Page 29 of Perfectly Wedded

Leo closes his eyes and sighs. “Tate, you just blew our cover.”

“I’m giving him a hint,” Tate says. “For the record, I had nothing to do with what’s about to happen.”

I lean against my stick. “Tate, I have no clue what you’re talking about.”

A shrill whistle ends our practice as Coach waves the team over. A few guys shoot looks over their shoulders, and I swear a few of them are smiling.

“We’re cutting practice short today,” Coach Jenkins announces. “Meet in the conference room in a half hour.”

“What is it?” I ask as everyone files off the ice.

Brax smiles. “The team came up with a brilliant idea for you and Sloan.”

“Brilliant, huh?” I ask. “You want to tell me what it is?”

“Nope,” Leo butts in, then hits my chest with the back of his hand. “I just hope you know your new bride well.”

When we reach the conference room, Sloan waits in a chair at the front of the room, her knee in constant motion. As usual, she looks adorable in a pair of faded jeans and an off-the-shoulder sweater. When her eyes catch mine, she gives me a strained look that says,What are they up to now?

I shrug and shake my head.

The front of the room is decorated with gold balloons and the obligatory newlywed banner. It all reeks suspiciously of a wedding shower or a practical joke. Given the company, I’d guess the latter.

“You knew about this?” I whisper to Sloan as my eyes scan the room for clues. It all looks so normal.Toonormal.

“No. Did you?”

“Not until right now.”

When Jaz walks in, Sloan waves her down frantically. “What is going on?”

Jaz shoots us an apologetic look. “The team wanted to throw you a shower. I didn’t find out until today. They didn’t want me warning you beforehand.”

Sloan narrows her eyes. “Why would the team throw us a wedding shower?” The cake and punch in the corner are a dead giveaway, but since everyone’s being tight-lipped, I know that’s not the whole story.

“I don’t know, but there are games involved. Highly secretive ones,” she says. “Including a game with whipped cream.”

Knowing these guys, it could be anything. They’re a bunch of grown men with middle-school senses of humor.

Brax and Leo walk in, each carrying a stack of cards.

“Okay, listen up,” Brax says to the room of rowdy men. “We’re here to celebrate Sloan and Vale today, and we wanted to have some fun.”

The hockey team hoots and whistles like a scantily clad girl has just jumped out of a cake.

“Not that kind of fun,” Brax warns with a grin. “I meant we’re here to have fun celebrating Sloan and Vale, who tied the knot in Vegas recently. We might not know how to pull off your typical wedding shower, so this is our very own Crushers’ version, complete with surprises and competitions. Vale, we planned a few games because you’re highly competitive. And, Sloan, the sweets are for you, because other than my wife, you’re the only sweet one in this room.”

“Hey, what about me?” Rourke says, pretending to be offended.

“I saidsweet, not stupid,” Brax says as a few guys chuckle. “As a team, we couldn’t ignore what happened in Vegas. You made a lifelong commitment to each other. And we look foranyexcuse to party. Ready for our firstgame?”

The guys start whistling again, and Brax has to quiet them down before we can begin.

He directs us to sit in two chairs, facing back-to-back, then hands both of us two hockey gloves, one black and one blue.

“What are these for?” I ask, holding them up.

“The Newlywed Game. The black one represents you, Vale. The blue one represents Sloan. We’ll ask a question, and you’ll raise the glove that corresponds to the person. If your answers match, you get a point. If not, your teammates get a point. If you win, you get averyspecial gift.” Then he pauses for a beat. “If you lose, well...”

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