Chapter Three
Aiden
A baseball cap isn’t the best disguise, but my brain was too busy this morning to think any further than that.
I pull it tight over my head, letting the brim shade my face as I shuffle down the aisle of the plane.
Technically I don’t have to hide, I have flown on a lot of planes and have not been recognised, but then I have also been on many flights where I have had to sign napkins and pose for pictures.
Today I want to stay under the radar. The fewer people who speak to me, the better.
I’m like a swan. On the surface I’m calm and collected but under the waterline I’m floundering.
I’m not an amateur when it comes to waking up next to a woman but being married to one is new to me.
As soon as we land back in Seattle, I’m going to have to put on my captain hat, rally all the right people to make sure this is dealt with swiftly.
As much as I love being the Spears captain, I like being able to leave that version of me at the rink.
When I’m at home, I don’t want to have to be in control of everything, I just want to relax and have a good time.
Looks like the good times went too far this weekend.
The whole team are sat together on the plane as I slide down the aisle to where I’m supposed to be sat next to Liam.
When I pause by the seat, I find his fiancée, Ellis, asleep on his shoulder and Rook asleep on the other side.
Even without my brain firing on all cylinders I know what that means.
Lyndsey is sat alone and the only open chair will be next to her.
Not knowing the drama it might cause, Liam silently nods towards where Lyndsey is sat fiddling with her phone.
Not wanting to wake Ellis, he mouths a “sorry”.
I stifle my annoyance at the situation, instead sending him a wink before turning my back on him as quickly as I came.
My eyes fall closed in exhaustion, preparing for the headache that is already starting to build in my temples.
I know we are going to need to talk about our next steps, but I was really hoping for a quiet few hours to cure my hangover and come up with some kind of plan before she starts hounding me.
I know that her biggest priority is sweeping this under the rug so we can pretend it never happened, and I’m right there with her.
But truthfully, I’m a bit less frantic about the whole thing.
I know it will work out. Things always work out in the end. That’s what my mom always said.
“Hey, wife,” I jibe at her quietly, settling into the open seat, my long legs cramped into the space in front of me. I can’t help but smirk as an almost wolfish growl rumbles in her chest. Even now that I know I shouldn’t push her, I can’t help it to see the fire in her green eyes.
“What are you doing? You should be over there,” she whispers in a stern tone, looking around for an open seat, but when she realises there is nowhere else her eyes snap back to me.
“Ellis abandoned you for her man so you get me. Sorry.” I shrug, not bothering to hide my smile. That just makes her madder.
“You’re not sorry, you’re enjoying this,” Lyndsey accuses. I can’t help but laugh as she puts her attention back on her phone. Despite the tension in my shoulders, I don’t let her see me sweat.
“You’re right, I’m not sorry,” I tell her, pulling her phone out of her hands so she can’t hide from this conversation. “But not because I’m enjoying this but because this gives us time to talk.”
“What is there to talk about? We are getting divorced, end of story.” She stretches over me trying to snatch back her phone, but my long arms hold it far out of her reach.
I try to ignore the way her breasts push against my shoulder but even now, when I know I should keep my distance, she is hard to keep away from. Drunk me has good taste in women. Plus sober me would have never made a move after so much has happened between us over the past year.
From strangers, to friends, to flirting, back to whatever the hell we were before I married her.
“Do you have a lawyer?” I ask, breaking the heavy silence between us as she continues to scramble for her phone.
“Do you?” Her teeth are grinding together.
“The Spears do,” I sigh, handing her phone back over. I wore a damn cap to hide my identity and now here I’m causing a scene by having a beautiful woman all but sprawled over me.
I need to get a hold of myself.
“Oh, great. That means they are all going to find out.” She nods her head in the direction of the other players, but I shake my head subtly.
“No, just Cassie. Which is probably worse.” I rest my head back against the uncomfortable plane seat, dreading my conversation with the Spears PR manager.
Over the past few years as captain I have managed to keep my image intact enough that Cassie doesn’t get frustrated with me any more.
Not the way she does with Edge and his angry-on-ice antics anyway.
I’m good at keeping my reputation clean with a well-placed wink and some of my southern charm.
Still, every once in a while, Cassie will get pissed at me for not being reasonable enough.
“At least she will keep it on the down-low, nobody can find out about this.” Lyndsey copies my movements, throwing herself back in her chair.
“Aw, are you embarrassed of me, darlin’?” I nudge her ribs with my elbow, making her squirm away from me, glaring as her body turns towards the window, trying to shut me out.
“Very. The smell of your aftershave is making me nauseous so leave me alone, I’m going to get some sleep.
” She throws the words over her shoulder as the flight attendants start their safety briefing.
Too focused on myself to pay attention, I watch Lyndsey throw her jacket over her body as a makeshift blanket and tuck her arms under her neck.
“Good luck with that.” I snigger at how stubborn she is, trying too hard to ignore me that she would rather be uncomfortable for hours instead of talking to me. I could do with some shut-eye too but I’m suddenly feeling pretty keyed up.
“By the way,” she flops back over to me again, “I want to be there when you talk to Cassie.” She gives me a pointed glare, I wish it would make me mad but there is something about having her mossy eyes on me that makes me want to keep them there.
“Why?” I ask, even though I know why. She wants some kind of control over this mess. I just want to hear her talk before she goes back to ignoring me like she has over the past few months.
“Because I want to make sure this is done right.” She raises her eyebrows as though asking me to question her. And still I do. I must be a glutton for punishment.
“And you don’t think I can do that?” I pout dramatically, acting as if I’m really offended.
“If you want something done properly, do it yourself and all that.” She shrugs, not at all put out by my display. Instead of waiting for a reply she turns back over into her uncomfortable solace.
As the plane speeds down the runway for take-off I shift in my seat, coming to an uncomfortable realisation.
For at least a few days, if not weeks, I’m a married man.
It reminds me of my dad. He always said meeting Mom was what made him a man.
Her influence is what settled him and helped him become a better person because he wanted to be worthy of her.
I wonder what they would think if they could see me now.
Married to a woman I barely know with no recollection of how we got here.
I remember drinking and dancing for hours, sweat dripping down my back in my shirt, but at some point it goes black.
Then I’m waking up with Lyndsey flying out of my bed like her ass is on fire.
Even in all my escapades over the years I haven’t got to a place of blacking out.
I wish I could remember more than that but no matter how hard I try nothing comes to the surface.
My parents must be turning in their graves to see their only son still being so irresponsible at twenty-eight.
And even knowing that I still can’t find it in me to pretend to be something I’m not.
Hopefully they are up there looking over my sisters for a few weeks instead of me while I get this sorted out.