Del’s eyes go wide. He grabs the phone and reads the screen. “Are you serious?”
“That’s messed up,” Blomdahl mutters.
I grip the counter of the bar, a sick feeling rushing through me. My head is heavy as I attempt to process every thought swirling around in my brain.
Who the fuck is this source? How the hell did they find out about us?
Rage fires through me like rocket fuel.
Fuck them for saying Ellie’s illness isn’t serious. Fuck them for saying she’s a golddigger. Ellie couldn’t be a golddigger if she tried. She’s too kind, too good.
Every muscle in my body tenses with the urge to track whoever this source is and tear them to shreds.
When I turn around, I see Xander, Theo, Ryker, and Sam standing around me now too. They’re all talking to Blomdahl, who’s showing them his phone.
After a second, they all look up at me, their expressions concerned.
“We know it’s not true, Connors,” Ryker says without missing a beat. All the guys nod along.
A sharp pang of guilt digs into my side. These guys are my teammates and my friends. We stand by each other through ourtough moments, on and off the ice. I owe it to them to be honest, just like they’ve always been honest with me.
I shake my head. “It’s not. But part of it is…” I trail off when I see the shock on their faces. “Health insurance was a big reason why we got married. You should have seen the hoops Ellie’s shitty old health insurance plan made her go through to get her meds for her chronic migraines. It was rage-inducing. They denied her over and over even though she paid her premiums. She couldn’t afford her meds out of pocket, so she’d end up in the hospital to get treatment, racking up tons of medical debt. It was insane. And so fucking unfair. So yeah, when I found out about it, I asked her to marry me. Because then she could get the meds she needed. It was the only way I could think to help her.” I swallow hard. “All that shit in the article downplaying Ellie’s illness and saying she’s a golddigger is bullshit.”
I go quiet for a moment as the nerves inside of me go haywire.
“We were friends when we got married,” I say. “I had feelings for her though. And now I’m crazy about her.”
My heart hammers in my chest as I stare at my teammates’ unreadable expressions, wondering if they’re going to think I’m a piece of shit for everything I just admitted to them.
Xander looks at me. “You’re in love with her.”
I stare at him, confused as to how easily he was able to figure that out.
“You’re in love with Ellie,” he says. “That’s pretty damn obvious.”
All the guys shake their heads. I stand there, shocked at how they’re all able to tell.
“Yeah. I am,” I say.
“It’s all good, man. You didn’t do anything wrong. Sophie and I had a similar start to or relationship.”
The guys and I all stare at him.
“Are you serious?”
Xander nods at me. “Yeah, we started as a fake relationship. I was sick of people writing me off as nothing more than a manwhore. I wanted to be taken seriously and thought that dating Sophie, a genius doctor, would help me with that. She wanted to set boundaries with her dad, who was really overprotective, so that’s why she agreed to do it. And then look what happened.” He grins. “We fell in love.”
All the guys stare at him with expressions of disbelief.
“Dude, seriously?” Del says.
Xander nods. “Yeah.”
Sam starts to smile. Theo and Blomdahl chuckle. Ryker just keeps staring at him.
Xander looks at me. “We didn’t get married, but I know what it’s like to plan for your relationship to go one way, and then it heads somewhere else completely. Somewhere better.”
That sick feeling in my gut fades.
