Page 18 of Shootout
“You’d be surprised what my brother can do.”
“Do you have a better idea?”
“I got nothing.”
“I hate deceiving him, but now it’s a matter of him saving face, too. If he finds out it was all a practical joke, he’s going to be harassed by the guys, and he’ll hate me even more for that.”
“I understand. I got you into this mess, and I’ll get you out with the least amount of damage done.”
“I’d appreciate that.”
“We’ll come up with a plausible reason Geneva caught us in the showers in what appeared to be a compromising position.” She huffed out a long breath and appeared to be deep in thought.
“And what exactly would that reason be?”
“Maybe the truth?”
I was skeptical. “So we tell the truth about the showers while we lie about our relationship? You think he’ll buy into that story?”
“No. Don’t look now, but he just walked in.” She jerked her chin in the direction of the door. Wild was striding toward us.
“Hi, bro,” she called out too enthusiastically. He grimaced, took the seat next to his sister, and across from me.
“Hi,” I said lamely and received a terse nod in response. After which, he completely ignored me. Doris hustled over with a huge smile on her face. Wild grinned back.
“Wyly, how’s my favorite defenseman?” She threw her arms around him and gave him a big smooch on the cheek. He hugged her back.
“Hey, Dorie, I’m thirsty and starving,” Wild said.
“You got it. And you, dear?” She turned to Jessie.
“A cheeseburger.”
Doris nodded and walked off before I could place my order. Wild snorted with pleasure.
“You gotta love Doris. She calls it like she sees it.”
I glowered at him, and my stomach growled in protest.
“You want a burger and fries?”
“Yes, please. Bacon burger.”
Wild slid from the booth to allow Jessie to leave. I watched as she walked to the bar to place my order. My eyes slipped to her ass, and I appreciated the way it swung when she walked. Wild growled, and I jerked my head away from his sister.
Several moments of tense silence passed before Wild met my gaze.
“I’m not happy about you and my sister.”
“You’ve made that blatantly obvious,” I said. “It’s not really—”
“Spare me the details.” He pointed a finger in my face. “If you hurt her, I’ll do more than knock your ass to the ice.”
Jessie hurried back to the table and sat next to me. Wild’s face stiffened into an angry mask.
“Why the fuck of all hockey players in the league did you have to pick this asshole?” he grumped.
“It’s not like that, Jace,” Jessie said.
