Chapter 24
NASH
Piper gasps in the seat next to me. “Oh my gosh, Noah! I just finished that one last week!”
“No spoilers,” Noah says to her, an amused but slightly embarrassed smile on his lips.
Piper gasps again, this time in outrage. “Noah, as an honorary book girlie, you should know that goes without saying. I would never.”
The rest of the guys at the table all crack up, and I can’t hold back a chuckle of my own.
Hayden nudges me. “It must be true love if you can get a laugh and a smile out of this grump,” he says to Piper.
A knowing smile twists on her lips. “Must be,” she says with an irony only she and I can detect.
The guys pressured me into bringing Piper out for drinks, since they wanted to get to know her. It’s turned into a big team night out, with the players and other staff—trainers, assistant coaches, people who work in the office—packing The Fuzzy Horse, a popular downtown sports bar.
In the course of our conversation, Piper mentioned that reading is her favorite pastime, especially romance books; to everyone’s surprise, Noah said he likes romance books, too, and they started sharing books and authors they’ve read.
The way Piper’s eyes lit up with excitement when Noah would mention an author Piper likes … it kind of makes me want to pick up some of those books, too. I want to see her eyes brighten up like that when I’m talking to her.
A tiny flicker of worry hits my chest. Those are the kind of thoughts that could make this fake marriage messy. I’d like to blame it on how many beers I’ve had, but I’m only halfway through my second …
“What got you into romance books, Noah?” Piper asks.
“My best friend really loved them. Eventually I decided to give one she recommended a shot and really enjoyed it. I don’t read a hundred books a year like she does or anything,” he laughs, “but they’re fun to relax with.”
“She, huh?” Adriano nudges him, a mischievous grin on his face. “Is this a friends-to-lovers situation in the making?”
Scarlet rushes onto Noah’s cheeks. “No way, dude. It’s not like that at all. We grew up together. We’ve been friends since we were kids. Just friends.”
A hint of mischief sneaks into Hayden’s expression, too, as he leans on the table, angling himself provocatively toward Noah. “So, you’d say you think of her like a sister, then?”
“A sister?” A displeased expression pulls on Noah’s face. “No, I wouldn’t say that …”
Adriano wiggles his eyebrows conspiratorially at Hayden. “Yeah, I bet your thoughts about your friend aren’t very brotherly at all.”
The blush on Noah’s face deepens and spreads. “You guys are ridiculous. I’m getting another drink.”
Hayden takes a swig of his beer and looks excited when he puts the pint down. “Alright, since we know Noah’s book trope, how about everyone else? If you had to live through one romance trope, which would it be? Piper and Nash, we obviously know what yours is.”
Nerves flutter in my stomach. Have the guys somehow managed to see through the act we’ve been putting on? Are we just obviously too different, obviously lacking in chemistry, obviously—
“Grumpy sunshine,” Hayden concludes.
I frown. “Grumpy sunshine? What the hell is that?”
“Are you that out of touch, old man? It means you’re a big old grump, but your wife is nice and friendly.”
“Aww, thanks, Hayden,” Piper coos.
“I’m not old,” I grumble.
“Dude, you were born in the nineteen hundreds. You’re old,” Adriano gangs up.
“Hey!” Piper exclaims. “So was I!”
“Your niceness keeps you youthful, though,” Hayden explains, “while your grumpy husband’s grumpiness just ages him even more.”
Piper tilts her head. “Makes sense.”
I balk at Piper. “Where’s the loyalty?”
“Oh!” Hayden exclaims. “Now here come a couple of old geezers!”
I turn to see Cooper and Vaughn approaching our table.
Vaughn’s brow lowers. “I knew I should have stayed home.”
Cooper laughs while shaking his head, his usual reaction to the antics of our younger teammates. He pats Vaughn on the shoulder. “Come on, first round is on me since I convinced you to come.”
“I think I could get into an enemies-to-lovers deal,” Adriano muses while our veteran teammates head to the bar and Noah returns. “Sounds hot.”
Noah scoffs. “Like you’re not into one already.”
Adriano slides him a guarded look. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means you and Ines are already halfway through the first act and we’re just waiting until you two suddenly kiss in the middle of an argument,” Hayden supplies.
Adriano looks revolted. “Are you kidding? Me and Ines?”
“Ew. Please do not let me hear you mentioning yourself and me in the same sentence.”
Ines is suddenly behind Adriano, looking effortlessly stylish in her black dress and standing tall in her heels.
Adriano scowls, looking at her. But I don’t miss the way the air between them thickens. If I squint, I might be able to see the bright pop of some tiny static sparks. “If you’d keep a respectful distance, you wouldn’t overhear anything I have to say.”
A dry laugh pops from Ines’ blood-red lips. “Listen to who’s talking about respect. You didn’t look very respectful when that video leaked last season of you with that woman in a nightclub bathroom. I worked an eighty-hour week getting that scrubbed from the internet.”
Adriano grins devilishly and lifts his pint glass in her direction. “You’re welcome for the overtime.” He takes a drink. “You’re also welcome for the view. I distinctly remember that video showed me in all my glory.”
“It made me wish I was blind.”
“Even if you were, I know you could never remove the sight from your memory.”
“It makes me wish for a traumatic brain injury every time I do remember, so I can finally forget.”
“So you’re saying you do still think about it.”
Ines rolls her eyes and keeps walking to the bar. I look at Piper to gauge her reaction to getting to know my teammates.
Worry hits me when I see her expression. Something’s wrong.