Page 5 of The Girlfriend Card (Vegas Sin #4)

“Uh-huh.” Brett rolled his eyes doubtfully. “And what’re you gonna do about girls? Because I don’t believe you can go an entire summer without hooking up.”

“I don’t have to—I’ll just limit myself to the aces in my bullpen, ya know?”

Murmurs and grumbles of doubt filled the air, but I assured everyone that it’d all be fine, that I had everything under control.

That’s when my cell phone started to ring.

“Speak of the devil. That’s probably one of my aces right now.”

I laughed as I fished my phone out of my pocket. But I stopped laughing when I saw the name on the screen.

I bolted upright. “ Shit. I gotta take this.” I ran inside Rust’s house, so Killer wouldn’t hear the party in the background, and answered.

“Hey, Killer. What’s up?”

“Listen, do you have plans tomorrow?” he asked curtly.

“Tomorrow? Nope. Just working out with Parker first thing in the morning, and then again at three o’clock,” I said, eager to impress him by all these serious life changes. “Yep, it’s gonna be two-a-days all summer long for me, just like I said.”

But if Killer was impressed, he didn’t show it. “How about tomorrow night?” he asked.

“Tomorrow night? No plans. Nothing at all. I’m a good boy now, Coach.”

“Good,” he said. “So I spoke to Mr. Capuano earlier.”

My heart jumped into my throat. “And?”

“And I tried my best to sell him on your side of the story. I told him about our meeting, and that you agreed to work with the training staff all summer, and even committed to a totally dry summer.”

“Yeah? And what’d he say?”

“Well, I won’t sugarcoat it, Dak. He’s extremely skeptical.”

My heart sank. “Damn …”

“With how our season ended, and with that video floating around out there, he’d be crazy if he weren’t.”

“Yeah, I know,” I grumbled.

“But I want you to know that I really stood up for you, Dak. I fought hard. I put my neck on the line. And in the end, Mr. Capuano is willing to give you a second chance—”

“Oh thank God, ” I muttered, my arm shooting into the air triumphantly. “Killer. You’re the man. Thank you so much.”

“I wasn’t finished,” Killer said, cutting my celebration short. “Mr. Capuano is willing to give you a second chance, but he wants to have a face-to-face meeting with you first.”

“Sorry, a wha’?”

“A meeting. Dinner, specifically. And the thing is, because of Mr. Capuano’s tight schedule, the only time it can happen is tomorrow night.”

“Tomorrow night?” I stammered. “Shoot. I’d love to. But, er, I’ve got a thing tomorrow night.”

“But just a moment ago, you told me you had no plans,” Killer replied, and I could hear his sneer. “Listen, Dak, I wouldn’t refuse his offer, because you’re not likely to get another one. Mr. Capuano is a very busy man, and hell, you’re already at the end of your rope.”

“Alright. Alright. Fuck it. I guess I gotta go then.” I drew a deep breath, bracing myself.

“Dinner with Sal Capuano then. Sure, why not? What’s the worst that could happen?

” An instant after I posed the question, I got my answer—a blinding white muzzle flash of a gun filled my vision, making my entire body jolt and stagger backwards.

It was just my imagination playing tricks on me, of course—but for a brief split-second, I really felt like I’d been unexpectedly and unceremoniously whacked. I tried to shake the vision off and push the unnerving thoughts aside.

“So, uh, where are we having dinner, anyway?” I asked, a small tremble in my voice.

“At Mr. Capuano’s house. I’ll text you the address.”

“Oh, lovely. Mr. Capuano’s house.” An ominous feeling settled in the pit of my stomach. Dinner at his house meant no witnesses. “Anything else I should know?”

“Yeah, actually,” Killer said, and I could tell he was savoring this last bit of information. “He wants you to bring Jane.”

“Jane?” I asked, confused.

Killer laughed heartily. “Yes, Jane. Your lovely girlfriend. That is her name, isn’t it?”

“This isn’t funny, Coach!” I whisper-shouted into the phone. “You told me he’d want to have a conversation over the phone—not a dinner at his house with my made-up girlfriend!”

“Hey, it surprised me, too,” Killer said, sounding genuine.

“Great. Just great.” I sighed with defeat. “So what happens if I can’t make the dinner?”

“I wouldn’t do that, Dak. He said if you aren’t willing to make this, you’re off the team. No ifs, ands, or buts.”

“And if I go there without a girlfriend—”

“He’ll suspect you’re lying. And that’s probably worse than not going.”

“Shit,” I whispered. “So what should I do, Coach?”

“Remember what I told you when we talked? How to tell a convincing lie?”

“Uh.” I took a moment to jog my memory. “Fake it ’til you make it?”

“Fake it ’til you make it, Dak.”

“Great. Greeeeat. ”

Killer chuckled. “Gotta run. Good luck, whatever you choose.”

I hung up.

Dazed, I slid the backyard door open and staggered back to the pool party.

“Heyy! There he is!” my teammates cheered.

“Jeez! What happened? You look white as a ghost!” McKayla said.

“Who was that on the phone, Dak?” Brett asked.

“Killer.”

“And?”

“Mr. Capuano wants to meet me for dinner,” I murmured.

The group of guys and girls collectively reacted like they’d taken a gut punch. “Oof.”

“Yeah. And he wants to meet my girlfriend.”

Cale laughed. “And that’s why you don’t lie about having a girlfriend.”

“Yeah, yeah,” I grumbled. “All jokes aside, I need ideas. So if anyone’s got any, I’m all ears.”

Mischief glinted in Rust’s eye. “Can’t you ask one of the girls in your ‘bullpen’ to be your date?”

McKayla joined in, her laughter tinged with sarcasm. “Yeah, let one of those poor girls live out her fantasy that you’re capable of settling down.”

Their words touched a nerve. This wasn’t a joking matter. This was serious! Life or death, maybe! Couldn’t they see that?

“That’d never work,” I snapped back. “If I bring some airhead puck bunny along, Mr. Capuano will see right fuckin’ through her. The dude is a billionaire. He’s not stupid.”

“I agree.” Rust nodded sagely. “So why are you even trying to fool him in the first place? Just be honest.”

“Because if I’m honest , then my career is over.”

“What are you going to do, bud?” Brett asked.

Everyone fell quiet as they contemplated my hopeless predicament. But after a brief silence, they lost interest, the conversation moving on to other topics.

I couldn’t move on, though. The clock was ticking. I needed a solution to save my career.

So I sat and turned the problem over in my head.

The thing was, I couldn’t bring just any girl to that dinner, because I was essentially walking into a minefield with a woman on my arm. Hell, she was maybe even more key to the ruse than I was.

The girl I brought had to be beautiful, smart, and interesting enough that you’d believe a pro athlete like me would give up all the easy ass thrown my way, because I just had to be with her instead.

She had to be a quick thinker, too, and possess the wit to dodge whatever curveballs Mr. Capuano might throw at us.

But most importantly, she had to have the acting chops to convince an intimidating billionaire that we were truly an item.

Acting chops. The phrase was a revelation that reverberated in my brain.

It made so much sense, I couldn’t believe it.

“I’ve got it!” I yelled.

My friends demanded to know why I was laughing like a madman.

“I’m going to hire an actress to pretend to be my girlfriend,” I announced, completely determined.

My friends erupted with laughter.

Somebody shouted, “Sure you are, Dak!”

They didn’t think it was possible. Or they thought I was joking. I didn’t disabuse them of either notion. Because if this was going to work? I had to truly start faking it ’til I made it.

Which means I’ve had my last drink of the summer, I thought.

I hopped off my lounge chair and poured the rest of my can out in the rocks.

Seeking a quiet spot to work, I went back inside Rust’s house.

I headed into the living room and got comfy on his couch, next to his sleepy husky, Minka.

The fluffy cutie shot me an expressive look that seemed to say, Bro. You’re insane. You know that, right?

“You got any better ideas, Minka?” I murmured, and gently patted her head. “Nothin’ to say for once in your life, huh?”

I cracked my knuckles, whipped out my cell phone, and started tapping away, eager to find my girlfriend.