Page 19 of Wild Ever After
“Damn. That’s cold.”
“She’s ruthless.”
“Almost sounds like you admire her for it.” He grins.
“Oh, I do. She gets shit done for sure. Plus, I did sort of do this to myself.”
He takes one of the tequila shots as soon as the bartender puts them in front of us. “What are you going to do?”
“I’m not going down like this.” I don’t blame Declan for looking unconvinced. “If Sam won’t marry me, then I guess I’ll let Melody play matchmaker and find me a groom.”
His brows shoot up toward his dark, messy hair. “Find you a groom?”
I tell him everything Melody said earlier today and all the ways this could play out as well as the repercussions. I expected at least a little judgment from him, but if he thinks I’ve lost my mind, he doesn’t show it.
“Please don’t tell anyone else. If this got out—”
He lifts a hand. “I would never. Your secret is safe with me.”
“Thank you.”
“You’d really let your boss bully you into marrying some guy of her choosing?”
“As opposed to what?” I throw up my hands. How could I expect him to understand? He’s a successful hockey player, loved and adored by his teammates and fans. I’m a girl still fighting to show my worth and earn respect. “I can’t exactly call up every guy I know and ask if they want to marry me, so I can keep my job. I need this job.”
“What about your family? Can they help you out while you find something else?”
I shake my head. “My mom is the only family I have, and we’re not close. I don’t have family like that. The kind that swoops in to save the day. Except Scarlett. She’s not blood, but she’s the only person in my life that’s always had my back when I needed it.”
When I dare to look at him, his face holds more understanding than I expected.
“And what happens after you marry this random guy?”
“I’m not sure,” I admit. “I imagine we’d have to stay married for a few months to make it all look legit, but since I never used Sam’s name or photo in the magazine, I don’t think it would be that hard to convince people. No one besides my friends and his would know the truth. And Melody, of course, but she’s the last person who would out me.”
I turn and find our friends dancing again. Seeing them happy actually brightens my mood a little. Were Sam and I ever like that?
“I’m sure once the wedding is over, all the interest in my articles will die off and I can get divorced and move on to writing about something else, without anyone noticing or caring.” Except that’s another fear of mine. There is no better feeling than having people read and connect with my words. I don’t want to keep lying, but I also don’t want to lose everything I’ve worked for. It’s all I have left now.
“You think I’m crazy, don’t you?”
“No, actually.”
“That makes one of us.” I blow out a breath. “I thought this was going to be my break. Melody is a big name in publishing, andI Dois one of the few magazines around that still has a print presence. I always dreamed of seeing my words in a magazine you could pick up in a grocery store.”
His smile puts me at ease and even though I doubt he wanted to hear my life story tonight, I keep rambling, “I know it’s gauche to say, but I want the kind of success that means I never have to rely on someone else.”
“Yeah, I get that. I think I felt the same way when I signed my first NHL contract.”
“Really?” I try to picture a younger version of the man in front of me. I’ve always looked at him as someone who had it easy, but it’s so much simpler to look at the success and not consider the road he had to take to get there.
“Really. I didn’t have a lot of people I could count on when I was starting out either. It took me a long time to spend the money I was making. I drove this old Honda that broke down every other day. Jack gave me so much shit about it.”
“Saving it in case it all blew up?”
“Exactly.” He lets out a little chuckle. Even after the sound falls away, his smile remains. “I think we’re more alike than I thought.”
I want to ask him what he thought I was like, but I’m not brave enough. I can’t take another ego hit tonight.
