Normally, I would stay the night. However, since I’m married now, my father insists on me getting home for dinner. But reminiscing about Mom all day long is draining, and the last thing I feel ready to do when I get home is dress up and go to an arena full of seventeen thousand people. Especially after Declan told me the owners and board will be aware of when I arrive.
To avoid an awkward conversation, I tell Declan I’m going to ease into this whole hockey wife thing by brushing up on the rules from home.
“So you’re going to watch the game from our couch?” he asks me the next day.
“Yes. Jamie Beth is coming over. We’re going to have a hockey party for two.”
“Well, make sure you watch closely. I’ll dedicate my first goal to you.”
And…swoon.
Yes, I’ve been swooninga lotthis past week.
Because Declan isn’t just sweet; he’s a freakingbosson the ice.
It’s practically orgasmic to watch him with that stick in his hand as he manhandles the puck like the stick is a part of him. No one—literally no one—can take that puck away from him when he’s going full steam ahead down the ice. Number twelve is officially my new favorite number.
“Wow,” Jamie Beth says later that night. “Your husband’s a freaking ice god, Mia. I’ve never been into a hockey player before, but Declan Wild could definitely get me interested.” She winks at me. “If he wasn’t already married to my bestie, of course.”
I playfully slap her arm. “I don’t think Declan’s who you’re truly interested in, anyway. Maybe one of his cousins though…”
“Stop.” She stands up and heads for the kitchen. “No more talk of me with boys. We need to focus on you. Your first big event as a married couple is this weekend, right?”
“The team dinner.” I groan. “Normally, these types of business functions are effortless for me. I’ve been doing them for years with my job. But, now I’m supposed to act like someone’s wife. What does that even mean?”
Jamie Beth shrugs as she returns with a plate of tortilla chips and a bowl of salsa. “No clue. I’ve never been somebody’s wife. But I’m sure you’ll figure it out. It can’t be that hard, right?”
Right.
Chapter Twenty
“Mia?” Declan’s deep voice echoes down the hall and into the bathroom where I’m currently standing in front of the mirror, dressed only in a towel.
My mom’s birthday week has passed, and tonight’s the night that Declan and I are attending our first event together, a Wild Kings charity dinner. And I know how important this evening is for Declan.
The entire team, including the board of directors, will be there.
The board is the reason Declan needed an arranged marriage, so it’s imperative that they think we’re believable at this event as a just-married couple in love. I want to make sure I hold up my end of our deal, which means we need to put on a united front as happy newlyweds.
“Hi!” I call back to Declan through my closed bedroom door. “I’m almost ready!”
“No rush. We’ve got plenty of time.”
Time.
It’s something I’ve never thought so much about until I got married.
Declan and I have been married nearly two weeks now.
Two weeks fraught with sexual tension and awkward moments we cover with bad excuses like, “I have to um…go shower.”
Yep, things are just as weird between us as they’ve been since we exchanged vows and agreed to only be friends.
But now, we have to attend our first event together. As a couple. Amarriedcouple.
And I have no clue what to wear.
Which is why I have Jamie Beth on standby. I reach for my phone sitting on the counter next to the sink.
