Page 48 of Puck Blocked
“I won’t let him get anywhere near you, Tanna. I promise,” I tell her.
“Okay, so just don’t say anything. That’s it? What should I wear? How should I do my hair?” She looks around the room, clearly distressed.
“Tanna, I don’t care what you wear or how you do your hair. You don’t need to dress to impress anyone but yourself.”
“But if they’re taking pictures… Luke, I don’t want to embarrass you.”
“You could never embarrass me.” I wrap an arm around her waist and pull her tight against my body. “I love you. Never forget that.”
“I love you too.”
“I’m sorry you have to deal with this.” I sigh before pressing a kiss to the top of her head.
“It’s not half as bad as the baggage I’m bringing into this marriage. Everyone wants a piece of you, Luke. I can’t fault them for that. Look at you.” Montana peers up at me.
“You really are perfect.”
“Thank you,” she says at the same time there’s a knock on the door and then it’s opening.
“How’d you get a key?” I ask Aliyah, who’s now walking into the room, followed by King, O’Neil, Gray, Liliana, and Enzo.
“Put on a shirt. No one needs to see all of that.” Aliyah waves a hand at me. “I brought you some clothes. Thought you wouldn’t want to walk out in last night’s dress.” Aliyah passes a bag to Montana before pulling her into a hug. “And we’re doing this wedding thing again, properly. I want to be there. Also, congratulations. I’m so freaking happy for you. You deserve this.” She keeps her voice low, but not so low I can’t hear her.
“Thank you,” Montana says.
The guys all congratulate us before Gray’s expression turns serious. “We have a game plan. I have more guys flying in. But until then, Montana’s coming everywhere with us.” I nod my agreement, and he adds, “Enzo will sit with her and the girls while we’re in meetings or out on the ice.”
I turn my attention to Enzo. “Thank you.”
“No need to thank me,” he says.
“Okay. You, shirt.” Aliyah looks at me, then ushers Montana towards the bathroom. “You, go get changed.”
I grab my shirt from the floor and slide my arms through the sleeves. When Montana walks out of the bathroom again, my heart stutters. She’s wearing my jersey and a pair of jeans. Her hair is tied up in a high ponytail and her face is free of makeup. She takes my breath away.
“All right, when we walk out, stick between Luke and Gray,” Aliyah says. “Oh, and here.” She pulls a pair of sunglasses out of her bag before passing them to Montana. “The trick is to pretend they’re not there. Think of them like annoying little ghosts who don’t actually exist.”
Montana takes a deep breath. “Okay. I guess we can’t hide out in here forever, right?” She looks to me.
“I wouldn’t mind.” I raise my eyebrows at her.
“I bet you wouldn’t. Now, come on. It’s going to be fine. I’ve got this. Trust me, I managed to get the press to love Liam even after he was unlovable,” Aliyah tells Montana.
“You loved me from the very first moment we met,” King chimes in.
“It was like a real-life episode of Naked and Afraid.” Aliyah laughs.
“Yeah, that’s enough of that,” Gray grunts as we all exit the hotel room.
Montana’s hand is gripped firmly in mine. Liliana stops us the moment we hit the lobby. “Travis and I are going to go out first. We’re going to make a scene and try to get them to follow us in the opposite direction,” she says.
“You guys don’t need to do that,” I tell them.
“It’s fine. I’m used to it. Besides, it’ll be fun.” Liliana smirks.
“I have to go with her. I’ll meet you guys at the arena,” Enzo says before following his cousin out the door. The moment they step foot outside, the flashes start up again.
Did those fuckers camp out all damn night? Probably. Like I said, they’re nothing but fucking vultures waiting for a fresh carcass to pick at. And I refuse to let them have a taste of Montana.
