by Amber Lynn
“Is that why she ran out and found herself a boyfriend? I want her to be happy, but the timing of her meeting him stinks, as far as I’m concerned.”
Nelson kicked the ground in front of him. He knew Casey was right, and that Annie deserved to find someone and fall in love. That didn’t mean he had to like it.
“Boyfriend? Annie told you she’s seeing someone?” At least Nelson wasn’t the only one shocked by the fact. Casey sounded like she was even more confused than he was when he’d first heard about it.
“That was her reason for saying no. Evidently they’ve gone on a few dates and she wants to see where things go. She did backpedal a little bit on the original marriage rejection. She said if neither one of us is seeing someone in a couple of months, she’d reconsider.”
“Really?” Dylan asked, joining back in the conversation. “You didn’t say she left you a little hope.”
“Well, I hadn’t gotten to that part. The whole boyfriend thing is still throwing me for a loop. Maybe she decided if things don’t work out with whoever her mystery boyfriend is, then she’d give me a chance to prove we could make it work.”
“So she didn’t give you a name?”
Nelson thought he’d made that clear, but he answered Casey anyway. “Would you tell the guy who just proposed to you the name of your boyfriend? She said she didn’t want me scaring him away, which is exactly what I’d do.”
“Yeah, I guess I wouldn’t give you a name either. I suppose that means we’ve got two months to make sure you don’t screw things up a second time.” The determination in Casey’s voice was scary. It sounded like she had an idea, which made her voice even more terrifying.
“And where would you recommend we start?”
The chances of him being able to get down on one knee and truthfully tell Annie all the things Casey had said didn’t seem high, so he needed another option to convince Annie they could make things work. Having a female perspective could only increase the odds of Annie saying yes, at least he hoped that was the case.
“I’m going to say we wait until tomorrow to start project get Nelson and Annie married. You need to go home and take a shower and then get some sleep.” Casey reached over and held up a clump of Nelson’s curls that were stuck together. After she let go, she rubbed her fingers together and glared back at Nelson with a disgusted look on her face. “Or maybe I should just have Dylan turn the hose on you. Any way you look at it, you need to sleep so you can come to the table fully functioning.”
“Don’t you guys have to work tomorrow? With the season coming up, I’m sure you’re working on all the marketing plans for the year.”
Nelson wasn’t sure why they couldn’t get on with the planning. He was tired, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t provide insight from his side of things, and having at least part of a plan would help him sleep easier.
“You’ve already proved today isn’t going to be your day for ideas after you went in and proposed half-cocked. Yeah, we have to work, but it isn’t like we have strict hours. We’ll have a long lunch and take on your problems at the same time.”
Casey had gone to work within a few weeks of having Katie, but she took her daughter in with her. The work ethic of the woman in charge of marketing the team was another thing scary about Casey. Her father was the man running the team, and she liked to prove she didn’t get her job because of him.
“Okay, I guess I could use a little nap, but I’m not sure how much sleep I’ll be able to get.” Nelson separated himself from the front of the car and made his way over to the driver’s side. “Thanks for volunteering your services to the cause, Casey. I came over hoping your husband would help me figure out what to do, but as usual, you’re showing him up.” Nelson wasn’t sure that was the truth, but he wanted to be polite.
The couple both laughed as Casey skipped over and planted a kiss on Dylan’s cheek. Nelson was envious of what the two of them had found. He wished he could convince Annie that someday they could be like that, but the years of her being his best friend made it difficult for him to even convince himself of that.
“If you really want to marry her, Nels, we’ll figure out a way to make it happen. Just trust me when I say you need to keep a little distance right now. Don’t pester her.”
Casey leveled him with a look as the engine of the SUV roared to life. On the way back to his place, he concentrated on figuring out how he was going to accomplish that task.
Chapter Six
Annie had been nervous about her decision as soon as she’d made the phone call. The smart thing would’ve been to come clean with Nelson and tell him there wasn’t a boyfriend. Most of her actions since the night she’d let a fumbling Nelson into his own apartment showed she didn’t think clearly when it came to him.
That led her to the corner of one of the nicer restaurants in town, waiting for her dinner companion to show up. It was only four, so there wasn’t much of a crowd. In a city that rarely slept, people usually didn’t have dinner until around seven.
Nelson had brought her to the restaurant when she’d first come to town. They had a couple fancy restaurants back home in Oshawa, but there was something about the intimate setting of the one she was in that made it an instant favorite.
Before she could dwell on the meal she’d shared with Nels, she saw the person she was waiting for being escorted her way. Out of the people she knew in town, he was probably the worst option she could come up with as a fake boyfriend, but he was the only one who had given her his phone number.
“You’re as radiant as always, Annie,” Doug said as he leaned down and kissed her cheek.
She hadn’t explained why she wanted to meet him, but they were off to a good start. Doug sat in his seat at their table for two and asked the waiter for a bottle of some red wine Annie couldn’t pronounce. She thought about telling him he was going to be drinking that wine by himself, but she waited for the waiter to leave before saying anything.
“I’m sorry about the weird phone call this morning. I’m sure you weren’t expecting it.” Annie fiddled with her menu as she spoke.
“I was just happy that you finally used the number I gave you months ago. I figured it had found its way to a trash can somewhere.”
Annie could see he didn’t bother looking at his menu, as it remained undisturbed on the table. Chances were he was staring at her, but she couldn’t work up the courage to look up at him. She was afraid having to see his expression when she said what she planned would make her chicken out.
It wasn’t that Doug wasn’t a great option for someone looking for a good time. He was the starting goaltender on Nelson’s team, and he partied just as hard as the rest of them. Annie had gone to Blue Diamond, the bar where the players gathered after games, a few times with Nelson, so she knew the reputations of most of the players.
Doug had been the friendliest to her, giving her his number the first time they met. He was cute, in the boy next door kind of way, so Annie had been flattered that someone bothered paying attention to her in the sea of women trying to gain his attention.
“I didn’t want to talk about what I’m going to ask you over the phone, which is seeming like a mistake now, because I don’t know that I’m going to be able to get the words out with you here.” Her palms didn’t seem to be able to stop sweating, as she anxiously thought about what she needed to say.
Annie saw a large, callused hand appear in front of her, before her chin was tilted up so she didn’t have a choice other than to look into the pair of eyes studying her. The color was similar to Nelson’s, but didn’t have the same gold flecks.
“That’s better. I know they’re contacts, but those purple eyes of yours really suit you,” Doug said as he took his hand away. “I kind of figured this wasn’t going to be an actual date, so don’t worry about hurting my feelings with whatever you have to say.”
She hadn’t specifically said on the phone that it was or wasn’t a date, so Annie was a little surprised he’d figured that ou
t. Her eyes glanced up to the top of his head, where he wore his blond hair in almost a Mohawk. It looked more like the top of a rooster’s head to her, but she’d never mentioned how funny she thought it looked.
“I’m kind of sorry I’m that obvious.” Before she could continue, the waiter returned with the bottle of wine.
Some ritual played out as Doug sampled the wine and gave a thumbs up sign. When the waiter tried to pour the wine in a second glass, Annie hurried to put her hand over the top of it.
“We’ll only need the one glass, thanks.”
Doug gave her a funny look and shrugged. “More for me. Are you ready to order?”
Annie had scoured the menu before he arrived for what she thought would be the least likely to come back up later that night. She’d settled on a bowl of some fancy cheese soup along with a grilled cheese sandwich featuring the same cheeses.
After giving her order, Doug went ahead and ordered the biggest steak they had with two orders of onion rings on the side. The steak came with a salad and rolls, which meant he was going to eat probably twice the calories Annie did in a given day during the one meal. She’d been around Nelson forever, so she knew his eating habits, but it still surprised her how much athletes could put away without showing an ounce of weight gain.
“Are you sure soup and a sandwich is going to be enough for you?” Doug asked when they were alone again. “I know you’re skin and bones, but I figured that was because of a great metabolism, not a lack of eating.”
“And here I was wondering why you hadn’t found a wife. I’m pretty sure the first rule of dating is to make sure you don’t mention your date’s weight.”
Even though she was nervous, there was something about Doug that made him somewhat easy to talk to. He was at least twice as big as Annie, so he should’ve been intimidating, but there was a kookiness to him that made it hard to take him seriously.
“I thought we already determined that this wasn’t a date.”
“It’s not, but most people still wouldn’t bring up a woman’s size. As far as whether I’m going to get enough to eat, I’m pretty sure there will be plenty of calories in the globs of cheese coming my way.”
Annie took a sip of water while she waited for him to keep the conversation flowing. She didn’t want to come right out and reveal her reason for asking him to dinner.
“I have a feeling you weren’t really offended. So, are you going to make me wait until I’m through half of my food before you tell me why I’m here?”
So much for her idea. “You don’t think I just needed someone to have a witty conversation with?”
Doug laughed, a bit sarcastically. “Well, I know for a fact you don’t get that from hanging out with Nelson, so I suppose that could be what you’re looking for. I know you’ve made at least a couple other friends since you moved here, though, probably putting me about tenth in line for witty conversations.”
Annie sighed. She’d done a good job of keeping decent eye contact, but she looked down to adjust the silverware on the black placemat in front of her. The table was set simply, with the two placemats and silverware, and a small vase of pink roses to Annie’s right.
That was one of the reasons Annie liked the place. It was fancy enough to have a waterfall feature when you walked in, but you wouldn’t get lost trying to figure out what fork or spoon to use while you were eating.
“I know we haven’t had a chance to really get to know each other,” a snort from Doug interrupted her words. She looked up to glare at him for a second, and then continued. “But I have a big favor to ask.”
“I figured as much. What is it? Do you need help hiding Nelson’s body? I can think of a few places where it would take the police a while to find him.”
Annie shook her head. Just someone mentioning Nelson and body in the same sentence caused her chest to hurt. It made her think about one of the games she’d watched just before the season ended. Nelson had taken a hard hit into the boards. There were a few seconds when he didn’t move, and it wasn’t until she saw him joking around after the game that her panic attack subsided.
“As irritating as you find him, he’s my best friend, so I don’t need that kind of help. What I need is a boyfriend.”
Her eyes had remained focused on Doug after her glare, so she saw his left eyebrow raise in question to her words. There was a slight glitter in his eyes that told her he was intrigued.
“And I was the first person you called?” He took a slow sip of wine and gave the rest of the restaurant a quick look, almost like he was searching for a hidden camera.
“You’re the only person I know who fits what I’m looking for. I sort of told Nelson I was seeing someone earlier today. I wouldn’t tell him who, but it’s kind of important this person actually exists, at least for a month or two. I’m not good at lying, so I need something to tell him when he really starts grilling me. And I know eventually he will.”
Doug was quiet longer than Annie was comfortable with. She knew it was probably a little rude to ask him to be her fake boyfriend, but as far as she knew, he was unattached and usually didn’t have an issue messing around with Nelson.
“What exactly would I need to do in this role as your boyfriend?”
It had taken him about ten sips of wine to come up with a response, enough that he was ready to refill his glass, which he did as he asked his question. If she would’ve waited until he was a little further into the bottle, the chances of him agreeing without asking questions would’ve been better. At least his first question wasn’t why she’d lied to Nelson.
“This is a little awkward for me, but I don’t have a lot of experience when it comes to dating, so I just need someone to maybe weekly take me out on what would be considered normal dates. Then if he asks, I can get by without making things up.”
“So all I have to do is take a beautiful woman out on the town and show her a good time?” He did his little shoulder shrug again, like it didn’t sound like a difficult task.
“You don’t even have to feed me lines about being beautiful. In fact, I wish you wouldn’t.” Annie didn’t need him blowing smoke at her. She knew she was at best a four or five on the looks scale, and she was fine with that.
“I can’t promise that, but I’ll try to keep the compliments to a minimum. For now.” The look he gave Annie told her there was a possibility it wouldn’t last long. There was no way he could hide that he checked her out more than once since they’d been sitting there. That was the drawback of picking a playboy for the job. It was going to be hard for him to turn off his usual charm. “What else do I need to know about this favor?”
“Just that Nelson can’t find out it’s you. And if he does, he can’t know it’s fake.”
“Yeah, like I’d tell him we were going out.” There was unmistakable sarcasm laced in the words.
“Well, I can’t say I’ve been in the locker room before, but I know things have a habit of getting out. So, just give me a couple months of keeping it secret, and then everything should be fine.”
Annie hoped she wasn’t kidding herself. The months really wouldn’t change her situation, but it bought her some time to come up with a better reason for telling Nelson no.
“He’s not going to hear anything from me, because contrary to popular belief, I value my life.” Doug glanced behind him again, looking towards the kitchen.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
Annie could figure out the valuing life part. The man was a goaltender after all, and had pucks flying at his head at speeds up to a hundred miles an hour. It didn’t matter if a puck was only a few inches wide. Frozen, those things were deadly.
“It means that Nelson would kill me if he thought we were dating. I waited outside to make sure he wasn’t in here waiting for me before I came in.”
Annie studied Doug’s face, trying to find any indication he was joking. The usual friendliness was missing and his eyes narrowed slightly.
“That doesn’t make any s
ense. I know he’s overprotective, but he’s never threatened anybody, and I highly doubt he’d kill one of his teammates.”
“Maybe he hasn’t threatened anybody in front of you, but he’s made it clear you were off limits, which in a way is kind of funny. I used to tease him all the time about hooking up with his sister, and he never said anything. But, when he found out I’d given you my number, he was all up in my face. He said if I pursued anything with you, I was going to wake up one morning to find a couple missing body parts.” Doug looked down in his lap to indicate the specific parts.
Annie wanted to laugh, but she knew better than to make a joke out of someone getting their testicles chopped off. By the way Doug was acting, with no hint of joking in his eyes, he didn’t doubt that Nelson would follow through with the threat.
“Then what in the world are you doing here?”
He tapped a finger on his left temple as he came up with an answer. “Curiosity? I guess that would explain it best. I’ve known Nelson for a few years now. He’s growing out of the phase where he hangs out at the bar with the rest of us, but I think it won’t surprise you to hear he’s had his share of women in that time.”
Taking a sip of wine, he paused for a second before he continued. “I wouldn’t call him a love ‘em and leave ‘em kind of guy, but he’s never cared if someone he took home the night before was on someone else’s arm the next day. And I already mentioned that Steph could’ve dated anyone she wanted and he wouldn’t have cared. With you, though, he cares and I want to know why that is.”
After hearing that, Annie did too. Thankfully, the waiter brought out the food, so she had a few minutes to ponder why Nelson was blocking her from dating someone, and whether it was just Doug, or if there were others he’d threatened.
