5. Chapter Five

"Oh, no. There"s Lance"s grandparents." I duck my head behind Rafe"s broad shoulders, praying they didn"t see me. The hotel ballroom is already crowded with wedding guests as we make our way to our assigned table.

"It"s going to be alright, Eden." Rafe"s warm and reassuring voice pulls me out from my hiding place, his hand enveloping mine. "How do you want to handle this? Should I be Rafe Rameriez, the celebrated winger for the Chicago Kraken? Or are we just a regular couple here to celebrate a wedding?"

I gaze into his chocolate-brown eyes, and I know the answer. I don"t want to use Rafe for his celebrity status. I want to be a normal couple enjoying a romantic night at a pre-wedding party.

"I want to be a regular couple."

His eyes light up at my answer, and I wonder what he"s thinking.

"We can still have some fun tonight, right?"

I should be nervous about the look in his eyes, but if I"m honest with myself, I want to have a little fun this weekend.

"Let"s have some fun." The words are barely out of my mouth when Lance"s grandparents descend on us.

"Eden, dear. I didn"t expect you would actually show up for the wedding." Lance"s grandmother, Nancy, says, her eyes sliding to Rafe. "Who"s your friend?" She tilts her head back with a smug expression.

The urge to wipe that smug look off her face and tell her my date is none other than Rafe Rameriez, the reigning NHL hockey player of the year wars inside me, but I already told Rafe I wanted to be a normal couple this weekend. I"m not going back on my word to him.

"This is," I start to say, but Rafe cuts me off.

"I"m Dr. Drake Ramoray," Rafe says, shaking Nancy"s hand. A look of disbelief crossing her shocked face.

Rafe glances at me as I fight a smile at his absurd introduction.

"Dr. Drake Ramoray," Lance"s grandfather Harold repeats. "How did you two meet?" Harold reaches out his hand to shake Rafe"s.

"I"m an emergency room doctor. I met Eden when she came to my ER with something stuck in her," He pauses when I gasp, my eyes snapping to his face. He"d better not say vagina. How embarrassing would that be? "Ear." He finishes, his eyes never leaving mine.

I sigh in relief, "Yes, doctor." I tug on Rafe"s arm. "It was love at first sight. If you"ll excuse us." I nod at Lance"s grandparents, pulling Rafe into a semi-private spot behind one of the wedding decorations.

"What was that all about?" I punch him in the shoulder to emphasize my displeasure with his introduction.

"What? I thought we decided to have a little fun tonight."

"And you thought lying about who we are would be fun?"

"I mean, come on, did you see the look on their faces when I said I was a doctor? It was priceless. I bet they wish their grandson Lance was a doctor."

I give in, because it was fun to see their smug faces change into shocked faces when they found out I"m dating a doctor. "Fine, but I want to have a fun occupation this weekend too."

"Um, don"t they already know you"re a romance author?"

Here comes the moment I dread when I tell people the truth about my writing. "I"m not exactly a romance author." I bite my lip, working up the courage to tell Rafe the truth. "I don"t write romance. I write erotica."

Rafe"s smile never falters at my words. If anything, he looks happy about my confession. "That makes a lot more sense," I give him a confused look. "Earlier at the bar, I kind of read over your shoulder what you were typing."

"You what?" I try to sound outraged at his admission, but instead, it comes out all breathy like one of the heroines in my erotic novels.

"You look familiar," a voice behind me says, causing me to turn around and face the stranger I"ve never met before, looking at Rafe.

"You might recognize him from one of his movies," I say, deciding to play along.

"Oh, you"re an actor." The stranger says, his eyes never leaving Rafe"s face. "That"s why you look so familiar. What movies have you been in?"

"He"s not that kind of an actor." I smother a giggle behind my hand.

"What other kind of actor would he be?" The stranger"s eyebrows scrunch together, and I have to fight back another giggle.

"He"s an amateur adult film star," I say, earning me a curious look from Rafe.

The stranger"s eyes widen as they drop down to inspect Rafe"s porn star bulge.

"Let me tell you how I met Eden." "It was her first day on the job site. She was assigned to be my fluffer." Rafe starts to tell the story of how we met, but the stranger cuts him off.

"Nice to meet you." The stranger says as we watch him run away like his pants are on fire.

"I can"t believe you told him I was your fluffer." I punch Rafe in the arm.

"What, you made me an amateur porn star. If anything, I"m a pro at everything I do." He rubs his arm, making a big production of how hard I hit him.

"Sh, someone might hear you." My giggle has now turned into a full-on laugh at his mock anger at being called amateur at anything.

When he continues to pout, I say the first thing that comes to my mind, "You want to get out of here and go back to our room?"