“I was married. It was short-lived.”
“Feels like there’s a story there.”
“Not really. He was the loan assessor at the bank. He helped me and Claire with all the paperwork for the salon, and when it went through, he asked me on a date. One thing led to another, and the next thing I knew, there was a ring on my finger.” I leaned against the pool table and sighed. “We never should’ve gotten married. We were so different...Too different.”
“How so?”
“It started with the basic stuff. I liked burgers and fries, and he was more of a steak and potatoes kind of guy. That soundslame. I know, but he was just a little too much about everything. And he had this weird obsession with hockey.”
“What’s wrong with hockey?”
“Nothing. It’s an amazing sport, and some of the guys are really hot.” I giggled as I added, “But Gary was…”
“Hold up. You married a guy named Gary?” I cocked my brow, and Luke’s lips immediately curled into a mischievous smirk. “Oh, come on. You had to know better than that.”
“He was a nice guy.And he was handsome with a good job and a nice family.”
“And his name was Gary.”
“Are you going to let me finish or not?”
“Yeah, yeah. Tell me more about this hockey obsession.”
“Well, he had his favorite team and players, and that was all fine and good. But he wanted to go to all the games, and I mean ALL of them.”
“Still not seeing a huge issue here.”
“It was a lot. It didn’t matter what we had going on, work or family, he was determined to be there for all the home games and a lot of the away games. And we had to sit right up front, so he could see all the action.”
“Well, the fighting is the best part of hockey.”
“Oh, I agree one hundred percent, but it was all he could talk about.” I gave him a look as I bit my bottom lip. “It was like I wasn’t even there.”
“Yeah, he might’ve taken a bit too far.”
“A little”
“He would never admit it, but I don’t think he knew what to do with me. We were just too different.” Luke leaned down and took another shot, barely missing it. “Don’t get me wrong. He had his little quirks, but he was good to me. He wanted to make me happy, and he did in lots of ways.”
“Seems like you care a lot about ol’ Gary.”
“I do. He’s a good friend, and I think he always will be.”
I know.
This was perfect opportunity for me to warn Luke about his brother.
We were alone.
No one would hear. I could’ve just laid it all out and let him decide his next move. It was the right thing to do. Hell, every instinct I had was screaming at me to just tell him.
But I had Lila Kate to consider.
So, I did the only thing I could.
I kept my mouth shut and prayed that Luke never found out that I’d help put the knife in his back.
After a deep breath, I stepped up and made my shot, and to my utter surprise, the ball sank into the pocket with ease. I jumped up and gasped, “Did you see that?”
