Page 59 of Play Along

“Some things never change, Deanie boy. You’re still the selfish prick you’ve always been. All you’ve talked about is yourself. Marrying her to fuck with you. Marrying her to steal your family. From what I’ve heard, I don’t want anything to do with your fucking family.” I find Kennedy once again, working her lower lip between her teeth. “Look at her. She’s worried. I don’t like when my wife is worried, Dean. She asked me not to fight with you so stop saying shit that makes me want to punch you in the face, okay?”

Before he can respond, the crack of a bat echoes through the stadium and I take off, rounding third and heading straight for home, putting us up by two runs already.

Cody and I both make it back to the dugout, connecting fists on the way with Travis, who’s headed up to bat. My teammates smack my helmet, my ass, my shoulder as I make it to my box, discarding my gear until my next at-bat.

“Nice job, nineteen.”

With my hands gripped to the edge of my box, I look down to find Kennedy, wearing our team polo and those shoes I bought and married her in. “Nice shoes.”

“Thanks for that, by the way,” she says.

“That’s it? You’re not going to tell me what a good boy I am for not getting in a fist fight with your brother?”

“You want me to call you a good boy?”

“Mmm, yes, please. Preferably while we’re naked and you’re on top of me, but now would do too.”

That smile I’m quickly becoming addicted to blooms. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Married?” Ryan asks. “You got fucking married?”

I hold my hand up to show him the ring.

“And you’re wearing a wedding ring. You’re not getting this annulled?”

“Can’t,” I tell him happily as I kick my feet up on the bed in my brother’s hotel room. “A picture of us in Vegas got leaked and Kennedy was going to lose her job over it. We’ve been pretending it was planned all along.”

Ryan nods his head because if anyone could understand faking a relationship to get them further in their career it’s him. It’s how he met his wife, after all.

Ryan Shay is the captain of the Devils, Chicago’s NBA team. They flew in a few hours ago for their game against Atlanta tomorrow.

Kai and I were planning to grab a drink down at the hotel bar, seeing as Kai is struggling over being on the road without Max. It’s the first time he’s left his son home from a road trip, and even though Max is with Miller, it’s obvious how much Kai misses having them both on the road with him the way he did last year.

But with Ryan Shay in tow, we can’t go anywhere in public, hence the three of us hanging out in my brother’s hotel room.

“Miller said the girls were going over to our place tonight,” Kai says.

“Yeah.” Ryan sits himself on top of the desk in the corner of the room. “Indy has been begging Miller for baking lessons, so she and Stevie went over there for the night.”

My brother grabs his phone. “We should call them and say hi, don’t you think?”

“Absolutely not.” I snatch his phone from him, holding it out of reach. “You’ve called your fiancée like six times tonight already. Leave her alone.”

As if I haven’t been staring at my phone, wondering if Kennedy might call or text to tell me her dinner is over, but it’s not the same thing. I just want to make sure she’s okay. Kai is calling Miller nonstop to make himself feel okay for being on the road and leaving them back at home.

“Isaiah?”

My head snaps to attention when I hear Miller say my name.

“No, it’s me, Mills,” my brother says, holding my phone out until eventually Miller’s face overtakes the screen.

That sneaky motherfucker took my phone and video-called his fiancée.

Miller laughs on the screen while wearing her signature overalls. “Kai, we’re fine. Max ate. He’s in bed. The girls are here and the house hasn’t burned down.”

“Hi, Kai!” Indy pops onto the screen, her blonde hair cascading around her face. Kai turns the camera so Ryan is in view. “Oh damn. That one is hella fine.”

“How are you feeling?” Ryan asks his pregnant wife.

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