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He and Cam were in public, with his grandpa.

Cam would never do that to me.

Rhett was different now.

But it felt like a betrayal all the same.

Not knowing where else to go, I went to the baseball field and sat in my car, trying to eat my food and not stress out until vehicles started to approach.

I saw Rhett’s truck first, and he got out, coming to my car. He opened the door for me. “Hey,” he said with a big smile on his face.

I steeled myself, tried to ease that hot, hard feeling in my chest. “Hey.” I got out of the car. “Can we talk about earlier?”

He seemed confused. “What about earlier?”

“I mean, you clearly have a standing date with your grandpa and my best friend that no one told me about. Why?”

“I can’t just let my grandpa sit by himself in a nursing home,” he said. “It’s important for family to visit.”

I narrowed my gaze.

He rubbed his arm. “I don’t know. It didn’t feel like something to brag about.”

Now my brows furrowed. “What do you mean?”

“I didn’t want brownie points from you for visiting my grandpa.”

I tilted my head and opened my mouth to argue.

“Don’t even try and say I’m wrong,” he said. “You loved my grandpa. If you knew I was doing what I should be doing, not even going above and beyond, you would have melted like an ice cream cone in July. I didn’t want to win you back that way. I wanted to earn your love, for how I treat you.”

My heartwasmelting like that ice cream cone though. “You could have told me.”

“I was going to tell you next week. He’s been on my ass to bring you in for a visit.”

I laughed, feeling relieved. But I still didn’t understand, “Why didn’t Cam tell me? We tell each other everything.”

“I asked her not to,” he said simply.

But it wasn’t that simple. Since when did Cam keep secrets for Rhett? Since when did she keep secrets from me?

Suddenly that tight ball in my chest was back and getting bigger. She was already getting married; now she was keeping things from me. I felt like I was losing my best friend, the one person who had been there for me no matter what, even when my dad was reeling from the divorce, even when I’d been devastated from losing Rhett. Through all the years.

Liv’s truck pulled into the parking lot, and Maya waved at me through the windshield. I placed a smile on my lips and waved back. I never considered myself much of a kid person, never having younger siblings or working around lots of little kids, but hanging out with Maya and the rest of the team had been a highlight of the summer.

The engine quieted and the doors opened, Maya’s dog jumping down first, and then Maya followed. Liv got out, holding up her phone, and the shutter sounded.

Rhett said, “You’re taking pictures?”

Liv sniffed. “Last practice with the Unicorns.”

“Holy shit,” Rhett muttered.

“UNCLE RHETT!” Maya yelled.

He shrugged. “Last practice. Whatcha gonna do? Fire me from a volunteer position?”

I chuckled, shaking my head, and said, “Maya, wanna help me set up the field for practice?”