a principal to me.”

“I love you,” she said, falling into his arms.

I couldn’t wait for them to be married next weekend. What could be more perfect than high school sweethearts reunited? They’d finally gotten it all to work out, and their love transcended. And I realized…for the first time…that I wasn’t overwhelmingly jealous of what they had.

My heart fluttered. I had what they had.

Was I falling in love with Hollin Abbey?

29

Hollin

When the performance was over, the party returned to the atrium. The string quartet was replaced with a local DJ, and everyone took to the dance floor. Jordan introduced me to the owners and one of the players from the MLS team FC Dallas, who was on loan to our team for the opening season. Levi Branson was only eighteen years old and already one of the best up-and-coming players in the MLS. It was crazy to think I’d be able to watch him from home all season.

“Hard to believe the whole team rests on one eighteen-year-old,” Jordan said as we stepped away.

“Agreed. Pretty wild.”

“Ah, there they are.”

I looked in the direction he pointed and saw Julian and the unmistakably related Weston Wright. Jordan and Julian were my cousins on their mom’s side, but their half-brother wasn’t related to me at all. It was weird. But either way, I was just glad to see him.

“Weston, you remember Hollin?” Julian said.

“Yeah. We met last summer briefly.”

I shook his hand. “Good to see you back in town.”

“Didn’t plan to make my reappearance at a black-tie event.” He tugged on his suit. “But my band dissolved in the middle of Eastern Europe this spring. I said fuck it and flew back to the States.”

“How exactly does a band dissolve in the middle of another country?”

Weston rolled his eyes. “It’s a long story. Drugs, an arrest, and a deportation. I decided I was over it. I like to play the keys, but I’m not here for the rest of it.”

I laughed. It was a rough life out on the road, and Weston only played backup, not like Campbell.

“That sounds wild. So, what are you doing now? Going to try to get into another band in Seattle?”

Jordan and Julian exchanged a look. The same one they’d given each other the last time Weston was brought up. As if they had a secret and they weren’t sharing with the class.

“Actually,” Weston said, “I’m moving here.”

My jaw dropped. “Really?”

“Yeah. There’s a local music studio where I could work part-time. Worst-case scenario, I find a job in IT again.” He glowered at that thought. “Not what I want to be doing, but whatever pays the bills. And it’d be good to get to know my brothers.”