A Lie for a Lie (All In 1)

I was pretty sure I was falling in love with her, and I figured it was mutual. One minute she was the center of my world, and the next she was just gone.

“I’m gonna call bullshit, Rook. Wanna tell me what’s going on with the tour guide?”

“Lainey. Her name is Lainey. And we had a . . . thing a while back.” I’m being vague, mostly because explaining this sucks. I’ve never told anyone the full story about what happened with her.

“She doesn’t really seem like your usual type, or what used to be your usual type, anyway.”

I nod in agreement. “You’re right about that.”

Alex looks around and slips a flask out of his pocket. “You look like you could use a shot.”

I lift a brow.

He motions to the screaming gaggle of children, players, and wives. “I know you’re here because you’re the team captain and you want to make a good impression on your teammates, not because you love spending your Saturday afternoon with a bunch of screaming kids. Add in whatever’s going on between you and the tour guide, and you definitely deserve a drink. Besides, I figure this’ll get you to talk. Can’t keep it all bottled up forever, Rook. I know the last couple of years have been intense.”

He has a point. I hold out my glass of lukewarm soda. I’ll leave my car here and pick it up in the morning if I need to. And based on how things are going, I have a feeling a lot of alcohol will be involved in the rest of my evening.

“So, tell me what’s going on with the tour guide.”

I drain half the cup in one gulp. “I met her on Kodiak Island last summer.”

He’s in the middle of a sip and cough chokes. “That’s the girl from Alaska? I thought you said she was from Washington. What’s she doing here? Don’t tell me you have another stalker.” The year before I took over for Alex as captain of the team, we got pretty close, mostly because he took me under his wing and mentored me. At the time I didn’t realize he was grooming me to take his place. Since then we’ve stayed pretty tight.

“Yes, she’s the girl from Alaska. Yes, she’s from Washington. She got offered a job here and took it, and I’m pretty sure she’s not stalking me.”

“How can you be sure? I mean, you’re not that hard to find.”

“She wasn’t big on technology.” I scrub a hand over my face. “And I never told her I played professional hockey.”

“Too busy getting busy to be bothered with the chitchat?” Alex asks.

“No. Well, I mean yeah, there was lots of . . . sex, but that wasn’t what it was all about.”

“So how is it that you being a professional hockey player never came up?”

“I might’ve lied about where I lived and what I did for a living.” I mumble it quickly and drain my cup. I could use another drink. Or just downing whatever is left in his flask.

“Why lie?”

“She didn’t recognize me, and she wasn’t into hockey. You know how it is with bunnies. They’re just in for the fuck and the ride, right?”

“But she’s not a bunny, so I’m not getting why it would matter then.” He looks confused more than anything.

I sigh, aware explaining my rationale isn’t going to be easy. “I wanted to be normal for a few weeks.”

Violet squeezes her way between us, snatches Alex’s cup, sniffs it, and raises an eyebrow. “Seriously, Alex? You better be careful how sauced you get. Your parents said they’d have a sleepover in the pool house with Robbie, and you know how I get in my second trimester.”

Alex grins and bends to whisper something in her ear. She hands him back the cup, turning her attention to me. “I assume you’re coming out for drinks after this shitshow.” She motions to the table of children shoveling cake into their mouths.

I rub the back of my neck. “Uh, we’ll see.”

“Rook’s trying to hook up with the tour guide,” Alex supplies.

Violet grins knowingly. “You mean the poor woman who was trying to hide that huge dolphin dick?”

“That’s the one,” Alex replies.

She gives me a light punch on the arm. “My respect for you just went up a few notches. I had no idea you were into the nerdy chicks.”

“She’s not nerdy,” I say defensively.

Violet gives me a look. “Uh, she knows an insane amount about aquatic animals and can rhyme off statistics like a Beat poet. Also, as a nerd, I can easily identify other nerds—and she is definitely one. It’s too bad they can’t put her in something other than beige, because she’s also super gorgeous. You should invite her along. Introducing her to your friends will go a long way toward getting you into her pants—if that’s your plan, anyway.”