Page 125 of Rule 1: Never Accidentally Marry Your Teammate

Her eyes widen. “I like shopping. You’ve always seemed quite accomplished at shopping.”

“I’m a multi-talented man.”

“How did I raise such a sweet, dumb child?” She shakes her head. “So where are we going? Bergdoff’s?”

“I thought you might be able to recommend a place.”

“Oh? I’m not great with men’s things, honey.”

“I want to go to a jeweler.” Her eyes round, then she makes a pleased noise, and hugs me.

“He might not say yes,” I warn.

“But then, he might,” she whispers, and I nod, but I remember that I also didn’t expect him to leave. I need to fight for us and win.

CHAPTER FIFTY-FIVE

Noah

Seeking Mr. Rightblares on the TV, the upbeat theme song bouncing across the room for the umpteenth time.

Luke and I sit side by side on the couch, munching on popcorn as the handsome veterinarian compliments his way through a romantic dinner, his dining partner switching with each course.

Troy clears his throat from the doorway. “That’s enough. I can’t listen to that song again.”

Luke and I glide our gazes to him. Troy crosses his arms, and his face is twisted into an expression not dissimilar to a team which just suffered a massive loss.

“Dude, you missing your AirPods?” Genuine worry crisscrosses Luke’s face.

“Did it occur to you, Luke, that Noah might not want to spend his time watching a show calledSeeking Mr. Right?”

“Um...” Luke furrows his brow. “Really? I mean, it’s light and funny and they go on cool dates... Why wouldn’t Noah want to watch it?”

“Maybe because Noah thought he had found his Mr. Right, and um...” Troy does a hand gesture that probably signifies something horrible.

“Are you doing a magic show for us?” Luke asks.

Troy frowns and releases his fingers. “No. I just don’t think this show is appropriate.”

“It shows a perfect guy. It’s optimistic! And the dates are super cool.”

“It shows a handsome man with twenty women flinging themselves at him.”

Luke’s skin takes on a green hue, and I’m sure my pallor is worse. Finn can date all the people now.

Does Troy know something I don’t? Is Finn already dating again? Is that why he didn’t show up at the bar? I thought he wanted to give me privacy, but I’ve been wrong about Finn before.

My stomach churns, and suddenly there’s nothing funny about the beautiful blonde batting her lashes at Mr. Right.

Luke grabs the remote control and turns off the TV. We will never know if they included a cheese course to bring back the crying blonde. “You want to go to the arena?”

“Nah. We don’t get off days often. We’re living in one of the best cities in the world. Let’s sightsee. Take a walk.”

“I guess we could do that.” Luke scrunches his lips, then his eyes gleam, and his voice tempo quickens, “We can try to guess what dates they’ll have in the Christmas version ofSeeking Mr. Rightwhen it comes to Boston next month!”

“Uh, yes. I guess we can do that.” Troy’s look turns pained, the way we hope other teams look when they realize they have to play us. “Who is Mr. Right going to be?”

“It was supposed to be some hotshot doctor, but he dropped out. Apparently, he found love on his own.”