Page 47 of Fake Shot

I’m standing with Audrey, who’s got a sleepy Graham wrapped around her, in the Family Room. I’ve rarely been in here, since it’s a space reserved only for players’ families. Once or twice, I’ve come with Audrey post-game if it’s not too late and she hasn’t had to take Graham home to put him to bed. Tonight, he’s half-asleep with his head on her shoulder, but I think she’s hanging around just so I don’t have to wait for Colt by myself.

Not that we’ve been standing here alone—there has been a parade of wives and girlfriends coming up to chat with us, some who I already know and some who are introducing themselves to me for the first time. But it would be a lot less comfortable if I didn’t have my sister by my side. That’s kind of how my life has been, Audrey always by my side, until recently.

I’m getting tired and wishing I’d just gone home, when Colt finally walks through the door. He’s one of the first players into the room, which is highly unusual for a goalie, and he beelines straight toward me, wrapping me in his arms and giving me a full-body hug. I’m caught off-guard, as the only time he’s ever hugged me before was the morning in Vegas after I almost wrecked my whole life.

I relax in his arms when I realize this is just for show. The Rebels had a tough game tonight, with Florida scoring in the last seconds of the game from a rebound off Colt’s pads that their left winger was able to sneak into the goal from behind him. And, of course, a goalie who lost the game like that would want a hug from his fiancée, so he’s giving his teammates’ families exactly what they expect to see.

When he releases me and steps back, he tells Audrey, “Drew got off the bike a few minutes ago. He’s showering and he wanted me to tell you that he’ll be out in a minute.”

“Okay, thanks,” Audrey says, as Colt peeks around behind her and smooths his huge hand over Graham’s head.

“He’s completely out,” he chuckles.

“Yeah, I can tell,” she says. “He’s dead weight.”

“I’ll take him for you,” Colt offers.

“I don’t want to keep you if you guys want to go. Drew will be along in a few minutes.”

“We’re going to meet up with some of my teammates for a while,” Colt tells her, quickly glancing at me, “so we’ll stay until they get out here.”

“I’m sorry, what?” I agreed to go to tomorrow night’s charity event with him, and I told him I’d meet him in the Family Room tonight. I never agreed to go hang out with his teammates. And what is he even thinking? The more time we spend together, especially around his teammates, the harder it will be to make this an amicable split at the end.

He turns away from Audrey and takes two steps over so that he’s standing inches in front of me. Putting his hands on my hips, he pulls me even closer as he leans down and says, “Be nice. That was a tough loss, and I could really use a win tonight.”

“A win?” My voice is all kinds of doubtful.

“Yeah, you know, like a night where you go along with this without acting like you hate me.”

“What makes you think I’m acting?” I don’t hate Colt, but I hate what being around him still does to me. I hate how it brings back memories of feelings I thought were long buried, and I hate how worried I am that it will bring back thefeelings themselves. So I do what I always do when it comes to Colt—I push him away.

I feel his laughter as his chest shakes, and his voice is a low rumble when he says, “I think youwishyou hated me, Tink.”

Heat floods my body in a way that has me wanting to turn and run out the door, getting as far from him as possible. When did hearing him use my childhood nickname become a turn-on, instead of something that pissed me off?

I need to tamp my body’s response to him as far down as possible. So I look up, stepping back as I say, “I think youwishI was better at hiding the way I hate you.”

Drew comes up behind us right then, and with a low chuckle, says, “You two need to get better at the pretending part of this. You’re lucky that it was me right behind you.” He kisses Audrey’s forehead and takes Graham out of her arms. “You kids have fun at the Neon Cactus tonight. We’re going home.”

“I’ll bet you are,” Colt says, wiggling his eyebrows like a lunatic. “I’m sure you have some adrenaline to burn off.”

“At least I’ve got a way to burn it off.” He wraps his arm around Audrey after she smacks his arm, then leads her out of the room like he can’t wait to get her home.

Everyone I know is getting laid tonight ... except me.

Chapter Eighteen

JULES

“Igotta be honest,” Zach Reid says as Colt pulls me down onto his lap, nearly causing me to lose the contents of my margarita as I’m unexpectedly jostled, “I did not see this coming.”

“Seewhatcoming?” Colt asks, amusement in his voice as he turns his head to look out at the bar that’s become the unofficial watering hole of the Boston Rebels. A tequila bar is the last place I’d expect a hockey team to hang out, but even though you can order hundred dollar margaritas with top-shelf tequila, it looks and feels like a college bar. Shellacked wooden walls with neon signs hanging all around. There’s a back area with pool tables, and the front of the space has booths lining the perimeter with a big bar in the center. And, being located in Beacon Hill, it’s just far enough from the arena that fans probably don’t flock here after the games.

“You two.” Zach eyes me where I sit, probably looking as uncomfortable as I feel on Colt’s lap. There’s barely enoughroom for me to fit between him and the tabletop. It would have made a whole lot more sense for him to just push over and give me my own seat, like Zach just did for Ashleigh as we returned from the bar.

“What can I say,” Colt says, running his nose up the side of my neck. “We’re good at keeping secrets.”

I can barely hold in the smile, because of all the things he’s said in the hour we’ve been here, this is the one that stands out to me as incredibly true, but for an entirely different reason. Not only is the fake status of our relationship a secret, but we both have our own secrets, the entirety of which we haven’t even shared with each other yet.

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