Page 17 of The Pucking Fake Marriage (The Ice Kings #4)

SIXTEEN

brEAKING FREE (CHARLIE)

“Okay, how many seconds until you start drooling?”

I jolt, turning around to glare at Haley. She’s standing right beside me in the corner of the restaurant, an annoying little smirk on her face. She looks like she just caught me with my hand in the cookie jar.

And to be fair, she sort of did. A second ago, I was staring across the room at Ken like he was a work of art brought to life.

“Shut up,” I snap at her, turning around and marching through the side door to the narrow hallway. A childish, inane thought crosses my mind, one that hopes Ken noticed me leaving. Doesn’t matter, anyway. With the riot storming in my belly, I’m going to be back in the seating area to gawk at him in only a few seconds.

Haley is right beside me. She seems to be reading my thoughts when she mutters, “Things look like they’re going well between you and your husband.”

Butterflies spark in my belly. Sometimes, it’s easy to forget that legally, I’m Ken’s wife. A couple of months ago, that news would’ve sent vomit rising up my throat. Now the feeling I get is a lot different.

Haley follows me right into our tiny office, shutting the door behind her. I instantly have déjà vu as I remember the last time her inquisition happened. It was barely two months ago, but so much has changed since then.

For one, our restaurant is full-on thriving now. Thanks in no small part to Ken, who’s made it a habit to entice his buddies to have dinner here after their workouts. Half of the people who troop in do so because they hope to catch a glimpse of the Philly Titans, but the other half come in for our food. Also thanks to Ken, I’ve incorporated more dishes from the Edwards’s family menu. Now we have two full-on chefs who’ve mastered Mrs. Edwards’s recipes, and people love it. Plus, since more influencers have been reporting well on the dishes, our public image has gotten a makeover too.

We’re doing well. Good enough to start paying off the bank loan.

But that’s not the only thing that has changed. My cheeks warm with embarrassment as I remember my sexual escapades with Ken. Especially the last one, involving him fucking me against the window after I teased him. It’s been a few weeks, and Ken has been away for the most part. But that memory still keeps me up at night.

As does the fact that I’m desperate for something like that to happen again. Sooner rather than later, even. Maybe, just maybe, Ken will be willing to slip away from his friends and come right into my office. I’ve been hoping that would happen from the moment I saw his crew walk in.

“You’re not going to make me ask this time, right?” Haley says, brandishing a pen at me like a little knife.

“Fine.” I collapse on the chair. I don’t even need much prodding; I’ve been desperate to share this part of my life with her since the first time Ken and I had sex. “We did it.”

Haley’s eyes pop out of their sockets. “Tell me everything,” she squeals. “Now.”

It’s a mark of how close our friendship is that I obey her command. I tell her everything, from lusting after him to having sex with him in the kitchen… Up until Thanksgiving, when he touched me under the table and Kali arrived and ruined the moment. After I brush over our last encounter, Haley stares like she barely recognizes me.

“This is crazy,” she mutters. “I’ve seen you through two relationships, and you didn’t have anything close to a wild streak. And now…with Ken, it looks like he’s pulling forth a whole new side of you.”

I don’t know what to feel about that. She’s right, of course. Prior to my injury, I was the most carefree, happiest girl alive. Even with my mommy issues. But losing out on my career changed me. It’s weird to think that the same man who caused the shutdown is the one helping me find myself again.

Weird…and scary.

If I let Ken make me back into the person I once was, he’s got the power to unravel me all over again.

And I don’t think I can survive Ken betraying me one more time. Not that I can even imagine what would constitute a betrayal this time.

“I like this new Charlie,” Haley continues. “Just…”

“Be careful?” I feel my stomach lurching with the thought. If even Haley is asking me to be careful, then I have a lot to worry about.

But she shakes her head, smiling. “Enjoy it while it lasts. This is just temporary, and it’s going to end soon. Have your fun. Live it fully. ”

I’m almost relieved. Ken is not going to be in my life for longer than our sham of a marriage lasts. He won’t stick around long enough to betray me. That means in half a year at most, we’ll move on to being strangers again.

And that’s how I prefer it.

“You ready to go back out there?” Haley’s eyes are twinkling. “He was totally checking you out too. Maybe you can catch him before he leaves.”

“Haley!”

She rolls her eyes and slips out of the office, thankfully before a foolish grin forms on my face.

There’s no use denying it. I do want to enjoy this part of my life. I’m never going to be able to truly let go of the accident, but I can enjoy this regardless. Especially with just how much he’s helped me.

The first thing I notice when I return to the seating area is that Ken’s entourage has now doubled in size.

“Who are those girls?” Haley whispers behind me, nodding toward the handful of women who have joined the players.

“Wives. Girlfriends.” Of the group, I recognize Britney, who is seated with her husband Alex. The remaining women seem to be short-term girlfriends. The whole group is spread across three tables, talking rather quietly but still drawing attention and looks from the other patrons. Apart from the hockey thing, it’s not difficult to see why. The Titans are all breathtakingly gorgeous, and I don’t doubt that a few women in here are hoping to get a proper introduction.

And apparently some of them have decided to take matters into their own hands. A stunning girl untangles herself from where she’s sitting at the other end of the restaurant and makes her way to the Titans. To Ken’s table .

A lump forms in my throat as she goes straight to him.

“Uh-oh.” I can hear the grin in Haley’s voice.

“Shut up,” I hiss, annoyed.

Ken looks up at the girl. He’s smiling back, talking easily. The lump grows larger.

“Wanna tell her to leave?” Haley whispers in my ear. “C’mon, you can totally do it. He’s your husband, technically, and you own this place.”

I open my mouth to tell Haley to back off—even if I’m sort of considering her suggestion. But just then, Ken turns around and stares right at me.

The lump dissolves. I stand transfixed, unable to do anything other than look back at him. His blue eyes bore into me, filling me with tingles.

I want you , his eyes tell me . Only you.

Somehow, he sensed my insecurities from several feet away and sought to reassure me.

He stares at me for about two more seconds before he turns away and carries on talking with the girl.

Goosebumps form on my skin. Something about being known like that, to the very depths of my soul, both scares and uplifts me. Makes me want to do things too. Like go up to the table and kiss him in full view of everyone. Or ask him to come back to my office. Or…

The door of the restaurant crashes open, distracting me. I turn toward it, excitement already forming in my gut at the prospect of another new customer. There are already way more than twenty people seated in here, but it doesn’t hurt to have a few more.

But my excitement dies as suddenly as it began.

Because the newcomer is none other than Kali Edwards.

Almost no one gives him a second glance. Even Haley is now looking down at her phone. But the air seems to still the moment he walks in. My universe collapses into three people: myself, Kali…and Ken, who I know has noticed his brother come in. I don’t even need to look. I just know.

A low murmur starts on the side of the Titans, and I can imagine why. Most of his buddies are seeing his brother for the first time. Kali doesn’t seem to care. His gaze is scouring the place, settling on my face. He makes a beeline to me, slipping past the people and chairs in his way like some sort of well-trained snake.

“Took me a while to find this place.” He flashes a grin that doesn’t quite reach his eyes. “Can we talk?”

Behind me, I’m aware of Haley finally looking up. Her jaw drops to the floor.

I bite back a sliver of annoyance at Kali’s impetuousness. “Good day to you, too. Also, your brother is seated right over there.” I chance a glance at Ken, who has turned his back to us. He’s still talking to the girl who approached him, and it appears he’s openly flirting with her. Only his friends are looking in our direction.

That hits me like a gut punch.

“I’m busy,” I say to Kali. Right now, I want to get as far away from both brothers as possible.

“Well, this won’t take much time. It’s about Thanksgiving.” There’s a familiar smirk on his face, one that reads, “You’re going to want to hear this…because who wouldn’t want to hear me speak?”

“Fine,” I spit through gritted teeth. Maybe if Ken cared enough to notice his brother talking to me, I’d have put an end to this. But it’s best to get this over with now. Especially if it means I don’t have to see Ken flirting with that puck bunny.

I turn around and march toward the small hallway, Kali following me. In a few seconds, we’re back in my office. Kali seems amused as he takes the seat Haley previously occupied.

“Nice…um…space,” he drawls.

Seriously, fuck him.

“What do you want?”

He finally stops smiling. “To apologize. Thanksgiving was sort of a fiasco.”

“You could have waited until Christmas.” I’m well aware that both Edwards brothers are going back home again this year, as am I.

Kali merely waves my words away and keeps on talking like I never interrupted. “My mother is still upset at Ken for starting that argument, and I know what you must think of us?—”

“You didn’t even get five sentences in before you threw your brother under the bus,” I mutter. Not that I want to defend Ken right now, but I’m sick of Kali’s theatrics.

He raises a brow. “Look, Charles, I know you’ve always had a soft spot for my brother. I mean, he’s eating in your restaurant a couple of weeks after he started a brawl in our home. Not sure he even bothered to apologize for that.”

I think of Ken slamming into me over and over against the glass wall of his building. “He did,” I say, almost amused. “In his own way.”

His eyes narrow suspiciously. “I’m just doing what I can to keep the peace. You’ve known Ken since we were kids. You know his manipulative nature.”

“Do I?”

“Come on.” He sounds impatient. “Inviting you over to our house to cook because he knew I couldn’t stand being in the kitchen? Pretending to be interested in your ballet practices on days I couldn’t make it? And?— ”

I stand up. It was wrong to think I could handle being in the same space with Kali for longer than three minutes. “All of those things sound like a ‘Kali’ problem. I’ve got a ton of work?—”

He interrupts me, not seeming to register my annoyance. “Don’t be obtuse, Charlie. You know what he is. Damnit, he tried to get me to break up with you year after year. Saving up for ridiculously expensive birthday gifts and making me look stupid.”

I’m too tired to even be incensed at his insult. “Ken got me a pair of ballet shoes for my birthday every year, genius. Not exactly bank breaking.”

Kali rolls his eyes. “ I got you those. He always insisted we switch our gifts. Always had that little insane grin on his face. Basically telling me he knew you better than I did.”

I collapse into my chair. My brain is reeling, but significantly less than I would have thought. Underneath the shock at the realization, there is a firm wall of certainty somewhere in my heart. All along, there’s a part of me that knew those gifts couldn’t have been from Kali. That Ken had to be behind them one way or another.

I look up at my teenage crush, the boy I convinced myself I was in love with. The one I thought I wanted to be with. My mother’s jabs during Thanksgiving dinner had poked a hole in my denial, though I kind of knew it for a long time already.

I never wanted Kali. Never felt for him the same way I felt for Ken. My mother was right. I didn’t want to choose the nice one. Didn’t want to risk the chance of dating Ken and having him break up with me when I’d fallen too deep. It was easier to keep him at arm’s length, make sure we stayed only friends. Things were sure to last between us that way .

Or so my mother thought. And I’d listened.

My heart lurches in my chest. Confronting that, after all this time, makes me feel a lot of things. Disgust at myself for being a coward.

“You know,” Kali says now, and I snap back to attention, newly realizing that he’s been talking all along. “He likes to play mind games. Trying to convince you that I didn’t know you well enough, trying to convince me that?—”

“He was right,” I say, standing up. I feel almost dizzy, but I’m certain of what I’m about to do.

Kali blinks up at me. “What?”

“He was right,” I say again. “You don’t know me. Neither of you do, in fact.” Ken was happy enough to stick around as the underdog, but the moment I took away his hope, he took away my career. Neither of the Edwards twins are to be trusted. I got it right the first time—I should stay away from both of them.

“Get out,” I hiss at Kali. It feels good to finally say it, like I’ve been waiting to all my life.

He reacts as if I slapped him. “What did you just say to me?”

If I wasn’t still reeling, I’d probably be amused now. Darling Kali, the man who’s never been told no, now taken aback. “Get. Out. Now. I never want to see you again.”

Kali rises. “I’m just going to warn you this once about Ken. He might seem?—”

“Now!”

He stares for a few seconds, his face contorting monstrously, and then he storms out of my office, leaving me with the relieved feeling of having yanked off a lifelong burden.