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CHAPTER ELEVEN

arden

I try not to, but I can’t help it. I keep searching for him in the crowd.

I know where he is, inexplicably, no matter where I move in this bar.

I’ll use the excuse that he and his team typically stick to the booths at the back, in the dark and out of sight.

It’s like their own personal VIP section.

It’s not surprising they are where they are, because that’s where they’ve always been.

What is surprising is that I can’t stop looking.

He hasn’t seen me yet. I’m positive if he had, he would have come over.

Don’t ask me why, it just seems like the kind of thing Carter Forkerro would do.

In his mind, I’m fairly certain he thinks we’re practically friends now.

He’s charming and ridiculously sweet until he’s not. He’s like a Sour Patch Kid.

Declan is there too, sitting next to a blonde girl in one of the booths.

She’s very pretty. She’s been here with him more than a few times.

I’m assuming she’s his girlfriend. I wonder if she’s the woman he broke his phone over.

If so, I get it. She’s gorgeous, but not in the way where she looks like every other girl in this bar. There is just something about her .

Annoyingly, Carter looks mouth-watering tonight.

For a moment, his taunt about being a teensy bit intrigued has validity.

He’s in a black, knit shirt with an open collar and black dress pants.

Gold watch on his arm, simple gold chain on his neck, and a black belt with a gold buckle on his waist. Laid back and luxurious.

That’s how I’d describe him. Doesn’t look like he’s trying too hard, but looks better than every man in this bar with little effort on his part.

I’ve seen the headlines about him. After he tried to drag me into this mess, it was hard not to keep snooping.

Much of the online world does not believe he has a girlfriend, or that if he does, they don’t believe she is the reason he threw that punch.

That’s the downfall of your reputation preceding you, I guess.

A girl is definitely the reason that he threw that punch. Me. I’m just not his girlfriend. So, the online sleuths are half right.

The kid pressed charges. Saw that, too. Carter is probably going to have a court date and everything, all because he tried to help me get a stupid boy off my case.

There’s a bit of nagging guilt in the back of my mind, I won’t lie.

I justify it by remembering he chose to throw that punch and he can afford the charges.

I won’t let myself think about the other consequences that defending me may have caused him. I’ve been seeing the rumours online. Reading the whispers. A trade or a hiatus floats in between the lines.

Again, because of me.

I’m checking on what he’s doing again. I glance over my shoulder, lips on the rim of my glass, when I see it.

When I see them. A group of guys, phones casually pointed toward the hockey players’ table.

You’d think it was just a fan snapping a quick photo, but I can see their screen.

This isn’t a club. The lights are low in here, but they’re on, and that young man didn’t dim his screen in the slightest .

He’s zooming in on Carter, who is leaning against one of the booths. There is a girl with long, black hair talking to him and a cute little brunette beside her. They’re looking up at him with big smiles and love-sick eyes because, yeah, Carter garners that reaction from women.

The boys snap a picture, huddle around the phone, and when one of the women leans closer so that Carter can hear them, they snap another. A different woman in the frame this time. This has the potential to become a smear campaign.

I don’t want to believe these twenty-one-year-old boys are on a mission to destroy Carter Forkerro’s career, but I have trouble seeing the good in people.

Don’t do it.

Arden, please don’t do it.

I sigh, pushing myself from the table. “I’ll be right back.”

Whitney blinks up at me, confused. Her eyes quickly avert to where Carter stands at the back of the bar. She breaks into a wicked smile. “You’re kidding. Are you his girlfriend now?”

I shoot her a look, chugging the rest of my glass of red wine. “He saved me. I’m saving him. I’m putting us on an equal playing field.”

Whitney’s smile is taking up her whole face. Autumn is hiding her own grin behind her hand. I’m sure this looks like I’m jealous and about to stake a claim on the man who busted up someone’s face to protect me. That’s not what this is.

I whirl around in my faux leather pants and push my shoulders back. I storm right past the fanboys with their phones. I take a quick look at them. Young. Honestly, I’d be surprised if they didn’t use fake IDs to get in here. They are babies.

Now, I have a bit of sympathy. I’ll stop Carter from swinging on them if he gets all wound up again. They’re just kids .

I try to swallow my discomfort when I approach the booths full of men at the back of the bar. I don’t like groups of men on a good day, but these are notorious men. World famous. Champions. Untouchable in this city. That makes them a bit more intimidating.

Carter is still talking to the two women when I reach him. His back is to me, so he’s clueless to my approach, but I meet Declan’s eyes just before I make it to my target. Declan’s face falls a bit, brow furrowing, and I can only imagine what’s going through his head seeing my face again.

He calls Carter’s name once. Just once. But even over the noise of the bar, Carter’s head snaps in his direction.

I slide in front of him before Declan can warn him.

His pretty blue eyes drop to me. Surprise washes over that flawless face.

I force a tight smile, though it probably looks more pained and awkward than it does natural. His lips fall into a surprised frown, but before he can say anything to break this ruse, I reach up and wind my hand around the nape of his neck. His shock morphs into utter confusion.

I angle my head, blinking up innocently at him. “Hi.”

He stares at me, opens his mouth to say something, but we don’t have time for that.

I use my leverage on his neck to pull him to my height.

I press my mouth to his before he can speak, hating how soft his lips are, hating the way the instant touch of his fingers on my waist heats the entirety of my body.

God, I need to get laid.

Carter pulls me closer to him by my middle, his fingers digging in deeper, his mouth moving a bit harder against mine. Before all the logic in my brain goes right out the window, I pull away.

I stay in his arms, though. We have to sell the bit. I guess we are doing this for the plot now .

“Red,” he grumbles, scanning my face like he’s testing if I have a head injury. “You taste like cherries.”

I smile, winding my other hand around his neck. I pull myself right against his chest. He leans down on instinct, hand gliding to the small of my back, and turns his head so my lips can meet his ear like he’s done this ruse with a million other girls.

“There are some guys taking pictures of you with these women.”

His head snaps toward the bar, but I squeeze his neck, pulling his attention back to me.

“I owe you one, so I’m going to act like I’m your girlfriend, just like you begged me to. We can leave here together and shut everyone up, and hopefully, they get a few pictures of it. Sound good?”

He dips his chin in understanding, surprisingly obedient.

“But first, I have to turn around and pretend to know these girls. Who are they?”

“Nina and her friend. I slept with her a few weeks ago.”

Great. So, I’ll have to deal with a potentially jealous woman. There is a chance this goes very, very wrong and has the opposite effect than I desire. If there’s a catfight and these kids capture it, who knows how that story will go?

I shoot him a look, but he only smiles sheepishly, shrugging a shoulder. As I pull away, he brings his drink back to his mouth. I can smell the Jager in that cup. What a sadistic individual. Who chooses to drink Jager?

I spin on my heel, turning to face the girls. To my surprise, neither of them is sporting a dirty look on their faces. No, they just look curious. Perfect. We aren’t dealing with mean girls.

“Hi, I’m Arden,” I say, reaching forward to hug the one with the shiny, black hair. She hugs me back, albeit a bit hesitantly. “I’m Carter’s girlfriend. Nice to meet you. ”

Nina goes rigid. “Girlfriend?”

I nod, reaching over to hug her friend, who suddenly looks like a deer in headlights. That’s the look of a woman who knows far too much about where someone’s boyfriend has been recently.

I wave them off. “Don’t worry. No overlap.”

Carter chokes on his drink behind me. I glance down into the booth, where Declan and the girl beside him are watching with big, amused smiles. I flash them both a weary one in return. Declan’s girlfriend angles her head, eyes sparking with intrigue.

“Nice to meet you,” the brunette says.

“I’m going to get this lady home.” Carter steps forward to wrap his arms around my shoulders from behind.

He presses his mouth to my head, and I ignore the urge to jab my elbow into his ribs.

He’s overdoing this. He drapes his jacket over my shoulders and glances down into the booth. “I’ll see you guys tomorrow.”

Declan lets out a chuckle. “I bet.”

His girlfriend shoves him in the arm while the rest of the table gawks at me.

“Can we stop by my table? I have to grab my things.”

“Of course, Bub . Anything you want.”

It’s Declan’s turn to cough out his drink then. The big guy beside him with the long, dark hair is staring at Carter with his brow furrowed, like he’s not sure if this is real or if someone slipped something in his drink that’s causing him to hallucinate.

Bub .

He’s mocking me.

That’s what I get for saving his stupid ass.