Page 39 of Going All In

Chapter 8

What the hellwas she doing?

She clutched the friends and family pass in her hand that Jake had given her days ago. She had to enter this room at some point. As his girlfriend, she was considered a WAG—Women and Girlfriends of the players—and should hang out and get to know the other WAGs.

But it was daunting.

One, because their relationship was fake.

And two, because she wasn’t a fan of socializing. Especially since Ally was out on a date tonight and couldn’t make it to the game. She would’ve been allowed in the suite because of Ethan.

Not that Darcy wouldn’t know anyone in the room. Ally had promised that Penny and Amanda were going to be at the game, but it wasn’t the same. At least Ally knew about the ruse and could catch Darcy if she slipped.

Tonight, Darcy was on her own.

She should’ve stayed home.

Nope. She could do this.

“Hey, Darcy. You joining us? I swear we’re nice. Well, at least some of us are,” Penny said as she walked toward Darcy, heading in the direction of the suite.

Darcy laughed. “Yeah. It’s just weird. I’m not even a hockey fan and here I am. But it’s growing on me, I guess. Or Jake is. Oh god, did I really say that?” Her cheeks flamed, and Penny smiled.

“Yep. And I get it. It can be overwhelming. But come in and join us. I’ll introduce you around,” she said, linking her arm through Darcy’s and they walked into the suite.

“Please, don’t tell Ethan what I said about Jake. I know he’s a little weirded out by all of this,” Darcy said.

“Won’t say a word. And he’ll get over it. Jake’s looked great on the ice since you two met. Focused, staying out of the box. And he’s smiling more. That’s because of you, so keep it up. We need him to make a decent Cup run,” she said, and then grinned.

“I’ll do my best,” Darcy said. Her chest warmed at Penny’s comments. But it shouldn’t make her warm. Nope. Must be the two layers of clothes she had on under her jersey. The jersey with Northman spread out across her shoulders.

Penny guided her directly over to a few friendly faces that she recognized. She’d met a handful of the girlfriends at Ethan and Penny’s housewarming party.

“Fresh meat,” Amanda said, rubbing her hands.

Penny rolled her eyes. “Don’t scare her. We like her.”

“I’m joking, obviously. Like I’d scare anyone away. If I could, I’d aim for that group right over there,” Amanda said, gesturing toward a small cluster of women in ridiculously tight Strikers’ gear.

“If any of them are bitchy to you about dating Jake, just ignore them. They flit from player to player, and then they hopefully go away,” the blonde woman said. “Hi, I’m Sara. I think I saw you at C&B the other night. I’m the head cook there.”

“Hi. Your food is awesome,” Darcy said, shaking her hand.

“Thank you.”

“So, tell me more about dating Jake. How long has this been going on?” Amanda asked.

“Um, a few weeks. No, at least a month now, I guess. It was really fast. We met at Casino Night.”

“Yeah, I heard you thought he was a waiter,” Amanda said, laughing. “Nice to see someone knock his ego down a peg.”

“I’m not a hockey fan, so I didn’t recognize him.”

“Really? How did it all start then?” Amanda asked.

“I don’t think I really know this part. Ally has been quiet about it,” Penny said before she popped a nacho in her mouth.

Shit. This wasn’t something they’d ever discussed. She’d mentioned that they should write up a quick bio for the other to memorize and get their stories straight, but he was a fan of winging it.

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