Page 41 of Tangled Vows

“Ugh,” she groaned and rolled her eyes.

Everything was said in a teasing tone, but the offer was legit. I wanted her in my bed and in my arms.

I didn’t know when it had happened, but I was determined to make her mine. We would be stuck in this arrangement for a while. We might as well make the most of it. And who knows, maybe when the dust settled and we both got what we needed from this, we’d want to keep going and see what we could make of it. We’d been compatible at one time. Our chemistry was off the charts. I just needed to figure out what was holding her back. Maybe then I could convince her to give us a chance.

31

SHAYLA

My phone buzzed in my pocket for what felt like the millionth time. I was in a meeting and couldn’t look to see who it was, but they were persistent. Fear crept up my spine at the thought it could be my mom. I was torn. Something could be wrong, but I didn’t want to be unprofessional and pull my phone out in front of the general manager and coach. Claire wouldn’t care, but the others might. Finally, the meeting came to a close and the two men across the table stood. My shoulders relaxed, but before I could retrieve my phone, Mr. Perkins, the Wraiths’ GM, spoke up.

“Ms. March, I understand you and Mr. Walker tied the knot recently.” My stomach dropped, and a cold sweat broke out across my brow. Shit, was I in trouble? Easton assured me this wouldn’t cause problems for us at work. I swallowed hard, straightening my spine as though I had nothing to worry about.

“We did,” I confirmed. His skeptical gaze softened, and he gave me a warm smile.

“So the rumors are true,” he mused. “Congratulations,” he offered, and I thanked him. It had only been a couple days, but news had spread about Easton and I getting married in Vegas.I received several congratulatory hugs from players and staff as well as some expressions of shock. I couldn’t blame them. I still felt a little stunned by the turn of events.

Everyone cleared out of the conference room besides Claire and me. I finally fished my phone out and saw several missed calls and texts from my friends. This couldn’t be good.

Ignoring my call log, I went straight to the group chat.

Hailey: Shayla, you need to answer your phone. This is an SOS.

Hailey: I’m serious. Pick. Up. Your. Damn. Phone.

Brynlee: Yeah, babes, we need to talk to you.

Delilah: Guys, she’s probably at work. Give her a second.

Emily: What did I miss?!?!

Melody: What the hell is going on? Are we being invaded by aliens or something?

Hailey: No, but Shayla has some serious explaining to do.

There was a link attached to Hailey’s last message. I clicked on it, then nearly dropped my phone when it opened. It was a grainy photo of Easton and me leaving the Vegas wedding chapel, me clad in my white dress, clinging to Easton’s arm for dear life. The title read “Hockey heartthrob Easton Walker weds team dietician in secret Vegas ceremony.”

“I think I’m going to be sick,” I said, bracing a hand on the conference table to balance myself.

“What is it?” Claire asked, peering over my shoulder.

I’d known the news would break eventually, but nothing could’ve prepared me for seeing my name and image splashed across a celebrity gossip site. I wanted to crawl in a hole and hide from the entire world. Noting my distress, Claire snatched the phone from my hand and began reading the article out loud.

“Easton Walker has finally settled down. Hockey’s biggest playboy is officially off the market. You may be wondering which of the lovely ladies in his life has what it takes to pin down the league’s most eligible bachelor. Well, it’s no one we’ve ever seen with him before. It appears Walker fell hard and fast for Wraiths’ dietician, Shayla March. Both March and Walker are new to the Wraiths’ franchise this year, and sources are saying it’s been a whirlwind romance.”

Sources? What sources? Before I could entertain that line of thought, Claire continued.

“They met only a couple months ago, but they’ve already taken the plunge. Their quickie wedding has hockey fans wondering, what’s the rush?” Pinching the bridge of my nose, I let out a frustrated huff of air. “What the hell?” Claire mumbled, and my head snapped up.

“What?” I asked and grabbed the phone from her. Below the text was a screenshot of a social media post from a well-known gossip rag. It was the same image from the article with the first few comments visible below the image.

“A shotgun wedding after only knowing each a couple months. That could only mean one thing.” The comment was punctuated by a pregnant woman emoji.

“What’s the rush?!? She’s obviously preggers,” the second comment read.

My lunch threatened to make a reappearance. All these people thought Easton and I had gotten married because he knocked me up. The joke was on them. We hadn’t even slept together. Before I could finish the article, my phone buzzed in my hand, and I startled. Hailey’s name flashed with an incoming call. I excused myself and slipped out of the conference room to head to my office. I would need privacy for this conversation. Heaving a deep breath, I slid my finger across the screen and brought the phone to my ear, prepared to make my case.

“Hailey, I can explain.”

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