Chapter 22

Steve

When I wake up, Eliza is already out of bed, and I can tell she didn’t sleep well. “Are you okay?” I ask.

“I’ll get there,” she says, searching for her robe. “Charles isn’t my favorite person, but we need his help with this.”

“He’s not going to stand on the table and accuse us of having a fake relationship.”

Eliza sighs. “I know.”

“How about I run out to Tim Hortons and pick up coffee and donuts?”

“I’m not sure he’ll eat them, but I will.”

“What’s your favorite kind? I should know that as your boyfriend.”

The tension leaves her shoulders. I know yesterday with Tara was hard. I hate that I didn’t manage the situation better, or even see it coming. But it did get some of our feelings out on the table, so maybe that’s a good thing? I don’t know what to think. Usually, when a woman confesses she has feelings for me, I’m gone before she’s done talking. But I don’t feel that way with Eliza. I don’t want to hurt her, and I really want to see this deal through. I was telling the truth when I said she was the only woman on my mind. I just don’t know quite what that means for me.

“My favorite donuts are the sour cream.”

I nod. “I’ll make sure there are a few of those in the dozen.” I reach for my wallet and keys. “I know how you take your tea. Do you know how Charles would like his coffee?”

She shakes her head. “I can text him and ask?”

“I’ll get my coffee, and I’ll pick him up black coffee. I should have any fixings he might want.”

“That’s a better idea. It seems less planned that way. I don’t think he’ll eat donuts, but he’s surprised me before.”

I race off to our neighborhood Tim Hortons, and after circling the block twice for a parking space, I luck out when I find someone pulling out. When I walk into the store, the line is long. I don’t know when it isn’t, but they’re efficient, and in less time than I expect, I’m stocked with a dozen donuts and a tea and two coffees—black for Charles, Earl Grey for Eliza, and a double espresso for me.

As I drive back to my place, I spot the fruit stand and swerve over to an open parking spot. I race in to pick up a fruit tray and some fresh-squeezed juice. Regardless of whether Charles eats any of this, I want to do it right.

When I pull up, I see Charles’ car already parked out front. He’s a good twenty minutes early. Figures.

I walk in with my goodies and extend my hand to him. “Nice to actually meet you. I’ve seen you around the stadium and at games.”

Charles nods. If I had to guess, he’s in his late forties. His head is shaved, and his blue eyes are piercing. This morning he’s wearing an expensive tailored suit. He’s not wearing a wedding band, but he is wearing a Patek Philippe watch that easily cost a half-million dollars .

I place my bounty on the table. “I don’t know how you take your coffee, so I have a cup of black, and we can add anything you might like.”

“Black is fine,” Charles says.

“I also picked up donuts, fruit, and orange juice.”

“The coffee is fine.” He turns back to look at Eliza, seated on the loveseat in the living room.

“I was just telling Charles about my concerns.”

I nod and hand her the tea.

She clears her throat. “If these hires were insisted on by my dad, that’s fine. We’ll live with his decision. But if they were authorized by someone else, I need to understand who, as they seem to be in conflict with Darius Johnson’s advice, which Dad usually follows. As you know, Donnie Cochran has made an offer on the team, and the more the value goes down, so will his offer.”

Charles eyes her, his face expressionless. “It was my understanding that you are looking to take the team over.”

“I am, but as I’m sure you know, my father isn’t sold on that idea.”

He nods. “It’s unlikely that your father would want to sabotage the team.”

“I agree,” Eliza says.

I swallow a bite of a maple donut. “Did you mention that Darius has documentation about the problems these players had with their previous teams?”

Eliza shakes her head. “No. Thank you for reminding me. You can reach out to Darius, Charles, if you’d like those details. All three were on a do-not-hire list he’d created because of issues with their previous teams.”

Charles is quiet a moment. “I’ll wait on that,” he says. “Please don’t tell anyone I’m looking into this. I want to see if there’s a money trail. I will also broach the subject with your father.”

“Okay.” Eliza nods. “And I’m going over tomorrow to see him. ”

“I’m going with you,” I volunteer.

“Oh, right.”

Charles looks away, seeming in deep thought.

“What can I do to help?” Eliza asks. “This team is important to me. I’ve worked very hard to be in a position where my father feels ready to give it to me.”

“I’m aware.” Charles looks at Eliza and then me. “I’ll pull the banking information and let you know what I find out.”

“Thank you, Charles.”

Charles stands and takes his coffee with him as he goes. As predicted, he never touched the fruit or the donuts.

Eliza shows him to the door, and when she returns, I pull her in for a deep embrace. “He’s going to check this out. That’s good news.”

“I know.” She nods and looks away for a moment. “I think he wanted to say something about my dad’s requirement for me, but he didn’t know if I was playing you or you’re a willing participant in my scam.”

“I thought the same thing. But if we keep this up, we’ll be fine.”

“I hate this,” she mumbles into my shoulder.

I give her an extra squeeze. “I need to head over to the hospital and check on a patient. We’ll need to leave for the Martins’ about six. I think we’re better off taking a car service over. That way we won’t be drinking and driving.”

She nods. “I’m good with that. I have an appointment for a manicure, pedicure, and bikini wax.”

“I look forward to closely inspecting that bikini wax.”

She rolls her eyes, but she also smiles, so I think we’re back in a good place.

I head out shortly after that, and while Eliza does her thing all day, I check in on my patient and then run into Michael at the hospital.

“What’s up?” I call as I see him coming down the corridor .

“I had a delivery of twins early this morning. Now, I’m going to take a nap before I meet up with Nadine to go to Davis’ place tonight.”

“That sounds like a good idea. I’m a little tired myself.”

“Really?” Michael teases. “Are you bringing your friend this evening? Is she why you’re tired?”

“You mean Eliza?”

He nods with a cheeky grin.

“Yes. She’s coming with me. Try to be kind and not give her too hard a time.”

“We’d never be anything but kind to her. However, you? I can’t help it if I happen to tell the stories of some of your past friends.”

I roll my eyes. “She’s stuck with me for the time being, and it would be miserable if she hated me.”

“No promises,” he singsongs as he walks away.

I realize I should prepare Eliza for what to expect tonight. These guys are a good group, but sometimes, when we’re together in a private setting, we revert to being fifteen years old and find humor in the worst places, not to mention how much we tease one another.

After stopping by my office at the hospital, I head back home to work out. I end up going on an hour-long run and then lifting some weights in my home gym. I’m in the middle of that when I hear a catcall from the doorway.

“Wow,” Eliza says. “I could sell very expensive tickets to what I’m seeing right now.”

I give her a side grin. “I need to shower before we go. Care to join me?”

She shakes her head, allowing her hair to flow over her shoulders. “I just got my hair blown out, so I have to pass.”

“Hmmm…that’s a shame,” I lament as I follow her upstairs. We have almost an hour before we need to leave.

She walks to her room, and at first, I’m confused, but then I realize she’s looking through her clothes. “I don’t know what to wear tonight,” she explains when she catches me watching her.

“It won’t be dressy. Paisley is usually in jeans, and Nadine too, though the girl who comes with Jack will most likely be in a micro mini dress. And I think Henry will be there with Allison, and she could be in a dress or a pair of jeans.”

“So, you’re telling me I should wear jeans.”

“I’m not telling you anything. You wear what you feel comfortable wearing. If you want to go naked, I’ll bring a blackout curtain, so the guys don’t get jealous.”

She narrows her eyes. “Okay. Yoga pants and a fleece pullover then.”

I shrug. “If you’d like.”

“I’m just teasing. I wouldn’t embarrass you that way.”

“I wouldn’t be embarrassed. You look hot in your yoga pants.”

Eliza smirks. “I’ll get it figured out.”

“I’m going to take a shower. The option to join me stands if you change your mind.”

“I’ll try to remember that.”

I shower quickly, and when I walk out, Eliza is standing in my bedroom, dressed in jeans that hug every curve and a blue sweater. She’s staring down at her boots. She doesn’t look happy.

“What’s wrong?” I ask.

She reaches down and zips her boot up. “I’ve met your friends before, but it was out and about. Being in someone’s home is more intimate, which makes me nervous.”

“No need to be,” I assure her. “I’m sure Davis and Paisley will have put away their whips and chains.”

Eliza’s eyes grow big, and I can’t help but belly laugh. “I’m just kidding. You already know they’re easygoing and very likeable. I can’t vouch for their manners tonight, but I’ll do my best to keep them in line.”

“Just know I had pictures of Henry, Phillip, Griffin, and Davis on my wall when I was a teen. It’s a little surreal.”

I shake my head. “Why does everyone say that? ”

“I bet you had the picture of the Terrazzo triplets on your wall.”

I look at her, my mouth falling open. “They weren’t on my wall. They were on the back of my door.”

Eliza laughs. “I thought so. What would you do if they were my friends and we were going out with them?”

“I’d try to think of a way to have them join us for a night.”

“Ha.” She shakes her head. “In your dreams.”

I stop and look at her. “Actually, not really. I don’t want to share you with anyone.”

She blushes. “Oh.”

I reach for her. “Hey. Don’t stress about this. We’re having fun, and everything is going well. Let’s enjoy ourselves. This is no pressure, right?”

“Right.”

I squeeze her hand. “I’ll meet you downstairs.”

We’re bringing a bottle of expensive scotch that I got when I was on my last visit to Scotland. But I busy myself with pouring it into a cheap bottle—after pouring the cheap scotch right down the drain—as a joke. If I’m lucky, no one will share with me. Eliza picked up a nice bouquet on her way home from her day of beauty, so we’re ready to present ourselves as guests. I check for messages from the hospital, and there are none, so I’m good to go.

My phone pings, signaling that our driver is out front. I walk to the base of the stairs. “Eliza? The car is here.”

“Almost ready.”

I hear her run across the floor. What is she doing?

It takes a good five more minutes for her to walk down the stairs, but when she does, she looks absolutely delicious. She’s changed to a green wrap sweater that shows off her eyes, as well as a wonderful amount of cleavage.

“Maybe we should cancel and just stay home,” I suggest.

“You’re funny. I’m ready.” She takes a deep breath.

“We’re not heading out to war,” I tease .

“I know, but these are your closest friends.”

I shrug. “They already like you. And we’re not that kind of crowd. We have enough people who judge us. We get together because we trust one another, and we can be ourselves. That doesn’t mean they won’t give me a hard time tonight and tell you all sorts of secrets that I would prefer you never know, but it should be fairly painless for you.” I hand her the flowers, and she looks at me funny when I pick up the cheap bottle of scotch. “It’s a joke.”

I lock the front door behind us, and we walk out together.

“What stories can I expect they’ll embarrass you with? Booze? Sex? Drugs? Rock n roll?”

“They’ve witnessed plenty of my embarrassing moments. I hate to spoil the fun. But I can tell you they’re looking forward to filling you in and getting to know you better.”

“I’m excited to meet them too. You said you told them about our arrangement, right?”

“Yes. When we were first considering this, I talked to my friends about what your dad was asking. But everyone here values privacy, so you don’t have to worry.”

She smiles. “I think I’m going to like them.”

We slide into the backseat of the car, and in no time, we arrive at a large high rise that overlooks Stanley Park and Coal Harbor. “I’ve heard about this building,” Eliza says. “Each apartment is multiple floors, right?”

“Yes, that was an issue for the builder, which wasn’t my father, thankfully. He was disappointed that he didn’t get the building, but with eighteen stories and less than a dozen owners, Vancouver’s City Council was not happy.”

“I know they want affordable housing, but when real estate is limited, it’s hard for anything to be affordable. Even the suburbs are overpriced for what you get.”

We take the elevator up to the penthouse, and the door opens to a gathering of people. The party is already underway .

“Sorry we’re late,” I announce.

“It was all his fault,” Eliza adds.

They all turn and greet us.

Davis steps in and takes the scotch. “Really?”

“It’s my recent favorite.” I give him an honest smile.

“Steve has told me so much about your art,” Eliza says to Paisley. “And I loved what I saw at Julia Martin’s fundraiser, especially the silver-dipped driftwood. It’s remarkable.”

“We don’t have any of her pieces here,” Davis pouts. “She sells it before it even walks in our door.”

“That’s not true.” Paisley pats him on the chest. “The painting above the fireplace is mine.”

“Okay, that’s true. But everyone here has one of your driftwood pieces but us.”

Paisley rolls her eyes.

We walk farther into the crowd, and I make sure to reintroduce everyone to Eliza.

“Will you stop?” Nadine teases. “You may date a lot of women, but we like Eliza, and we definitely remember who she is.”

“Let the teasing begin…” I warn Eliza, and she squeezes my hand.

Davis holds up the bottle I brought. “Anyone else want some of this rot gut beside Steve?”

There are no takers, and I’m loving this. “Suit yourselves.”

Davis opens the bottle, takes a sniff, and pours us each a glass with two fingers over ice. “You’re a scam artist,” he says as he hands it to me.

I shrug. “I thought that way you’d have some of Scotland’s finest small-batch left after tonight.”

Davis shakes his head, all smiles.

The girls steal Eliza away, and I sit down to talk with my friends.

“So how is the roommate thing going with you two?” Davis asks .

“Pretty good. The plan is proceeding. She met Mary and John, plus Olivia and her kids.”

“How did that go?” Jack asks.

“They loved her. Olivia appreciated the cover Eliza provided while she told my parents that she and Paul are divorcing. I think it kept them from totally going off the deep end.”

Everyone shakes their head at that.

“I haven’t heard from Olivia since, though. I wouldn’t be surprised if my parents were burning up her phone lines.”

“How is Eliza’s family feeling about things?”

I shrug. “Her dad has someone following us to make sure we’re authentic.”

“Wow, that’s some serious damage control.”

I look over at Eliza. Allison is telling her a story, but she looks at me and smiles. It makes my heart sing.

After a moment, a woman comes in and taps Paisley on the shoulder. They speak for a moment, and then Paisley nods as she disappears.

“Okay, everyone,” Paisley announces. “Dinner is ready.”

As the crowd moves into the dining room, I walk toward Eliza. “Everything good?”

“Definitely. I’ve learned I’m a step up from the cheerleaders you typically bring to these parties.”

“I could have told you that.”

She smiles. “Also, you gave a week-long trip to San Francisco to a woman who went with you to some silent auction?”

I grimace. “I might have done that. She indicated that she was feeling more serious about things than I wanted, so I gave her the trip and encouraged her to take a friend.”

Eliza crosses her arms. “You dumped her in front of your friends.”

“Whenever I spend time with a woman, I’m very clear. I don’t do relationships. When they start to think differently, I bail. Usually anyway,” I add.

I lace my fingers with hers as we walk in to eat, although I’m not sure why. Everyone here knows we’re in a fake relationship, so there’s no need to, but it feels right. I’m doing something like a relationship with her, I realize, whether I meant to or not. And I’m okay with that—for now. It’s the two of us against the world.

We take our places for dinner and enjoy a chicken and pasta dish that is outstanding. The drinks flow freely, but my friends hold off with their true shenanigans until after the dinner dishes are cleared.

“Eliza,” Michael starts. “You’re the favorite of all the women Steve has brought to meet us.”

“I guess that’s a good thing.” She looks at me and smiles.

“Well, I thought you might want to know what you’re getting into, so you can go into this with your eyes open.”

“Michael…” Nadine warns.

“It was different with us, because Nadine and I went to middle school and high school together.”

“Yes.” Nadine looks at him. “And you were a dick then. You shouldn’t be a dick now.”

The crowd laughs.

“All I want to say is that Steve cheats at golf because there’s no way anyone can really be as good as he seems to be and not be on the tour.”

“You’ve found me out.” I laugh hard. “There are a lot of things you could have said, but you’re going to lie and tell her I cheat at golf?”

Michael shakes his head. “I’m not lying. I don’t know how you do it, but there is no way you’re that good.”

Eliza’s hand goes to my thigh. “Trust me. He’s that good.”

“Ohhhh,” the chorus from my friends is loud.

I lean over and kiss the side of her head. “What can I say? I’m gifted in many ways.”

“Oh gawd,” Allison complains. “Paisley? Can you get the microscope out so we can measure their dicks?”

“Hey, I’ve got a big dick,” Henry exclaims.

“Of course, you do,” Nadine says patronizingly.

The table is in hysterics. I lean over and whisper, “I told you we behave like fifteen-year-olds.”

“It’s great,” Eliza says.

The conversation doesn’t improve as the night progresses, but we all have fun, and we make plans to host them at my place after the season and the holidays are over.

On the drive home, I pull Eliza onto my lap. “You were the sexiest one there tonight.”

“I’m glad you think so.” She moves her hips over my hardness. “I didn’t want to break anyone’s spirit by telling them you certainly don’t need a microscope to measure. More like a measuring tape.”

I throw my head back and laugh.