Page 17

ELLIETTE

T he next morning, I woke from the weirdest dream and immediately turned toward Daniel’s side of the bed. His pillow was smooth. And there were no sounds of anyone else in the apartment.

Stinging tears should have pricked my eyes, but they didn’t. A week ago, I’d imagined my imminent engagement, and now… It was like our whole relationship didn’t even matter.

Or maybe that was an overstatement. Daniel’s betrayal and his cutting words still hurt, and I did have to find a new apartment. And a car. But I didn’t miss him. I should have missed him and yet… I didn’t. Who I missed was…

I pushed that thought from my mind and got up. I showered, then wrapped a towel around my hair and walked into the bedroom naked—something I never would have done with Daniel there—and opened my dresser drawer.

At the sight of my neatly folded white cotton panties, I thought of the videos I’d watched and the woman in the red leather bustier who’d had her sink unclogged. So to speak .

I bet she didn’t have a drawer full of white cotton panties. Or maybe she did, like, for when she went to church. Or visited her grandmother.

I smiled to myself, wondering if Lukas would think that was funny. And then he was back—smack dab at the front of my brain, bringing with him the soft wave of his long dark hair, the intense pale blue of his eyes, and his words.

Nice words. Confusing ones too. Strange words that had festered in my subconscious all night and were now making me worry. On impulse, I grabbed my phone and called my brother.

He answered groggily. “It’s early, Tiny. What’s up?”

“Is Lukas sick?”

“I hope not.” His mattress creaked, suggesting he’d just rolled over. “Why?”

“He made some weird comments last night.”

“You were with Lukas last night?” Now, Evan’s tone sounded surprised, if not concerned.

“Uh…yeah,” I said, grabbing one of my cotton panties out of the drawer.

“What do you mean you were with him?”

“Seriously? Relax.” Evan knew as well as I did that someone like Lukas would never be with someone like me—at least not in any way that required big-brother intervention.

Girls who wore white cotton panties didn’t get on guys’ radars . Or if they did, I thought, thinking of Daniel, they didn’t stay on radar for long.

“I was interviewing Lukas for a feature.”

“Oh. Right.” Evan yawned loudly, apparently over his big-brother protectiveness. “What kind of weird comments?”

“Like, he won’t have a lot more opportunities to make amends. And that he might be going somewhere. He made it sound like time was running out. It made me wonder. Lukas doesn’t have…” I dropped my voice to a whisper. “ Cancer , does he?”

“No.” Evan chuckled as if my question was absurd, then he cut it off quickly and got serious. “I mean, not that I know of, but?—”

He stopped there and took an inordinate amount of time to finish his thought. So long, I had to eventually press the point. “But what , Evan?”

He exhaled. “It’s not my place to say.”

“Is this about him being tapped as his clan’s next alpha?”

There was a beat of silence on the other end of the line, then Evan asked, “Lukas told you about that?”

There was no small amount of incredulity in his question and, even though Evan wasn’t there to see it, I tipped my head back and forth in a gesture of uncertainty.

“He told me his dad was the current clan alpha, and that he was his dad’s successor.”

“Whoa.” Evan’s mattress creaked again, sounding like he was now sitting up and I had his full attention. “He doesn’t usually share shit like that.”

My alarm went off on my phone, telling me it was time to get online and make my first post about the Spriggans’ new incredibly intriguing forward, Lukas Bakken.

“What’s that noise?” Evan asked.

“Time for me to get to work. I’ve got to post on social.”

“About Lukas?” Evan asked.

“Yeah.”

“You’re not going to say anything about that alpha business, are you?”

I frowned at the phone. “Wasn’t planning on it. ”

“Good,” Evan said on an exhale. “Because that shit is not talked about outside Lukas’s family, and that means the Bakken clan, but it also means you and me.”

I didn’t understand why Evan was making such a big deal of it. “A whole lot of people outside of Lukas’s clan have to know who his father is. It wouldn’t take a genius to reason out that Lukas could be his heir.”

“That’s not the shit I’m talking about, Tiny, and you know it.”

Uh… Did I know it? My brother’s sudden intensity seemed grossly out of proportion to what I understood the alpha story to be.

My alarm went off again. “I gotta get to work, Ev.”

“Tiny, I’m serious.”

“I got it,” I said, emphasizing each word. “I won’t mention the alpha business.”

“Okay,” he said. “Have fun.”

I was about to hang up when I heard him say, “Oh, hey! Do you have plans tonight?”

“Not yet.”

Between Daniel’s break-up and my new job, I hadn’t exactly had time to reorganize my social calendar.

“Get your girls,” Evan said. “The team’s going to the Velveteen, and you should join us.”

The Velveteen was an upscale dance club in downtown Minneapolis. I’d gone with Daniel a few times, but never with my girls. The cover charge was steep. The place even had a dress code and a red velvet rope.

“I haven’t gotten my first paycheck yet.”

“Me and the guys will cover you,” Evan said. “Just tell the guy at the door you’re on the list.”

“I don’t know… ”

“No arguments. Not only do you deserve some fun, you should get to know the team better.”

He was right about that.

“If you need to buy a new dress, charge it to my card.”

“Evan, stop. You’re not paying for my clothes.” Sheesh! I had some pride, and I did have that LBD in my closet. Maybe it was time to finally rip off the tags.

“I don’t mind,” Evan said. “Go shopping.”

“No need. I’ve got something to wear. But has anyone ever told you you’re the best big brother ever?”

“Just you,” he said, laughing.

“Because you are.”

“Whatever,” he said. “Are we done now? Because I’m still wiped.”

“Almost. Since we’ve been on the topic and all…is Lukas going to be at the Velveteen?” I bit my lip, feeling stupid for asking, and even more stupid for caring.

“Haven’t heard. Maybe.”

“Uh-huh. And Rafe MacConall? What about him?” I was pretty sure Amy would be a lock if the Spriggans’ freight train of a team captain was going to be in attendance. Not that she’d be brave enough to talk to him.

“Yeah,” Evan said. “Why?”

“Just wondering. What time?”

“We’ll be rolling in around ten.”

“Got it. See you then, Ev. Go back to sleep.”

“Cool, Tiny. See you then.”

We hung up, and I got to work, editing the photos I’d taken of Lukas, while simultaneously texting Amy and Jen, as well as Parvati and Kiera, to see if they were free and to let them know some of the players were covering our entry.

Parvati, or “Pari” as we sometimes called her, had been my next-door neighbor growing up, and we’d remained friends. She was an investment banker now—something her Bengali parents took great pride in--but after work, she still preferred to hang out with me rather than a bunch of finance bros.

Kiera was a knock-out redhead who worked in retail, but was on her way to becoming a popular online fashion influencer.

We met at Connors’ Bakery where she came every Saturday for a chocolate croissant and to use one of the café tables as her mobile office.

We’d gotten to talking one morning, and now she was part of my crew.

If Amy, Jen, Parvati, and Kiera were all available, it would be a fun night.

I finished editing the best four photos of Lukas in the apron, cooking dinner, and pouring wine.

I had to admit, the apron was a great touch.

If he didn’t already look amazing, now he was the picture of irresistible domesticity.

If I intermixed the cooking photos with the action shots I took of him at the game, there’d be something for every type of fan.

I made a draft post using the first photo—one of Lukas holding out a glass of wine to me (though I wasn’t in the shot, I was taking it). The glass was close to the camera and out of focus. Lukas was crisp and sharp. His clear blue eyes were center frame.

Under the photo, I captioned it: It’s a date!

Under that I’d written: Dinner isn’t the only place Lukas Bakken serves up the spice. You should see what he can do with a “biscuit!”

Pleased with my hockey pun, I added: Don’t miss the Savage League’s season opener - October 8.

I sent the draft to Lukas for his approval. It wasn’t something I was going to make a habit out of doing, but he’d been skeptical about the apron. I wanted to prove to him that I wasn’t out to make him look foolish.

My phone pinged with a text from Amy:

Who from the team is going?

Can you say, “chugga-chugga-chugga-chugga-choo-CHOO?!?!”

There was a long delay—so much so, I thought Amy didn’t understand that my train reference implied Rafe MacConall. But she finally texted back:

I thought you said he had a girlfriend.

Rats. I forgot about the fae swimsuit model. Still, Amy deserved to have a little fun, and I could tell she was attracted to Rafe.

Who knows how serious they are? Come out tonight and let’s find out.

I’m not a home wrecker. After what Daniel did to you, I’m surprised you’d even suggest something like that.

My throat went tight as I typed out:

I’m not suggesting home wrecking. I’m suggesting investigating.

The truth is out there.

Someone’s gotta dig it up.

I’m in. What about Jen ?

My phone pinged with an incoming call. I expected it to be one of the other girls responding to my text, but it was Lukas.

A very dangerous tingle of excitement blew through me just from the sight of his name on my screen.

Before answering, I responded to Amy:

Haven’t heard yet, but she’s usually a go. Meet at my apartment at nine-thirty.

I got a thumbs-up emoji from Amy, then answered Lukas’s call. “Um. Hi.”

“Hi,” he said, then nothing more.

Several seconds passed, so I hazarded a guess. “Are you calling because you didn’t like the post?”