Bryson eyes me like I’m an asshole and nods. “Sure. Come on, there’s not much left to see. Then we need to get back up there so Tess can go through your training schedule for the week.”
“Um, bye. Nice to meet you,” she says to me before scurrying away, only looking back once. I watch them go with rising anger, balling my hands into fists to keep them from shaking.
What the hell is she playing at? I know she recognized me. There is no way in hell that woman doesn’t remember exactly who I am and what we did together. Multiple times. And if the subtle dilation of her pupils and the shallowness of her breaths are any indication, she not only remembers but is still affected by it.
She’s lying. I don’t knowwhy, but she’s lying through her perfectly straight teeth.
That’s fine. She can play her little games for now. I’ll just have to run into her again. Maybe if we’re alone, she’ll stop pretending and tell me what I want to know.
Growling like a feral animal, I storm back into the weight room and add some extra weight to the leg press. The guys watch me as I get back to work, varying expressions of amusement and curiosity on their faces. “What?”
“Well, what did she say?” Griffin asks.
“She pretended like she didn’t know me,” I bite out. “Told me I must have mistaken her for someone else.”
“Oh, shit.” Bash grimaces. “Really?”
I grunt as I extend my legs. “Do you think I’d lie about something like that?”
“Dude. You must really have lost your touch in bed if women are pretending they don’t know you after you screw them.” Griffin throws his blond head back and laughs.
I finish my set on the leg press and stand, getting right in his face. “Keep it up, Wright. See what happens.”
Griffin laughs. “Probably not much, if Blair is anything to go by.”
My ears ring, and I surge toward my friend, ready to shove him back, when Maddox’s arms wrap around me and haul me back.
“Knock it off. Both of you. We’re not going to start fights in the damned weight room.” He lets go of me with one arm so he can point at Wright. “Stop being an asshole. You may be married to my sister, but that doesn’t mean you get special treatment when you’re being a dick.”
Our coach, Mike Fry, shouts at us from across the room. “There a problem over there, men?” He’s young for a coach, in his early forties, and he took over after our previous head coach was fired for making some disgusting—and public—statements about his own daughter, who was secretly dating Ryder. CoachFry is a good guy. He’s fair, doesn’t scream at us or call us names to get us to do our jobs. But he’ll still make us skate suicides if he catches us starting shit.
“We’re all good, Coach.” Maddox lets me go, patting me on the shoulder and giving it a hard squeeze. “Right, guys?”
Our chorus of agreements must be enough for Coach, because he rolls his eyes and returns his attention to one of the assistant coaches as they strategize for the first games of the season.
“What are you going to do?” Ryder asks when there are no more eyes on us.
“I’m going to get her alone and demand an explanation. I want to know if she knew who I was. Because she claimed she didn’t. But it’s pretty damn wild that she showed up here today, don’t you think? What are the odds of thatnotbeing intentional?”
Sebastian hums, considering. “It is pretty crazy that you met in LA and now she’s here. I mean, I guess it’s possible that it’s all some big coincidence, but you’re right. It does seem unlikely.”
“But why pretend she doesn’t know you?” Maddox asks. It’s the million-dollar question. Why indeed?
“No idea. But I’m going to find out. I’ll find out where she lives and show up at her house, if I have to. She can’t avoid me forever.”
Bash shakes his head. “Yeah, that’s called stalking. Don’t do that. Scaring her won’t accomplish anything.”
“I’m not trying to stalk her,” I say, fisting my hair. My skin feels tight and my stomach is sour. “I just want to know what her endgame is.” I cross my arms over my chest. “This is why I’m so careful to make sure the women I sleep with know the deal. Otherwise, they get weird and try to insinuate themselves into your life.”
“Hate to break it to you, bro, but it sure seems like she’s trying tooutsinuateherself.” Wright’s lips twitch.
“That’s not a word, jackass.” I swear to god…
“Yeah, I know. But I’m just saying that I don’t think Blair is trying to wiggle her way into your life. Not if she pretended not to recognize you.” Griffin’s chest shakes with silent laughter, and it pisses me off.
“Maybe that’s just to throw me off.” It’s a strange tactic, but it wouldn’t be the first time an obsessed woman has tried to find aninwith me. Like that blonde woman who used to do Blair’s job.
“Or maybe she was just as surprised to see you as you were to see her and she freaked out?” Sebastian. Always the voice of reason. But this time, he’s wrong.
