Page 42 of Tangled Vows

“You’re stillon my shit list,” Hailey announced before taking a sip from her fishbowl-sized glass of sangria. She was still salty that I hadn’t told her about my plans to marry Easton. Brynlee snickered at her petulance, and Delilah shook her head, attempting to hide her amusement. Melody and Emily both sat quietly, their expressions sympathetic.

It had been a shit-tastic week, and this dinner party was meant to be my reprieve from the chaos that had erupted after news broke about mine and Easton’s wedding. My image was splashed across gossip sites and social media accompanied by speculation about our relationship. Everyone either swore I must be pregnant, criticized my less than perfect body, or both. I finally had to stop looking and started ignoring the tags.

My friends had been understandably shocked and confused by the sudden turn of events. They were all under the impression I hated Easton’s guts considering our history. They had a front row seat to all the misery he’d caused me, and now I was married to the man. My friends had every right to be miffed. I left themin the dark during one of the biggest events of my life, and they had to find out about it on social media.

They understood, of course, why I did what I did. I’d tried to give them the watered down PR version of events like we had with everyone else, but they saw right through the bullshit. I eventually broke down and told them everything, from my family’s financial struggles and my father’s refusal to help, to how I needed to get married to access my trust fund. They were all incredibly supportive and vowed to take my secret to their graves.

I was relieved to get it all off my chest, but there was just one problem. Easton and I had agreed not to tell anyone the truth. He tried to hide his irritation, but I could tell he was upset by the hard set of his jaw and the lack of teasing that frequently accompanied our interactions. It didn’t help that I’d confessed what I’d done while he was packing to go out of town. He had back to back away games and would be gone for a few days. I didn’t like the thought of him leaving angry. He might have been my husband in name only, but we’d formed a friendship of sorts, and I didn’t want there to be tension between us while he was on the road. I was surprised to receive a text from him later that night asking me to set up a dinner party so he could get to know my friends.

“Give her a break. She’s finally found true love,” Jonah said, snapping me out of the memory. Hailey’s husband sidled up behind her and lovingly wrapped his arms around her shoulders. “We’re happy for you,” he announced, a genuine smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. “Aren’t we, Hailey?” he prodded, his tone almost admonishing. She rolled her eyes and huffed. Hailey was the hard ass of the group. She didn’t take shit from anyone and saw through people’s bullshit, but she had a soft spot for her husband.

“Of course,” she replied, her voice saccharine. Jonah leaned down and whispered something in her ear, and she shivered. I didn’t want to know what he'd said. Jonah had straight-up golden retriever energy, but according to Hailey, he was a beast between the sheets. More than I wanted to know, but I was happy for her. At least someone was getting bent like a pretzel and pounded into next week.

My gaze involuntarily flicked to Easton as he leaned against the counter, his muscular arms folded over his chest as he talked to Macon and Vance. Gavin, Melody’s husband, was on the back deck conversing with Sean and his new flavor of the week. Cameron and Brynlee’s sister, Blake—who, to all of our surprise, started dating when Blake went to college—were in the den, checking on the kids. When Easton proposed we host this dinner party, I was surprised at his willingness to include all the kids. There were five of them, ranging in age from one to eight, and they were a rowdy bunch. I shouldn’t have been surprised considering how good he was with his nephew. I didn’t know what it was about a man who was great with kids, but it did something to me. It made me almost feral. I wanted to jump his bones and?—

“Earth to Shayla.” A set of perfectly manicured fingers snapped in front of my face, breaking me from my trance. I tore my gaze from Easton and leveled it on Hailey’s smirking mug. I had been openly and unabashedly ogling my husband. Myfakehusband. Heat bloomed across my cheeks, and I squirmed in my seat.

Jonah chuckled before repeating the question I clearly hadn’t heard the first time.

“Have you considered what you’ll do if Easton gets traded?”

I drew back, surprised by his question. I hadn’t considered it. WhatwouldI do if that happened? I could never leave my mom and little sister to follow him to a new team.

I had to remind myself this was temporary. There were still several months left in this season. Surely the Wraiths wouldn't trade him before it was over. By then, this sham of a marriage would be coming to an end anyway.

Still, I didn’t want to see him leave the team. They finally had a good thing going. It was as though Easton was the missing link to their success. They had more wins than losses under their belts so far, and I couldn’t imagine they’d risk losing that momentum when they were finally making a name for themselves.

Then again, Easton getting traded and moving away could offer us an easy out. We could claim that was why our marriage didn’t work. He wanted to play for another team, but I wasn’t willing to move away from my family. It was the perfect solution. So why did my chest suddenly ache at the thought of him leaving?

Easton’s gaze landed on mine as though he could read my thoughts. Whatever he read on my face made his brows pinch in concern. I quickly glanced away and took a sip of my wine before answering Jonah.

“I don’t know. I guess we’ll cross that bridge when we get there.” Hailey shot me an apologetic look. Jonah didn’t know this was all a ruse. I couldn’t blame him for being curious, and it made me realize I needed to be prepared for more questions like his.

“Well, I hope he sticks around for a while. We’ve enjoyed watching him play. The Wraiths are killing it this season with him in the lineup.”

I found myself hoping he stuck around too, even though the longer he stayed, the more likely he was to break my heart.

32

SHAYLA

“Is there anything else I can get for you before I go?” I asked as I gently laid another blanket across my mother’s lap. She had chemo this morning and was already feeling the effects. I made sure she had crackers and ginger ale handy along with her evening regimen of meds.

“No, sweetheart. You’ve done enough,” she replied, patting my hand gratefully. I wanted to stay with her, but I needed to change my clothes before I headed to Easton’s game. He’d given me my own jersey with his name and number on it. Since we were trying hard to keep up appearances, I thought it best to look the part of the doting, supportive wife for the cameras. They were sure to be there to snap my photo so they could pick me apart and criticize my body.

The media buzz hadn’t been all bad. There were lots of supportive comments last time I dared to look and more than a few that made me blush. Plenty of people out there appreciated an unfiltered woman with curves who hadn’t been airbrushed within an inch of her life. Not to mention, the cooking page where I shared my recipes had practically exploded overnight. I was getting requests left and right to host cooking classes, but Ihadn’t taken on any new jobs since the wedding. I was too busy caring for my mom and working for the Wraiths.

Ensuring my mother could reach the remote and her stack of paperbacks from the library, I headed for the door. I swung it open and almost ran smack dab into a delivery driver with his hand raised like he was about to knock.

“Oh, hi,” he said, stumbling back. “Is this the March residence?”

“It is,” I replied skeptically, peering over his shoulder where a box truck was parked in our driveway.

“Great. I need you to sign here for the delivery.” He tried to hand me a clipboard, but I didn’t take it. What the hell was happening?

“What delivery?” I asked, knowing I hadn’t ordered anything that needed to be delivered in a box truck from the home improvement store. I’d just received the money from my trust fund and hadn’t touched a penny of it yet.

“Your new kitchen appliances.” It almost sounded like a question, his voice pitched with uncertainty.

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