“Okay, let’s go,” I told her.
I hitched a ride with Rox to Eileen’s. As soon as I plunked down at the bar, Hal put a lager in front of me and gave me a sly smile. “Oh, you know me so well!”
“You’re wearing his jersey,” he told me matter-of-factly.
I pointed to Dinah, who sat next to me, drinking her own beer. “She told me I was supposed to.”
“I’m glad you two figured this out,” Hal said.
“Wait…” Dinah began. “Did you try to set them up?”
The older man gave her a wink.
“Hal! No, you didn’t!” I squealed.
He shrugged. “You’re good for each other, but…”
“But what?” I asked.
“Blaise wears his heart on his sleeve. He’s too much like me. So be good to him, yeah?”
Dinah and I shared a confused look. “What are you saying?” I asked.
“I don’t want to see either of you hurt again.”
Guilt stabbed at my heart at his words. Were we complete assholes for fooling everyone with our fake relationship? We were tricking everyone because I wanted to be petty to my ex, and Blaise wanted his family to get off his dick after his breakup. But his dad wanted us to be happy and thought we could do that together.
“I—”
“Dad, will you give it a rest?” A deep voice grumbled from behind me. “Leave my girl alone.”
“Blaise…” Hal warned.
But Blaise wasn’t paying attention to him. Instead, he bent down and kissed me. I melted into his touch. We hadn’t seen each other in about a week, and I forgot he was such a good kisser.
“Oh, my God. Get a room,” another deep voice sighed exasperatedly behind us.
I pulled away and felt heat rise on my cheeks. Blaise gave me a wicked grin before turning around and gesturing to the man behind us. “Veronica, this is my asshole brother, Eli. Eli, this is my girlfriend, Veronica.”
Eli was a few inches shorter than Blaise, and he didn’t seem as muscular, but he had the same blonde hair and blue eyes as the rest of the Holmstroms.
I side-eyed their dad. “Hal, tell the truth. Did you clone yourself?”
Hal laughed but walked to the other end of the bar to serve more customers.
Eli punched Blaise in the arm. “I’m not an asshole.”
“I thought that was Ayden,” I joked.
“Dude, I’m right here,” the third brother said from behind the bar. I gave him a cheeky grin while he got drinks for his older brothers.
“Is this asshole still not talking to Dad?” Eli asked Ayden.
“What’s going on?” I asked.
“Nothing,” Blaise snapped, but in a way that told me it was definitely something. I wasn’t really his girlfriend, so it wasn’t my place to ask him.
Blaise and his brothers talked shop, AKA hockey, which was like listening to a foreign language. I drank my beer silently, enjoying Blaise’s hand absent-mindedly rubbing the back of my neck. I wasn’t sure he knew he had been doing it until I closed my eyes for a minute.
“You tired, sweets?” he asked.
I nodded.
“Did you drive tonight?”
“Took the train.”
“Let me take you home.”
I waved him off. “Nah. Walk me to the train.” I cashed out with Ayden, and Blaise helped me into my jacket. He was so considerate; he’d make someone happy one day. “Hey, did you decide on a tattoo?”
Eli’s eyebrows raised. “Another tattoo?”
I shook my head and pointed to Blaise’s chest. “Nah, I want to cover this one up.”
“Oh?” Eli asked.
I pushed up my sleeve so he saw my floral tattoos peeking out. “I’m a tattoo artist. I want to fix it for him so he doesn’t have her name there anymore.”
“What are you going to get?” Eli asked Blaise.
“I suggested a maple leaf…for your mom.”
Eli nodded and looked at the flowers on my arm. “Mom liked hibiscuses.”
“That’s what Maja suggested,” Blaise said and fixed his coat over his nicely tailored black suit.
I fingered the lapel. “You look great in this. This would be good with the dress I’m wearing for the wedding.”
“What wedding?” Eli asked.
I cringed. “My ex’s.”
“Wait…” Ayden started from behind the bar. “That douchebag who left you a week before you were supposed to marry him? He invited you to his wedding?”
“It gets worse,” Blaise muttered.
“How?” Ayden asked. He looked visibly angry, and that shocked me. Ayden and I had a playful banter with each other, so I didn’t expect him to be so angry for me.
I couldn’t look at any of the Holmstrom men right now. I felt their pitying looks burning into me.
Blaise didn’t sense my discomfort. “He has a baby.”
“He has a…oh shit! V, I’m so sorry,” Ayden said.
“Baby?” I asked Blaise in a quiet voice. “Can we go? I don’t want to talk about this.”
His face fell when he looked at me, but I caught his dad’s look instead. He narrowed his eyes at us, staring back and forth between us like he had sussed out what we were playing at. I tore my gaze away from him, shame crashing over me at what Blaise and I were doing.
“Sorry, sweets. Let’s go,” Blaise said.
I walked out of the bar and down the street, not caring if Blaise kept up with me or not. I wasn’t angry at him for bringing it up; I just didn’t want to talk about my ex or the fact he left me because he got another woman pregnant. I willed the tears to stay inside. I was supposed to be dead instead and not have feelings.
Blaise enveloped me in his big body, pulling me to his chest and banding his arms around my waist.
“I’m sorry,” he said. God, such a simple touch from this man made me feel instantly better. He pulled back and wiped my face with his rough, calloused hands. “I didn’t mean to upset you.”
“Blaise?”
“Yeah?”
“Make me feel better?”
He smirked. “Always, sweets.”
I tipped up my head and kissed him. He met me halfway and kissed me back. He broke the kiss, but only so he could nose across my neck. “You’re wearing my jersey.”
I nodded. “You want it on my floor?”
“No,” he growled as he nipped at my neck.
“No?”
“I want to fuck you in it.”
“Your place or mine?”
“Mine’s closer.”
I didn’t even argue. I was horned up for this man, and I went with him to his place without a second thought.
We barely made it out of his car as we stumbled up the steps and into the row house. He lifted me up into his arms, carrying me up the steps while I kissed his neck and tried to get his tie off. I laughed when he kicked the door to his bedroom shut and dropped me on the bed.
“You like me in your jersey?” I asked.
He nodded as he shed his suit jacket, his ocean-blue eyes burning with his desire for me. “You came to my game and are wearing my jersey,” he breathed out huskily. He made quick work of his suit, shedding it until he stood there naked in all his glory. God, his body was like a work of art, and I wanted to worship it.