Page 11

Chapter 11

Piper

W hat had he been thinking? Pretending to be my boyfriend? I’d been so surprised by his statement, I hadn’t had a chance to deny it. But then Jordan had insulted Zeke, and I couldn’t let that slide. Zeke was twice the player Jordan was, and from the little bit I did know about him, a better person too. I was not proud of how blind I had been to who Jordan really was.

He shrugged. “I don’t know.” Whether his look of surprise was from my outrage or how he had gotten us into a fake relationship, I wasn’t sure.

“What do you mean, you don’t know?” I asked, throwing my arms out to my sides. “Why did you tell him you’re my boyfriend?”

“I was trying to help you.” He mirrored me, throwing up his arms as well, like I was the exasperating one.

“Help me? I didn’t need your help.” Jordan was annoying but nothing I couldn’t handle. “Especially if that help is you being my fake boyfriend.”

I couldn’t even believe that sentence had just come out of my mouth. Never in a million years would I have thought I would be talking to Zeke Lawson about being my boyfriend, even a fake one.

“It’s not like it was premeditated,” he said, running a hand through his hair, something I noticed he did often. “I saw that punk badgering you, and I wanted to put an end to it, so I did. I didn’t necessarily think it all the way through.”

“You think?” I shook my head, closing my eyes. What was I going to do if word got around that Zeke and I were dating? Would my job be at risk? Would the other players treat me differently?

I had tried so hard, since I got the job with the Wolves, to remain as professional as possible with the athletes. I didn’t want a repeat of what had happened with Jordan. I didn’t even want anything that could be misconstrued as something going on between me and a player. Now, here I was in a pretend relationship with one.

Although if I had to be in a fake relationship with someone, Zeke was a great choice. But that was beside the point.

“Maybe we can pretend this whole thing didn’t happen,” I suggested, desperate to fix the situation. “It was just the three of us in here, so no one else is the wiser.”

He nodded. “True. And it’s not like we’ll be seeing Jordan again soon.”

My shoulders relaxed a little. Everything was going to be fine. It didn’t seem like Zeke and I were actually going to have to fake being a couple.

I let out a huge breath in relief. “Crisis averted.”

“Hey, stranger,” a voice called from the doorway. I turned to see my old coworker and friend, Seth. He had taken my job when I’d left.

“Seth,” I called out excitedly, meeting him halfway and giving him a hug. “How are you?”

“Doing great, now that I have your job,” he teased.

I stepped back, pushing him playfully with a laugh. “Glad I could help you out.”

“You’re going to come out with us tonight, right?” he asked. “It will be just like the old days, going out together after the game.”

The sound of a throat clearing pulled me from my conversation.

Zeke scowled at Seth.

My dumb heart fluttered at the thought that Zeke might not like how friendly I was being with Seth. But there was nothing between Seth and me. Even if he weren’t in a long-term, committed relationship, he and I still would have been friends only.

“Zeke, this is my friend, Seth.” I gestured at Seth. “And Seth, this is Zeke Lawson.”

“Oh, I know who he is,” Seth said.

Zeke took a step forward, holding out his hand, although his scowl wasn’t completely gone. “Nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you too.” Seth took his outstretched hand. “Wow. That’s quite the grip.”

I bit my lip, holding back a smile.

“Well, I’m going to head out,” I told Zeke, hoping he’d release Seth’s hand. “I’ll see you back in Saint Paul tomorrow.”

He dropped Seth’s hand, turning his focus back to me. “I don’t want you leaving alone,” he said, ignoring Seth, who was gawking at the two of us.

“I’m leaving with Seth, so no need to worry. I’ll be safe.”

He sized up Seth, who was almost a head shorter than him, as if he wasn’t sure I would really be safe with him. “And you’re going out to some bar?”

I willed myself not to roll my eyes at how ridiculous he was being. He wasn’t my keeper.

“Yes, if you must know,” I said exasperated. “Now go.” I gently pushed him toward the door, but he didn’t budge, his weight and size no match for me.

He continued to stand there for a few more seconds before nodding his head. “Fine. Just be careful.”

Seth and I watched in silence as Zeke left the room.

As soon as Zeke was out of earshot, Seth turned his attention to me, his brows raised and his eyes wide. “Would you like to tell me what that was all about?”

I waved him off. “There is nothing to tell.”

I turned away from him so he couldn’t see my face and see that I was lying. I shoved my tape and bands into my duffle bag, keeping my attention on packing up.

The silence was almost worse than him calling me out.

Finally, I zipped up my bag and looked at Seth, whose arms were folded across his chest.

“What?” I asked as innocently as I could.

“Besides you being a horrible liar?” he said with a pointed look. “I saw with my own eyes the way he looked at you. And if that wasn’t enough to tell me something was up, his death glare and crushing handshake would have told me everything I needed to know.”

“You and I can disagree on the way he looks at me,” I said. “But I’m serious, there is nothing going on between us. I just work with him a lot, trying to help with his previous injuries and limit new injuries occurring. We have a strictly platonic work relationship.”

Seth laughed and not just a little laugh but a loud laugh that filled the room and was probably floating down the hallway.

I crossed my arms and waited for him to finish.

“You actually believe that,” he said, still catching his breath. “If that’s what you want to tell yourself, I can try to go along with that story.”

I pushed him toward the door. “Let’s just go.”

He kept chuckling, but I ignored him.

Okay, fine. Maybe there was a little something between Zeke and me, but that didn’t mean anything was going to happen between us. I’d been doing my best to keep my distance from him, to keep things professional. I guessed I needed to try harder. Although Zeke didn’t exactly make it easy for me—the flirty comments, the cocky smile, the heated stares. Those might have been easy for me to ignore, but when you added the vulnerable moments when he’d share things with me, the way my body reacted to the smallest of touches, and how he seemed to effortlessly put a smile on my face, and it was difficult to remember why I wanted to put space between us.

But I didn’t tell any of that to Seth while we drove to Chatters Bar. Instead, we caught up on his life and how happy he was in both his job and his relationship. I was happy for Seth. Really. The ache in my chest had nothing to do with jealousy and everything to do with longing. I hurried to squash that feeling. I liked my job too. And I had Quinn. That was as good as if not better than what Seth had. I’d always wanted to work for the Wolves, and it really was a dream come true. And Quinn was the perfect companion, one who would never break my heart.

Seth opened the bar door for me, and as I stepped inside the scent of whiskey and something faintly smoky lingered in the air. Dim, golden lighting cast soft shadows across the exposed brick walls, where framed hockey jerseys and black-and-white photos of past games hung in tribute to the sport. The long wooden bar gleamed under the glow of hanging bulbs, rows of liquor bottles reflecting amber hues. Memories of hanging out here with Seth and the team flooded my mind, bringing back the fun times we’d had here after the home games.

Wait . The team. How could I have forgotten? The Blue Jays always came here after a game. I knew this. I’d come here many times with them.

As I walked to one of the empty round hightop tables, I recognized several faces.

The greetings all seemed to come at once. “Hey, Piper.” “Long time no see, Piper,” “Yo, Piper!”

I said hello to everyone and genuinely enjoyed seeing them after so long. But there was a particular defenseman I hoped by some miracle had decided not to come tonight.

When Seth and I finally reached the table, I breathed a sigh of relief. Maybe Jordan had been too sad or upset to come hang out with the guys tonight.

Thankfully, we’d stopped by the hotel so I could change into black jeans, a white top, and a short leather jacket to fend off the chill of the autumn night, saving me from standing out in my scrubs. I hadn’t had time to style my hair, but my usual high ponytail complemented the jacket, so I was happy with my look.

“Pipes,” a voice behind me said. That voice used to make me smile, but now it made me cringe. And his stupid nickname for me wasn’t helping.

I glanced over my shoulder, giving him a quick nod. “Jordan.” I turned back around, hoping he’d get the hint and walk away.

“Where’s your boyfriend?” he goaded, his tone clearly stating that he didn’t believe Zeke and I were a couple at all.

“Hanging out with the team,” I said, not even turning around.

He came to stand next to me. “Interesting that you wouldn’t go with him. That you chose to come out to a place where you knew I would be.”

I glared at him. “I didn’t come here to see you. I came to catch up with Seth and hang out like we used to.”

“Oh, c’mon, Pipes.” He nudged my arm. “We both know you just wanted an excuse to see me, to play it off as a coincidence. You like seeing me grovel to get you back.”

How was he so delusional? Did he really think, in some twisted way, that I was hoping he’d take the bait and sweep me off my feet?

I turned to face him, looking at him with what I hoped was disgust. “I don’t know how else to say this,” I said slowly as if possibly slowing down my words would make him understand. “I. Do. Not. Want. To. Get. Back. Together. With. You.” How much clearer could I get? “Please leave me alone.”

“Why are you playing so hard to get?” he asked. “I’m better than Lawson . He doesn’t even know how to be in a relationship. Or play good hockey anymore.”

His words lit a fire in me. I would not let him talk bad about Zeke. “Zeke is twice the man you’ll ever be. And he’s twice the player you are,” I yelled. “You’re just jealous that not only do I want him, but you know you’ll never be as good as him on the ice.”

Anger, frustration, and adrenaline swirled inside me, and if Jordan wasn’t careful, there was a good chance I was going to use force to make him leave me alone.

His eyes held anger too, but his only fueled mine.

The door to the bar banged open, slamming against the wall. We all turned to see who had arrived, and my heart leapt at the sight. Holden and Ryder walked in, with a tall, dark, curly-haired man entering behind them.

Zeke .

My body was moving across the room toward him before I had a chance to think about what I was doing.

His eyes immediately found mine before glancing behind me and landing on Jordan. His features hardened, and then he was looking back at me. He must have seen something on my face that told him I needed him, because his long strides were quickly closing the space between us.

I’d been caught up in my emotions earlier, but now I felt an onslaught of emotions pouring over me, each one hitting stronger than the last—relief, want, safety, need, desire. My veins were pumping with so many different feelings that I thought I might burst.

Zeke didn’t seem surprised when I threw my arms around him, pulling myself close while he simultaneously picked me up, my feet now a few inches off the ground.

And then our lips met, pressing together in the most hypnotizing way, and I lost myself in him.