Page 17 of Wild Pucking Love (The Cleveland Vortex #1)

SIXTEEN

WRENLY

Clara smiles at me, and it’s a kind smile, but it doesn’t make me feel any less uncomfortable. And honestly, it has nothing to do with her and everything to do with me. I feel judged. Not that she’s judging me, but because of how I feel on the inside.

“Okay,” she says with a sigh. “Now that the guys are gone, let’s chat. The kids are feeling one another out and are enjoying the blocks on the floor. Do you want an iced coffee?”

Oh god.

I can’t even think about iced coffee right now. All I can think about is how much she’s going to hate me by the end of today. Thank goodness Eli left me his pickup, because I have a feeling I’ll be leaving early.

“No thanks,” I murmur.

She smiles, and still, it’s sweet as pie. Inwardly, I cringe as I wait for the other shoe to drop, but as she moves around the kitchen and begins to speak, I realize that she’s telling me her story. She’s not even asking me about mine at all.

“I wouldn’t care if Eli told you, but I doubt he would, even though he’s honestly one of the nosiest guys in the group. But he and Luke almost had a falling out over it. I’m pretty sure there’s still a bit of contention between them, so he probably isn’t going to offer the information. But since it was in the news and tabloids and was a whole drama, I figure it’s better you hear it straight from me,” Clara announces.

I sit at the kitchen island, ass planted on the barstool, and listen to a fascinating story about how she and Luke got together. They were discovered having sex in a club and then got outed and almost broke up over it all.

“So you’re not actually siblings,” I say.

She shakes her head, stirring her iced coffee with one of those glass straws. On a side note, I always wondered how those were cleaned because I have no idea how you get soap on the inside of a teeny-tiny straw like that. And while I’m hyperfocusing on said straw, Clara continues.

“No, we didn’t even know one another until we were adults. We’re stepsiblings.”

“Oh, so they really just went on a whole dramatic thing with it and blew it out of proportion,” I say.

She hums, lifting the glass before she wraps her lips around the straw and takes a sip. “Totally. I almost lost my job, and Luke could have lost his spot on the team due to a morality clause. It was a whole drama, but thankfully, it worked out well,” she says, then her gaze shifts past my shoulder, and she gets this dreamy smile on her lips. “Really well,” she breathes.

I know she’s looking at her daughter Sloane. It gives me a moment to glance over at Ryan as well. The two of them are still playing with the blocks, stacking them and watching them fall, and then stacking them again. It’s adorable.

“I’m sure you know my story as well,” I whisper as I shift my attention away from Ryan and back to her.

Clara’s eyes widen. “I don’t know more than you guys had a one-night stand two years ago.”

“That’s all?” I ask, knowing it’s a lie.

This is Eli’s best friend’s wife, his roommate at one time, and she doesn’t know that I ghosted him? Granted, it was due to my own embarrassment, and really, I had no reason to do so, but I didn’t know that two years ago.

“All I know is that it was a one-night stand. You were in college, and he couldn’t get hold of you. Figured you regretted it and just didn’t want to deal with him.”

Slowly, I turn my head and look at Ryan. “I didn’t regret it then, couldn’t regret anything that has to do with him, and even if I wanted to, I couldn’t now.”

Fingers curl around my wrist, and I look back to Clara. She’s smiling, a little wetness in her eyes as she does. “He’s a good guy,” she says softly. “Loves his family. Loves his friends and is trustworthy.”

“Are you trying to sell him?” I ask with a laugh.

She shrugs a shoulder. “A hot hockey player who doesn’t have a stick shoved up his ass is not a hard sell,” she says, then winks. “Plus, he doesn’t date, and then there’s the way he looks at you.”

“Looks at me?”

Clara hums while sucking on her straw again before she nods her head. “Looks at you. It’s the same way that I sometimes catch Luke looking at me. Which is the only reason I recognized it.”

“How is that?” I ask.

I’m almost afraid to actually say the words because I’m not sure if I want to know. I’m not sure if I want to know anything at all. I think I want to stay completely inside of my little bubble of not knowing.

“Like he can’t believe you’re his and also like he wants to rip your clothes off at the same time.”

Wow.

I want to rip his clothes off, too…

ELI

“You’re distracted,” Coach barks. “Personal shit is not my forte, but we have a real chance to win the Calder Cup, and I can’t have my best forward distracted.”

“I should have told you a couple days ago when I found out,” I say as I lift my hand and run my fingers through my hair.

Coach watches me for a moment in silence. I can already tell that he is going to have something to say about this, but it’s not something I can keep a secret. His teeth slide across his bottom lip as I tell the story about my new woman and my son.

By the time I’m finished and have announced that I’m going to keep them and move both of them here to live with me, Coach exhales a heavy sigh.

“You boys and your wandering dicks are going to be the fucking death of me,” he snaps.

My shoulders shake as I try to hold back laughter at his words. They are not meant to be funny. I know they aren’t, but they’re fucking hilarious.

“I wish I could say sorry, Coach.”

He snorts. “None of you bastards are sorry for shit. And you know what?”

“What?” I ask when he doesn’t continue immediately.

He reaches out, tapping his finger on the table as he lets out a grunt. “I wouldn’t be sorry for fucking shit, either.”

Placing his palms on the desk, he stands, his gaze never leaving mine. He watches me for a moment. Then he shakes his head a couple of times before his gaze pins mine. He stares at me before he speaks.

“Don’t fuck up on the ice.”

And with that, he walks out of the room. I watch him for a moment, then let out my own heavy sigh before I stand from my chair and straighten. Walking out of the office, I make my way over to my locker to get my shit.

“You good?” Daniel asks as he walks up to me.

I could tell him to fuck off and mind his business, but I decide against it. Instead, I chuckle because I am good. And I’m feeling good. So fucking good. Although I would be feeling better if I were inside of Wrenly right about now.

“I am,” I say. “She’s it.”

He raises his brows as Pavel steps out from around the corner, a towel wrapped around his waist. Pavel’s gaze searches mine, but I can see the surprise in his face at my admission. I know he heard me. Every single person in here probably did.

Nosy fucking bastards.

“Well, we must meet her, then,” Pavel announces.

“Agreed,” Daniel chimes in. “When does she leave town?”

Instantly, my happiness at the admission of Wrenly being the one disappears, and I’m left with a stabbing pain in my chest. She’s going to be leaving. I only have a few more days to entice her to stay. I don’t know how I’m going to do that, but I’m sure as fuck going to try.

Maybe I just need to fuck her so much that she gets completely crazed by my cock and can’t imagine a single night without me. I mean, honestly, that’s the best-case scenario and would be the better choice for me.

That’s going to be my plan, mainly because it’s the most exciting for me. The only other option I have is to woo her, and I have no fucking clue how to do that. Sex is what I know. I can make her feel good. I can provide whatever she needs, whatever Ryan needs, too. Sex and money.

That’s probably about what I can do for her—I can only hope it’s enough.