Page 130 of Play the Game

His chuckle skates down my spine, and I pause with my back to him. Scottie tugs on my hand, but I ignore the pull. I look over my shoulder, and he’s got this sly smile on his face that needs to be wiped the hell off.

“Are the rumors true?” he asks.

“The rumor of our marriage?” I’m sure he isn’t referring to that, but I make sure he knows that it is. “Yep.”

“Nah. The one about her tasting like cherries.”

Scottie growls softly under her breath before stepping forward. “Wouldn’t you like to know? The answer is stillno.”

I tug my bold, smart-mouthed wife behind me with a little bit of pride swelling in my chest. She doesn’t need me to fight her battles, but I’ll gladly do so anyway.

“You must hang out at the Cat House.”

He looks proud, but I step forward to squash that right away.

“Emory,” Scottie warns.

I turn and wink at her over my shoulder.Relax.

“You want to know what she tastes like?” The man is eyeing me with suspicion. I’m a swing away, which means I could knock him out if I tried, but I don’t because I’m a grown-ass man, and there is nothing more demeaning than learning that the hottest woman at this event isn’t yours. “She tastes like me.”

Shock moves over his face, and I smile with confidence. “It’d be best if you remembered that.”

I turn around and look directly at Scottie’s hidden smile. My hand falls to hers before I say over my shoulder, “Oh, and if you ever talk to my wife, it better be with fucking respect.”

Scottie and I enter the event and act like nothing ever happened. Whenever we share a look that lasts longer than a second, I grin, and she blushes. I keep snagging her attention when she’s standing with the wives, just to watch the pink spread across her cheeks. I pat my pocket the next time she looks at me, and she rolls her eyes with a twinkle in them.

When an older woman approaches the wives and starts to talk to them, I go back to standing in silence with Rhodes.

“That’s some pretty impeccable acting, Olson.”

I pop one of the appetizers in my mouth and ignore Rhodes’s knowing glint.

“You tell her you’re in love with her yet?” he asks.

I shrug. There’s no need to explain it to him. A man as quiet and as stoic as him? He sees everything. “Not entirely.”

He sighs. “I thought you were smarter than that.”

I lean back onto the cocktail table and watch him leave before turning back to Scottie. My hands grow sweaty with the thought of telling her that I love her, because I’ve never told anyone I loved them, other than my family.

It’s not a phrase I use often, and it’s definitely not a phrase I use without thought.

But maybe I should.

The three words have been on the tip of my tongue more than once, and I’ve had to dismiss them every time.

I push off from the table when Scottie starts to head over to me. Most of the team has left by now, and with Coach Jacobs heading out the door after Rhodes, it’s our cue to go too.

“You ready?” I ask eagerly.

Scottie blinks a few times and glances at the woman she was talking to moments before. “Um…”

“What’s wrong? Did she say something about you tasting like cherries too? Because I’ll knock her down a notch too, if need be.”

A burst of laughter leaves her, and it's genuine.

I grin. “You think I’m kidding?”

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