Page 26

Grey is staring at me intensely right now, and my heart is flying around my ribcage because of his gray eyes. He has no idea that he’s Greyson fucking Cress, every girl’s wet dream on campus. And I’m really so not his type. I thought he wasn’t my type, but right now, that idea is very wrong. I am ridiculously attracted to this man, and the way he’s acting right now has my breath hitched.

“Before I answer you,” I whisper, now looking down at his t-shirt. “Tell me why you didn’t mention that Matt is your stepbrother?”

His face almost falters, but he’s strong enough to keep his shield up. “I thought you knew. I figured Matt told you. Why do you think he hates me so much?”

Okay. I give him that one. I can’t be mad if he thought I knew about it beforehand. After all, Matt was my boyfriend for a few months before I even talked to Grey. I ask, “Well, do you go around and poke and prod everything that Matt likes?”

Grey smiles, keeping his body close to mine. “You’re a smart girl, Maddie. You tell me if you think I’m that kind of person.”

Person . I love that he said that. Any person would be spiteful. But Grey? I’m not so sure. Wouldn’t he have fucked me by now? Maybe kissed me a thousand times in front of Matt? Maybe there was a point when he was spiteful, but the guy standing before me doesn’t seem that way. As for Matt? He is spiteful, for sure.

I shrug. “You kept that very big detail a secret from me, so what else are you hiding?”

“I didn’t know it was a secret. I swear I thought you knew.”

I nod. “Uh-huh.”

He smiles at my sarcasm. “And I laid it on the table for you, Maddie. My only secret is that I want you. And not just some of you. Not just a fake relationship. Not just a random hookup.”

I lift a brow at him. “Really?” I like the sound of this. “What is it that you want exactly?”

He hides his lips, thinking for a moment. “Drive home with me and I’ll show you.”

I laugh. “Right now?”

“Whenever you’re ready. There’s no rush.” His eyes are screaming otherwise.

“You’re not at all concerned that maybe I’m upset and I need time?”

He smiles, trapping me against the wall between his muscular arms. “Don’t play with me, bunny. It’s not going to end well for you. I just told you the only secret that I’ve been keeping. It took me a while to admit that to myself. And now I’m telling you the truth. You ghosted me, and I’m not upset with you because of it. I want to be upfront with you.”

I stare into his eyes, and in the heat of this moment, I don’t think I can stop myself from kissing him. “Grey,” I moan. “I have something I need to tell you.”

His face hardens like he’s preparing himself for something bad. “What is it?” His jaw clenches.

I offer a smile to lighten his mood. “I think I got scared when you asked me if I liked you. I thought you were making fun of me.”

He shakes his head. “If you said yes that night on the ice rink, I would have taken you right then and there.”

“I don’t casually hook up,” I confess. “And I was worried I would get too clingy or too attached.”

“Bunny,” he grabs my face, forcing me to look into his eyes. “Maddie, I don’t think I’ll ever get sick of you. Cling to me all you want, get too attached. There’s nothing I want more than you. Not just sex. Not just a roommate. Not just friends.”

My bones are rattling under him as I bite my lip. “I’m so happy to hear you say that right now, except I’m not because we’re at my brother’s party and we’ve already been in this room for too long.”

He smiles. “So, you accept?”

I bite my lip hard, smirking. I nod. “Yeah, but what does that make us?”

His eyes linger on my mouth.

“Friends with benefits?” I ask.

He laughs, uncaging me. He grabs my hand and says, “Is that what you want?”

I take a step to walk away, jokingly. He grabs my waist and the butterflies in my stomach take a nosedive. When he leans in, I pull back and place my arms on his shoulders.

“Not here… in this room. I won’t be able to step foot in here again without thinking of you.”

He’s so close that I can feel his breath on my skin. “What’s wrong with that?” he asks.

“Nothing,” I whisper, and then I hear a loud noise in the living room. The roar is definitely my father. I tilt my head at Grey and ask, “Are you ready to meet my dad? He’s here.” I have a big smile on my face because I haven’t seen my dad in a few weeks. I open the bedroom door as Grey hesitates. I give him a moment to collect himself as I run down the hallway.

“Dad!” I shout with my arms wide open, feeling a bit too excited to see him. The truth is that I’m giddy from the talk with Greyson, but I’ll let the crowd think that I’m just excited to see my dad. To my luck, my dad reciprocates the enthusiasm. His arms are wide open for me.

“Madlibs,” my dad calls out as I smash him with a hug. “What did you do to your hair?”

I squeeze his shoulder as he stares at me. “I wanted to see what I looked like as a brunette.”

He smiles. “You look just like your mom.”

I smile, taking that as a huge compliment. My mom’s a bombshell. “Thanks.”

“Did you switch your science partner and get a better grade?”

I chuckle. “Dad, that was like a month ago. But yes, remember I told you I did. Solid A.”

“Just double checking.” He smiles.

Sydney walks up from behind me. “Hi, Mr. Wilder. How are you?”

“Hey, Sydney,” he smiles. “I am good. How are things at the house? Hopefully Crew is putting the toilet seat down?” He shoots a look at Crew. Crew points at him with a smile while nodding.

I smile at Crew as he walks over. “What’s this about, Coach?”

My dad brings him into a hug, smacking his back. “Just making sure you’re taking care of the girls.”

Crew glances at us and then looks back at my dad. “Maddie sometimes skips out on brushing her teeth at night.”

I hit his shoulder as my dad laughs. I scoff. “Crew, I’m going to pour mustard on your toothbrush if you continue to spread rumors.”

Crew chuckles, blocking my hit. “I’m just kidding. They behave. How are things with you? Keeping the team in top shape, huh?” Crew looks around at the party.

My dad nods. “It’s good to see everyone come together as a family.”

I notice Grey walk next to me, so I interrupt. “Hey, dad. I want you to meet Grey.”

“Greyson Cress,” Grey says, shaking my dad’s hand. He looks nervous, and I find that endearing.

My dad looks at Grey and says, “You’re the center for the Honey Badgers. I’ve seen you play, son.”

Crew laughs, pointing at Grey. “This guy? He’s the reason we win.”

I am beaming at the approval of my dad and Crew right now. Grey has no idea how to take a compliment, so I grab his arm.

“He is a good team player, but I do think that he could slow down on those turns.”

Crew says, “Hey, he’s fast.”

I smirk, wanting to mention that I’m faster. But I don’t because I don’t want to steal the spotlight.

Crew continues, “So, let him be fast. Let him do his thing.”

An awkward silence falls between our group.

“Are we still talking about hockey?” my dad asks. And I’m glad he does because that’s exactly what I was thinking. It had everything to do with Crew’s tone of voice and body language. Leave it to my dad to speak the truth. My dad glances at my proximity to Grey and then glances around the party and says, “Is that Baddie Addie?”

I hear her from behind me as my dad walks away.

I turn to Grey and ask, “Are you hungry?”

He nods as I lead him to the kitchen.

“See, not so bad, right?” I ask as I grab two plates.

“Not at all,” he mutters, taking the plate from me. He passes me a fork, and I smile.

Grey and I make our plate of food, and then my dad trails behind us. We sit together outside at the table.

“Is mom working night shift?” I ask my dad after we’ve taken a few bites.

My dad nods. “Yeah, she says to tell you she loves you. And she wants to meet you halfway for lunch soon.”

I nod. “Yeah, will you come too?”

“Only if you two schedule something that fits with my schedule, but it’s hard with you being so far.”

I nod. “It’s no problem. I’m glad to see you right now. This is nice.” I turn to Grey and say, “My dad wasn’t invited to these things until now because now Ryan is a mature adult that can throw an appropriate party.”

Ryan pretends to headlock me from behind. It catches me off guard because I didn’t know he was there. “What’re you saying now, little sis?”

“Telling dad how this party is dad-appropriate because you’ve matured into an adult this year.”

Ryan laughs, pulling me into a deeper headlock. I tap on his forearm because Jesus, we are not teenagers anymore, and I’m trying to eat dinner, not choke on it. He sits next to me and sparks up a conversation, including Greyson in it, which I appreciate. Grey is a lot more of an introvert than I realized. My dad is easy going, but maybe I think that because he’s my dad and I’m used to his personality. I observe him for a moment. Yeah, never mind, he’s pretty scary. And he’s an NHL coach, so Grey is probably shaking in his boots.

When Grey grabs my empty plate and asks if he can throw it away, my dad watches him carefully as I thank him. As soon as Grey is out of earshot, my dad says, “I need to talk to you alone.”

Ryan gives me a knowing look and then my dad asks me to follow him. My dad summoning me into Ryan’s bedroom is understandable. He probably has questions, and this isn’t out of character. My dad is a need-to-know type of person.

My dad shuts the door behind him and says, “When were you going to tell me that you’re not with Matt anymore?”

I think I feel the skin burning off my face. Matt was the first boyfriend I’ve ever introduced to my dad, and he easily approved of him. Right now, I’m scared that he hates Greyson and I’m going to be lectured into dumping him. I’m looking around the room because I’m embarrassed. I take note that Addison’s shirt is in here. How weird. I turn back to my dad, still flustered by the confrontation.

“Sorry,” I mutter as my pulse quickens. “The breakup was abrupt and a misunderstanding.”

“Misunderstanding?” he questions. I glance at Addison’s shirt again, wondering why the hell it’s in my brother’s bedroom. There’s only one reason, but I can’t think about that right now.

I nod. “Yes,” I trail off, wondering what I should tell him. Maybe the truth is fine. “I thought he cheated on me, and then it turns out the rumor was something from before we got together. But when I learned that, I already moved on.” My cheeks are red again, maybe even magically sunburned because they are burning. Shit. I start stuttering now. “Not that I move on from guy to guy that quick, dad. You know I’m not like that. It was more of a convenience thing.”

He stops me with his hand in the air. He knows I’ll ramble on and won’t shut up if he doesn’t stop me now. “With that other boy on the team?”

I nod frantically.

He continues, “Matt’s stepbrother?”

I shut my mouth and gulp. Am I the only one that didn’t know? How the hell does he know this information?

My dad nods like he can read my mind. “Maddie, you need to be careful.”

I roll my eyes by accident.

My dad gets a hint of frustration in his voice and shakes his finger in the air. “Madison.”

“Dad,” I murmur. “It’s not what you think. I didn’t know that they were stepbrothers before tonight. All I knew was that Matt hated Greyson, so I asked Greyson to fake date me to keep Matt away. Grey is an amazing forward. Have you seen him on the ice?”

My dad nods. “I have and I’ve seen his demeanor. He’s shut off, not someone I pictured for my little girl, but if it’s fake to keep the cheater away, then I understand.”

I exhale, grabbing my chest. “Thank god.”

My dad laughs. “You’re not in trouble, Madlibs. Relax.”

I fake laugh nervously. “Come on, dad. You have always been strict about dating.”

He says, “I don’t think that boy knows you’re fake dating. I think he likes you, Maddie. That’s why I’m saying be careful.”

“You think he’s bad for me?” I ask, absentminded.

He takes a moment to think.

I blurt, “He’s going pro.”

My dad laughs.

“That’s a secret,” I backtrack. “You can’t tell anyone.”

“I know,” he nods. “For the Saints, right?”

I exhale. “You know? Of course, you do, Coach.”

He nods. “Yeah, I know. But remember that being a good athlete doesn’t mean he’s good with relationships.”

“Oh come on, dad. You were an athlete and look at you. Happily married. Kids out of the house and still with mom.”

He smiles, proud of his life and family. “I almost screwed things up with your mom, and none of this would be here.”

I gasp. “No, you wouldn’t dare ruin things with young Jenny.”

He laughs.

“Oh, I’m calling mom to learn about this story. The team is going to give Greyson grief if we don’t leave this room. They probably think you’re in here lecturing me.”

He opens the bedroom door. “Go on to your fake boyfriend then.”

I nod, cringing on the inside because I don’t know if it’s still fake. I force a grin as I walk past him. When I exit the hallway, I see Grey talking to a few guys alongside Ryan. So, I make my way to Sydney. She’s hanging out with a few of the older kids and asking them questions about their life.

“You are always with the children,” I tease Sydney as I sit next to her.

“Yeah,” she turns to me. “While eavesdropping on the adults. They think your dad doesn’t approve of Grey.”

I laugh, staring at the ground. I figured that would become a topic. “I told my dad the truth, so he told me to go on to my fake boyfriend .”

She laughs, so I do too.

“You have no idea how awkward that made me feel.” I lean down and whisper, “Because I don’t think it’s fake anymore.”

She gasps, feeling giddy with me. “What!” she whispers. “I want to know everything.”

I smile. “I’ve had enough long talks in the bedrooms tonight. I need a break.”

She laughs as she checks the time. “What time are we heading back? It’s a three-hour drive, so we have a way to go.”

I nod. “Do you think you and Crew can take my car?”

Her mouth opens in surprise and then she collects herself. “You’re leaving me alone with him too much. It’s starting to get awkward.”

I chuckle. “Maybe you just need a little push past that stage and hook up with him.”

She doesn’t seem disgusted, so that’s a plus. “No way,” she scoffs. “Don’t say things like that, I’m just going to feel even more awkward.”

“Just putting it out there,” I joke. “But yeah, we should leave soon.”

“Okay. I’ll make Crew drive, so I can sleep.”

“Perfect way to get out of the awkwardness.” I laugh.