Page 26 of One Pucking Heart

Biting the corner of my bottom lip, I look at Elena for guidance.

It was naive to think my family and friends would just go along with this arrangement as if it made total sense. They’re right. This isn’t me, and if my relationship with Elena were real, they’d already know about it. I just want to tell them everything. They can keep a secret. I’ve never been a good liar. My mom always said she could tell when I was lying because it was written all over my face. At this moment, I’m trying so hard to school my features and keep them in check so I don’t blow everything for Elena, but it’s hard.

At a loss for words, Elena comes to my rescue once again. “We know it’s fast, and we’re sorry to just drop it on you. The bottom line is, we fell in love. When you know, you know. My father is very ill, and we wanted to get married before he passes. He’s always wanted to see me happily married, so Beckett suggested doing it sooner than later.”

Well, it’s not a complete lie.

“We don’t know anything about you,” my father snaps.

Chalk it up to the fact that her own father is much scarier or the fact that she’s just a badass, but Elena doesn’t flinch. “Well, I’m Elena Cortez, daughter of Anthony Cortez—”

“Wait.” My father cuts her off. “The Anthony Cortez who owns Cortez Industries?”

She nods. “The very one. But I haven’t taken a dime of my father’s money since I was eighteen. I worked and put myself through medical school. I’m a good person and a hard worker…and I have a twenty-one-year-old daughter named Ariana, who is the light of my life. That about sums me up.”

“You have a daughter?” my mother asks.

My father cuts in before she can answer. “How old are you?”

Elena plasters a smile on her face. “Yes, I have a daughter. She’s amazing. She’s currently in Lansing, studying at Michigan State University to be a vet.” She turns to my dad. “And I’m forty.”

My parents and Cade and Iris exchange looks.

I sigh. “Can we continue this interrogation another day and return to the group? This is supposed to be a party.”

Leaving my family to swim in their sea of shocked expressions, I take Elena’s hand and pull her out of the room.

We pass Penny, and she raises her eyebrows. She was the only one who knew this would be happening tonight since she oversaw us signing the paperwork at the office today. “Didn’t go over as you planned?”

“Not even close.” I scoff.

She puckers her lips and wears a smug expression. “I, for one, am pleased. This marriage will make my job a lot easier.”

“How’s that?” Elena asks.

I shoot Penny a glare and pull Elena away before Penny can answer. Elena is very aware of my man whore ways. I don’t need a summary of my past indiscretions from Penny, at least not tonight. The evening has already taken a shitty turn, and I’m not in the mood for Penny’s attitude.

Max, one of our starting defensemen, has a line of shot glasses filled with alcohol on the countertop. “Perfect timing, my friend,” he says when he sees me. “I figured you’d be ready for these.”

“Definitely.” I make my way through the kitchen to the shot glasses.

Max calls some of the others in, and we down the alcohol.

I offer Elena some alcohol, but she declines, stating she has to drive us home.

Home. With Elena.

It’s all so weird.

It really is.

No wonder everyone is freaked out. Beckett Feltmore, the slut of the Cranes, is marrying an older, much more responsible woman with a courtship shorter than a wait in a fast food drive-through.

It all feels off. The lying and deceit don’t sit well with me. It’d be different if Elena and I were in love, but we’re not. Sure, I find her insanely attractive. And maybe her hotness led to me suggesting this whole thing on some level. I’d like to believe I’m doing it out of the goodness of my heart. Yet had our new doctor been the equivalent of a female ogre, I can’t say I would’ve offered to marry her.

Fuck me and my horny-ass dick.

Time passes, and drinks are consumed. I’ve lost count of both. The room is starting to spin when Elena suggests we go home.

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