Chapter 4
HADLEY
Abrick. Why does my head feel like a brick?
My stomach doesn’t feel too great either.
My eyes flick open to find my face is half smashed against an admittedly comfortable pillow. This bed is warm, unusually warm for being under the covers, almost as if there is a heater next to me. From behind me, in fact. I begin to stretch out my body, but my foot hits the skin of a leg.
Not my leg.
Rolling over, my eyes widen when I see Connor groggily waking up on the other side of the bed, his eyes already in a blinking frenzy, as he is a few seconds ahead of me.
Oh no.
Instantly, I jab his shoulder, and his response is a low grumble, but he begins to stir awake.
I’m an idiot. Why am I alerting his attention? I should just sneak on out of here and ignore the fact that we…
Wait, what did we do?
“Connor,” I shriek in a loud whisper.
“What?” His voice is scratchy against his throat, but something must connect in his head because he jackknifes up to sitting. “Why are you in my bed?” Connor’s tone is gruff, with an edge that would be sexy if it wasn’t for the detail that it’s him speaking.
We look at one another, horrified, then his eyes dip down, which causes my own attention to follow his line of sight.
I’m gripping the duvet around my body, but one glance and it appears I’m naked, proven when I lift the blanket slightly and confirm that I’m only wearing a thong…
and he’s wearing nothing, which is why I slam the blanket back down into position, because I don’t need a reminder of his size even in downtime.
“What the hell did we do?” I begin to panic.
He scratches the back of his head. “I… did we?”
I shrug my shoulders and shriek, “We’re both pretty much naked!”
He has the audacity to half-smirk. “Got a glimpse, huh?”
I growl in frustration. “I vaguely remember last night, but I’m missing moments.” My eyes scan the room, and I see empty water bottles which causes me to knit my brows together. “Oh, gee, we were responsible and stayed hydrated,” I deflate with sarcasm.
“Relax.” His hand indicates to stay calm. “You would feel it if you decided to ride my pony again.”
Shaking my head, I choose to ignore his ridiculous comment and search for my phone that I hear vibrating. Luckily, it’s under my pillow.
I see Isla’s name on the screen and pick up, careful to bring the phone to my ear so the devil doesn’t hear.
“Hey, Isla,” I calmly greet her. “What the hell happened?” My voice does a 180, pitching higher at the end.
My friend laughs. “What do you mean? You’re the one not in our room. I was scared I needed to send out a search party. But then I remembered that you left the party with Mr. Nobody’s Eyes Shall Ever Land on You But His, so I knew you were safe.”
I glance over my shoulder and notice Connor doesn’t seem stressed by the fact we’re sharing a bed, with no recollection of events.
“I left the party with Connor?” That can’t be right.
“You two were doing shots. It seemed to loosen you two up, you were both even laughing about childhood memories at one point, certainly didn’t want to kill one another.
When Shawn asked if you wanted to do a body shot, Connor threw you over his shoulder, you giggled, and you dared Connor that he wouldn’t carry you out to save you. It was kind of cute.”
I vaguely remember Connor carrying me out of the party and a dare… but that was when we were in an elevator. Oh no. Nope.
“You let me leave with him? I swear, I may be revoking your friend card,” I huff.
“Hey! I called you twenty minutes later, and you said that Connor was taking you to get your tattoo.” Strange. I have no new tattoos. “Then you sent me a text later saying not to wait up as you were having an unforgettable night.”
I try to remember. “I don’t recall any of that.”
“Well, I’m assuming that you and him…”
“Don’t even say it,” I grit out and feel Connor’s eyes on me.
“Okay, well, thought I’d check if you want to have breakfast?” Isla asks, and the thought of food just makes me want to heave or it’s the presence of the man behind me, I’m not sure.
I roll my eyes, and a long exhale escapes me. I reach for the bottle of water near the bed, and that’s when I notice something. It’s new, very new.
“Uh, you go ahead. I’ll come to our room soon.” I manage to string a sentence together, end the call, and toss the phone to the side while my sight locks on my finger that’s sporting a diamond ring. A gorgeous, albeit new ring.
“Breakfast sounds good, I’m starving,” Connor casually mentions as he yawns and stretches his arms over his head like this is a daily occurrence.
My head turns sharply to stare at him full-on, and I hold up my hand. “What the hell is this?”
It catches him off guard, and his jaw goes slack, but only a croaky sound escapes him before he looks down and notices a band on his finger. “Oh, shit.”
My stomach drops, and a meltdown is fast approaching. “Tell me we didn’t,” I plead.
He gives me a sympathetic look. “I can’t.”
I shove him with my hands and the blanket drops slightly down my breasts before I save myself. “Do you remember last night?”
Connor gives me a funny look as he scratches the back of his head. “Parts.”
“Which parts?” I’m furious.
“Not the part where you apparently got your childhood wish.” He examines his finger and leans back against the headboard. “The one where I’m your husband.”
I groan and quickly slide off the bed, taking the blanket with me, only allowing myself one glance at his impressive package, before giving him a glare. “We did not get married!”
He examines the scene before his eyes discover something, then he leans to the side to grab it from his bedside table. Connor chortles a sound and holds up the paper. “According to this, we are husband and wife.” Why is there a hint of a smug shade across his lips?
“No!” I look up to the ceiling.
Connor scrubs a hand across his face. “I’m sure this is not what my uncle had in mind for staying on the straight and narrow.”
I could scream, but instead, I head directly for the bathroom and abruptly close the door behind me, ensuring I lock it.
Walking straight to the mirror, I rub my face and attempt to calm myself down.
I look like a trainwreck, yet I have a glow on my cheeks, and this ring is a blinding accessory that is somewhat flipping perfect on my finger, but no, nuh-uh, I am not Connor’s wife!
“What have I done?” I whisper as my thoughts head into a memory from when I was eighteen and why Connor Spears can never be my husband.
Connor grips the steering wheel, internally preparing himself as he pauses before he starts the engine, probably because I’m sitting in the front seat.
The air between us feels heightened. For the longest time, I thought the guy was neutral about me, has never given me any indication we could be anything more or less, except lately.
First, when he showed up at my dance show, and then the other week when our families went out to dinner to celebrate being drafted.
It was near unbearable because I kept catching that his eyes were on me, and our gaze held while his lips tugged, as though my sight on him is something he enjoys.
And here we are because we were both watching our little brothers play T-ball, and our parents wanted to take the team out for pizza and ice cream after.
We love our brothers, but not a group of kids their age.
Connor and I just looked at one another, agreeing on our version of hell, and made up excuses for why we couldn’t go.
A promised attendance at a party for him, and tired for me because I rehearsed for six hours yesterday.
So here’s Connor, driving me home.
He is also my answer, and he might have appeared in my fantasies a few times too. Well, a lot. But right now, it isn’t just that. Something is causing me to want to orbit around him more than usual.
Connor backs the car up and drives us away. “Come on, let’s get you out of here, Sprinkles.” He gave me that nickname when I was thirteen, and I hate it as much as I love it.
“Why do you call me that?”
“Because you used to bring me cupcakes when you had a ridiculous crush, and you smelled of icing and cake. Sprinkles seemed fitting.”
A smile begins to stretch on my mouth.
“Can I go to the party with you?” I try my luck.
He scoffs and doesn’t even bat an eye as he focuses on the road. “Not a chance.”
“Why not?” I ask, defensive.
“Because that’s the deal we’ve always had. I’ve tolerated you because our parents are friends, and I know your dad would want me to keep an eye on you. That means no parties because I can’t watch you every second, and you’re a distraction to most.”
The corner of my mouth tugs that he called me a distraction. “Am I distraction to you?” I glance to him and notice the twist on the corner of his mouth.
“Yes.” He’s blunter than I anticipated, but I love his answer.
Silence overwhelms the car since he just admitted that I’m something.
I sigh and rest my head against the headrest. “I need a moment, and I’m not ready to go home. I’ll only think about my future there.”
He glances sidelong at me for a quick second before returning his focus to the road. It feels as though the mention of my future fueled compassion inside of him. “Come on, I know a place for that.”
“Okay.” A giddy feeling hits me.
It’s a few minutes later when he pulls off onto a side road then up a hill where he parks.
It’s empty and dark, but I only feel safe around him.
We get out, and the engine is off but his car still plays music, and when I follow him to sit on the back of his car where he opened the hatch, a bit of light from the car highlights his face, and the sky is speckled with stars.
“I come here to think of my future all the time.” He sighs.
I turn to him, and he mirrors my move. “Do you ever find it exhausting?” I begin. “The whole hockey career thing? Don’t you just want to wake up and play without any pressure?”