She wished Molly were with her instead of sitting outside with her friends. The last few days had been magic between the two of them as Molly had chattered away nonstop, determined to fill her older sister in on every detail of her life. Phoebe smiled. No matter what else she might regret about these past few months, she would never regret her decision to keep Molly with her.

She was so preoccupied with her thoughts that she barely noticed how far she’d walked until the door of one of the nearby skyboxes flew open, amplifying another round of cheers. Her fingers tightened over her purse as Reed came out. The last thing she wanted at this moment was to meet up with him, but he had already spotted her, so she couldn’t retreat.

The Stars’ last victory had put an end to his pretended affability, and now there was nothing left but hostility. When he reached her, he lit a cigarette with a gold lighter and squinted against the smoke.

“Bored with the game already?”

She had no desire for another confrontation, and she gave a casual shrug. “No. Just nervous. What about you?”

“I came out for a cigarette, that’s all.”

The cloud of smoke that had wafted into the hallway when he’d opened the skybox door still hadn’t entirely dissipated. “You couldn’t stand to watch either.”

She immediately wished she’d kept her mouth shut. Although she hadn’t meant her statement to be a challenge, that was how he took it.

“It’s not even halftime. I wouldn’t start celebrating yet.”

“I’m not.”

They heard another round of cheers, and he drew a quick, angry drag. “You’ve been lucky all your life. You’re the only person I’ve ever met who could step into a pile of shit and have it turn into gold.”

“I’ve always thought you were the lucky one.”

He gave a snort.

She gripped the strap of her purse. “After all these years, you still hate me, don’t you? When I was a kid, I could never figure out why. You had everything that I wanted.”

“Sure I did,” he scoffed. “I grew up in a run-down apartment with a neurotic mother and no father.”

“You had a father. You had mine.”

His lips drew tight in a sneer. “That’s right, I did. Bert cared more about me than he ever cared about you, right up until the day he died. He just wanted to teach you a lesson. He kept saying that you were his only failure, and he thought you’d settle down if he could get you away from those faggots you were always running with.” Reed jabbed his cigarette into one of the sand-filled ashtrays that stood against the wall. “Bert didn’t mean for it to turn out like this. No one could have predicted all the flukes that happened this season. The Sabers lose Simpson and McGuire, the Chargers lose Wyzak, the Bills and the Dolphins fall apart. Christ, if he’d had any idea the Stars would make it to the playoffs, he never would have let you get near the team, not even for a day!”