Page 45 of Romancing My Grumpy Goalie

“I can’t believeyou’re engaged!” My sister Hazel squeals and claps over our video chat, and I turn down the volume on my phone a few clicks. “How did this happen?” she gushes. “I need all the details.”

I shift in the driver’s seat and sigh. “I’m not engaged. I’m not even dating her.”

“That’s not what Jace told me. He said you took her home after the game the other night,” she challenges me.

“I did. But it didn’t work out.”

She makes this small feminine whine of disappointment, like I’m a sick puppy she needs to rescue. “Oh, Lucas. I’m sorry. You’re probably heartbroken, and here I am celebrating. What happened?”

The last thing I need is her pity.

Anabelle and Owen Hadley’s wife cross the parking lot toward the building. “I gotta go.” I end the call and climb down from my truck, tucking my phone into my pocket as I walk toward the doors. As soon as I open them, Anabelle and her friend turn to look at me. I should remember her name, but my memory is terrible.

“Oh, hi, Lucas,” the friend says. “You’re here. We have a seat ready for you if you want to follow me.”

It’s kind of a nice thing. Owen’s wife wants to always seat us herself. She leads us back to the same booth, and we slide into place next to each other as Owen approaches.

“Thank you, Alexis,” Owen says to her.

Oh, yeah. That was her name.

They both pull up one of the chairs facing us.

“Should I be the one to officiate the wedding, since I started all this?” Owen jokes.

My heart pounds, and I reach out to fiddle with the saltshaker because my hands need something to do. But as I reach for the caddy that holds all the condiments, I end up knocking the entire thing over, and it scatters across the table, spilling out salt, pepper, and packages of Sweet-N-Low.

Right in front of the owners.

Alexis snatches it all up and begins putting it back together. “Don’t worry about it,” she fusses. “It’s totally fine.”

I hadn’t apologized yet. “Uh, sorry,” I rumble.

I reach out to help, but she shoos my hands away. “I got it.” She gives Owen a dirty look. “You should take this more seriously. This is all our fault. We know the paparazzi like to hang out here when we’re in town. We should have been more discreet.”

And by “we” she really means “you.” But this lady seems to be too nice to roast her husband too much. In front of us, at least.

Anabelle’s been quiet all this time. Her usual cheery smile is gone, and I fight the urge to reach out and stroke her hand to comfort her.

“My ex texted today because he saw us in the tabloids. He thinks it’s all true. I wouldn’t care if it weren’t, except for the fact that this will affect Nolan. I’m worried his dad may decide totake more custody. He wasn’t happy about Lucas spending time with Nolan.”

“If he’d been around, he would already know that I’ve been working with Nolan,” I say. Jeremy walks out on her and Nolan, and then acts like he has a right to dictate her life a year later?

I can’t imagine what I would have done if my dad had one day wanted to jump back into my life and boss around my mom and me.

Owen pats the table. “Look, I’m sure you guys have a lot to discuss. I’ll have a server bring you some bread and drinks, and you can order whatever you’d like from the menu. It’s on the house.”

“It’s the least we can do,” Alexis says with sorrowful eyes.

“You never know.” Owen stands, smiling. “Something good may come of all this.”

Alexis and Owen leave, and I turn to Anabelle. “My agent called me earlier today after the video went viral. He wants me to distance myself from you because it’s hurting my image.”

“Did you tell him that’s what we’re already doing?”

“Yes, but that video has done a lot of damage. We probably should be a bit more discreet,” I say.

“So, you’re not giving up the mentorship?” Her voice is small.

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