69. Alexander
Alexander
“Great game tonight.”
I grin, clapping Trenton on the back. “I still can’t believe you stopped that biscuit at the end of the second period.”
He arches a brow. “You doubting me now?”
“Never.”
Tonight’s home game was great, and I can’t deny it’s because I’m still on a high from my date with Aarya this past weekend. The only time I’ve been able to stop thinking about kissing her was when I was on the ice tonight.
The way her mouth moved against mine, her tongue inviting me in, with her legs locked around my waist while I kissed her against the building?
Absolute heaven.
It’s been forever since I’ve kissed a woman, but no kiss has ever compared to the fire I felt with Aarya.
Should I have kissed her? No.
Do I regret it? Also no.
But now it’s going to be nearly impossible to keep myself from doing it again, and I need to be smart about the way we interact moving forward.
“Look at you, man.” McKinley spins his towel and whips me with it. “You can’t keep that goofy-ass smile off your face for more than two seconds.”
I shake my head as I head into the shower, unable to deny it but not wanting to admit it out loud.
I have to keep myself in check. This is nothing more than a fake arrangement to Aarya.
Sure, she’s been trying to coax me into something physical, but that’s where it stops for her.
I can’t get attached. I can’t delude myself into thinking she’ll want more from me at any point.
It doesn’t help that our pictures are plastered everywhere I look this week. The headlines read, “Krum Cake’s Secret Girlfriend Revealed.” I haven’t bothered to scroll through the comments or read any of the articles, but it’s out there in the world now.
But as I head out of the stadium after my shower, all the excitement drains from my body.
“Funny how your girlfriend is magically revealed after you find out about losing the villa.”
My shoulders jump at the sound of my grandfather’s voice lurking in the parking lot.
“Thought you were on your deathbed,” I reply, schooling my expression to look bored despite the fact that he caught me off guard.
Lorenzo snickers. “I just wanted to drop by for a quick chat.”
I unlock my SUV and toss my duffle bag into the back seat. “You could’ve called me for a chat.”
“True, but then I wouldn’t be able to see the look on your face when I give you this.” He holds out a manilla envelope. “I have a feeling it’ll be worth the trip.”
Nerves clench my stomach as I take the envelope from him, but it’s nothing compared to the way the muscles in my entire body seize when I pull out a picture of Giuliana.
She’s holding Annie’s hand as they walk out of her preschool together.
My blood runs cold. “What. The fuck. Is this?”
Lorenzo slips his hands into his pockets, a smug smirk on his wrinkled face. “This is your reminder of what’s at stake if I find out you’re fabricating a marriage to this new girlfriend of yours.”
My jaw clenches. “Sounds an awful lot like a threat to me.”
He hikes a shoulder. “Call it what you will. I just thought you could use some incentive.”
“My daughter has nothing to do with this.” My voice echoes off the low ceiling of the parking garage. “You’re threatening to hurt children now? I always knew you were a piece of shit, but I didn’t realize you were psychotic.”
He laughs. “I’m not threatening your child. I’m simply letting you know that if I find a shred of evidence that you’re planning on an arranged marriage to get around my will, I’ll let the world know their favorite hockey captain has been hiding a lot more than a secret girlfriend.”
I lunge toward him, but he side-steps me and wags his index finger in my face.
“Uh-uh. Remember, there’s always someone watching.
Wouldn’t want to tarnish your good boy reputation, would you?
Crazed hockey player assaults his elderly grandfather post-game.
How would Child Protective Services feel about that headline? ”
This motherfucker.
My lungs constrict as I ball my hands into fists, crumpling the picture of Giuliana. “Get out of here. Now.”
“I’ll be seeing you, Alexander.” He walks backward into the parking lot. “Oh, and by the way... your daughter is adorable. Looks just like you. Shame her mother didn’t stick around.”
My face heats and I can feel my pulse thumping in my neck.
Breathe. Deep breaths. Don’t do anything stupid.
I watch Lorenzo until he disappears in a black car, and then I get into my SUV.
My chest heaves as I try to breathe, but I can only suck in short puffs of air. Then it happens.
Blurred vision.
Heart racing.
Sweaty palms.
No, no, no.
I haven’t had a panic attack in years. I grip the steering wheel and squeeze my eyes shut, trying to gain control of my body. I rack my brain, retrieving the exercises from my memory.
I purse my lips and breathe in like I’m sucking air through a straw.
One, two, three, four.
Out through my lips.
One, two, three, four, five, six, seven.
Again.
And again.
And again.
The longer out-breaths slow my heart rate, and a calm crawls over my body. I blink to clear my vision, continuing my steady breathing.
“I’m in control,” I say. “I’m in control.”
Then I pull out my phone and make a series of calls. First, Annie, to make sure she and Giuliana are safe at home. Then, to Celeste to inquire about hiring a security team. Last, I call Aarya. She doesn’t pick up, but there’s a chance she might still be at work.
When I pull out of the parking garage, giant raindrops splat against my windshield. Instead of heading home, I make my way to the gallery. I’d bet money that Aarya doesn’t have an umbrella with her.
Sure enough, I find her already walking home with her hood up and no umbrella. I pull over to the curb and roll down my window. “Get in!”
She squints through the rain, and jogs over to the passenger side door when she realizes it’s me. She slides inside, and I crank up the heat to stop her teeth from chattering.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t make it sooner.”
“That’s okay.” She brushes a few wet strands of hair off her forehead. “I forgot to check the forecast before I left for work today. How was your game?”
“Fine.” I pull back out onto the street, my eyes darting to the rearview mirror. “How was work?”
“Fine.” She turns to face me. “You okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine.” I glance at each of the cars around me as we pull up to a red light. “How was work?”
“You just asked me that.”
I flick my blinker on and check the rearview mirror again as I turn down the next street. “Oh, right.”
Her head whips around. “What are you looking at?”
“What? Nothing.”
“You’re acting weird right now.”
I run my fingers through my hair. “I’m sorry. I just—”
She grips my wrist and holds up my hand. “Your hands are shaking, Alex. What the fuck is going on?”
A long breath escapes me. “I’ll explain when we get to your place.”
She crosses her arms over her chest and watches me in silence until we pull up to her apartment building. I get lucky with a spot not too far down the block, so I use my jacket to shield Aarya as we make a run for it through the rain from the truck to her building.
Once she closes her apartment door behind us, she grabs a towel for each of us and tosses me one. “Start talking.”
I run the towel over my hair as I pace the length of her living room. “My grandfather showed up to the stadium today. He had... he had a fucking picture of Giuliana.”
Aarya’s eyes widen as her hands drop to her sides. “What? How?”
“I don’t know. He thinks we’re faking this relationship, so he threatened to leak information about Giuliana.”
“Why does he think we’re faking it?”
“Because we are!” I scrub my hands over my face. “I haven’t had a girlfriend since before Giuliana was born. Now, I suddenly have one after reading my grandfather’s will? This was a terrible idea. Why did I think we could pull this off?”
“Hey.” Aarya steps into my path, stopping me from pacing. “Where is Giuliana right now?”
“She’s home. I called Annie before I came to pick you up.”
“Okay, so she’s safe. Right now, everything is okay.”
I pull the crumpled picture out of my pocket and hold it out in front of her. “He found my daughter. He knows where she goes to school.”
She takes the photograph from me, her eyes roaming over Giuliana’s precious face. “He’s just trying to scare you, and it obviously worked.”
“Of course it worked. No one knows about her, yet this scumbag found her. He even knows that her mother isn’t around.
” I shake my head, thoughts whizzing through my brain at warp speed.
“He has someone watching us. Someone following us. If he knows where she goes to school, then he knows where I live. He probably knows where you live too. I know we said we’d wait, but I think you should move in with me now.
I can’t protect you from all the way out here.
And I’m going to hire a security team. And—”
Aarya shoves at my chest. “All right, Big Man. Sit down.”
“I don’t want to sit. We—”
She tugs my arm, yanking me toward the couch. “I didn’t ask.”
I plop onto the couch, staring up at her. “Why are you so calm right now?”
She plants her hands on her hips, standing over me.
“Your grandfather, he’s just trying to get a reaction out of you.
He wants you to fuck up so he doesn’t have to give you the villa.
But that’s too damn bad, because he can’t prove that we aren’t dating.
He can’t prove any of this is fake. And he knows this, so he’s grasping at straws and making idle threats about Giuliana because he knows she’s the only thing that’ll make you go crazy. ”
I blink. “But what if he—”
“What if he what? How can you prove someone is faking a relationship, unless there’s explicit evidence? People fake marriages for citizenship and get away with it all the time. We’ve got this in the bag.”
She’s right. My best friend married her best friend, so it’s only natural that we’d hang out and possibly hit it off. Our story makes sense.