Page 71 of Put a Rink on It

My heart pounds, and I nearly fall out of the seat at his confession until his wink has the truth slamming into me.

Of course, he’s going to put on a show for his teammates who think we’re engaged. It would be weird if our relationship seemed strained or unromantic.

It takes several minutes for my heart rate to return to normal. I can’t let him or his actions affect me this strongly. It will either blow our cover or, worse, I’ll fall deeper for the man with whom I’m sharing a bed.

Which will only lead to unnecessary complications. Our relationship works because there aren’t feelings between us.

And I’ll do my best to keep it that way, no matter how much pressure he puts on me.

“You’re Marina, Nero’s fiancée, right?”

I look to my left at a woman about my age standing in the row in front of me. Her long blond hair is in a tight ponytail, without a hair out of place. She wears jeans and a Nautilus jersey, 19.

“Yep. Marina Keeley, nice to meet you.” I hold out my hand, and she fits hers against my palm.

“I’m Lucie Mignone, Shane’s wife. It’s so good to meet you. Welcome to the Hartford WAGs. How’s it all going?” She sits down in a seat, training her torso in my direction.

I don’t know how much she knows about Nero’s and my relationship or if she’s inquiring more about the trade to Hartford. I go with, “It’s going.”

“How’s Nero settling in so far?”

“He’s adjusting well, but he’s always had a knack for going with the flow.”

“He seems like that kind of guy from what I’ve seen and heard from my husband. And what about you? How’s the move to the Nautilus?”

“It’s been quite eye-opening in a lot of ways. Didn’t see it coming.” I don’t want to get myself into a pickle of saying too much or having to remember what I told her later so our stories match. And I really have no clue what Nero’s told his teammates.

“I bet Connecticut is a change from Minnesota.”

“Oh, I’m from Vermont.”

Her expression lightens. “No kidding. Where? I’m from Middlebury.”

“Havenwood.”

Our conversation turns to growing up in Vermont, something I don’t need to lie about even a little. We chat so long, the practice finishes.

Lucie stands up. “It was great to meet you. Even though Vermont isn’t far, I don’t get home too often. It was nice reminiscing. I’ll add you to the WAGs text thread if you give me your number.”

I don’t even hesitate to rattle off my number. I’ve never had a core group of girlfriends. Not growing up, not in college, not even at my job. I have some friends I hang out with once in a blue moon, but Juliet stood in for the role of “best” friend for so many years. Still owns it, if I’m honest. It will be nice to have other women to be friendly with, especially those who understand the new lifestyle I’m embarking on.

“Great. And you’ll meet others at the game tonight. We’re a good group. Not too catty like some of the horror stories I’ve heard. How were the Minnesota ones?”

I’m sure I look like a deer in headlights at her question.

Scrambling, I mumble, “I didn’t get to games much. We’ve done a lot of long-distance. For my job.” I internally berate myself for the last part, but once it’s out there, I won’t take it back. Another thing to add to the list of things to remember about our relationship so our stories are consistent.

“Ah, gotcha. Well, I hope we’ll see more of you here.”

“Same.” Because what else can I say? An alert sounds from my phone, and it gives me an excuse to say, “Gotta take this for work,” when I peek at it.

“Don’t let me keep you. I’ll see you tonight.”

I bury my head in my phone, catching her leaving from the corner of my eye.

Champ

I’m gonna shower and then head back to the hotel for a nap. *Wink emoji*