Chapter 42: Chapter 42

MARGO

EMMA!!!

EMMA

Yes?

MARGO

I know you’re an influencer now and post the links to everything you’re wearing on your grand adventure parading around the Hamptons this summer, but I need the best friend hookup and for you to tell me where your dress is from in these photos.

Preston is on the phone with his agent while I wait for the photos from Margo to come through. There have been a few different instances where photos of Preston and me have reached the press in the almost two months we’ve spent together here in the Hamptons.

For the most part, we’ve laid low and stuck to doing things at the club or tried to go places that weren’t busy, but it’s been hard to avoid the media completely. While there’s plenty of speculation that I’m the one seen in photos with Preston, I’ve taken up wearing hats and large sunglasses while I’m out with him.

No one has been able to confirm anything, but the grainy photos the paparazzi have taken, and me still teasing being with a sports guy on my still-growing social media platform, have the world catching on to what Preston and I have going on.

He smiles at me, his phone pressed to his ear. Butterflies still take flight in my stomach every time he graces me with the curve of his lips. We’ve been in our own bubble of happiness and getting to know one another for almost two months now, and every time he aims a smile at me, my heart feels like it skips a beat.

His smiles are easier to earn than they used to be, but his default setting is still his typical grumpy scowl, so I love softening him up every now and then.

My phone vibrates, pulling me away from my thoughts of him. I open up my texts, finding the photo from Margo.

MARGO

This one!!!

In the photo, I’m wearing a lilac-colored halter dress. It’s taken from far away as Preston and I leave a small local seafood place we’re obsessed with. There are only ten tables inside, and the owners have been generous enough to let Preston rent the place out for a couple of hours a few times so that we could dine in private. Preston pays them well for it, and it’s allowed us to continue to avoid the media as much as possible. The moment we’d stepped out of the back exit of the restaurant, you could hear the familiar click of a camera—something I never thought I’d get used to.

EMMA

I got it at one of the local boutiques here. Come visit and we can go shopping!!

MARGO

I’d love to visit but this baby is due any day now and Beck won’t let me out of his sight.

He’s watching me closely right now with his hands braced on the chair like he expects me to make a run for it.

EMMA

I’m dying at the mental picture of you so pregnant you’re about to pop running from him.

MARGO

I need this baby out of me immediately. Maybe then he’ll let me get fresh air.

EMMA

My final guess is you’re having a girl!! Can’t wait to prove both you and Winnie wrong.

MARGO

It’s a boy. I’m convinced of it.

EMMA

Can’t wait to snuggle your precious little girl!

I laugh, finding myself hilarious. Throughout Margo’s entire pregnancy, both she and Winnie have sworn she’s having a boy, and I’ve been adamant about the fact that she’s having a girl. Her due date is next week, and I’m ready to prove both of them wrong.

I look down at her response when my phone vibrates again in my lap.

MARGO

Can’t wait for you to come home so you can get all the baby boy snuggles. When are you and Preston coming back to Manhattan?

My stomach drops at her question. Preston has to be in Manhattan in two days for the start of practices. He’s made it clear that he wants me to come back with him so we can continue to spend time together, but even though I’ve told him I will, something still makes me uneasy about it all.

I think I’m just nervous that once we leave the Hamptons and the real world catches up to us, our perfect summer bubble will burst. I look over at him, finding him still on the phone with Ryan. They’re deep in conversation—probably because Preston officially notified the team this will be his last year. The word hasn’t gotten out to the public, but I know it’s been making him anxious to finally make the announcement.

I take a deep breath, not wanting to think about how much things are about to start changing with the upcoming football season. Whatever happens when we trade our summer nights for both the bright lights of the stadiums and the public interest in our relationship is something we’re going to have to figure out.

All of this might feel better if I had an idea of what my next steps are. Sharing my life on the internet—as well as my outfits and favorite products—kind of fell into my lap. I just hired a manager who helps me secure brand deals, but I still don’t know how long this will last. My life is nowhere near figured out, and I hate that part of me wonders if that will get in the way of the relationship me and Preston have built.

Sadness washes over me as I look down at my phone and type a response back to Margo.

EMMA

It’s our last night here so we come back tomorrow. Think Winnie’s excited for me to finally stop crashing at her place?

I throw the joke in there to try and lighten the mood, but I still feel a little sad that my time here is coming to an end. If anything, I feel even more lost than when the summer started. I have a relationship that I desperately want to hold on to but also know will be hard to navigate once the season starts and we rarely see each other. We’ve both avoided the topic of what’s next, wanting to just enjoy the time we do have together.

I keep reminding myself of the comment Winnie made before I left for my trip. Maybe it does take getting lost to be found. At least I hope it does because right now, I’m lost in how I feel for Preston. Every day we spend together, the feelings I have for him grow stronger and stronger.

It’s equally as terrifying as it is exciting.

“Sorry that call took so long.” Preston’s hand snakes around my waist as he turns my body to face his.

I smile, trying to push the fear of the future to the back of my mind. “Don’t worry about it.”

“You ready to go?” He presses a kiss to my cheek.

I nod.

For our last night here in the Hamptons, we’re going into town for some shopping and dinner. The smart thing to do would probably be to hang out at the house or book somewhere private so no one sees us, but I want one last night to feel normal with him. I know things will change when we get back to Manhattan.

It’ll be harder to hide, and soon, our relationship will be confirmed. We’ve had numerous conversations about being ready for the spotlight, and I think I can handle it, but for one more night, I want to pretend he’s just a guy and I’m just a girl and we can do normal things together.

Besides, I need a shopping session. Even though Winnie and Margo have been to the Hamptons before and even own properties here, I want to get them something. I also want to get a gift for Baby Sinclair and for Aunt V as well. I’ve promised her that I’m going to come home soon to visit. I want to bring her back a memento from my summer away.

Preston grabs my chin and gently tilts it up to look at him. “Everything okay?”

I force a smile and nod. “Yes. I think I’m just a little sad to leave tomorrow. We’ve had such a great time here together.”

His eyes track my face. Two little lines of concern appear between his eyebrows as he watches me carefully. “We’ll have a great time together in Manhattan too.”

“I know.” But it won’t be the same, I don’t say out loud.

What we have won’t just be ours anymore, and that’s terrifying.