Chapter Ten

Rowan

The bell above the boutique door jingles as I enter the gorgeous French inspired boutique dress shop located outside of the city. This is where Tessa, Brynn and Cammy told me to meet them to try on gowns for the gala.

Tessa is already leaning against the mirror, rubbing her pregnant belly, focused on her screen. She's probably checking the Hawkeyes' social media account as she usually does throughout the day to respond to fans and questions on posts about game schedules and where to buy tickets online. She glances up and grins as soon as she spots me.

“Finally, you’re here! We were about to send a search party for you. Brynn’s in the back trying on half the store,” she greets, her voice her usual teasing tone, her hand still absentmindedly tracing circles over her belly.

The sight stirs something in me I wasn’t expecting—a pang that settles somewhere between my chest and my gut. It’s not jealousy—more wistful, and quiet yearning that sneaks up on me.

I force a smile back at her, not wanting her to see it in my eyes and feel sorry for me, but my mind wanders for a fleeting second. Isla just had her baby a little while back, and now Tessa is due at the end of the season. The thought catches me off guard, my imagination leaping ahead of me.

What would it feel like to be a part of this group, not just as the reporter they’ve accepted into their inner circle, but as someone sharing the journey of building a family? To have a little life growing inside me and get to raise that baby surrounded by this tight-knit, loving community of women who seem to rally around each other no matter what?

But then the weight of reality crashes in, reminding me why that thought is so dangerous. Being this close to them—to their lives and their families, is already a conflict of interest. As a reporter, my job is to stay impartial, not to dream about what it would feel like to belong in their world.

I hear Brynn's muffled voice behind one of the changing room doors, breaking me from thoughts. "And Tessa only tried on one dress and bought it instantly so she could keep working. She's no fun. I need someone to try stuff on with or I'm going to start feeling self-conscious for grabbing so many gowns."

“I’m pregnant, it doesn’t exactly lend to a closet full of couture. But I got lucky and found something that fits,” she says, pointing to a long plastic dress bag hanging by the register.

"The Hawkeyes' social media account has been blowing up from the pictures I've been posting of Juliet and Shawnie's decorations for the gala that just started going up around the stadium. Fans are hitting up the comment section asking for last-minute tickets to the gala or to find out if players will be available for autographs at some point that night. And besides, I already know what looks good on me; I'm an easy shopper… so sue me." Tessa teases, saying the last part loud enough to make sure Brynn can hear it.

"I would if I could," Brynn mutters.

I laugh, stepping fully into the boutique, hoping that girl talk will chase away my disappointment at my failed attempt at a truce with Bex. “Sorry, traffic was a nightmare, but I'm here, and I'm ready to shop," I say, pulling off my jacket and laying it down on the kind of chair I would imagine Marie Antoinette probably had in her salon. "Where's Cammy?"

"She just texted. She's running late from a study session but she's on her way," Tessa says, looking down at her phone as she types something up and hits send. "But wait, what's this about traffic? I thought you lived only a few minutes away from here.”

Unlike most everyone on the team who either live downtown Seattle or live in the wealthy gated community nearby, I live in a studio apartment further out of town. Being a journalist pays the bills, but not the kind of bills that allow city living without the need for a roommate to share the expenses. It's fine with me. The city can feel suffocating at times anyway, and since I work out of the office most days, I only have to commute to work when there's a game I need to be in the press box for or a staff meeting at The Seattle Sunrise .

"Yes, I do live close by, but I came from the stadium," I tell her.

Tessa shoots me an inquisitive look, but before she can dive into her question, a tall woman with a name tag and shiny jet-black hair pulled up in a tight bun makes her way toward me, sporting a smile that says she plans on making a commission today.

"Hi, you must be Rowan."

"Yeah, that's me. Sorry I'm late," I tell her.

She gives my body a once over as if scanning me for my measurements.

"That's not a problem at all," she assures me. "Based on the event and your friend's description of you, I pulled a few things to start us off, but of course, if you don't like any of them, you're welcome to look around or tell me what you have in mind."

I move my gaze over toward the changing rooms to find that one of the doors has a handful of dresses hanging on a metal rack. She wasn't kidding when she said that she already pulled items for me.

There must be over twenty dresses bulging off the rack.

There's a slinky gold dress that catches my eye as I follow the saleswoman. When we get closer, I notice a pink satin one with a full skirt, a black and white striped one with a lot of tulle, and an emerald, green dress that looks like it belongs on the red carpet. It would look killer with Keely's auburn hair. I wish more of the girls were here tonight, but most of them had conflicting schedules, so we all had to divide and conquer to get gowns for the event. Still, I'm glad that Tessa, Brynn and soon Cammy are here to do this with.

“No, I trust you. I'm sure whatever you picked out will be a great place to start.”

The saleswoman nods and then opens the changing room that she has waiting for me.

"Now that I've seen your body structure in person, I'll pick my top favorites for you if you're open to my suggestions. You can tell me which ones you like and which ones you don't like, and then I can narrow it down to the perfect dress."

Tessa finds a chair in front of the waiting room and sits as if she's waiting for Brynn and me to start modeling the dresses for her.

"That sounds great, thank you," I tell her.

I walk into the dressing room and then the saleswoman returns with four dresses. She hangs them up for me and then leaves, telling me that she's going to go check on another client at the end of the dressing room but to let her know if I need help in or out of a dress.

I close the door and begin to undress.

"How's it going in there?" Tessa asks Brynn.

"Good, I think. I found a couple I like so far, but I need your opinion. This is the first major event Seven and I are going to as a couple. I just want to make sure that I make him look good."

I hear Tessa make a tsking sound. "You're kidding, right? First of all, you're so gorgeous you could make a dumpster look classy as shit. Second, Seven practically worships you, so stop putting this pressure on yourself. Instead, consider your choice of footwear carefully. I have a feeling that there will be an impromptu walk to Wally's Burgers after the gala ends at one in the morning."

I chuckle at the mental image of a group of Hawkeyes players and their girlfriends, all dressed in formal wear, walking six long blocks to Wally's Burgers.

"Don't forget to model the dresses for me," Tessa says. "And speaking of arm candy, are you bringing a plus one to the gala, Rowan?"

"A plus one?" I ask, trying to sound as if the idea had never occurred to me. Although it actually hadn't happened because this is more of a work event for me than one for pleasure, with all the stunning art pieces that Autumn says are coming in for auction, I'm really looking forward to seeing them in person. "No, I'm not bringing anyone, but if I were to, it would probably be my sister Jordan."

I scan all four dresses and pick a red full-length dress with a plunging neckline to try on first.

"You sure you wouldn't just want to go with someone who is already going to be there?"

I can hear the teasing tone in Tessa's voice, like she's trying to lead me to the answer that she wants to hear.

"Like who?" I ask, playing into her game.

"Word around the Hawkeyes stadium is that things between you two are getting steamy. Something about you two disappearing for an extended period of time on the flight out and then emerging later, both appearing a little more disheveled than when you went in."

For the love of God, does anyone keep their mouth shut around here?

And then a thought comes to me that hadn't before. Is Bex bringing a plus one?

And do I care if he does?

I shake the idea away. Of course, I don't care. He'd be a miserable date for some poor girl.

"Wait, what? This is the first time I'm hearing of this. What happened on the aircraft?" Brynn asks, the sound of taffeta rustling around like she's either taking off a dress or putting a new one on.

"Nothing," I say, pulling the dress up my body and then trying to zip it up as far on my own as I can.

I turn toward the mirror and take in how I look in the first dress I'm trying on so far. I like it, but it's not giving me the vibe I want. Maybe it's childish, but I know that Drew and his fiancé are invited and though I still don't hold a candle for our relationship since it ended three years ago, the last thing I want him to think is that I'm not doing well and that dumping me was the right move on his part.

"That's not what I heard. I heard that at every game, Bex was always looking for you—asking players, if they had seen you—eye fucking you every chance he got—dragging his feet to get on the bus until he physically saw you onboard."

Did he really do all of that?

Tessa doesn’t travel with the team so she must have heard this from Lake.

"Rowan! Are you seriously holding out on us?" I hear Brynn say, and then her door opens.

I open my door too and walk out in the first dress.

Tessa looks at the dress I'm wearing and gives an unsure twist to her lips. "I'm not sure about that one," she says.

"Yeah, me either," I say, and I glance down the hall of changing rooms to see that the saleswoman is staring at me in the dress and seems deep in thought—making her own opinion of the dress on me as well, only she keeps it to herself.

Then Tessa and I both glance over at Brynn and shake our heads. It's not form fitting enough and she already mentioned in our group text earlier this week that she wants a Jessica Rabbit look to make Seven drop to his knees.

I think the man already does.

Brynn and I both turn back and head into our dressing rooms to pull off our dresses and try another one.

"I don't know where you're getting your information from but—"

"From Lake. He said he saw it all with his own eyes, so don't bother denying that something happened," Tessa says.

Damn it. I can't exactly call out her fiancé as a liar.

"Wait, something happened between you and Bex on the plane?" Brynn asks.

The sound of hangers clinking together in her room tells me that she is moving on to another dress.

I consider my options in the safety of my changing room without the prying eyes of Tessa Tomlin. The way I see it, I only have two choices: either I lie to my friends even though there was almost an eyewitness to the moment between Bex and me, or I come clean about the kiss he and I shared on an aircraft and seek out advice. Though the last advice from Keely, Autumn, and then Jordan was to meet him on his turf to get some perspective and let him see that I'm trying. Some good that did me. But Tessa is a human lie detector, so there's no point in lying.

I grab another dress off its hanger and step inside, pulling the soft, silky gown up over my hips.

This dress is a sleek mermaid flare in black satin, and it's glorious but almost too refined and sophisticated. I want to be noticed, not blend in with the scenery. It's not the one but Tessa will probably still expect to see it.

I open my door

Tessa takes notice of the dress, giving it a once over, but shakes her head.

"Pretty but not quite right."

"I agree."

I turn back and head for the changing room, unzipping the second dress and sliding it off my body.

“So? What happened?” she asks. "Don't think you're getting out of this conversation, Ro."

"Okay, fine, we kissed," I admit, hanging the black dress back on the hanger. "But it was an accident, and we quickly agreed never to discuss it again."

Brynn gasps on the other side of the changing room. "You kissed!?" she yells loud enough for everyone in the shop to hear.

"I knew it! Spill. Now." Tessa giggles in triumph.

"It was nothing. He thinks that I have some dirt on Reeve or Keely, and he pulled me aside to threaten me off his team. I slipped during turbulence, and he caught me. He kissed me—it was barely a peck." A little lie won't hurt. They got the story they wanted anyway.

"He knows about Keely's dad?" Brynn asks.

"No, he doesn't know anything. But now that Keely's dad is trying to re-enter her life, Reeve keeps pulling me aside to ask if I can reassure Keely that it's all going to be okay. Bex keeps finding us together, and he thinks that I've got something on Reeve."

"So, he thinks you're going to run a nasty story on Reeve?" Tessa clarifies.

Ever since Keely and Reeve decided to be together, I've convinced Keely to let more of the girls know what's going on with her so she doesn't feel so alone, and just as I suspected, no one judged her for the sins of her father. She still hasn't been ready to tell Sam or Bex… or pretty much anyone else on the team, but I'm proud of her for starting to trust more. And all of the girls in our group are fiercely protective of her. Autumn, Tessa, and I even have a contingency plan ready in case the news ever breaks out, and we need to help bury the story, though I truly think that Keely's ex-boyfriend and the athletic director from her old team blew this whole thing out of proportion.

But colleges are weird about protecting their recruiting ability since it means money for their program, and her ex… well, that guy just seems like a selfish tool. I covered the Boeing Classic two years ago that's part of the PGA tour, and her ex threw his driving iron and kicked over his golf clubs when he made a shot that landed in the pond nearby. I'd say he's a bit of a drama queen.

"Yep. Basically, if you ask Bex, I'm the story-hungry enemy who has no soul." I say, rifling through a few more dresses that the saleswoman flung over the door for me to try on.

"Can you find another way to talk to him? Get him to see that you're not a threat to his team, while still keeping Keely's secret?" Tessa asks.

“I tried. I went to see him after practice. I thought we could clear the air, maybe find some common ground so we’re not constantly at each other’s throats. But then it didn't work. He told me we’re not enemies, but that he doesn’t trust me. Then he handed me his hockey stick and told me if I could make a shot, he’d call a truce—I missed," I say.

I pull on a third dress, this time a delicate blue beaded gown. A darker hue than the Hawkeyes' turquoise team color. The second it’s on, I know. This is the one. The way the beads shimmer in the light, the plunging neckline that flatters without being too much, the way it hugs my curves—everything about it is perfect.

I've worn beautiful dresses to events and galas before… but this dress—this is something else.

Tessa raises her voice in confusion. "He challenged you to a hockey duel?”

“Yeah," I confirm.

"The man needs to find a better way to end a feud because that's just ridiculous. What if that's how he makes all of his life decisions?" Brynn asks.

Maybe she's right, but right now, I don't care about anything else except for this dress. It has me in a trance the way it accentuates every curve on my body. The beads glitter in the lighting like a blue waterfall and I'm almost tempted to ask if I can wear it out.

I check the price tags.

It's way more than I wanted to spend—double actually, but I have a feeling that this dress will be worth every penny, plus some.

"Ro? You still in there?" Tessa asks when I don't say anything.

I open the door instead, slowly making my way out to find Tessa and Brynn there; Brynn is in another dress.

Both of their jaws drop, shocked into silence.

Brynn’s mouth falls open. "Holy hell. You look incredible."

Before I can respond, the bell over the door jingles again, and Cammy walks in, eyes immediately locking onto me. She grins.

"Rowan, he's going to die when he sees you in that dress," she says.

I raise an eyebrow. "Drew?"

Cammy snorts. "Who gives a flying rat's ass about Drew Lansbury?"

"Then who is going to die seeing me in this dress?" I ask.

Cammy looks at Tessa and then Brynn who are all grinning back at her.

"Bexley Townsend. And it won't be a quick death either… that dress is going to torture him slowly," she chuckles. "And I can't wait to watch."