Eloquent, Mira.
Lexi chuckles. “Just good? You two seem to get along well. Is he as sweet to live with as he is to hang out with? I know he’s kind of a goofball sometimes, but I’ve always really liked Griffin. He’s good people.”
A smile quirks the corner of my lips because heisgood people. He offered me a place to live without hesitating, then had my room beautifully decorated. He makes sure I eat, makes me laugh, listens with his whole body when I talk, and he’s always genuinely interested in what I’m doing. Not to mention, he’s supportive. And unlike my shitty ex, I don’t think Griffin is feigning interest in me just to get me to sleep with him.
Or stay married to him, as the case may be.
“He’s a great guy,” I agree. “Honestly, I’ve had more fun living with him than I’ve ever had living with anyone else.”
Lexi nods. “I could see that. How long do you plan to live with him? I know you’re working on getting your business off the ground.”
“Um, at least for the next six months,” I say, my belly twisting strangely. Wanting to get us away from this particular line ofconversation, I turn it around on Lexi. “How’s living with Ryder? Is it weird or great?”
Lexi and Ryder moved in together not too long ago after their relationship became something of a local, and even national, spectacle. Lexi’s dad was the head coach of the Rogues for quite some time until he was caught on film at a game starting a fight with Ryder and saying some truly vile things about his daughter when he found out she and Ryder were secretly dating.
It was a huge scandal for a while, and people rallied behind Lexi and Ryder, which was great, but it also meant that Lexi lost her ability to go to school on campus because people were always going up to her, taking photos, and generally making her feel unsafe. That’s when Ryder insisted Lexi move in with him. They hadn’t been dating all that long, but clearly, the two of them are meant to be, so Lexi jumped right in and said yes.
My blonde friend sighs, hearts in her eyes and a dreamy look on her face. “It’s so great, Mira. At first, I was worried it was too fast, you know? But then I thought about how amazing it was to spend that week alone together at the cabin over Christmas, and he was a total stranger at the start of it.” She smiles dreamily. “I love him so freaking much.”
“I’m so happy for you,” I tell her honestly.
“Thanks, girl. I’m really happy too. Now we just need to find someone for you so we can triple date. Me and Ryder, Isla and your brother, and you and some dreamy hunk.”
Forcing out a laugh, I rub the back of my neck. “Uh, no, you guys don’t need to find anyone for me. I’m good.”
“Oh, come on, Mira. There’s gotta be someone on the team you think is hot.” She glances my way. “You’re gorgeous and smart. Any of those men would be lucky to date you.”
“Right,” I say. “Except they’d all probably be too scared my brother would kick their asses to ask me out.” The city goes by in a blur, and before I know it, Lexi pulls into a spot on the street.
“You might be surprised,” Lexi says as she opens her door and climbs out. She smiles brightly at me over the roof of her car. “Isla told me Maddox has been talking about wanting to set you up with someone too.”
What?I gape at my friend. My brother wants to set me up with someone? Why would he want to do that? “I’m sorry, what?”
Lexi chuckles. “I guess he has someone in mind for you.”
“Someone on his team?” I ask as we walk into the restaurant. I’m so distracted by the whole conversation, I almost walk into a post.
“I don’t think so. Some guy his agent knows or something? I’m not totally sure. Isla only mentioned it in passing. It’s sweet that your brother wants to set you up with someone.”
“Right. Sweet.” The effort it takes not to roll my eyes cannot be overstated. But I manage to keep my face in check as the host greets us and leads us to a table.
Maddox wants to set me up. That’s…not great. I’ll have to figure out some good excuses to put him off, because I sure as shit can’t tell him the truth. Because telling my brother I accidentally married his best friend, and said best friend is practically blackmailing me into staying married for six months, would be a death sentence for Griffin. And as much as I may have wanted to kick Griffin’s ass when all of this went down, now the thought makes my chest ache.
How is this even my life?
seventeen
GRIFFIN
Coach Fry callsus over to the bench. We’ve been running drills and perfecting new plays all morning, and I’m exhausted, but our upcoming series in Toronto against the Icons will be a brutal matchup. Their team is on fire this season, so Coach Fry has been pulling out all the stops to get us ready.
Having Fry take over for Coach Cross has been an adjustment, but the guy is a solid offensive strategist. Not to mention a way better human being than Coach Cross ever was.
“Huddle up, men.” Coach Fry’s dark brown eyes scan each one of us, his rich sienna skin tinged slightly with pink from the cold nipping at his cheeks. “Good work out there today. I know I’ve thrown a lot of new stuff at you, but I think you’ve got it. How do you all feel about the new plays?”
A chorus ofGood, CoachandWe’re readyfills the air. All of us are eager to prove ourselves against Toronto and silence any of our remaining critics who don’t believe we have what it takes to get to the playoffs after everything that happened with Coach Cross.
“Good. Now I want all of you to go home, get some rest, then be at the airport at seven sharp tomorrow morning. Be ready to play your asses off, because Toronto’s going to come at us hard and fast. Their goalie’s been on a hot streak, and we’re going to be the one to break it. But that means no sloppy plays and pointless penalties, you got me? We don’t want any penalty kills against this team.” Coach Fry scans each of our faces. “Clean hits, be aggressive but not sloppy, and I want to see immaculate puck handling out there, gentlemen. If we can do all that, we’ll kick their asses.”
