6. Trent #2
Vincent did a couple lunges, warming up as we waited for Aiden and Dominic to join us.
Every other week, I met the guys at the rec center in the Glenhaven Club for a game of squash.
It was a tradition we’d started up recently since Aiden needed to give Cora dedicated time to film the Masked Mixer mixology videos that had made her such a social media sensation.
Vincent, meanwhile, needed an occasional break from new parenthood—something he and Piper had agreed was important for their relationship and their personal sanity.
And the rest of us just needed a break from work every now and then—not that we were always free to take it.
There was usually at least one person who couldn’t make it.
Tonight, Paul was a no-show, but that still left us enough to play two-on-two.
“She called me after your lunch visit,” Vincent said. Aiden and Dominic walked onto the court.
“What are we talking about?” Aiden asked.
“Just that Dee had plenty of things to say about someone’s new girlfriend,” Vincent teased as he and Aiden partnered up.
“Natasha is not my girlfriend,” I grumbled. “Just serve the damn ball.”
“Natasha!” Vincent and Aiden chorused together. “Oooooo!”
Vincent lobbed the ball. I returned it as hard as I could. “Both of you shut up,” I snarled.
Aiden snickered as he chased the ball.
“Okay, but actually,” Dominic said. “Who’s Natasha?”
“No one.” I dove for the ball. “I hired her to build Dee a couple of custom furniture pieces. There was a little mix-up when she came by Dee’s house, and Dee thought I’d brought a girl home. Now we’re pretending to date to make Dee happy. That’s all it is.”
Dominic snorted. “Sure that’s all it is. You sound just like Aiden when he kept telling us nothing was going on with Cora. Remember?”
“But they had history,” I reminded him as Vincent returned the ball so hard it flew past us, earning them a point.
“Natasha distracting you?” Aiden taunted. “This is gonna be an easy game.”
I huffed, rolling my eyes.
“Look,” I said to Dominic as he prepared to serve the ball, “Aiden and Cora were high school sweethearts. Natasha and I have done nothing but argue since we met. Trust me when I say she’s not interested in me. She still calls me Coffeezilla.”
“Coffeezilla? Wait!” Aiden exclaimed. “Is she the hot waitress?”
“What?” I growled.
“She is, isn’t she? The one you were arguing with at the coffee shop. The one who got fired because of you. Ha! I knew you liked her. You totally couldn’t stop staring at her ass.” Vincent went flying past him, returning Dominic’s serve.
“It’s just a business relationship.” I grimaced, diving for the ball.
“She’s working on my new sustainability line because, while she’s a shitty barista, she actually knows her stuff when it comes to furniture.
Go figure. But us pretending to be a couple is just a sham to keep Nana Dee happy. End of story.”
“Sure you two won’t be getting down to business?” Vincent teased.
I groaned. “You’re a dad now. I expect better of you.”
“Which is exactly why you should expect dad jokes. Every day, I fill up with more and more puns.” He laughed at the look on my face. “Anyway, you realize what you’re describing is almost exactly how my relationship with Piper began. Right down to the relationship we faked. And look at us now.”
Yes, married with a baby. But that was different. I wasn’t Vincent or Aiden, and this relationship wasn’t based on anything real. The only reason Natasha was pretending to date me was because she looked up to Nana Dee and didn’t want to upset her. That was as far as this went.
Dominic heaved as he surged after the ball, swung, and missed.
“That’s the match!” Aiden announced. “And it looks like we crushed you.” He high-fived Vincent. “Point for the Marrieds.”
“You’re not even married yet,” Dominic said.
“Soon-to-be,” he amended. “Which means you sad, relationship-faking singletons are buying dinner.”
“Hey, keep me out of Trent’s drama,” Dominic whined.
I shook my head. “Fine,” I grumbled. “I will get dinner.” Whatever would shut them up.
We grabbed our things from the side of the court and headed for the door. I strung my squash racket over my shoulder as we exited onto the street. A familiar figure came our way, and I staggered to a stop.
Of course. Because the universe clearly wasn’t done messing with me. She looked up at me, eyes widening in surprise.
“Natasha,” I said, undecided whether I should smile or frown. What were the chances? “Hi…”
“Hi,” she said, her eyebrows knitting together.
Five boroughs in this godforsaken city, and she had to be here? From the corner of my eye, I saw Aiden nudge Vincent.
“You didn’t strike me as a squash player,” she said.
“New hobby,” I said, resisting the urge to make a face.
What was that supposed to mean? Another one of her backhanded observations?
“What are you up to?” I asked, already counting the seconds until this conversation could be over.
Her presence wasn’t totally unbearable, but finding her here out of nowhere felt like an ambush.
“We just escaped a truly abysmal show,” she said. “About the only upside was the costumes. Which were Stacy’s work, by the way.” Natasha gestured to her friend, a tall blonde in a floral pink dress. “Stacy, this is my new boss, Trent Saunders. Trent, this is my best friend, Stacy Rosen.”
“Nice to meet you.” I gestured around at my friends. “This is Aiden, Dominic, and Vincent. Guys, this is Natasha—the new designer at Saunders.”
“What perfect timing,” Aiden cut in. He was nudging Vincent again.
I scowled, shooting him a don’t you fucking dare look that he met with a smug, mischief-filled smile.
“What do you mean?” Natasha said.
“Well, we just finished our game. And you seem to be free now. We were just heading to dinner. How about joining us?”
Natasha’s eyes widened, clearly caught off guard by the invite. And so the hell was I. What was Aiden doing? “No, sorry,” Natasha started. “We actually—”
“We were just talking about grabbing dinner,” Stacy cut in. “Weren’t we?”
“Nooo,” Natasha said. “We were just saying how stuffed we were. From earlier.”
Stacy shrugged. “I could eat again.”
Natasha glanced at Aiden, already shaking her head. “We wouldn’t want to crash your plans.”
“You’re not crashing,” Vincent insisted. “At all.”
“And we wouldn’t want to be rude by declining a very nice invite,” Stacy said.
“Exactly.” Dominic gave Stacy a smile.
This was going very, very badly.
Stacy looped her arm through Natasha’s, almost like she was trying to stop her from running away. “It’s settled then. So, where are we going?”