The Theory of Unrequited Read online

  Kyle had become a professional baseball player because of her parents. They had been the ones to take him to his Little League practice and games. Her father had been his biggest fan, and her mother had made sure someone was always at his games. The Parkers had their own seats at Fenway Park for home games. AJ’s mother had offered to babysit Kyle when he was younger and his parents were too busy, consumed with their multi-million-dollar companies. A Red Sox game on TV had inspired him, and the next day, her father had taken him out to the batting cages.

  Her parents weren’t just neighbors to the Gilmore brothers; they were also stand-in parents.

  And AJ did not intend to break that bond.

  But she had.

  Oh, did she break it completely.

  He cleared his throat and brushed his brown hair back. “I’ll meet you downstairs, and we can walk the Freedom Trail when you’re ready.”

  AJ smiled. “You’re going to get hounded by fans and the paparazzi.”

  “Anything for you, kid,” Ky said in a small voice, then spun around and made his way down the hall.

  That sadness on his face and in his voice only made AJ feel worse about her selfishness.

  She was turning brother against brother.

  Her phone beeping had her returning to her bed and picking it up. She unlocked it to find Evan’s new message.

  Evan: You and me forever, AJ. Away from Kyle and away from Boston. I can’t wait to start the rest of my life with my best friend by my side.

  And little did he know, he had broken her heart once more.

  Two little words to confirm that choosing Duke was the best choice for her.

  Because she was still and always would be …

  Evan Gilmore’s best friend.

  2 He

  helium

  EVAN

  Junior year of high school

  “Hey,” his best friend greeted as she stepped away from her window and returned to her bed.

  Evan Gilmore climbed through the window and then dusted his hands off as he watched AJ Parker brush her brown hair behind her ear and smile at her laptop.

  “No, it’s just Evan,” she said.

  When he had made it to her bed, AJ patted the mattress, and he sat next to her. Then he glanced over at the screen to see a blonde with bright blue eyes smiling at him.

  “Hey, Elise,” he said with a wave.

  “Hey, Ev. Alex just told me you guys are gonna see the Red Sox practice.” Elise Appleton Moors was AJ’s god sister back in Melbourne, Australia. Elise’s parents were best friends with AJ’s.

  He nodded. “I don’t want to go, but AJ’s dragging me.”

  His best friend swatted his arm. “I am not!”

  Elise laughed.

  “S’il vous plait, mon petit poussin! It’s very late.” Evan watched as she spun around, and he heard a door opening.

  “Papa!” Elise complained.

  Evan craned his neck to find AJ biting back a laugh. “What did he say to her?”

  “He said, ‘Please, my little chick.’”

  He laughed as he turned back to the screen. “Aww, little chick,” he teased.

  Elise whipped her glare toward him and AJ. “Shut up, Evan! I’d better go. Say hi to Uncle Noel and Aunty Clara for me, Alex. I’ll talk to you later when it isn’t one in the morning and my stupid papa isn’t breathing down my neck.”

  “I’m right here,” Elise’s father said.

  “You’re so annoying,” she murmured.

  “It’s because I love you and know you’re like your mother when you have to wake up early. Your cousin’s rowing meet is tomorrow. Now say good night to Little Parker.”

  “Good night, Alex.”

  “’Night, Elise. Bye, Uncle Julian!” AJ said out loud.

  “Love you, Alexandra!”

  “Love you, too,” AJ said. She ended the video call and then closed her laptop. Picking up her phone, she sighed. “We’re gonna be late.”

  Evan rolled his eyes. “I don’t even want to go.”

  “You say this every year,” she stated as she crawled behind him and got off her bed.

  Evan watched as she picked up her Red Sox baseball cap from her dresser. “Because we see him practice every year,” he reminded as he got off her bed.

  “Exactly. Soon, we’ll be in college and we won’t be able to see him during open practice.”

  College.

  That one word full of promise.

  College was Evan’s chance to get away from his and AJ’s hometown of Brookline, Massachusetts. Everyone knew who the Gilmores were because of Kyle. His famous brother was one of the best pitchers on the Red Sox and in Major League history, smashing years’-old records during his first two years of professional baseball.

  Unlike Kyle, Evan wanted away from the East Coast. He wanted to be away from his famous brother and start a better, freer life on the West Coast with AJ. They had made a pact that when it came to applying for college, Stanford University would be their first choice. AJ was a shoe-in for any college, and he had no concerns over her acceptance. Stanford was her father and uncle’s alma mater.

  “So your car or mine?” he asked, giving in because he knew that the Red Sox made AJ happy. In Fenway Park, he had never seen her smile or laugh as freely. And since this would be one of the last times before college, he would give her this one last feeling of contentment.

  Because when they were finally in California, they would both be free of the roots planted for them in Massachusetts.

  Roots they didn’t have a say in.

  Evan parked his BMW and glanced over to see AJ rolling her eyes at him. She was still on the phone with her mother, Clara. When she mouthed, “Sorry,” he chuckled, not at all pissed that she had spent the entire drive into the city on the phone. He would never be upset with her for talking to her parents. She had a close relationship with them since she was an only child. That and he was jealous of what great parents AJ had in Noel and Clara. Like his brother, Evan considered Mr. and Mrs. Parker as parental role models.

  Sitting back in his leather seat, he watched as AJ tucked her curly brunette hair behind her ear as she let out a sigh. Then she nodded and faced him.

  “Mum wants to know—”

  “Mom,” he corrected.

  “Shut up, Evan! You know she doesn’t like me saying mom. I’m Australian.”

  He raised his brow at her. “Most Australian New Englander I know. So what does Mum want to know?”

  She stuck her tongue out at him. “If we’re going to stop by the bakery after Ky’s practice?”

  He went rigid.

  Ky.

  She had fondly called Evan’s older brother that name all their lives, but he wished she knew what his brother was really like. But Kyle had it all, and if AJ knew the truth, Evan was scared he’d lose her to him.

  To the famous pitcher who had his life figured out.

  Who had money.

  Fame.

  Everything.

  But the only time his brother ever had her was in Fenway Park.

  When AJ wore that white jersey with Kyle’s name and number on the back, she wore it with pride and love.

  For an entire game, AJ was his.

  She gave him her attention.

  Her support.

  Her adoring smile and hope.

  As for Evan, he sat there and prayed the Red Sox would lose—just so that his brother couldn’t steal his best friend away and wrap his arms around her in celebration. Kyle always held her a beat too long. To everyone else, it was harmless, but Evan knew differently.

  Tourists loved Fenway Park, but he didn’t.

  No.

  He loathed it.

  Fenway Park was where his older brother got to keep AJ.

  But outside that d
iamond, AJ was his best friend, and Evan wanted nothing more than for him and AJ to leave Boston, Fenway Park, and Kyle behind.

  He desperately prayed for the day that he and AJ would finally get their acceptance packets. He wished senior year would fly by so they could leave for California.

  AJ would get into any school without any problems.

  He knew she’d get a scholarship.

  But as for him, Evan wasn’t worried about college fees, he was worried that he wouldn’t be accepted into Stanford at all.

  “You okay?” AJ asked, lowering her phone into her lap and then unbuckling her seat belt. He must have stopped paying attention because he couldn’t even recall her saying goodbye or hanging up on her mother.

  Evan said nothing as he removed his belt.

  “Evan, seriously, are you okay?”

  He finally glanced over to see the worry in her green eyes. He couldn’t tell AJ the truth—that he was worried that he would lose her—so he decided to go back to the conversation they had in her bedroom earlier. “Why are we going? It’s just practice.”

  She sighed, relief consuming her face. “Because I’ve never missed a practice since your brother went pro with the Red Sox.”

  His lip twitched, wanting to smile. He loved that she was so selfless. But her selflessness shouldn’t be directed to any of the Gilmores—Kyle especially. “But why, AJ?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Why do we go and support him?”

  Her brows furrowed, and she stared at him as if he should know the answer. “Because I’m proud of him.”

  “He’s been pro since he was eighteen. It’s nothing new.”

  AJ rolled her eyes. Then she reached down and picked up her Red Sox baseball cap. “He’s family. I love your brother, Evan.”

  I love your brother, Evan.

  Heat instantly succumbed his chest.

  Was it jealousy?

  It had been happening a lot.

  Too often for it to be an anomaly.

  You have no idea how much Kyle loves you, AJ.

  But instead of telling her the truth, Evan gave her a tight smile. “Yeah, we’re just one big happy family.” Then he quickly got out of the car, needing space from his best friend and her curious emerald eyes. “Please, let us get into Stanford,” he murmured into the parking garage, hoping God and all the power in the universe would grant him this one wish.

  To get AJ away from Kyle.

  “Yankees suck!” a man yelled behind them.

  This practice before the season opener against Cleveland was closed to the public. It had been a tradition started just before Kyle went pro. After the Red Sox trained in Florida, they’d come home and rest before the traditional closed practice where the players’ families could watch.

  AJ laughed. “They so do,” she agreed with the caller behind them.

  “Yaaaaaakeees suck!” another man joined in.

  As for Evan, he wanted to say the exact opposite. Hell, he wanted to say that the Seattle Mariners were the best team in the Major League just to piss off some of the parents in the stands. Unlike AJ, he hated professional baseball. Sure, he was on the high school team, but that was only because it meant he got his car. It was the only way to keep the peace. And it was the only victory Evan would let Kyle have over him.

  “Alex, honey, good to see you,” Gladys said as she sat down next to them. “Oh, and look, it’s little Evan, too.”

  He tore his focus from his brother to one of the only perks of Fenway Park. Gladys Eagleton. The woman was about to celebrate her sixtieth birthday, and AJ and Evan had received their invitations to her party in the mail. She didn’t look a day over fifty, and she continuously told people that happiness was what kept her youth—as well as her love for the Red Sox. Her son was a two-time World Series winner with the Red Sox and was now the hitting coach. She still came to every Red Sox game and training session even after her son had long since retired and began coaching. Patrick Angleton was a beloved Red Sox son. He was immortal to the people of Massachusetts.

  “Hi, Mrs. Eagleton, how are you?” AJ asked.

  “I’m good. How are your parents?”

  “Good. They’re upset they couldn’t come. Mum is perfecting her spring cupcakes for the bakery before she starts on the new menu for the restaurant. And Dad has a new list of clients.” The apology was so sincere on AJ’s face.

  “Your parents are good people. I can’t wait to try the new menu at your mother’s restaurant. I’ll have to call to make sure they put me on the waiting list.”

  AJ let out a laugh. “Mrs. Eagleton, you are never on any waiting list here in Boston. My mother would drag you to her restaurant if she found out you were put on the waiting list. Whenever you want to eat at the Little Restaurant, you just let them know who you are.”

  Gladys smiled. “You Parkers are far too sweet. Evan, honey, how are you?”

  “Good. Still breathing and loving the Red Sox.”

  “Your sarcasm doesn’t work on me, young man. You are getting more handsome every time I see you,” Gladys complimented, and AJ let out a heavy laugh.

  He pushed her shoulder with his. “Knock it off, AJ. Don’t be disrespecting Mrs. Eagleton’s wisdom.”

  AJ faced him and let out an unbelievable sigh. “You’re so full of yourself.”

  “You’re so full of yourself,” he retorted as he flicked AJ’s baseball cap from her head.

  “You’re such a douche!”

  “You’re such a douche for having a best friend who’s such a douche!”

  AJ let out a huff as she bent over and picked up her cap, dusting it off and then putting it back on. “I don’t know why I put up with you sometimes.”

  Evan grasped her shoulders and grinned at her. “Because I’m the only person who puts up with you. Best friends forever, AJ.”

  Gladys let out a short laugh. “Oh, you poor, clueless children.”

  AJ pulled back and faced her. “What?”

  “Never mind. Look, Kyle’s ready to start pitching.”

  AJ leaped out of her seat, and like all the times before, she went to the rail and grasped it, giving Evan’s brother all her attention.

  From the corner of his eye, he noticed Gladys leaning over AJ’s chair to him. “It’s only temporary,” she whispered.

  “What is?”

  She gave him a sad smile. “Life, Evan. Life is temporary.”

  “I don’t follow you.”

  “You will someday. Just like life is temporary, so is her attention.” Then Gladys sat back in her seat and began to clap as the people behind them chanted Kyle’s name.

  3 Li

  lithium

  AJ

  Now

  A call from the Red Sox manager interrupted them only ten minutes into their walk along the Freedom Trail, so Kyle dropped AJ at home before he had to go back to Fenway Park. AJ didn’t mind. She knew she wasn’t good company for Kyle at the moment and was actually relieved he had to go. They had walked in silence when he wasn’t stopped by Red Sox fans for photos and his signature. AJ smiled. All of Boston knew who she was.

  She was Alexandra Parker.

  Little Miss Red Sox.

  Lifelong friend and supporter of Kyle Gilmore.

  Girls in high school had been jealous of her, and her friendship with Kyle had always been in the gossip magazines. They all seemed to be waiting for when she turned eighteen to see if “a romance between them would bloom.”

  The media knew nothing.

  The fans held their breaths, hoping a scandal of statutory rape wouldn’t hit the team.

  But they had no idea.

  None.

  At first, she laughed and brushed off such wild rumors of her and Kyle.

  But after one too many heartbreaks from Evan, she began to wonder.
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  More and more, she wondered why she couldn’t just fall in love with Kyle.

  It would have been so much easier.

  He loved her.

  But an easy life isn’t worth breathing for. Life is only as temporary as we make it.

  Mrs. Eagleton had said those words before she passed away after a short fight with cancer last year. It was just after the pre-season closed practice. She should have paid more attention to Mrs. Eagleton instead of watching Kyle pitch, but no one knew she had lung cancer, and it came as a shock to the Red Sox family. Before she passed away, Mrs. Eagleton had pulled AJ aside before the home game against Pittsburg and told her those very last words. At the time, she hadn’t understood.

  But during her senior year of high school, AJ finally did.

  It was one of the many factors that pushed her to choose Duke instead of Stanford.

  But the main reason was that she needed Evan away from her heart.

  She hoped by attending different colleges, she could get over him.

  For her to find a way to go back and be the best friend he needed.

  And not the girl who pined for him.

  I can’t be that girl.

  Not anymore.

  The ringing of her phone had her picking it up from next to her and answering it, not bothering to check who it was. “Hello,” she said the moment her cell pressed against her ear.

  “It’s me,” Evan said.

  A small smile crept on her face. She missed him. The only time they had spent this much time apart was when she went to Melbourne to spend time with her family and her parents’ best friends.

  Evan was the most important person in her life.

  She loved him completely … and he loved her fractionally.

  Just enough to make her his best friend but not a sliver more.

  He doesn’t love me.

  AJ dipped her chin as she forced herself not to remember. Forced herself to look forward to the future. To reinvent herself and be Alexandra.