Page 78 of Trouble in Love
I paused and ran my hand over the back of my head. “Oh, I didn’t think about that. Okay, I will definitely tell you tomorrow. One night of abstinence is one too many.”
“Ahh, newlyweds,” Tilly sighed. “Remember when we couldn’t keep our hands off each other, Rory? Now a bang-fest is a quickie in the shower and a handie on the weekends.”
I scoffed and pulled Polly tighter against me. That small touch of her bare skin sent a jolt of lust to my cock, proving the point I was about to make before I could make it. “That’ll never be us. Polly can’t keep her hands off me.”
It was Rory’s turn to scoff, “Yeah? Wait till the end of your first ovulation cycle. Nothing kills romance like trying to make babies.”
It only took a second for everything in Polly’s demeanor to change. Her body turned to stone in my hand, her smile fell, and her face paled. “You okay, Princess?”
Yep. Of course I am. Everything is just fine.” Her reply was almost … robotic, and if I’d learned one thing from growing upin a female-dominated household, it was that when a woman said she was fine, she probably wasn’t. After wearing a few dozen of my sister’s angrily tossed slushies and equally as many hot coffees, I also learned not to push my luck in public, especially when a hoard of cameras was heading our way.
“Guess they heard you’re back in town, big guy.” Rory, a man well used to the spotlight, groaned.
Except this time, the lenses weren’t pointing at me. “Polly. Polly, how does it feel to be in New York?”
“Why the rushed wedding? Are the baby rumors true?”
“Were you aware of Luca’s sexually charged past when you said yes?”
Every prehistoric, cave dweller protective gene told me to knock the fuckers out and drag her home to safety, but I couldn’t. It would only have made things worse. So, I did the only thing I could. I kissed my bride on the top of her head, tucked her under my arm, and apologized. “I’m so sorry, Princess. I never thought—”
“It’s not your fault, and don’t worry. A little attention never hurt anybody. Right?” Like a seasoned pro, Polly lowered her head and gripped me tighter as we pushed through the throng.
When my phone began buzzing, my first instinct was to leave it, but when it persisted, I knew something was up. Sliding it from my pocket while keeping Polly safely tucked against me was awkward, but not as bad as walking through an airport blinded by the flash of fifty cameras. Unable to read the screen, but with a feeling I knew who it was, I answered with, “Please tell me they’re not at my mom’s.”
“Sorry, but I can’t do that, Luca. I’ve just had your sister on the phone, and they have the place surrounded. Apparently, she wasn’t able to leave the house to pick you up as planned. I told her I could arrange a car, but she said she would rather trust a rattlesnake, or that bitch Clara.”Yep, that’s Ana. “She’s arrangedfor your neighbors to meet you there at the airport. They’ll be able to drive straight into their garage and you can spend the night. Or we can get them to take you to a hotel. The choice is yours.”
“Teddy.” Polly replied without a second’s thought, “We should stay with Teddy.”
“We’ll go with the neighbors, Chris. Where do we meet them?”
“Airport security should be on their way. They’ll take you to a secure exit and you’ll find your friends there. I’ll talk later … Oh, and Luca.”
“Yup?”
“Sorry that I missed this. I don’t know who leaked your flight information—” My guess was the same person who leaked those damn photos. “—but I should have seen it coming. I guess a few weeks away hasn’t changed a lot.”
“You’re right. It hasn’t changed a lot. It’s changed everything.”
Because it wasn’t just Mom and Ana and my career, I needed to protect from the shit I’d created. It was my wife, too.
Polly
Like any millennial woman in lust, I’d done my fair whack of research … stalking if you will, on the man who would become my husband. But even with everything I’d discovered—the multimillion-dollar sponsorship deals, the signing fees, the rumors, the cruel public outing—none of it could have prepared me for the media speculation surrounding my sweet, infamous Luca.
“You’re lucky we’re not Canadian. They may be polite, but they’re freaking insane about hockey. Much more than most New Yorkers. No one here really cares.” Ash said. I think he was trying to be comforting.
“This is most New Yorkers not caring?”
“Yeah, but don’t forget, this whole thing never really was about the actual game.” Luca added, running his thumb across my knee. “It was about me, the queer hockey player publicly dumped by the beautiful movie starforhis team mateontheir wedding day.”
Teddy, who was way too buzzed for my mood, offered his take. “And let’s not forget that the movie star is close to popping out her first kid to said teammate,andthe queer hockey player just returned from his mystery vay-hab married to an Australian hottie. It’s quite the tale.”
“What the fuck do you have to be so cheerful about? Is this some kind of joke to you, Tedward?” I snapped, spitefully using the nickname he hated. “That woman broke Luca’s heart. Those camera clowns chased him from the country, someone most likely on his team is leaking his personal information, and let’s not forget his poor mother and sister can’t leave their own house.”
Teddy twisted in his seat to face me. “Polly my darling, I’m sorry if my natural exuberance came across as uncouth, but I assure you, I haven’t forgotten anything, and you are not the only person in this car who cares about our big HHM, Ana and Marta.”
“Hot Hockey Man,” Luca explained pre-emptively as he looked over me with a weird smile that pissed me off, too.
