Total pages in book: 111
Estimated words: 107453 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 537(@200wpm)___ 430(@250wpm)___ 358(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 107453 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 537(@200wpm)___ 430(@250wpm)___ 358(@300wpm)
“Sure. Hit me up,” I say, eager to please after he gave us his blessing.
Garrett turns to us when we reach the tee. “If I left CMT to do my own thing, would you guys follow me?”
His tone is stripped of his usual cool control. There’s real vulnerability there.
“I’d follow you anywhere. You know that.” I mean it from the bottom of my heart. “You’re the man.”
“Thanks,” he says, clapping my shoulder. “And you know I’m always looking out for you. We’re going to get you the best deal possible at the best team this year. I promise.”
I believe him with my whole heart. I’ve had a good run with the Golden State Foxes, and I intend to keep having one. Besides, hockey is my whole heart.
Ledger clears his throat, his tone a little gruff. “You know you’re stuck with me,” he says, then casts his gaze down toward his knee before he meets Garrett’s gaze again.
“Ditto,” Garett says, then pulls him in for a quick bro hug.
When they separate, both guys smooth their hands over their shirts, like affection is too hard for them.
“Seriously? You two should have been raised by shrinks. Bring it in,” I say, spreading my arms, waggling my fingers. “C’mon. Group hug. You can do it. Show your feelings.”
Garrett snorts a no.
Ledger steps away. No, he jumps.
I mime hugging one, then the other. “There. I did it for us.”
“Thanks,” Ledger mutters.
“And thanks again for taking care of Aubrey,” Garrett says sincerely.
“Of course,” I say, studying the ball as I set it up. Not sure I want him to see my face. Not as I fight to keep my mind on this moment. I don’t dare let my thoughts stray backward to the high striker game yesterday.
I keep them fixed on our promise to her last night in the parking lot outside an airport hotel: You’re our friend now too.
And I keep them on the promise Ledger and I made last night at the bar. We’re not going to act on our attraction. She’s not a fling who’ll happily wave goodbye to her two hockey hunks before she boards a jet back to Beirut at the end of the summer. “We think of Aubrey like a good friend,” I add as I eye the ball, then my club, then the guy I’m traveling with. “Don’t we, Ledger?”
“Sure do,” he says, then swallows and looks away. Bet he’s still thinking of that kiss she dropped on his cheek yesterday. How good it felt. What it’d be like if he’d just turned into it.
Like I’m thinking, even in spite of that damn promise we made.
“That’s great,” Garrett says. “If anyone sees you two taking her on a honeymoon, it’s a damn good thing you’re all friends.”
Yup. We are definitely friends.
Later, when the short round of golf ends, Ledger pulls me aside. “I had this idea. Something we could get Aubrey for the flight.”
I jump all over that. “Tell me.”
He gives me the details of the little something, as he calls it, and it sure sounds like he’s as eager to get this show on the road as I am.
“I’ll be in Sausalito. I’ll pick it up,” I offer.
“Perfect. We’ll look for the right moment to give it to her.”
“It’s a plan.”
“It’s a nice, friendly thing to do,” he says. “And we’re going to make sure she has the honeymoon she deserves.”
“Right. A nice, fun, friendly honeymoon.” Those are the rules and we’ve set them.
Too bad I still feel tense all over. And I’d really like this feeling to go the fuck away.
11
WELL, SHE IS SINGLE NOW
Dev
After I pack—which takes all of five minutes since I am the king of the fast pack—I’ve only got a few more hours before it’s wheels up. I leave my place on California Street, hop into my car that still has that fantastic new car smell a year later since I take care of this baby, and cruise over across the bridge to Sausalito. With my shades on and a new podcast blasting called News That Doesn’t Suck, I take the curves, loving the feel of this ride. I had it outfitted at a custom car place, and it’s a sleek matte-black battery-operated vehicle built from the ground up.
It’s a dream car, and ever since I was a kid, I’ve wanted a ride like this. Now that I’m a big boy, I’ve got one.
Once I’m on the main drag, I stop at a tourist shop that carries specialty chocolates and grab a box of Aubrey’s favorites. Feeling pleased with this small gift—a show of friendship, that is all—I head up into the hills till I pull into the driveway of a two-story home overlooking Richardson Bay, its glass walls giving it an expansive view of the deep blue quiet water, then the majestic Golden Gate Bridge beyond.