War and I were two ships passing in the night. Granted, it would dock in the same harbor for the week of gardening ahead, but that was it. Grown-up me knew I had to get on with my life, focus on my career, not spend it getting entangled with the resident hockey star and player.
“Okay, before you distract us again,” Ray whispered, “want to tell us what’s up with you and War? I saw Instagram. You guys are trending.”
“What?”Nooo!I wanted to bang my head against the table, my worst fears realized.
Ray frowned. “Did you not see it?”
“No, I was busy with the interview and stuff.”
“Yes, I saw that, too,” Ila said, keeping her voice low. “And that look just now between you two? I thought you didn’t care for players, well, you know what I mean?”
“That hasn’t changed,” I said, my tone flat, aware the redhead had left. Who knows where she’d tucked her phone number on him?
“Look.” Ray got out her cell and slid to the snapshot of us taken outside the Cheetah’s training facilities, on Instagram. War had me tucked into his chest. I appeared petite andshortagainst his tall, tough body, and worse, I was staring up at him like he was the brightest star in my universe. God!
The line below the snapshot caught my attention:Hockey menace on ice and off says she’s his forever girl.
And a whole lot of hashtags, along with my name. Jesus Christ. Seriously? How did they get my name—
Of course. Easy enough to find my info on the internet since I was mentioned in Ila’s society wedding as one of her bridesmaids.
I wanted to face-palm my heated cheeks. Instead, I kept it brief. “He needed a quick getaway from the groupies, and since I was passing by—oh, hell!” I bit back a groan. “When my mother sees this…”
“He’ll pass muster, if she checks him out.” Ray patted my arm, trying to reassure me. My friends knew of the ongoing friction with my mother. “I mean he’s good-looking and a sports star, not some loser, so you’re good there.”
If only it were that simple.
“Oh, crap,” Ila whispered, staring past me. “Don’t look, but one guess who just walked into the bar.”
I grimaced. “My mother?”
She didn’t laugh like I expected her to do. So, I cast a furtive glance over my shoulder and glared. Man, could this day get any worse?
Craig Stevens. Cheater extraordinaire. In a bar catering to the masses, one he would never visit while sober. And he lookedrealsober to me. He stood there, yakking to two of his fellow pilot pals. Oh, I knew the ho-gang from when I dated him.
Tall, lean, and tan, with well-styled dark auburn hair and a pair of sultry hazel eyes, the crud-spawn still looked good. The last time I saw him, he’d been grim-faced. He’d rocked up to collect his stuff, and instead discovered the bonfire I’d made of his clothes, his expensive,emptyliquor bottles littered among the ashes.
Yep, I burned all his shit after finding out what the bastard was up to when his hook-up answered his cell during his overnight stopover in Spain.
Craig stopped at the bar with his pals, laughing, seeming on high. The slank!
It was a word I apparently coined while wasted after finding out he’d cheated on me and I’d slurred the swordslutandskankas one, or so Ila had told me, and it stuck.
I faced the table and gulped down the remainder of my drink.
Ila stroked my back. “Forget him, Char. He’s not worth it.”
The point was, I’d once cared about the louse, but he’d trampled all over my heart. “I know.”
My head spun, and my stomach heaved. I glanced over my shoulder again. Craig turned, surveying the place, and his gaze lit on me. A smile started.
Hell, no.
“Ila, Ray, I’m sorry, I have to go. My evening just got ruined.” I grabbed my bag from the floor. “I’ll call, and we can meet up during the week.” I shot to my feet and weaved between the patrons, heading for the door.
“Charlotte!”
Dammit. Slowly, I turned. He was already striding toward me, a broad grin on his face as if we were besties. Might as well get this nauseating task done.
