Chapter 19
TRAVIS
Nick is waiting at the door when Aidan and I get to their house Saturday evening. Aidan launches himself at his dad for a hug.
“I missed you.” Nick ruffles his hair.
Aidan doesn’t say it back, but I could tell on the ride here that he was eager to get home.
We had fun. I took him to the arcade where we spent the day eating junk food and playing every game imaginable, but I’m no substitute for his dad.
He has the best dad. I think it’s one of the reasons I gravitated to Nick right away when he was traded to the team.
Nick and Aidan’s bond is everything I wanted with my own parents.
As soon as they part, Aidan takes off toward his room and Nick looks to me.
“Thanks for letting him sleep over last night,” he says. “How was he?”
“He’s a great kid. We had a blast.” I follow Nick into the kitchen where he opens the fridge. He offers me a beer, but I shake my head.
“Got any Gatorade?”
He grabs that for me instead and we go downstairs. The poker table is already set. I take my usual spot and Nick takes his.
“So, how are things with the wife?” he asks, so smug and happy with himself.
“You know, I think I liked you better when you were single. You were grumpier and less nosey. You never asked about my dating life before.”
“It’s Ruby,” he says, looking a little pained. “She has several questions she wants me to casually work into the conversation tonight.”
I bust out a laugh. “I should have known.”
He feigns a sheepish smile as he takes another drink of his beer, but he keeps looking at me like he still clearly wants to get his answers for his girl.
“Hit me.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. Anything for Ruby.”
His gaze narrows slightly. “Is this all part of your plan to steal my girl?”
“I guess you’ll have to take your chances, Galaxy.”
He does, firing off a dozen questions without waiting for my answers.
Things like, “Has anything happened since she moved in?” “What’s it like living together?
” “Has anyone questioned your relationship?” “Do you kiss in public and go places so people think you’re a real couple?
” “Are you telling people that it was a drunken Vegas mishap?” “Are you allowed to hook up with other women?” “Did you buy her a fake ring for your fake marriage?” “Can I use this in a book?” and “Are you still convinced love at first sight exists?”
Before I can so much as digest them, the rest of the guys arrive. D-Low and Shep and then Penn. The conversation shifts to other things briefly, but it seems my life—or rather my relationship with Hannah—is the most exciting topic.
“Where’s the old ball and chain?” D-Low asks, biting his lower lip to stop the grin spreading across his face as he raises the pot.
“At the gym,” I say, tossing in a chip to call him. He’s trying to throw me off by bringing up Hannah. Historically, it’s not hard to distract me from cards, but I’m feeling lucky tonight.
“Too bad. I was hoping to hear her side of the story.”
“What do you mean?” I look up at him.
He stops trying to hide his smile. “You say you got married and she’s living with you, but since none of us have witnessed it…”
“You think I’m making it up?”
He was there that night. He knows how gone for her I was. How happy I was to see her. And he saw me the next morning on the flight home, I couldn’t stop smiling.
D-Low shrugs it off and I scan the table to see if the other guys are wondering the same thing. Penn has his usual stoic, unreadable expression so I get nothing there. Galaxy is laughing because he knows the truth. And Shep is watching me, brows lifted, like…like…fuck, I don’t know.
“He’s fucking with you,” Shep says, putting me out of my misery.
My blood pressure slowly lowers to a normal range.
“Only a little,” D-Low admits. “I would love to chat with her about this whole marriage of convenience plot though. I have so many questions.”
“It wasn’t…it’s not…” I’m ready to defend my marriage.
I’ll kick his ass or challenge him to a shoot-out or refuse to hang out with him ever again.
But through my annoyance, I am able to remember that technically, Hannah is staying married to me for convenience, so I stop talking and glower at him instead.
The fucker laughs again.
“I hate all of you.”
“I think you two are great together,” Shep says.
“Thank you.” I toss my cards on the table and wave my hand toward him. “Finally. Someone gets it. Thank you, Shep. You’re a true friend.”
“I’m all in,” he says, glancing at the spot in front of me. Which is when I realize I threw my cards down face up. Dammit.
“Hey!” Ruby calls as she comes down the stairs. “Look who I found.”
Two steps behind her is Hannah. Her long, blond hair is down tonight, and she’s wearing a black dress with a high neck and long sleeves. It hangs mid-thigh, about three inches above where her tall boots stop. She’s showing so little skin for my heart to start beating so rapidly.
She’s down the stairs and halfway to the table before I pick my jaw up off the floor and blink away the haze. Hannah is here.
“How did you know I was here?” I ask her, still a little shocked. Should I stand up and greet her? Go hug her? Am I overthinking this?
“She’s here for me,” Ruby says, linking her arm through Hannah’s. “We’re going out.”
“No,” I say, more adamantly than I thought the word in my head.
Ruby and Hannah share identical haughty expressions.
“You can’t,” I go on. “I’ve barely seen you, Ruby-Doo! Nick said you had questions for me.”
She looks from me to her boyfriend and gives him a very You were supposed to be discreet! scowl.
Nick brings both shoulders up to his ears and gives her a sappy I’m an idiot but you love me anyway smile.
“And we want to get to know Hannah,” D-Low adds.
I mentally thank him and take back my plans to kick his ass and never hang out with him ever again. I’m still going to challenge him to a shoot-out next practice though.
“Penn brought you another bottle of champagne,” Nick tells Ruby. “It’s in the fridge upstairs.”
“Ever since I bought you that sparkly bottle, I keep getting ads for others. This one is hand-painted, flowers or something.” Penn talks about it so dispassionately like he didn’t drop several hundred dollars on what’s basically a gag gift. A tasty one at least.
Ruby and Hannah share a look while my stomach flutters like I swallowed a butterfly.
I haven’t seen her all day. Last night she hung out with me and Aidan for a bit.
We played Mario Kart World. Aidan dominated both of us.
Hannah kept driving off the track, and I was distracted watching her.
It was fun, though. Each little interaction with her only makes me want a million more of them.
“Fine,” Ruby relents. “But I’m on Nick’s team.”
“No teams,” D-Low says. “Nick’s doing just fine on his own.”
“He knows you’re my lucky charm.” Nick winks at Ruby.
“Let the couples team up,” Shep interjects. “It’s easier to take Nick and Trav’s money when they’re distracted.”
“It’s not Trav I’m worried about. He’s already distracted,” D-Low mumbles so only I can hear him.
He might be onto something though. My chips are quickly disappearing.
We add a couple extra chairs for the girls. Ruby goes upstairs to get the champagne, and Hannah takes a seat next to me.
“Hey.” I’m aware that the jerks I used to call friends are staring at us, but all my attention is on Hannah. She’s wearing makeup, specifically some kind of lip gloss that makes her mouth shiny and pink.
“Hi.” Her lips part and pull into a small smile. “What are we playing?”
It takes a moment for me to process her question and longer to answer because what even am I doing here at this table besides staring at her?
“Texas hold’em,” D-Low says before I can. “And your husband is stuck.”
Husband. Fuck. I’m someone’s husband. I already knew this, of course, but damn…
“Stuck?” she asks me.
“I’ve already lost half my chips,” I confess.
“Oh good. No pressure then.”
She smells nice. I’ve gotten used to her scents—the body wash and hair products she uses and even the fabric softener sheets she placed in the laundry room.
Tonight though, there’s a new faint sweet scent that I think must be perfume.
I like it. It makes me want to lick a line from her collarbone to her—
“Trav?”
I blink several times then look to Penn. His lips twitch in what might be his attempt at a smile. “Your turn to deal.”
“Right.” I clear my throat and glare at D-Low, who has started chuckling under his breath. “Me and you, shoot-out before practice tomorrow.”
“Why wait?” He tips his head to the corner of the basement where a hockey net is pushed against the wall. “I’ll beat you now.”
“Let’s finish one beating before we start another,” Penn suggests.
“There’s no beating. I’m about to have a comeback.” I deal the cards and scoot my chair closer to Hannah. I lower my voice and speak close to her ear. Her hair tickles my nose. “Please tell me you’re good at poker?”
Her laughter has me swallowing another dozen butterflies.
“I’ve only ever played strip poker, but I did manage to keep my panties and socks.”
She’s fucking with me, I think, but it has my pulse racing. “Good to know.”
When Ruby returns with the champagne, Hannah passes. “No thanks.”
“Worried about losing control around me?” I tease.
“I have to be at the gym early tomorrow,” she says.
“It’s okay. I know living with me must be torture. I’ll try to be less irresistible.”
More of that sweet laughter.
“You’re actually a pretty good roommate,” she says as I deal the cards out.
That pleases me more than it should probably. “You too.”
We’re staring at each other and smiling when the other guys start tossing in their chips. The sound brings me back to the game.
“All right, roomie. Let’s see if you’re any good at poker without the fear of disrobement.”
It takes only two hands for me to determine that Hannah is as unlucky as I am. I refuse to think of myself as bad at anything, so it has to be chance.