My hand tightens into a fist under the table.
“Let’s just say we understand… arrangements,” Liora adds carefully, glancing between us. “But it’s not exactly easy to pull off. You need to keep the show going the minute you step outside.”
“Yeah,” Jenna says, reaching for her wine like it’s doing her a favor. “We have to keep it up around Livy too.”
She looks at me then, like she’s waiting for me to say something.
I don’t.
Talking has never really been my thing unless it’s necessary. And right now, I’m not entirely sure whatisnecessary—except that whatever this is between us feels… different.
Too easy. Too familiar.
Too much like something I don’t want to name.
“What I’m saying,” Liora continues. “Is your secret’s safe with us. However, this started—we get it.”
“Obviously,” Rosie adds, while Jay and Priya nod along.
“We’re not telling anyone,” Priya says.
“Thank you,” Jenna says quietly. There’s something real in her voice that makes me glance at her again. Mistake. Too pretty. My hand aches to touch hers and I look away.
“But I hope Ethan was able to help you,” Riley says. “He helps us a lot.”
“Us too,” Jay says and makes a face as if we’re all just a failed crew. Yeah, we need Ethan to babysit us fools.
“Yeah, he helped a lot,” I say. “But he wants us to get onThe Dirty Jersey…”
“OMG,” Rosie says and almost spills her drink. “I love that podcast.”
Jay rolls his eyes. “Yeah, she listens to it nonstop…”
“It’s so funny. I swear. She portrays my idiot brother perfectly. How is it that you got an interview spot this quick? She wanted to do a baseball feature since it’s not hockey season yet.”
“Well…” I look at Jenna. It’sherstupid friend. She should explain. We almost had our first fight when I asked her about the podcast. I had to process how close she is with that chatty gossip host.
“Isla is my best friend… so she will do everything to help us.”
Rosie’s eyes almost bulge out. “Oh my God, that’s so cool. I can’t wait to listen to it.”
“Yeah. Me neither…” I say.
“Isla really isn’t a bad person. She’s helped players dodge bad press and stuff. She’s funny and that’s the thing she prioritizes in her podcast.”
“Totally,” Liora says.
“You’ll love her,” Rosie tells me. “She’s the funniest person there is.”
When she says she’ll love me, Jenna tenses up, and it’s just like she feels a little… possessive. But that’s my silly brain making things up.
“Interviews are easy. But making all of this believable in front of the judge is the hard part,” I add.
“Love usually is hard,” Riley says, then looks straight at me with a grin I don’t trust. What is the fucker planning? “But you’ve never brought anyone to a team thing before, Colton. How does it feel?”
I grunt. “Wonderful.”
Rosie giggles. “The way you look at her says otherwise. Maybe this is about as fake asyourrelationship.” She wiggles her eyebrows at her brother.
