87. Luke

Chapter 87

Luke

Pullingout of the parking ramp, I turn the way Natalie directs me.

“So…” I drag the word out. “Care to explain why you were Blizz tonight?”

Natalie groans. “Not really.”

“Sorry,” I chuckle. “I shouldn’t have worded it as a question. I need to know.”

Natalie backhands me in the stomach. “Quit laughing!”

I don’t block the hit; I’m too busy wiping tears from my eyes as we wait at a red light.

“I’m sorry,” I laugh. “I just…”

I didn’t know about the dude she hit in the face with a T-shirt out of the T-shirt cannon. Or, more specifically, the beer cup she hit that he was in the process of drinking from.

“It was awful.” She tries to sound serious, but when I glance over at her, she’s smiling.

“Did he at least catch the shirt?” I take my foot off the brake when the light changes.

“Yeah. Probably soaked in beer though.”

“Well, there you go. He got a free shirt and a great story.” I chuckle again. “I’m sorry I missed it.”

She huffs. “I’m sure it was recorded by somebody.”

I sit up straighter. “I’m gonna have to search for that.”

Natalie points out the windshield. “Turn up there.”

Following her directions, we pull into the parking lot of a hotel not too far from her office at the Biters training facility.

The hotel is fine. It’s just not the type of place I’d expect her to stay in, though I don’t know why I have that assumption.

“I can just run up,” she tells me.

I shift into park. “I’ll come with you.”

She doesn’t bother arguing, and we get out of the SUV together.

We meet at the back bumper and head across the blacktop.

The lobby doors automatically slide open as we approach, and I frown.

I know it’s a normal feature of a hotel, but I don’t like that she’s staying in such an unsecured building.

We walk through, and there isn’t even a visible employee behind the desk.

It’s getting late, but it’s not that late. I’m sure the employee is sitting in some back room watching TV, but there should be someone watching who’s coming and going.

I don’t like this.

We get on the elevator, and I wrinkle my nose. It smells like the dance party we got married during, which is fine for a dance party, but not for a hotel elevator.

I really don’t like this.

The cab stops on the third floor, and I follow Natalie out.

She walks us to her room, and her door is at the farthest point from any of the fire exits.

“Nope,” I say as she unlocks her room.

“No what?” Natalie looks back at me as she enters the room.

“No, you aren’t staying here.” I follow her into the room. “Pack it all up.”

She stops and turns to face me. “What are you going on about?”

“Princess.” I step up to her so we’re chest to chest. “I’m going on about the fact that this place isn’t safe. You’re coming home with me. We can argue about it later.”

Her mouth drops open, then she closes it with a scowl.

Not waiting for her agreement, I cross the living room and lift one of the suitcases lining the wall. It feels empty, so I drop it onto the couch.

“Luke, I can’t just move in with you.”

I turn to face her. “Why not?”

She blinks at me. “Because.”

“Because why?” I cross my arms.

“Because.” She starts to cross her arms, then makes a face like it hurts and drops her arms back to her side.

I frown, knowing she must’ve banged her elbows a few times when she fell. “Come on, the quicker we go, the quicker we can get you off your feet. You know, an ice bath would be good for all those aches.”

She dips her chin down and looks up at me like I just said the most absurd thing in the world. “If you think, for a single second, that I will willingly step into an ice bath, you’re even more disturbed than I thought.”

“Stop.” I lift a shoulder and lean into it. “You’re gonna make me blush.”

Natalie rolls her eyes at me.

I reach for the next suitcase, this one much heavier, and roll it toward the center of the room. “Now tell me your because.”

Natalie huffs. “I can’t just move in with you because of lots of reasons. One being the fact that you’ve been ignoring me for two weeks, Luke.”

The humor evaporates off me. “I’m sorry.” I step closer to her, wanting to touch her but keeping my hands at my sides. “I was feeling… used. And my stupid ego couldn’t move aside long enough to listen to reason. Anyone’s reason. And that was shitty of me.”

She bites her lip. “I… I’m sorry too. Sorry for roping you into this.” She gestures between us. “This marriage. It wasn’t fair of me to say… what I said to you in my office. Your reputation could’ve held up to the hit. It might have even been a boost for you. But I was thinking selfishly because my situation is different. Society is always harsher to women in these sorts of situations. And if the board—the Wag Corp board—heard the real version of the story, they’d do everything they could to convince my dad that I wasn’t cut out for CEO.”

Natalie looks so upset, and I hate it because, honestly, I’m not even mad at her anymore. I get it without her even explaining it. I don’t want to run a giant corporation, but clearly, she does. And I know she’s worked hard for it.

I think about the stuff her dad said. About him being disappointed.

“I heard some of what your dad said that day in the office,” I tell her. “That wasn’t fair. And I should have stood up for you.”

She gives me a half smile. “Thanks, but that wouldn’t have helped. My dad is normally really chill. But his company is his second child, so he’s protective of it.” Her expression changes to exasperation. “Which is why I’m the one who should run it when he retires. I can actually implement the plans I’ve had for years—” Natalie shakes her head. “Never mind. That’s not important now.”

“It is important. And I’d like to learn more about those plans,” I say truthfully. “Maybe you can fill me in on some business lingo so when I have to meet your dad again, I don’t sound like a total dumbass.”

Natalie sighs. “I feel bad you two met the way you did. But I guess your girlfriend’s dad is supposed to be scary.”

She snaps her mouth shut, and I swear her cheeks pinken.

I reach up to brush my thumb over her cheek. “Are you blushing, Green Eyes?”

She swats my hand away. “No.”

“You can be my girlfriend and my wife at the same time.” I grip her sides and haul her against me.

Her hands land on my chest. “How does that work?”

“Girlfriend on your knees, wife in my bed.”

“Luke.” She gapes at me.

I hum and hold her tighter. “But if we get going again now, we aren’t checking out before tomorrow.” I drop my hold of her and step back. “And that just won’t do.”

“Certainly not,” Natalie grumbles, making me smile.

I cross the suite and look around the bedroom, spotting two more suitcases. “Do you have a specific way you like to pack?”

“I’ll just grab an overnight bag.”

I groan as I turn around to face her. “Natalie. The world believes our whirlwind wedding story. Your dad believes it. Most of my teammates believe it. I promise I’m done being a dickhead. You said sorry about the whole blackmail thing you pulled.” I watch the edge of her mouth twitch, and I know I have her. “And now that it’s all over, I can admit I got a little hot with you snapping at me.”

“Oh my god, Luke.”

“And even though I’m starting to think that your bank account could mop the floor with mine, I won’t even charge you rent.”

She shakes her head again. “Your salary history is public record, Mr. Muscles. So long as you haven’t blown it all on the ponies, I think you’re probably doing fine.”

I smirk. “You looked me up?”

She lifts a brow. “You didn’t?”

I tap my temple with my finger. “Ego, remember?”

“I remember,” Natalie sighs.

“Had I looked you up, I probably could’ve easily figured out that your family bought the Biters. Then I wouldn’t have been so taken aback when I showed up at your office.” I blow out a breath. “Not that any of that should make a difference, but I think I was already off-kilter when I walked up there. A little intimidated, if I’m honest.”

Natalie pulls a face. “Sorry I didn’t tell you.”

“Water under the bridge. And it’s on me for not doing a single Google search about my wife.”

She huffs. “Okay, so what’s the plan? I move in. We keep up the ruse. But for how long?”

My gut reaction is to say forever.

The plan in my mind is that she moves into my place, then stays there forever.

Natalie keeps going. “We can’t file for divorce now. Not until we want everyone to know about it, since there’s always the risk of someone leaking it. And if we file for divorce but keep seeing each other, it will cause speculation, which only leads to issues.”

“That’s true,” I say, because she’s not wrong.

It’s crazy to not want a divorce, but this is the same way I felt walking into her office that day—before it all fell apart.

I like Natalie.

We work well together.

We fuck good together.

She makes me laugh.

I make her blush.

What more do I need?

I nod once. “I know living together after just meeting is a bit… unconventional. But we’re both busy. You seem to be traveling half the time for work, and I have the rest of the season that will have me flying all over, so we really won’t be there together that much.” I lift a shoulder. “And I’m not gonna complain about having you in my bed on the nights we are home together.”

She’s looking at me like she’s considering what I’m saying.

I plow ahead. “If we can’t get a divorce without causing a stir, then I say we don’t do it at all.”

Her brows raise. “You want to just stay married?”

“I think we should just forget about that part.” My tone is casual.

“Forget about that part.” She repeats it in a tone that tells me she thinks I’m losing it.

I hold up my hand. “We’ll still be married. We’ll wear the rings, show up to events together. But really, we’re dating. So let’s keep dating. We can do all the dating things. People will just see them as married things, and if it doesn’t work, we can get a divorce when we break up.”

It hurts my chest to say that last part out loud, but I’m trying to be reasonable. And I feel like this is the right direction to take with Natalie.