Chapter 2

Oliver

When the siren goes off the team hits the ice in celebration of our win. A hard-fought game for sure, but we had no injuries tonight and that surely paid off with a victory against Phoenix.

“This game goes to Bear!” I exclaim when we enter the locker room. I give our burly goalie a fist bump and a bro hug as the team cheers him on. “Expertly maneuvered game tonight, man. You were on fire tonight.”

“Yeah, my knees will be telling me that through the next four ice baths, but I wouldn’t have it any other fucking way. We do what we gotta do to take what’s ours.”

Barrett “The Bear” Cunningham joined the team last year from Toronto as our starting goalie after our goalie of six years was traded. We weren’t sure how things were going to go with him given his new status on the team, but he’s shown us every step of the way that he deserves the job and he excels at it. It’s been an absolute pleasure having him on the team.

“You deserve a beer after tonight, Bear!” Griffin caps his shoulder. “First one’s on me.”

“I may be a little late,” he tells us. “Ice bath first, then stretches before I shower and get out of here.”

“No problem, man.” I tell him with a nod. “Take your time. We’ll see you at Jay’s?”

He nods. “I’ll be there.”

___

Since we don’t board the plane for New Orleans until eleven tomorrow, we all celebrate with a beer and the juiciest fucking burger Jay’s Sports Bar can whip up and they do not disappoint.

“What the fuck is she doing now?” Ledger says, shaking his head at his phone. The baffled smirk on his face tells me he’s not as pissed as he sounds.

“She who?” I swallow my bite. “You’re not still creeping all over Marlee’s social media are you?” Marlee Remington works in the front office and has for a couple of years now. She’s the Events and Operations Manager, which means every event that includes a member of the team goes through her. She knows where every one of us is supposed to be, when we’re supposed to be there and what we’re supposed to be doing. We see her daily if not every couple of days and it’s no secret Ledger has eyes for her. “Honestly why don’t you just ask her out already?”

Ignoring my question completely, he shakes his head and answers, “No. Not Marlee. My cousin.”

“Who’s your cousin? She famous?”

“Depends on who you ask, I guess. Her name is Scarlett Dayne. She’s an influencer so I guess to a large enough group of people out there, she’s famous, yeah. She’s the one I mentioned last week. The one with the wedding.”

I snap my fingers after recalling his story. “Oh yeah, the one who got left at the altar?”

“Yep. That’s the one.”

Cringing, I lift my beer and take another gulp. “That must’ve been a terrible day for her.”

“Well, if you go by the outburst we all heard from the back of the church when she realized her fiancé didn’t show up, then yeah. You would feel terrible for her.”

“Uh oh.” I smile. “Sounds like a but coming on.”

“Buuut. She spent the rest of the night partying like it was her twenty-first birthday totally on the fiancé’s dime so…” Ledger shrugs with a laugh. “I guess things didn’t turn out so badly. I don’t know.”

“So, what’s she doing now? Throwing all this guy’s shit into the ocean? Pawning it off? Starring in a new reality tv show? The Un-housewives of L.A.?”

“No.” He huffs a laugh again. “She’s going on her honeymoon.”

My brows lift in pure morbid curiosity. “With the guy who left her?”

Ledger shakes his head. “No. She’s going on her own but she just put out a video asking for someone to go with her as her plus one to that big Once Upon a Halloween Night event in New Orleans. That’s why they chose New Orleans for their honeymoon destination. If I remember correctly, my mom mentioned they were taking the guy’s yacht out on a cruise after the party but Scarlett really wanted to attend this Halloween shindig.”

“I’ve heard that’s the party of the year. What influencer wouldn’t want to be there? She sounds like a smart woman.”

“You want to go with her?” He glances my way from his phone. “I’ll put in a good word for you.”

“What? No.” I frown. “Why would I want to do that?”

“I don’t know.” He shrugs and pauses as if he’s thinking about it. “I mean, she’s a great girl, as far as dates go. Fun, talkative. Conversational. She was always a spunk of personality growing up and in our adult years she’s a been a fan of the team, but she’s not a fan girl…if you know what I mean.”

“You mean she’s not going to toss her tits in my direction and beg me to motorboat her in the hotel hallway?” I scoff teasingly. “No fucking thank you.”

“Exactly.” He laughs but then I watch as his smile fades. His eyes still on her video. “Actually, my mom said she was devastated last week once the circus ended. She’s a good person. Hardworking. Compassionate. She may have been engaged to a filthy rich fiancé but she’s far from a trophy wife. She’s not like that at all. She didn’t deserve to be treated the way she was by this guy. He’s a glorified douche with a capital D. Scarlett wants to earn her spot in the world, you know? Like us.”

I cock my head. “Have we really earned our place in the world? Playing hockey, I mean?”

“Fuck man,” he huffs a laugh. “If we weren’t earning our place on the team, our fans and everyone else paying our salaries would drop us like a sack of hot shit.”

“I suppose that’s true.” Gesturing toward his phone with my chin, I ask to see a picture of her. When Ledger turns his phone around and I see her in the video she’s made, I must admit, she’s not at all how I had imagined.

I don’t know why I was expecting some blonde haired, blue-eyed valley girl, but Scarlett Dayne is anything but. Dark, burgundy-colored waves blow in the breeze around her heart-shaped face. Her mossy green eyes sparkle with excitement as she tells her story to all her fans. But what makes something in me sit up and take notice of her are the freckles peppered across her cheeks and the way her nose scrunches a little when she smiles.

She’s cute.

No. She’s more than cute.

She’s pretty.

Beautiful even.

“I mean, you’re going to be in town anyway,” Ledger murmurs next to me, noticing my piqued interest.

“Just for the game though and then we fly home.”

“Yeah, but we have two days off before we fly to Chicago. You can stay back and then meet us there. No problem.”

I glance up at the televisions hanging on the wall in the front of the bar. Two football games and another hockey game play on the screens. The hockey game looks to be the Red Tails and the Bay Scrapers. Red Tails are up two to one. My brother-in-law, Milo Landric is looking pretty sharp. I wouldn’t mind sitting at home and watching the end of this game.

“Why do you want me to do this so badly?”

My best friend gives me half a shrug and leans back against the booth. “Because the more I think about it, the more I think the two of you might get along really well.”

“How’s that?”

“Come on, Oli. You’re a fun guy and you’re single and she’s…” He shakes his head trying to find the right words. “She’s looking to be a little adventurous while she finds her footing after all the hurt she’s been through. Plus, if you do this, I won’t have to worry that she’s being taken advantage of. She’ll be safe with you. New Orleans isn’t necessarily the place to mess with strangers, you know?”

“And L.A. is?”

“You know what I mean.”

My elbows on the table, I press my forehead to my palm. “Why do I feel like this is one of those rom com stories my sister edits being written right in front of my face?”

“I mean never say never, I guess.” He smirks and nudges my arm. “Hey maybe we’ll be related through marriage someday.”

“In your fucking dreams, Ledge.”

His brows pinch together as he shakes his head. “No, not in my fucking dreams, dude. Those are saved for someone else.” He leans over and lays his head against my shoulder. Before I can shrug him off he says, “But maybe my swooniest, fan-girliest, oh-my-gosh-I-hope-Oliver-and-I-get-to-be-cousins-one-day dreams.”

“You know it’s never going to happen, right?”

“Come on.” He nudges a little harder. “Just look at this like a super fun blind date with a beautiful girl who just happens to be related to me so if on the off chance, you two were to one day fall in love and get married…”

This time I do push him off of me. “Yeah, yeah, yeah. I think ’ve heard enough.”

“Soooo, is that a yes?”

Is it a yes?

Is this even remotely a good idea?

What if it ends up being a terrible mistake?

What’s the worst that can happen?

She ends up crying the entire time forcing me to be the nice guy and perk her back up?

She doesn’t show up and I catch the next flight home?

I suppose I could at the very least meet the girl and see what happens.

Not like I have anything else to do.

Besides, with Ledger, there’s no way I’m getting out of this.

Unless she doesn’t pick me.

Except if I’m going all in with this, she better fucking pick me.

I take a deep breath and roll my eyes but only because Ledger is in my face giving me the worst puppy dog eyes I’ve ever seen. He needs help.

“Okay. Fine. I’ll do it.”

“Fuck, yeah, you will!”

“IF…” I raise my pointer finger. “She picks me. It’s perfectly fine if she wants to go with someone else.”

“Whatever.” Ledger smiles and starts moving his thumbs across his phone. “I’m DM-ing her right now to tell her you’re in.”

Once he’s done, he tosses his phone to the side and picks up his burger, eating halfway through it in two bites. The rest of us chat about tonight’s game, the goals scored by Griffin and August, and the amazing saves Bear had. Hours go by as they do when we’re hanging at Jay’s. The Redtails game ended an hour ago. They kicked ass as always which definitely hyped up the guys hanging out as we face off against them in the not too distant future. It’s always fun getting to play some hockey with my brother-in-law and his friends.

Just as I’m thinking about leaving, my phone buzzes in my pocket.

Charlee: Hey brother! Good game tonight! The new guy is looking amazing!

Me: Hey! Thanks! I see you guys are winning as well. The bar is replaying the east coast games here. Looking forward to our future faceoff. *smirk emoji*

Charlee: Is it bad that I wish you could both win when that happens?

Me: Yes. You should only be cheering for flesh and blood.

Charlee: LOL. In your dreams bro. Hate to tell you but I think you’re going down.

Me: HA! Is that what Milo tells you?

Charlee: I mean they’re the champions to beat. They just took the cup last season.

Me: Nowhere to go but down, Sis.

Charlee: Oooh buuurn! Those are some fightin’ words!

Me: Hey, I’m glad you texted. Looks like I’m staying in New Orleans an extra day for an event. So, I’ll fly to Chicago before our matchup. Alright if I stay with you and Milo for the night before the game? I wouldn’t mind hanging with my baby sis for a night if she’ll have me.”

Charlee: Milo says, “Oooh sleeping with the enemy. I like it.”

Me: LOL perfect. Can’t wait.

Charlee: See you then! Love you bro!

Me: Love you, Sis!

I’m about to return my phone to my pocket when I get another notification via social media.

Scarlett: Hi! My cousin, Ledger sent me a message about your interest in being my plus one for the Once Upon a Halloween Night event in New Orleans!

“Well, that was fast. She contacted me already.”

“Who?” Ledger asks. “Scarlett?”

“Yeah.”

“What did she say?”

“She wants to know if I’m really interested.”

“Well tell her you’re interested, Magallan!”

Me: Uh, hey. Yeah. I’m game if you are. I mean if there’s someone else you would rather take, that’s totally fine.

Scarlett: No. I think this is great! Ledger has said wonderful things about you in the past and now I won’t have to worry about someone only wanting to hang out with me because I’m…well…mildly famous on the internet. *cringe emoji* Sorry if that sounded a little conceited.

Me: Not at all. I totally get it. Ledger constantly treats me like the hot sex symbol that I clearly am. I think he even used the word ‘swoon’ earlier. *wink emoji*

“Dude, you did not just say that,” Ledger says, reading over my shoulder.

I chuckle. “Sure as fuck did.”

Scarlett: OMG you’re perfect! I like you already! *laugh emoji* Okay, so do you have a costume?

Me: Nope. Not yet. And honestly, I’m not sure how much time I’ll have to get one. We fly to New Orleans tomorrow for a game so I’ll already be in town. I’m sure there’s somewhere down there where I can grab one.

Scarlett: Oh great! Yeah! There are several cool shops down here for that sort of thing. Especially given the city is hosting the largest Halloween party of the year. Any chance you can pick me up at the airport? Then we can find you a costume.

Me: Yeah, I can do that. Send me your flight info. I’ll get a car and meet you there.

Scarlett: Perfect. Thank you so much for your willingness to attend this event with me Oliver! I really appreciate it! It’s going to be a blast!

Me: Looking forward to it. Oh, should I come up with a meeting spot or something at the airport?

Scarlett: Oh. Ummmm *smirk emoji* I don’t think that will be necessary.

Me: Okay…

Scarlett: Trust me. You’ll know who I am. I promise.

Me: I trust you. *wink emoji* Have a great flight! I’ll see you on Saturday.

I close out of my app and shove my phone back in my pocket.

“So, it’s done?”

I nod to an excited Ledger. “It’s done. Picking her up from the airport on Saturday.”

He gives himself an appreciative nod. “Fuckin’ right. I just set up my cousin with my best friend.”

“For the record,” I remind him, “This is the first and only time I’ll allow it because it’s not really a set up. It’s more like…me doing you a favor.”

“Yeah, yeah.” He laughs. “Call it what you want. I’ll just call it now. Y’all are gettin’ hitched.”

“Fuck you, dude.”