Page 66 of Revenge Puck

“You’re Elle, right?” she asks when she turns back to me.

“I am.”

“It’s so nice to finally meet you! I’m Maya, Preston’s sister, and this is my son, Finley.”

“His sister!” I exclaim in relief. “I should’ve known since you two have the same raven hair.” So, the name on his phone, the woman he said he would see soon, he was talking to his sister and nephew.

Now I feel silly for even assuming the worst about Preston. But what I can’t figure out is why didn’t he ever mention her?

“Yep, little sister. Which is how we acquired the best seats in the house for the finals. I’m glad you could make it up from North Carolina.”

“He told you about me?”

“Well, yeah. I couldn’t get him to talk until he got home from Greensboro, but it’s hard not to discuss you since everyone in the world knows about the two of you.”

Oh crap. Did Preston tell his sister that our relationship is fake or not? I have no way of knowing and don’t want to say the wrong thing. Not that I think he would care if his sister knew it wasn’t real…

“I haven’t had a vacation in a while, so my best friend and business partner told me I should come up here for the next two games.”

“I’m glad you could make it. I can’t believe the difference in Preston since he got back from the first two games. I wanted to bring Finley to them too, but Preston worried about us being the only Warhawk fans surrounded by nothing but Bobcats fans.”

“Well, as a Bobcats fan myself, I’m sure you and Finley would’ve been fine.”

Pointing at the turned away posterboard, she whispers, “Is that the sign that caused so much drama?”

“No, I made a new one.” Turning it around, I show her my glittery handiwork.

Maya reads it aloud. “Don’t puck with my man! I absolutely love it, almost as much as the one about Christian!”

“Yeah?”

“Seeing that sign about his…stick on television made my year, even if it’s more info than I needed to know about my older brother. I couldn’t believe it when Preston said you two were dating. I haven’t seen him with a woman since before the minors.”

“Really? That’s not just what he tells the press?”

“Trust me, Preston hasn’t looked at a woman in years. I would know too. Finley and I live with him.”

“You do?”

“Yeah. He’s been so great, taking us in when…well, I don’t know what I would do without him.”

“That’s sweet. I had no idea he even had a sister or an adorable nephew. He didn’t tell me anything about you.”

“I’m not surprised. He doesn’t like sharing his personal life and knows I don’t want the attention on Finley.”

“Right, that makes sense,” I agree. And Preston barely knew me, so I shouldn’t have expected him to tell me about his personal life, his sister’s life, after we met and began our fake relationship. I wouldn’t want photos of my kid all over the place either. People can be so vicious.

“Preston said Christian dumped you after five months together,” Maya remarks.

“Yep, he used me, then dumped me right before the championships started. He also made me feel like crap about myself. I didn’t even know he was with other people while we were…anyway, it didn’t end very well.”

“Well, you lasted longer than I did.”

“What do you mean?” I ask, my brow furrowed in confusion. Preston’s sister knows Christian? Is she the reason they have a beef with each other, why Preston can barely get through a game without hitting the other man?

Maya turns to the boy, and says, “Headphones.” He dutifully slips what I’m assuming are noise canceling headphones hanging around his neck on over his ears.

Turning back to me, Maya says, “Preston doesn’t like for me to share this with many people, but he trusts you, so there’s no reason not to tell you the truth.”

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