Page 14 of Accidentally Falling for My Fake Wife

Josh is getting. So. Much. Coal.

Chapter Six

Adam

“So wait.” Susie’s facelooks adorable, with her nose scrunched and her bright green eyes reflecting her confusion. “You’re still a Canadian?”

We’ve been sitting and talking for over an hour, and before I knew it, I was telling her my entire life story. How my father died when Steve and I were ten and Olivia was eight, how my mother raised us with the help of her parents, and even about my life on the farm.

“You really didn’t know that?” My brows shoot up to my hairline, and I chuckle.

She shakes her head slowly, a bemused expression on her face.

“How did I not know this?” She says, flabbergasted. She had no knowledge I was born and raised in Canada. “I can’t believe I didn’t know this! I usually know everything.”

I shrug, a lopsided grin on my face. “It’s not like it’s a secret.”

“What about Steve?” She drops her elbows on the table, leaning in closer to me. Her floral scent carries over to me, and I take a slow breath, savoring the scent of jasmine and lavender.

“He’s not a Canadian,” I say with a straight face. Her head tilts, her eyes narrow, and confusion is written all over her demeanor. I press my lips together to keep from laughing. My chest starts to shake, and her mouth forms an O. She playfully taps me on my forearm, sending tiny shivers down my body. “Well, he’s not a Canadian…anymore. When he met Nicole in college, there was no one else for him. They got married right after we were drafted, and he started the process of becoming a U.S. citizen almost immediately.”

Her head tilts, and her nose does that scrunching thing that I’m finding I can’t resist as she takes in what I just said.

An image of Josh’s face crosses my mind from when he found out I met his sister. He wouldn't be happy if he knew I was having these thoughts, yet I can’t deny the attraction I feel toward Susie. There is an ease with her that I haven’t felt with anyone before.

Not possible. She’s off-limits.Friends then; we can be friends.

A nagging doubt that we could ever bejustfriends courses through me, but I push it down, deep down, in the recesses of my mind to be reexamined at another time.

Resting her hand on her elbow, she stares at me with a pensive look.

“What?” I ask, curious to know the thoughts running through her head.

“What about your mom and sister? Do they still live in Canada?”

A smile crosses my face as I think about Mom and Olivia. I’ll be seeing them again this Christmas. I feel the corner of my lips turn down, realizing things will be very different now that Steve and I are playing for two different teams in completely different parts of the country.

At least we’re in the same conference and will play each other frequently. Mom and Olivia can come to the games when that happens.

A warm hand covers my arm.

“Adam?” I glance up and see Susie's eyes full of concern. I look down at the hand on my arm, and she quickly pulls it away. “Are you okay? I mean, with the trade?”

My heart starts to race, and my mouth goes dry. How is it that this woman gets me? Why is itthiswoman who gets me?

“You don’t have to answer—”

“No, it’s okay,” I take a deep breath and run a hand through my hair. “It hasn’t been easy, and it came completely out of the blue for me. I knew that the Jags would try and trade for someone after Smith went down. I just didn’t expect to be the casualty.”

Her eyes are full of compassion, and she has a soft look. There isn’t any judgment at all. I place my hands on my thighs, running them up and down my sweats.

“Don’t get me wrong. The Mavericks are a great team, and Darius Brown is my old college teammate…but being separated from family for the first time is difficult.”

“I understand. Josh doesn’t talk about it often, but one of his biggest fears is being traded,” Susie confides. “He played at Pleasant Hollow High School, went to college in-state, and is now playing professional ball here. So yeah…”

She looks down at her folded hands as if trying to figure out what to say next. Her laptop catches the corner of my eye.

“Now that you know my entire history, can I ask you a question?”

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