Page 33 of Penalty Shots

I guffaw. “Work wife?! Please.”

“Well, you’re sure doing a hell of a job making it seem like you’re not mortal enemies.”

“Jenny and I aren’t even on the same playing field,” I retort.

“You’re the NHL and she’s Tier 3?”

“Your analogies need work.”

He shrugs. “You know what I mean.”

“What I mean is that I refuse to stoop down to her level.”

"Hmm," he says in thought before he leans in close enough to whisper into my ear. “I also heard Redmond is giving you problems."

I pull away. "Who told you that?"

He watches me intently. "Rina… let me help.”

“I don’t need your help, Landry.” What Ineedis his distance.

“I’ve known you since you were eighteen, Rina. The more help you need, the more you try to pretend you don’t need it.”

My eyes scan the room to make sure nobody is paying enough attention to us to read my lips.

“He froze my accounts this morning.”

Keelan nearly halts us. But I tug him to keep moving.Keep it cool. He swallows hard, the anger he’s been keeping under the surface bubbling up when he says, “I’ll kill him.”

“No, you won’t,” I tell him. "Because you have quite literally done enough. Trust me."

“That asshole’s got a lot of nerve. After everything he put you through.”

"I'm fine, Keelan." The seething turns to a softness in his face when I say his name. “I don’t want you to do anything. Do you understand me?”

The song ends, and those who weren’t just dancing clap as the DJ returns to the mic.

“Come on,” he says, pulling me away from the dance floor once everyone is distracted.

He pulls me into the nearest bathroom and locks the door behind him. It’s a private room with lights that turn on automatically when we walk in. The venue is actually one of the nicest I’ve ever seen.

Ryker spared no expense for his new wife to get the wedding of her dreams.

“Are you telling me you don’t have access to your own money, Rina?”

I cross my arms over my chest. “I’ll figure it out.”

He shakes his head. “That’s not what I asked. Did that asshole seriously take away your money?”

“Technically, it’s still in my account. I just can’t access it at the moment.”

Keelan rubs a hand over his head as he paces back and forth a few times in deep thought. "Why?"

“This isn’t your problem to solve, Keelan.”

“Why did you even have a joint account in the first place? You hardly knew him.”

I glower at him. The last thing I need are my mother's words being thrown at me again. I've distanced myself from her because of this very reason.

---