Hard Pass (St. Louis Mavericks 3)

Tonight I felt beautiful and classy.

When I opened the door to Nash, I knew he thought so too because those beautiful blue eyes of his darkened and narrowed slightly, raking me up and down without shame.

“I’m sorry,” he said, when he caught my look. “But you’re absolutely breathtaking. I…Jesus, Sariah, you’re without a doubt the most beautiful woman I know and every man in the room is going to wonder what kind of idiot I am for not wanting something more with you.”

“No one said you don’t want more,” I said coyly. “I’m just not on board.”

He chuckled. “Touché. Are you ready?”

“As ready as I’ll ever be. I might be more nervous than you.”

“I wish I could reassure you, but I’m pretty fucking nervous.”

“Well, we’ve got this.” I grabbed my evening bag and let the door shut behind me.

Nash crooked his elbow and I slid my hand through it as we walked toward the elevators.

“Are any of your friends or teammates coming?” I asked him.

He shook his head. “No. Normally, I would have invited Lars and Sheridan and Wes and Hadley, but I don’t need an audience for what may go down tonight.”

“My only question at this point is, do we drink to relax or stay sober in case things go sideways?”

“I’m definitely having one,” he said. “Beyond that, I have no idea.”

“Okay.”

We were quiet the rest of the way down the elevator and through the lobby to the ballroom where the party was taking place. Obviously, his father had spared no expense for the event, and that made no sense to me. Why make such a big deal out of something that no longer existed? They were still married, but he’d been having an affair for years.

“Nash!” A woman’s voice broke through my reverie and I turned to see a middle-aged woman with Nash’s eyes coming toward us, arms outstretched.

“Mom.” Nash moved away from me and caught her up in a huge hug, holding her tightly.

“I’ve missed you so much,” she said, tears filling her eyes.

“I know. I’m sorry. I’ll do better this summer.”

“Okay.” She blinked away her tears and turned to me, curiosity mingling with the smile on her face. “Hello. I’m Nita Reilly, Nash’s mother.”

“It’s so nice to meet you.” I smiled back. “I’m Sariah Ansari.”

She took my hand, giving Nash the side-eye. “I didn’t realize Nash was seeing someone—and I must say, you are absolutely stunning, Sariah. Your dress is incredible.”

“Th-thank you.” Somehow, I couldn’t find the words to correct her assumption about Nash and me.

“Mom, Sariah and I are—”

“Nash!” A deep, booming voice made me start and I turned to see a man who had to be Nash’s father striding toward us, hand outstretched. “So good to see you, son!”

Nash sidestepped a hug, shaking his hand instead. “Dad.”

“Carl, meet Nash’s girlfriend Sariah. Isn’t she lovely?” Nita looked pleased as punch and I was torn between correcting her and just leaving it alone. It felt like such a small thing in the grand scheme of shit that could potentially blow up tonight.

“Hello! Nice to meet you! Carl Reilly!” Everything he said and did was loud and over the top, and there was no doubt where Nash got some of his gregarious personality. The difference, of course, was that Nash knew when to tone it down and his father obviously hadn’t figured that out yet.

“Nash, there are so many people here that want to see you,” Nita said. “And your grandmother is at the table already. You know she doesn’t move around so well anymore.”

“Of course. I can’t wait to see her.” Nash sent a disgruntled look in his father’s direction before reaching for my hand and tugging me forward.

“Nash!” A tall, beautifully coiffed blond in a slinky black dress and a bright smile ran in our direction.

I mentally groaned but Nash turned his face before she could kiss him and immediately pulled me against his side. “Hey, Jana. Good to see you.”

She looked me up and down appraisingly before deciding I wasn’t worth the time and turned back to Nash.

“Sariah, this is my cousin’s wife, Jana. Jana, this is Sariah.”

“I didn’t realize you were dating anyone.” She looked almost offended, and I had to bite back a laugh.

This was obviously going to be a thing tonight, and every time we tried to correct the assumption, Nash’s name was called out. He was pulled in a dozen different directions, and I made the subconscious decision to just let it go. This was already a clusterfuck. If I decided not to forgive Nash, I’d never see these people again and he could just tell his mom it didn’t work out. He didn’t need any other aggravation.

“I’m sorry,” Nash breathed in my ear. “I’ll set my mom straight about our relationship as soon as I get a second alone with her.”