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“You guys aren’t hanging out tonight?” Brynn asks.

“His dad arrived last night, so I told him to spend the night with him. He leaves tomorrow after breakfast, which means Damon and I can catch up after, before our flight back.”

“That’s amazing his father was able to make it to the game. I know Chris’s mother hated missing it,” Charlotte says with a sigh, and I hum out a noncommittal response.

“Yeah, it meant a lot to him,” I say as a fist forms in my stomach.

I never had a problem with Vinny Huhn before, but ever since my parents told me he blackmailed them?that he’s the reason they forced my hand in breaking Damon’s heart?I can’t help but view him through a different lens. Every polite smile and friendly conversation over the years feels tainted now, like there’s something rotten festering beneath the surface.

I have no idea what his motivations were for forcing the breakup. Hell, I don’t even know that I believe my father but the timing lines up too perfectly to ignore. The request from my parents came only months after the walkway collapse, just as Damon was beginning his college football career.

One week Damon and I were planning our future, and the next I was being told to cut him loose or risk watching everything my family built go up in flames.

I always felt like there was a missing piece to the puzzle?some invisible motivation I just couldn’t see?and Vinny Huhn might very well be that puzzle piece.

“I agree. I’m wiped,” Brynn says, bringing me back to the present.

“Chris’s eating habits must be wearing off on me because all I can think about is food.” Charlotte grimaces. “I need a full belly before I go comatose.”

“Being the girlfriend of a division one college football player is no joke.” Brynn laughs as she snatches the remote off the coffee table and flicks on the TV.

Girlfriend.The word swims around in my brain, and I smile as I think of Damon’s postgame interview where he told the sports reporter we were a couple.

“Oh my God, Avery, look!” Brynn points, eyes wide as I focus on the screen to see postgame coverage with a clip of me and Damon kissing in high definition.

“That is so freaking hot.” Brynn squeals, needling me in the side before the news announcer cuts back to one of Damon’s postgame interviews.

“So, you two are official?” Charlotte asks, beaming.

“Looks like it,” I say, unsure of why my stomach’s sinking.

“That’s amazing. How weird is it going to be to see Damon smitten?” Charlotte says with a shake of her head.

“Another one bites the dust,” Brynn whispers, and we all burst out laughing when my phone starts ringing.

Sliding my phone from my pocket, I glance at the screen, fully expecting to see Damon’s name on the caller ID. So, when I see it’s my mother’s name instead, my stomach drops.

“Do you need to take that?” Charlotte asks, still giggling from our previous conversation.

“Um, yeah,” I mumble as I rise to my feet. “I’ll just be a sec.”

Hurrying toward my bedroom, I take a deep breath and swallow my nerves as I swipe to answer. “Hello?”

“Do you have any idea what you’ve done?” My mother’s voice fills the line, anger dripping from her tone.

“It’s fine.”

“Everything is not fine,” she snaps. “Your father and I turn on the news and what do we see? Footage of the Griffins winning the championship, followed by a clip of their quarterback, Damon Huhn, kissing his girlfriend for the camera, for the whole world to see.”

“I told you I wouldn’t leave him again, and I meant it.”

“Well, I hope you know what you’re doing, because your selfishness may have just ruined all our lives.”

“I love him,” I say, wanting her to understand. Needing her to accept my choice. “I love him, and I never thought he’d give me another chance again after I broke his heart, but he did. He has. And as my mother, you should want me to be happy.”

“You’re right. I am a mother, and I have another daughter, Avery. It’s not all about you.”

I flinch as her words hit their mark. “Nothing is going to happen. You don’t need to worry about Vinny Huhn,” I say, believing it.