“I’m fine. . .I guess I’m back?” I say, then laugh. “I don’t know what’s happening. One minute, I’m in Rhodes living day-to-day, and the next, Lachlan shows up and, well, brings me here.”
“He never stopped talking about you,” he says with a laugh. “I mean, ever.”
I don’t know what to make of that. I bite my lip and glance away, my gaze clashing with Lachlan’s on the other side of the room. I can’t tell what he’s thinking. He doesn’t seem upset at all by my interaction with Mason, though, which is nice.
I look at Mason again. “How’d you end up playing on the same team?”
“Crazy, right?” His brows shoot up. “He dropped way down in the draft and ended up near me. He was picked up by them, and shortly after, I was traded over. It’s been nice.”
“I bet.”
“What about you? Did you go back to soccer?” he asks. “Or med school. It was med school you’d applied to, right?”
“Yep. I finished recently. I’m about to start a residency program in a week.”
“Holy shit.” His brows shoot up. “So this is. . .what is this?” he asks, and I know he’s talking about Lach.
“I honestly don’t know.” I glance over at Lach again, and find him still watching me.
“That man. . .” He shakes his head. “Let’s just say the entire fucking team knows your full name.”
“I don’t even know what to make of that,” I say quietly.
He shrugs, looking away for a moment. “I wish he hadn’t retired.”
“Me too,” I say. “He was born to be on the ice.”
“Well, if anyone can convince him to come back, it’s you.” Mason smiles at me.
I make a non-committal sound, and we move away from the topic. We catch up on what everyone is doing with their lives, and before long, I look up and watch Lachlan as he makes his way over, his green eyes solely on mine. The way he makes my heart race is unnerving. I hate that despite any anger and disappointment I may feel toward him, he still affects me the way he does. I know Mason is still talking, but it’s hard to focus on anything with my erratic heartbeat.
“Leave my girlfriend alone,” Lach says, wrapping an arm around me and pulling me to his side.
Mason laughs. “I was just telling her that you two are meant to be together.”
“I agree,” Lach says, his deep voice making my stomach somersault. He lowers his mouth to my ear. “Did you eat?”
“Not yet.”
“Mase, my girl needs to eat, so you can get in line with us, or pick this conversation up another time,” Lach says, leading me back to the line.
One hour and two plates of food later, we say our goodbyes to everyone and walk out. I’m dreading being alone with him in the car again. So many things are spinning through my head: he spoke to his teammates about me, which is nice, but he also guilted me into this situation and wants to take me to the one place he knows I hate. He was planning to freaking marry me there. The thought creates a feeling in the pit of my stomach, and I have to struggle to keep it at bay after everything I just ate.
“That was nice,” he says.
“It was.”
“You were great.” I hear the smile in his voice when he says this, but I don’t entertain it. I won’t, even though I’m dying to look at his infuriatingly handsome face.
“I know.”
He laughs.
In the car, I’m staring out the window, soaking up every single bit of the city as we head to our second event of the day. I hope it goes by fast.
CHAPTER38
LYLA
