Page 63 of Beautiful Storm

But here goes. “Amelia’s pregnant, and she doesn’t have great insurance, so I…Bobthought it was a good idea to get married and now I…hehas to organize a wedding. A quickie wedding away from prying eyes, but a legal wedding all the same.”

“I’m sorry, what? Did I just black out?”

“This is a serious situation, Lainey. I—”

“You mean, Bob.”

“Fuck, Lainey. I need your help but I’d rather not tell Thomas just yet. What can I do to ensure that?”

Lainey pauses, and I swear I can hear her mind ticking over until she smiles. “Anything?”

“Yes, anything.”

“Okay. Hmm. I’m still stuck on the fact that my forever-a-bachelor brother is getting married and having a baby. I’m going to need some thinking time.”

“Take whatever you need as long as you keep your mouth shut.”

The smile drops from Lainey’s face and she sighs. “I can do that for now. But not forever. How long do you plan on keeping this a secret?”

“As long as we can get away with it.”

If I consider Lainey’s reaction, I doubt anyone would believe me if I told them, but I still don’t want to hurt Amelia’s career. I’ve never hidden the fact that I have no intentions of getting married. But fake or not, it’s happening. And she doesn’t need that kind of attention right now.

Lainey sighs again. “Okay, but I need details. And don’t worry about a payment. I won’t say anything for now. But you should tell Thomas.”

“I will. Soon. For now it’s just you. Deal?”

“Deal. So…”

“Where the fuck do I start?”

“The beginning?” She lifts her shoulders in a half shrug.

“Definitely not.” I laugh to myself. “That’s a long story. Right now we just need to get to the juicy bits.”

Lainey grabs my hand and drags me into the living room before pushing me onto the couch. “Luke, you are confusing the hell out of me. But I’m all ears.”

CHAPTER TWENTY

Amelia

Is it possible to have an easy life? Because mine is like an amusement park ride spinning out of control, and I don’t know if I can hold on any longer. The whiplash is exhausting.

I fall into bed with that same giddy smile that’s been plastered on my face since we called it a wrap for the day. I couldn’t hide it if I tried.

Today was perfect. The crew worked seamlessly together, the players were receptive to our requests, and the small snippets I saw on the camera were beautiful. It was successful all around and as first days go, I couldn’t fault it.

We have another couple of days of filming this week, then not much next week until the game on Sunday. All part of the deal toensure we don’t interrupt the team too much ahead of the season opener.

Not that I think that would be an issue. The guys were on fire today.

I’ve been to a handful of practice sessions since I started working on this project, and I have never seen the team gel like this. In fact, every session seems to bring them even closer. I’d love to say it’s because they were showing off for the cameras but it wasn’t that. If anything, they forgot we were there, none of them paying us any mind.

The only minor blip on my happiness radar was Luke. After his marriage proposal, I expected things to be awkward between us, but he effortlessly reverted back to his usual cocky self and I went with it. It made life easier for me.

But something happened between our easy conversation in the locker room and when he ran off the field because he completely ignored me when I was waiting to congratulate the team. And it wasn’t by accident. Some might assume I’d embarrassed him with my teasing, but it’s Luke—he thrives on banter like that. No, it was definitely something else, and while it shouldn’t bother me—when I first started this job I would have givenanythingfor him to pretend I didn’t exist—now, it’s not sitting right.

Not that I’ve let him ruin my mood.

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