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“Yeah?” Dodo nodded. “PR will like that.”
Was she hearing bonus?
Nothing further was said.
Dahlia nodded at the box. “What’s the occasion?”
Dodo strode closer to Dahlia. “No occasion, darling.”
Piper slipped from the room.
* * *
Piper didn’t know what new task her cousin had in mind for her, but Dahlia had asked Piper to meet her at the stadium at nine the next morning. Luck had them parking at the same time and walking in through the arena’s entrance together. “Do you think you’ll work after you get married?”
“Dodo says ‘no.’” Dahlia shrugged. “Yes, I will though.” She rubbed her temple with one hand and got the door for them with the other. “He thinks I should stop working now, concentrate on the wedding. What a waste of my MBA.” She tugged her suit jacket on over her peach blouse. A new snowball pendant encrusted with white diamonds hung from a silver chain around her neck. Pretty. But Dahlia preferred gold jewelry.
They went from the seventy-degree weather to the seventy-degree interior. “You’ve seemed a bit tense lately.” Was that a good way to phrase her concerns over Dahlia wanting her to watch the photoshoot? And over the shadows under Dahlia’s eyes? Piper chewed on her lip. She wasn’t noble enough to volunteer to quit, but she had to find out if she was contributing to her cousin’s stress. She checked the area for other people before asking, “Is the tension between Willow and me bothering you?”
“No, I mean, that sucks, but I can’t undo giving her the job.” Dahlia sighed. “It’s Dodo. I don’t know how to describe what’s going on with him. His energy…over the upcoming Vegas game is over the top.”
The Snowers were doing killer in the rankings, so that couldn’t be the problem. Had to be sin city itself. Piper said nothing.
She and Dahlia got in the elevator.
It had taken her a number of elevator rides before Piper had stopped blushing when she stepped inside the car. And she’d never found out what had happened to the discarded puck costume. Maybe an elevator tech had found the tattered shreds and danced in them on his days off.
“They’re renting a garden-themed nightclub for a post-game private party for the team. I’ve been handling social events, but all of a sudden Dodo’s taken over. Dodo is presenting the bar setup to the guys now.” The elevator doors closed, and Dahlia punched the button for the rink level. “Let’s go down and listen to his spiel. You can tell me if I’m being, I don’t know, insecure? Needlessly concerned?”
Not sure how she could make that judgment from the bleachers, but okay.
They got off at the ice rink entrance, strode through the tunnel and out to the bleachers. They took seats a few rows in. This felt sneaky, chilly, and frankly their location wasn’t the best for eavesdropping. Plus, Dahlia and Dodo should work on their direct communication if they were getting married.
“Vegas, baby.” The masculine thrill in the words, and the mantra was echoed by two other players. “Vegas. Vegas.” They were like those monks who chanted in unison, but with lower-minded concerns.
“Yip. Yip. Yip.”
The men weren’t even articulate, they just made primal joyous sounds. Piper was glad she couldn’t put names to the voices from here. The men were evolving backward before her very ears.
Piper turned to Dahlia. “Yeah, you’ve got a problem.” Her bank account was doing awesome thanks to Dahlia. She blew out a breath. “Why don’t we make Vegas a girls’ trip and head there ourselves? Join the guys.”
Dahlia’s green eyes sparked to life. “Yeah.” Her mood brightened, and they left.
At the cross-section, the security guard waved her over. “Piper.” He tapped his headset.
Piper stopped beside him. “What’s up?”
“A friend of Liam’s is at the gate, she wants to drop off some stuff for him. Is it okay to let her through?”
Dahlia put her thumb to her ear and her pinkie to her mouth in a call-me-later gesture. She continued to the elevator to let Piper handle the dilemma.
Why was the guard asking her? Was there something impure about the visitor? Piper put her hands on her hips. “What kind of friend? Drug dealer? No. Mother for a locker room surprise visit? No. One-night stand waving his wallet? Maybe.”
The guard grinned, losing his stoic expression. He touched his earpiece and raised a corded microphone to his lips. “Need more intel.” The guard spoke, went silent, and then nodded. “Okay, hold.” He cupped the mic. “Liam’s ex, Bianca, wants to drop off his gear.”
Hmm, that could go well. Convenient for Liam; he’d get his possessions. If the meeting went south, they had armed guards only feet away. “Sure, send her to the team’s conference room. I’ll wait with her.”
Male voices, the clunk of equipment, and the footfall of skate guards entering the tunnel echoed down to them. The team was headed to the locker room after their early practice.
