Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

Hudson

I walked Whitney to her door, feeling like I'd been checked into the boards. But there was no time to reflect on my new status as a husband , for God's sake. The whirlwind day wasn't over yet. "I have to run a quick errand. When I get back, we'll FaceTime Gramps." I wished we could tell him in person, but we were pressed for time. We also had to call my agent and Whitney's grandmother. I ran a finger down the shoulder of her dress, the satin soft under my touch. "Would you leave this on for the call to Gramps?"

She smoothed a hand down my lapel, and my muscles hardened under her touch. Her eyes twinkled. "As long as you wear your suit." She patted my chest in farewell and slipped inside her apartment.

I hauled ass to the mall across the street, returned in thirty minutes with a bulging pocket, and rang her doorbell.

A smile lit her face when she opened the door. "That was quick." She'd taken off her high heels, so she had to tilt her head back to meet my gaze.

"Told you." I stepped inside. "Let's sit down." We settled on her couch, and my stomach jangled as much as it had at the County Clerk-Recorder's Office, though I hadn't let it show.

Whitney had needed me to be strong, confident, and determined in what we were doing.

Though, in truth, I'd been in shock. Shit , I'd gotten married. I'd done the very thing I vowed I would never do after Juliana shattered me.

But at least I hadn't stupidly fallen in love again. A marriage for the greater good was better than a marriage for love. And, ultimately, this was temporary anyway.

But I'd been a thoughtless asshole for not having a ring for Whitney. I extricated the velvet box from my pants pocket. "I got you a ring." And hoped to God it fit. I opened the box, and a white gold eternity band encrusted with two carats of diamonds sparkled in the light.

She gasped, and her hands flew to her mouth. "It's too much." She gently closed the box lid. "I'm fine with a simple band."

I opened the box again and removed the ring. "You deserve it." I took her left hand in mine and slid the ring onto her slender finger.

"But…diamonds? And so many of them."

I wanted her to have the best—even in a fake marriage—because I could tell she had a tender, romantic heart. But to override her objections and encourage her to accept the ring, I appealed to her logic. "You're the wife of a multi-million-dollar professional hockey player. We need to keep up appearances."

Her expression fell. "Oh. I hadn't thought of that. Okay."

Fuck. We'd been married less than two hours, and I'd already hurt her feelings. Twice. "Think of it this way." I met her gaze and held it. "It's a beautiful ring for a beautiful woman." I meant every word .

A shy smile lifted her lips. "Well, thank you. It is a beautiful ring." She held out her hand and spread her fingers, wiggling them so the diamonds twinkled in the late afternoon sunshine.

I blew out a breath and swore I'd be a better husband. Hadn't I learned anything from my grandparents' happy marriage?

Gramps. My gut tightened.

"Ready to FaceTime Gramps?" I grabbed my phone, and my hand clenched around it, threatening to crack the case. I'd never deliberately lied to Gramps—even as a kid—and this was a whopper as a first-time lie.

Whitney placed her hand on my shoulder. "We're doing this for the right reasons. As far as he knows, we're madly in love." She squeezed. "He'll be happy for us."

I could only hope. I scooted close to her to include us both in the frame and dialed.

Just when I thought the call would go to voicemail, Gramps's face appeared on the screen. The view shook as the hand holding the phone trembled.

Whitney clutched my thigh but smiled on camera.

"Oh! Whitney's with you," Gramps said, his voice reedy.

"We have some news, Gramps." My palms grew damp, and my heart threatened to beat out of my chest.

"I like the sound of that," he rasped.

"We…" I faltered, lying to Gramps weighing me down.

Whitney jumped in. "We've been seeing each other for…a while…without telling you."

"That's wonderful. I knew there was something going on between you two."

"Well, that's not the best news." She held up her ring finger. "We got married today!"

"What!" He dropped the phone .

Fuck. Panic flooded my chest. Maybe the shock was too much for his heart.

We stared at Gramps's ceiling until he came into view and picked up the phone. His face filled the frame.

A smile lifted his mouth, and his brown eyes crinkled. "Congratulations! I'm thrilled!"

My tight gut unclenched, and everything inside me sagged in relief.

"Tell me about the wedding."

I opened my mouth, but Whitney cut in. "I booked a sweet little chapel, and we were going to surprise you with an invitation."

Why, the little liar. But she was covering for me, and I didn't have to lie directly to Gramps. My mouth twitched with a smile.

"But we were so excited, we couldn't wait. I'm sorry you missed it." She playfully pouted. "Forgive us?"

"Of course! These old knees are bothering me right now, anyway. I'm just glad you got married. But is there a reason you had to get married right away?" His gaze was hopeful.

Whitney cocked her head. "Oh!" Her cheeks colored. "It's not like that. We didn't want a big wedding, and wanted to start our life together sooner rather than later."

"I thought maybe you had some more good news for me." His rheumy eyes crinkled at the corners with a grin.

My heart sank like a puck into the net by the opposing team. That was news I'd never give him.

But at least I'd made him a happy man by getting married.

We ended the call with a promise to send the wedding photo.

"Should we call your grandmother now?"

She bit her lip, the smiles she'd called up for Gramps gone. "Yeah, let's get it over with." She placed her phone on the coffee table with a trembling hand, opened her contacts, and tapped the screen. The phone rang.

"Hello, Whitney!" a woman's thin voice answered.

"Hi, Grandma!" Despite her obvious nervousness, a grin tipped her lips. "You're on speakerphone, and I've got someone special here with me."

"Oh? Who?"

"Hudson Talbott. He's the goalie for the San Jose Blazers, and my neighbor."

"Hi, Hudson. I'm Mary St. James."

Whitney had taken her mother's maiden name as her pen name? "Nice to meet you, Mrs. St. James."

"What's going on, Whitney?" Grandma's voice was wary.

"Well, I have some good news and some bad news. The good news is, Hudson and I got married today!"

Silence carried over the line, while Whitney's hands clenched into fists on her knees. Sweat broke out on my forehead.

"You…got married?" Grandma's voice wavered. "Why is this the first I'm hearing about this?"

"Hudson and I have been seeing each other for some time, but we've been keeping it a secret. We didn't want to get anyone's hopes up. But we decided to get married today!"

Could Grandma hear the false perkiness in Whitney's tone over the phone? She'd acted so well with Gramps but was failing miserably with Grandma.

I wrapped Whitney's fist in my hand. "You can blame it on me. I couldn't wait any longer to make Whitney my wife. You know Whitney. How could I resist?" I chuckled, hoping I sounded more sincere than Whitney had.

"Oh…well…congratulations then. But…does this mean you're not moving to Virginia?"

Whitney's fist tightened. "No?—"

"But we have a visit planned as soon as the season ends," I cut in. "You and Whitney can work out the details of the trip when we have a date."

"That would be lovely."

"I'll talk to you again soon, Grandma. Love you."

"Love you too."

Whitney hung up. In a choked voice, she said, "That could have gone better."

I patted her hand. "I promise you'll visit often. And while I'm there, I'll hire a farmhand to help around the property."

"Thank you," she whispered.

There was one more call I had to make, but I'd make it in private. I grimaced inwardly. Richard would probably be angry that I hadn't informed him I was getting married and that he hadn't had a chance to vet my wife. Tough shit. While this was a marriage of convenience meant to repair my reputation, Whitney wasn't a pawn. She was a living, breathing person with tender feelings.

But telling Gramps and Grandma had been easy compared to what we might face when telling our friends and teammates. "We have a lot to talk about," I said, gently. "Do you have time for dinner?"

"Yeah. I finished my manuscript revisions this morning. I can take the time."

"Let's order in, because we should talk in private. We need to get our story straight."

So we could betray our friends' trust.