“I think he’s hot,” Marti announces and puts her empty champagne glass down on a passing waiter’s tray. “Does he need real estate?”
“He might need to sell his place here one day soon,” Jude replies and shrugs. “He’s single, but be warned, the only C word he’s about is conquest, not commitment.”
Marti doesn’t seem the least bit concerned. “That’s what they say about you too.”
We both look at her. Jude’s face is suddenly void of its usual amusement. His hand stills at my neck. Marti instantly realizes her mistake, and while her cheeks turn as red as her dress, she quickly adds, “And everyone was clearly wrong about that. Besides, the only C word I’m interested in ends in o-m-i-n-g, and if he can make me do that, the rest will sort itself out.”
She marches away, toward Eddie. “Well, that was an overshare of epic proportions,” I say, because it’s silent now and feels awkward.
Jude laughs, and his hand tightensaround my waist. “Hey, I admire a girl who goes after what she wants and doesn’t expect more than she’s going to get. That’s why I had a crush on you way back when.”
I smile. “And now?”
“Why do I have a crush on you now?” he asks, and I nod, pulling my bottom lip between my teeth out of nerves, even though it’ll ruin my lipstick.
Before he can answer, a female voice, soft, smooth and dripping with confidence, interrupts. “Mr. Braddock. We haven’t had a chance to chat yet tonight.”
We both look up, almost startled, like we forgot we were in public. I kind of did for a minute there. “Ms. Bateman. Thanks for giving us one last big night with Lord Stanley,” Jude says with his usual flirtatious smile, which shouldn’t bug me because I know it’s genetically impossible for him to smile any other way. But still, it kind of does when it’s directed at such a stunning, put-together woman. “This is my girlfriend, Zoey Quinlin. Zoey, Ryanne Bateman, our team owner.”
We shake hands. Her grip is firm, her hand is cool. I feel like my skin must feel clammy next to hers, and I should care but I don’t, because he just called me his girlfriend. “Nice to meet you.”
“You too.” Ryanne smiles, and it’s authentically warm. “You must be quite a woman to get our biggest social media problem to settle down.”
“Ouch!” Jude laughs. “That was blunt.”
“And accurate,” I add, thinking back to the dick pic, and I’m grinning because…I’m his girlfriend. Ryanne laughs and reaches out and takes my empty champagne glass from my hand.
“That astute comment deserves another glass of champagne.” At that announcement three waiters converge on us. I nod gratefully and take a flute. Jude does too.
“Well, do make sure you drink some of this from the Cup later,” Ryanne tells me and grins. “It’s a ridiculously unhygienic tradition, but I swear I bought the team just so I could do it. Jude, you and Levi better make sure I can do it again sometime soon.”
“We’ll do our best.”
She floats—seriously, it looks like she’s floating under her long, clingy aubergine dress—toward Elijah Casco, who’s holding a tall fruity-looking drink, twisting the umbrella in it as he talks to Dixie in the corner of the dining room. “Holy moly, she’s something else.”
Jude nods. “She is unique. She says she got into hockey because her dad liked it, and she bought the team in his memory. I think she bought it because she likes fucking athletic younger men and because it makes her money.”
My breath catches in my throat, and I nearly spit my mouthful of champagne back into my glass. “She fucks the team?”
Jude chuckles at my horrified whisper. “Not the whole team. It’s not like sexual harassment or an initiation ritual or something. She doesn’t even live in San Fran. She’s based in New York, so she’s hardly ever here, but when she is and she throws these little shindigs, she usually ends up with one of us.”
The champagne turns to acid in my mouth, and I have trouble swallowing it down. He notices, and his hand presses softly into my lower back. “Not me. I haven’t slept with her. She offered to blow me at last year’s Stanley Cup party, but I politely refused.”
“But she’s gorgeous and clearly not looking for a commitment, which was totally your thing,” I blurt out like a raving lunatic, because only a lunatic would say something like that to a guy they want a commitment from.
Jude slides his hand completely around my waist and pulls me against his side. “I’m glad you said ‘was.’”
“I hope it’s ‘was’ because I’m your girlfriend now,” I whisper back, and my heart swells as the words leave my mouth.
He grins and kisses my cheek. “That’s right. Now can we get home so I can get naked with my girlfriend?”
“I should make sure Marti is okay with me ditching her,” I say and look around the room, but I can’t find her, so I start to walk toward the backyard. Jude laces our fingers together and follows behind.
As we enter the backyard, we pass Abby and Brian, who smile at us, and then Carla, who is sitting on Duncan’s lap on a lush lounger by the fire pit. As I scan the crowd for my co-worker, I spot Tessa and Levi in the corner. They’re almost hidden against the high bushes that line the property, holding hands as Levi’s hulking frame almost blankets her. His head is dipped down and they’re talking, but if either moved a fraction of an inch they’d be kissing. Levi catches my eye and takes a definitive step away from his girlfriend. Their hands untangle and he gives me a small, quick wave.
“Levi really isn’t into PDA, is he?”
“What?”
