Page 92 of Perfect Playbook

If only that was true.

Rio doesn’t smile, simply chews his olive as though with every bite he’s solving a crime. He’s a little like me. In fact, Santi is the only one of us kids who isn’t too serious for his own good. My brothers aren’t assholes, more that they’re competitive and driven and just don’t have time for bullshit. Santi had time for the bullshit and then some. Good thing he’s had our family for guidance.

Rio finishes his food, and his Adam’s apple bobs up and down his muscular neck. Normally, his shirt is buttoned right to the top, but he has one undone, and his tattoos hang out, a reminder that he’s tougher than I’ve ever been.

“Have you changed your name?” he asks. “Are you going to change Nino’s name?”

I know we’retogetherbut I still can’t get over howbackward it all is. Will we get unmarried and then at some point married again? Will he adopt Antonio and we all share a last name? Surely a person can’t go from fake husband and downgrade to boyfriend? Never before have I preferred to tell a lie to the truth but I do now.

I work a swallow past a lump in my throat, then reach for my beer and try to wash it down, but the stone sticks.

“Why are you nervous?” Rio looks at me like an interrogation suspect.

Shit.

“I’m not nervous.”

“So are you changing your name?” he repeats.

My brain moves quickly in the moment of panic. “We’re still talking about it.”

“See,” he says, the way he always did as the bossy eldest when we were growing up. “This is why you date for longer to sort this shit out.”

“Me changing my last name is something I need to think about. I like our name. It doesn’t change whether I would have married Logan or not. It’s just a name, guys, get over it.”

Now even Santi pulls his lips into a thin line. “Is Logan cool with that? You keeping your name?”

It’s like a game of tennis is playing out in my mind. Would my brothers like it better if I stayed a Mendez? Or if I went traditional and took my husband’s name because that will make Logan seem more manly? Fuck, I hate chasing an answer that’s the one someone else wants to hear. It’s not my style to people please.

I blow it off. “You’re too hung up on stupid shit, guys. I’m happy. Nino is ecstatic and has been totally in love with Logan from day one. We’re secure. Safe. Isn’t that all you’ve ever wanted for me?”

Rio and Santi share a glance as though they need to confer before answering. My brothers are like the goddamn mob.

Santi is the first to soften. “We just don’t want you hurt again.”

I wish I could say their grudge is extreme, but I’ve been through some rough times with men. I’m sure they’d never choose for me to marry the man Logan portrayed in the media.

“I know you guys are suspicious of Logan, but it’s not what you think it is.”

Santi leans back and folds his hands behind his head. “You have to admit it, he’s not exactly the kind of guy we’d pick for you. You gave enough cheaters a chance.”

That aches. “Logan isn’t a cheater.”

I don’t think so. No, he’s just never committed. What was he, even? He’s not like the other men who screwed me over, right? It raises the hairs of intuition. Am I being wise believing Logan isn’t some womanizer? Or is it wishful thinking?

I shake it off the best I can. He told me the old Logan is still there. I have to believe that. I want tobelievethat. “Let’s start fresh, guys. He’s wonderful with me. And wonderful with Nino.”

“Okay…” Rio leans on his tattooed forearms, exposed with his starched shirtsleeves rolled up.

It occurs to me they may have used their tech to check Logan out. I know it’s spying by proxy, and I shouldn’t ask them what they dug up, but I want to know. Did they see anything really bad about Logan?

I blurt, “I’m sure you checked Logan out. So just spill the beans.”

“Of course we checked him out. He’s a liar, Shay,” Rio informs me.

My heart drops, and the world stands still. Lying about what? Did he get with someone during his last away game?

Rio leans in closer. “He’s not who he says he is.”

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