Page 56 of Hooked On Them

I found her exactly where I’d expected, hunched over her tablet, headphones in, completely absorbed in frame-by-frame analysis of something on the screen. Her hair was pulled back in a loose ponytail, wisps escaping around her face. She looked tired but focused, her bottom lip caught between her teeth in concentration.

For a moment, I just watched her, this incredible woman who had somehow become the center of the strangest situation of my life. A situation I’d put myself in. I still didn’t know what I’d been thinking.

I knocked on the doorframe, and Nora startled, looking up with wide eyes before pulling her headphones out.

“Collins.” She smiled, but I could see the careful way she held herself. We were both still tiptoeing around this whole situation. “Great game tonight. That chemistry with Wilson was a thing of beauty.”

“Thanks.” I shifted my weight, suddenly feeling gangly and awkward in a way I hadn’t since puberty. “So, hey, funny story...”

“Why do I already feel nervous?” She set her tablet down.

I rubbed the back of my neck. “I might have told everyone I’m dating someone and that I was bringing you out tonight.”

Nora blinked slowly. “You told them about us?”

“Not exactly? I mean, kind of?” I winced at how uncertain I sounded. “The guys were giving me shit about never bringing anyone out, and I said I would bring my girl tonight.” I ran a hand through my still-damp hair. “I didn’t think it through.”

To my surprise, a small laugh escaped her. “Well, I guess this was bound to happen eventually, right? We need to make it believable if we’re going to pull this off.”

“Believable, yeah.” I didn’t know what that entailed, but I would leave it up to her to decide. “We’re keeping the pregnancy a secret for now, right?”

“Right.” She stood up, smoothing down her black slacks. “Will Dom be there?”

“I’m not sure, but he wasn’t exactly thrilled when I announced I was bringing you as my date.” Dominic’s reaction made me really wonder if we jumped the gun too soon on this solution.

A complicated expression somewhere between concern and guilt flashed across her face. “I need to check in with Coach Lovell. Do you want to meet there or…?”

“I can wait?” I offered, then immediately wondered if that was too boyfriend-like or not boyfriend-like enough. This whole charade was a minefield.

She checked her watch. “This should take ten minutes. I’ll meet you in the players’ lounge?”

“Sounds good.”

As I turned to leave, Nora called out, “Miles?”

I looked back.

“Is this really a good idea?” The vulnerability in her voice made something twist in my chest.

I wanted to say no. I wanted to say that nothing about this situation was a good idea. Not the fake dating, not my feelings for her, and not the fact that my best friend was the actual father of her child.

Instead, I gave her what I hoped was a reassuring smile. “It’ll be fine. We’ve got this.”

The smile she returned was wobbly at best, but it was something.

* * *

Finnegan’s was already pulsing with noise when our little parade—me, Nora, and, somehow, Carter—pushed through the door. The bar had that perfect sports dive ambiance: worn wooden booths, championship pennants, and enough TVs that you could watch three different games simultaneously without straining your neck.

I still wasn’t sure how Carter had ended up joining us. One minute I’d been waiting in the players’ lounge for Nora, and the next she’d appeared with Carter in tow, explaining how they’d literally collided in the hallway outside Lovell’s office.

“I couldn’t exactly tell him no when he asked what we were up to,” she’d whispered when Carter had stepped away to take a call. “He’s technically an owner now.”

Right. An owner who’d dropped millions to protect Nora’s job. That wasn’t nothing, even if I wasn’t entirely sure how to feel about the guy.

“Collins!” Porter bellowed across the bar the moment we walked in. “You actually brought someone!”

A collective heads-up happened like a wave through the team, and suddenly we were the center of attention. Nora stiffened beside me. Without thinking, I slid my hand around her waist, pulling her slightly closer as we walked toward the tables.

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