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“Oh. This?” I deadpan, showing off my ring, raising my hand for the whole world to see.
“When the fuck did you get married?” Hayes asks.
Stefan rolls his eyes and pats his teammate on the shoulder. “Do you seriously never look at social media?”
Hayes jerks his head to his buddy. “Do I look like I enjoy pointless arguments with strangers along with photos of lunch?”
“Kind of,” I joke.
“Also, what does social media have to do with it?” Hayes asks, grabbing a stool and parking his burly frame on it.
Stefan, who is known as The Viking, thanks to his Scandinavian looks, takes the seat next to him then tips his forehead to me. “Gage and Elodie posted their wedding pics on social. Our friend and his bride said I do in Vegas last week. And the groom wore…velvet,” he adds, in a gossipy TV announcer voice.
“Correction: it was velour,” I say, having too much fun with the tale. Well, it was a damn good day in Vegas. Best day I’ve had with a woman in a good, long time.
“Nothing but top-shelf for our friend,” Stefan says.
Hayes is a dog with a bone though. “Can we back it up to you being married? What’s up with that?”
Since they were out of town for a long stretch of away games, they haven’t been around for more than a week. I glance around the bar, checking for, well, Sebastian and his spies, but seeing only familiar faces. Still, I lean in and lower my voice. “It’s an arrangement. We needed to do it for this business thing,” I say, explaining a few more details.
“A marriage of convenience,” Hayes confirms when I’m done.
“Yes. It is.” I run my finger absently over my wedding band.
Hayes chuckles, shaking his head in amusement. “And you gave me a hard time when I accidentally married Ivy in Vegas once upon a time, then told the team owner we were happy newlyweds.”
Stefan clears his throat. “Now, now, Hayes. That was you putting your foot in your mouth with the owner when you and Ivy were on the way to get an annulment.” Stefan will probably never stop teasing Hayes about how the fake real marriage transpired.
Hayes arches an eyebrow at Stefan. “And we all enjoyed the benefits of my wife. Now, our wife.” He spins his focus back to me. “But also, you gave me a hard time.”
I nod, owning it. “I did.”
“I guess it’s payback time.”
“Sure, give me hell about how a smarmy, oily, man threatened her business because she wouldn’t sell it to him, and I stepped up and married her to protect our families,” I say, bring it on style.
Hayes lifts a finger, parts his lips, then says, “Well played, sir. And on that note, I’ll take a pale ale.”
I turn to Stefan. “Stout for you, Viking?”
“That’d be great.”
After I pour their beers and set them down, Hayes shoots me a quizzical look. “But is this really just a business deal? You’re into this woman, aren’t you?”
More than I ever expected to be. But I’m curious how he figured that out so quickly. “How can you tell?”
Hayes swallows some beer, then sets the glass down. “The way you’re showing off your ring. You’re proud of it. Proud of her.”
Stefan whistles. “Damn, that’s some serious emotional intelligence,” he says to Hayes.
I’m a little floored myself. I peer down at the gold on my finger, then rub my thumb over it once more. I do like it. I am proud of it. He’s not wrong. I meet his gaze. “Yes, but a deal’s a deal.”
I have to say it for myself more than them. To remind myself that we made a business deal. To grow Sticks and Stones. To help Elodie’s Chocolates. To gain financial security for our kids. We’re just two single parents trying to stay ahead.
The other reminders come all night in a packed bar. Business has been slowly but steadily picking up since Elodie and I opened Special Edition a couple weeks ago. I can’t complain about the increase in revenue.
And I can’t complain about the email that arrives from Celeste the next time I check my phone. It’s short and to the point.
