“Seth’s a diehard Bulldogs fan. It’s why we were at your dad’s bar all the time. I think he only invited me because I’m dating you. Of course, he’d want a hockey star at his wedding.”
Blaise scowled. “If you want to drop this…thing we have, that’s fine with me. You don’t have to go.”
I groaned. “I don’t want to go, but I also do.”
He busied himself at the stove but held up his end of the conversation. “Why?”
“Before, I wanted to be a petty asshole, but now, I want to show him I’m fine without him. That I moved on, and my life’s better off without him in it,” I tried to explain.
Except it was complete bullshit. I don’t think I ever got over the abandonment. Not when my mom did it, and not when my fiancé did it. I wished my dad was still alive so I could ask his advice. He would have known what to do. He’d have told Alex not to hire Seth, and we wouldn’t have been in this predicament. God, I missed that big teddy bear so much.
I must have zoned out because before I knew it, Blaise came over to the table with plates of awesome steak sandwiches on long hoagie rolls. The smell was amazing. “You want a beer?” he asked.
“Sure. What you got?”
He peered into the fridge. “Oh, look, 611 Ale!”
“Oh! That’s a MacGregor Brothers beer,” I said.
He grabbed us beers and popped off the tops. He handed me a bottle. “Yeah, I’m a fan. Can’t get that in Canada.”
I closed my sketchbook and put it back in my tote bag before taking a sip of my beer. “Oh, the brewery’s in my town. I go there all the time.”
“Nice. We should go sometime. I love craft beer from the source.”
I nodded, but I wanted to remind him that just because we were fake dating didn’t mean we needed to actually go out.
Instead, I bit into my cheesesteak and moaned at how this Philly boy actually knew how to make a good one. I guess you could take the boy out of the city, but you couldn’t take the Philly out of him.
“I’ll go with you,” he said after we had been eating in silence for a few minutes. “I’ll help you prove to that asshole you’re stronger and better without him.”
“Why?” I asked. “You barely know me.”
“True, but I know how you feel.”
“Are you still not over her?”
He shook his head. “Nah. I’m good. Just tired of people asking me if I’m okay. I figured if we pretend to date for a little while, then my brothers will get off my back. Let me live my life the way I want.”
“Okay, but remember, this is fake. We’re not in a relationship.”
He furrowed his brow and picked at his cheesesteak. “I know.”
“Don’t go falling in love with me, Blaise Holmstrom,” I warned.
“I won’t.”
“We can’t have sex,” I blurted out.
His eyebrows shot up in alarm. “What?”
“It’ll complicate everything. It’s not a relationship. We’re not a real thing—we’re just pretending. Okay?”
“Is that what you meant by ‘ground rules’?” he asked and did air quotes.
I nodded. “I don’t want the lines to get blurred.”
He cocked his head at me. “Doesn’t have to get blurred if we’re just having a good time.”
“Are you asking me to be your fuck buddy while we pretend to date?”
He shrugged. “Puck’s on your stick, sweets.”
His sapphire eyes seared into me like he could see my naked body under my clothes. I had to clench my thighs together in anticipation. He was so hot, and it didn’t have to be complicated if it was a purely sexual arrangement until my ex’s wedding. If fake dating him had an expiration date, then maybe we could have some fun together with no strings attached.
“Um…”
He smiled at me and patted my hand. “No pressure. If you don’t want to, I’ll respect your wishes.”
“I…let me think about it.”
He scrolled through his phone. “Oh, what the fuck.”
“What?” I asked.
“Nothing,” he said a bit too quickly.
“What?” I demanded.
He handed me his phone. “They have one of those wedding sites.”
“Okay, and?” I asked for clarification. Lots of people had those things.
“V, they have a baby together.”
“What?” I screeched.
I looked at the page he had opened on his phone. I skimmed some bullshit story about how they met and the unplanned pregnancy they had last year. Last year. Last year, when I was supposed to marry Seth. When he left in the middle of the night.
Oh my God, no wonder his sister cut me a check for the wedding cancellation fees. She probably felt sorry for me. I was trying to match up the timelines, and it was clear Seth had been cheating on me.
Why were men such garbage? This was why I didn’t do relationships. I pushed back the phone to Blaise.
“I’m sorry,” he said.
“It’s not your fault.”
I pushed my plate away and stood up. “Let’s go.”
He furrowed his brow. “Go where?”
“Blaise, do you want to fuck me again or not?”
“V…I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“Why not?” I snapped at him. “You literally just asked me to be your fuck buddy!”
“Because you look upset, and I don’t want you to do anything you’ll regret.”
I narrowed my eyes. “Do you want me to suck your cock or not?”
“Not with that attitude.” He pushed me back down into my chair. “Finish your dinner. Then we’ll talk.”
Normally I would have fought him, but instead, I lifted my cheesesteak to my mouth and devoured the delicious sandwich this man had made me. It didn’t mean the raging storm inside me had subsided, though.
Chapter Nine
BLAISE
It took every ounce of my willpower to push her back down into her chair instead of dragging her upstairs and fucking her brains out. I still wanted to do that, but only if she wanted. I felt bad that what she saw on the wedding website hurt her so deeply.
I was a dick for suggesting a friends-with-benefits situation with her, but I was horny as hell for this woman. I hadn’t been with anyone since her. I liked that she didn’t care about hockey or tried to impress me with her ‘hockey knowledge.’ Plus, she was hot with her colorful hair and tattoos, and she liked to be spanked in bed. I definitely wanted to do that again.
A LOT.
“If we’re gonna fake date, we need to post pictures together on social media,” I suggested.
“Oh, I’m not on social media.”
“Really?” I asked incredulously. I was most active on Instagram, but I didn’t post all that much. I didn’t even read the thirsty messages in my DMs anymore.
“I manage the accounts for the shop, of course, but I don’t have a personal account.”
That might be for the best. My sister and my sister-in-law dealt with their fair share of cyberbullying because of their relationships with hockey players. We were public figures, and puck bunnies were a thing, but it bothered me that the women in our lives got hate because we were with them.