Page 87 of Balancing Act

Lily laughed, still buzzing with energy. With a final squeeze, she stepped back from Jamie, her eyes sparkling excitedly. “Thanks for being here, Jamie. Seriously.”

Jamie’s chest tightened, and she managed a soft smile, reaching out to squeeze Lily’s shoulder. “Any time, kid. Now, go rest up. I’ll be here tomorrow to cheer you on.”

With one last grin, Lily followed Sarah, who threw Jamie a brief, approving nod before guiding her daughter toward the exit.

“Can I steal Jamie for a minute, Beth?” Amanda asked sweetly, but Jamie knew her best friend better than that.

“Of course. I’m going to go see if they are still selling those T-shirts for the Classic. Meet you back here?”

“You got it,” Jamie said, but once Beth was out of earshot, she rounded on Amanda. “What?”

“Don’twhatme, babe.” Amanda punched her in the arm softly. “What are you doing here? You didn’t even tell me you were coming.”

“I came to support Lily.” She smirked. “And Beth.”

“Never pictured you as the romantic type,” Amanda deadpanned.

Jamie smiled. “Why is that so hard for you to believe?”

“Well, you’d better keep an eye out. Kendall is here.”

Jamie had known when she bought her ticket that she’d likely see Kendall here today, and that was a factor she had weighed in her decision. It was time for her to stop hiding from her past and face it, even if that meant seeing people from her old life. She couldn’t keep running from her past decisions. She was tired of running.

As soon as she had arrived at the arena, she’d spotted Kendall. Her signature platinum-blonde ponytail had alwaysbeen easy to pick out of a crowd, and that hadn’t changed with time and distance.

“I know,” Jamie said slowly, choosing her words. “But, so what? All that’s in the past, right? I’m trying this new thing where I face stuff head-on. So, I figured if I ran into Kendall today, how bad could it be?”

“I’d say pretty bad, Lyons.” A cool voice rang out from behind her.

Of course.

She knew that voice before she even turned around, and when she did, she found herself face-to-face with Kendall Varner.

“Hey, Kenni.” The greeting rolled off her tongue automatically because she had said it so many times before. Jamie was surprised at how easily it came rushing back.

Kendall didn’t say anything; she stared at Jamie like she couldn’t quite believe what she was seeing, and Jamie couldn’t blame her. It had been over seven years since they had seen or talked to each other.

“Kendall, hey,” Amanda said, her eyes darting from Kendall to Jamie. “It’s good to see you. Your girls did really well today. Excited to see how everyone does tomorrow.”

It was only then that Kendall shifted her attention to Amanda, and her whole demeanor changed, the icy facade she’d greeted Jamie with melting away.

“I was coming to tell you how polished Lily was today. I knew you’d be able to get through to her.” Jamie said nothing as Kendall shot her a glare between hurt and disgust. “I’m glad I recommended her to work with you.”

“Thanks. Lily’s been so determined, and Jamie has been working really closely with her,” Amanda said, as she glanced between the two of them before clearing her throat awkwardly. “I’ll just—uh, give you two a minute.”

“No,” Jamie said quickly. She didn’t want Amanda to leave, but it was too late. Amanda gave her a pointedgood lucklook before walking away, leaving Jamie and Kendall standing in the middle of the crowded arena hallway. People pushed past them, making their way out of the venue, oblivious to the emotional minefield unfolding.

Jamie finally met Kendall’s eyes, steady and guarded, and said, “You don’t have to do that.”

“Do what?” Kendall crossed her arms, her tone sharp, brow furrowed in a way that accentuated a small scar on her forehead just above her left eyebrow.

“Look at me like I’m some kind of—” Jamie paused, searching for the right words. “Like I’m someone you never knew.”

Kendall’s lips tightened into a thin line. “Did I ever really even know you, Jamie? You disappeared—vanished. Wouldn’t answer any of my calls or emails or texts. What am I supposed to do? Pretend that didn’t happen?”

Jamie inhaled slowly, forcing herself to stay calm. She’d known this was coming. She’d thought about this exact moment a thousand times—what Kendall would say, what Jamie would say if they ever had this chance—but now, standing here, none of it seemed to fit.

“I didn’t vanish,” Jamie said quietly. “I—” She faltered, struggling to find the words to explain.