Page 38 of Holding Penalty

“I can’t believe you didn’t ask me to be your best man.”

My stomach drops. Shit.

“I can,” Vaughn grumbles. He’s the first one to drop his attention from me and get back to changing into his gear.

“So you know that …” I say tentatively.

“That you fucking got married over the weekend without telling any of us?” Adriano says. “Yeah, we know.”

“Was it the woman you were pictured with at the hotel?” Cooper asks. There’s an edge to his voice, like the answer better be yes, because he’ll want to clock me in the face if that whole incident were proof of me cheating.

“Yeah, it was,” I answer.

“Well, that’s good,” Noah says. “It would’ve sucked if we all helped you cover up evidence of an affair right before your wedding day.”

“It wasn’t that at all. It was just …” I search for an excuse, a reason why I’d get so worked up about that picture being out there even though it was supposedly the woman I was about to marry. “I knew she wouldn’t want herself on the front page of some trashy magazine for the whole city to see.”

“That’s fair. Not everyone gets off on having their exploits publicized like Adriano,” Noah says.

“What Adriano gets off on is the way Ines yells at him when some salacious story hits the headlines,” Hayden replies. “It’s a weird fetish to have, but I won’t judge.”

“I will,” Vaughn grumbles again.

“It’s not a fetish,” Adriano says.

“Whenever anyone has to utter those words, it’s not a good sign,” Noah counters.

Adriano flips him off. “I just think it’s funny seeing her get worked up. There’s zero attraction between us. At least not on my part. Personality-wise, she’s so not my type.”

Cooper hoots a laugh. “For your own sake, kid, I hope you end up believing that if you say it enough.”

I head to my cubby and start to change. “How’d you guys find out I was married anyway?”

“Someone posted pictures of you, a woman in a wedding dress, and a judge standing between you in a courthouse. It’s not huge news or anything, but it’s making the rounds on social media,” Cooper answers.

Huh. The courthouse was pretty dead, but I did notice one or two people wandering through during the “ceremony.” I didn’t think anyone snapped a picture, but maybe that happened during that spell when I looked into Piper’s eyes to say I Do and was completely oblivious to anything except the specks of gold in her green irises.

“Well, when are we meeting the woman who melted your icy heart, Nash?” Hayden asks.

I imagine showing Piper off as my wife in public, and pride beats in my chest. Something about presenting a woman as beautiful as her as mine, knowing everyone would be immediately smitten by her—as annoying as I found her in college, I noticed how easily she made friends and was the life of any party—has a satisfied feeling singing through me.

“I don’t know,” I deflect. “She’s busy a lot.”

“She didn’t want a real wedding?” Noah asks, incredulity in his voice. “And she was okay with you being dressed as a slob even while she was wearing a wedding dress?”

It’s occurring to me how the puzzle pieces of our “marriage” don’t fit together all too well. I just hope no one feels compelled to dig into it.

“I didn’t look like a slob,” I grouse. “And she was fine with it. She didn’t want some big thing.”

A sad feeling sinks into me, because I’m sure that’s not true. The chapel where she was supposed to be married was gorgeous. So was her dress. And her hair. And her makeup. And her everything else.

I have no doubt that Piper’s the kind of girl who wants to go all out for a real wedding. I just hope she gets one, someday. Even if the thought of my wife standing across from someone else on the altar gives me a stab of totally irrational jealousy.

When we get on the ice, I can’t remember the last time I had such a good practice session.

I’m deking past defenders like crazy. When Coach has us run drills to practice winning the puck in a behind-the-net situation, I come away with it every time. I even hold my own in face-off drills, even though that’s always been a weakness of mine. I win a couple against Cooper, who’s near the top of the league for face-offs.

“Fucking hell, Nash,” Noah says when we’re back in the locker room. “If getting married makes you play like that, maybe we all need to tie the knot.”